On Friday I finally came to the conclusion I should keep the Panda. I drove a total of, er, 2 Cinq Sportings and neither impressed me. Driving the Panda home each time was a delight, so unless something seriously bad happens we're sticking together for another year.
With this in mind, it was time to get proactive about sorting that frikkin' roof. About a year ago my friend closed the roof on the back, snapping the clip in the process. This was not good, as the rear roof used to flap around at higher speeds unless I had my window open. I ordered a new clip from Fiat for a few quid, and set to digging out the right sized rivet from the garage. No rivet was found and the job was forgotten about. The clip also went for a walk.
A few months later the front section of the rear roof panel started coming away from the bodywork. One rivet had snapped, and the next one along soon followed suit. This wasn't pretty, and at first I was a bit worried someone might see it and try and finish the job off and escape into the night. Then, much to my delight (see also: "Rivets!") one of the Polish Panda owners came on here, saying he got the right sized rivets (4.8 x 12mm) from a local hardware shop. Then my mum found some 4.8 x 15mm rivets for a bargain price so picked them up. These rivets are now holding my roof in place securely once again, much to my pleasure.
The car also got another treat this weekend in the form of another set of Cinquecento alloys. I'd previously decided not to get another set of these, deciding instead to hold out for some with a deep dish, but for the price I couldn't really leave them. So on Saturday night my dad and I thumped into Wigan to pick the wheels up, the boot of his Civic swallowing the wheels whole. The condition is not a patch on my last set (now fitted to Graham's "Red") however with a rub down, fill and spray they should look pretty damn killer.
So all in all a productive weekend. And, of course, there's photos.
If anyone needs a full set of steel wheels with very good tyres drop me a PM and we can sort something out.
With this in mind, it was time to get proactive about sorting that frikkin' roof. About a year ago my friend closed the roof on the back, snapping the clip in the process. This was not good, as the rear roof used to flap around at higher speeds unless I had my window open. I ordered a new clip from Fiat for a few quid, and set to digging out the right sized rivet from the garage. No rivet was found and the job was forgotten about. The clip also went for a walk.
A few months later the front section of the rear roof panel started coming away from the bodywork. One rivet had snapped, and the next one along soon followed suit. This wasn't pretty, and at first I was a bit worried someone might see it and try and finish the job off and escape into the night. Then, much to my delight (see also: "Rivets!") one of the Polish Panda owners came on here, saying he got the right sized rivets (4.8 x 12mm) from a local hardware shop. Then my mum found some 4.8 x 15mm rivets for a bargain price so picked them up. These rivets are now holding my roof in place securely once again, much to my pleasure.
The car also got another treat this weekend in the form of another set of Cinquecento alloys. I'd previously decided not to get another set of these, deciding instead to hold out for some with a deep dish, but for the price I couldn't really leave them. So on Saturday night my dad and I thumped into Wigan to pick the wheels up, the boot of his Civic swallowing the wheels whole. The condition is not a patch on my last set (now fitted to Graham's "Red") however with a rub down, fill and spray they should look pretty damn killer.
So all in all a productive weekend. And, of course, there's photos.
If anyone needs a full set of steel wheels with very good tyres drop me a PM and we can sort something out.
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