Before I start this update let me give my opinion on 'Dimplegate'.
I'm sure that Fiat put them in for drainage, just like the drain tubes under the windscreen rubber. As it turns out these are the common places for rust to start so rather than stopping leaks these drainage solutions have caused them by ensuring that a Panda owner has a rusty hole for water to p1$$ through.
Ok, back to Betty's rebuild........
As you can see the clutch was down to the rivets on the pressure plate side, not very impressive for a 26,000 mile car. At least the flywheel was good.
We also replaced the inner cv boots which were split, and removed the clutch operating arm to grease its bushes which can be prone to seizing on a Panda that's been stood for a long time.
Despite appearances all of this was fully functioning, but we can't afford a last minute mot fail so I decided it was best to replace the discs and pads.
With the body now looking so good it would have been criminal to leave that rusty suspension as it was, but there was no time ( or budget ) to strip and paint it all, so a quick once over with a can of black Hammerite made a suitable compromise.
The new interior was stripped out of the green Selecta I have, then fitted to Betty. I still have the dashboard to go tomorrow, then it's done. Not original I know but I do support Stephen's decision to go for it because he's paying me for..............sorry, I mean because the original was so faded and stained that it would have really let the rest of the car down. This can all be reversed if a good grey check interior turns up in the future and Stephen wants to swap back.
Fit up of the exterior is also nearly there, new wheels look very smart, just headlights and back bumper to go. Phew!
