General Broom Yellow HLX

[Liquid Knight]

I am so sorry about this everyone.

The blue Bravo is dead.

The passenger side sill rust was a lot worse than anyone could have expected. Half the outer sill crumbled off in my hands, the outer castle rail was all but gone, inner castle rail rusted half way up, the lower section of the pillar support gone completely, the inner pillar structure rusted and crumbling all the way up as far as I could see and there's a half inch gap between the inner wall and floor where the car has started to buckle.

I think the sunroof drain pipe was blocked or had come off and water has been trickling down the inside of the pillar.

This can all be repaired but would require a bare shell strip down, mounting on a jig, cutting the outer skin off the pillar, replacing all the rust from inside, weld new floors to the lower pillar, replace the inner and outer castle rails and replace the outer sill. All new parts would have to be made from scratch as nothing is available. Sadly I don't have the time, budget or facilities to do it.

I'm gutted but also relieved the car came to me. Someone else could have bought her, done a cosmetic repair or bodge and she could have been a death trap on the road.

 

[bluejohn125]

Blue Bravo? Surely you don't mean the famous Black one ?

I'm just doing some rear-end rust repairs on my green Brava...

 

[puntofan01]

I am so sorry about this everyone.

The blue Bravo is dead.

The passenger side sill rust was a lot worse than anyone could have expected. Half the outer sill crumbled off in my hands, the outer castle rail was all but gone, inner castle rail rusted half way up, the lower section of the pillar support gone completely, the inner pillar structure rusted and crumbling all the way up as far as I could see and there's a half inch gap between the inner wall and floor where the car has started to buckle.

I think the sunroof drain pipe was blocked or had come off and water has been trickling down the inside of the pillar.

This can all be repaired but would require a bare shell strip down, mounting on a jig, cutting the outer skin off the pillar, replacing all the rust from inside, weld new floors to the lower pillar, replace the inner and outer castle rails and replace the outer sill. All new parts would have to be made from scratch as nothing is available. Sadly I don't have the time, budget or facilities to do it.

I'm gutted but also relieved the car came to me. Someone else could have bought her, done a cosmetic repair or bodge and she could have been a death trap on the road.

I fully intend to ask my regular mechanic about rustproofing/undersealing my Grande next year. After seeing this, I'm even more glad not to have a sunroof!!

 

[Liquid Knight]

The rust proofing sealed the drain holes on the outer sill so it contributed.

 

[puntofan01]

I see!

 

[Liquid Knight]

I see!

Take the drain plugs out, spay wax or seal in place, leave it for a few days to set, clean around the holes and refit the plugs.

Sorry for my less helpful answer. I was in a bit of a mood.

 

[puntofan01]

That's perfectly understandable.

 

[Adrian Bravo]

I am sorry it didn't work out Liquid. Whats the plan? Put all the best bits into the yellow one and sell the left over parts?

I am so sorry about this everyone.
The blue Bravo is dead.

 

[Liquid Knight]

Sorry for my less helpful answer. I was in a bit of a mood.

Disappointed mood not a bad mood.

As I said when I picked the car up and many. many times online and whenever I talk about doing sill jobs. It'l like peeling layers of an onion and there is absolutely no way of knowing how bad a car is until you start cutting.

This one looked to have a couple of little rust spots. Ironically I took care of the one that looked worst first. All part of the adventure.

As for parts I have no idea what to do yet. I could cut the whole pillar out and replace it with one from a donor car. Grey leather won't go with yellow paint so that's out.

HLX powered Panda? :devil:

 

[Liquid Knight]

With a heavy heart I was going to strip the front hub assembly from the yellow Bravo and swap it with the blue one toady in the sunshine.

But I got distracted by other M.O.T things...

...finally fitted a rear wiper to the car since I "borrowed" one to get another car M.O.T'd ages ago. The rally style stickers as well for the pretension.

So distracted I only managed to pull the hub assembly off the yellow car before it started getting dark and I need to start getting ready for work. No need to photo that as I have done a dozen times already. Needless to say the hub bearing has about a millimeter and a half play. More than enough to notice behind the wheel.

 

[Liquid Knight]

I like messing about with cars. You can see who has done what in the past.

For example. Jobs AdrianBravo has done the bolts are either cleaned or new and copperslip'd in place. Jobs that have been outsourced the bolts are bent, the wrong way round and shear off due to the lack of lube on reassembly.

She's putting up a fight but I have the hub for the yellow Bravo now.

 

[puntofan01]

You like messing around with cars?! I'm genuinely shocked: you hide it so well!! [emoji12]

 

[Liquid Knight]

We all do. Otherwise we wouldn't drive (own several but drive an Alfa) Fiats.

 

[puntofan01]

You say that, but I'm on my 2nd Fiat, and have never had to do much in the way of messing about with them, lol!

 

[Liquid Knight]

We all make mistakes and today I made a simple one that turned into a monumental [insert rude word here] up.

So I am a bit of an insomniac and have been doing night shifts. Working on the Bravo's in the afternoons.

Driveway CSI became concrete pad in a field CSI when I forgot the lower wishbone pin bolt. :bang:

An hour later I was home again. A little cosmetic wing damage, smashed ABS sensor and slashed steering rack gaiter. Very, very; very lucky.

I'm going to take some herbal sleeping tablets and fix what I broke in the morning.

 

[Liquid Knight]

Yesterdays intermission has put me a day behind and my MOT guy is off Thursday. So there's no way of getting the Bravo ready for the track day on Friday.

This morning I discovered two of my track tyres have nails in the treads and th slave cylinder of my Alfa Spider needs replacing.

As I'm off until the 27th I'll take my time with the Bravo and hopefully get the old girl done so I can take the Spider off the road before the gritters come out of hibernation.

New slave on it's way so I should be able to do that this afternoon.

 

[Liquid Knight]

My Bravo is having an identity crisis. The ABS sensor I took off the car had a male plug and the new one has a female one.

Cut, strip, solder and tape. The automotive tuck operation.

 

[Liquid Knight]

Melancholy day today.

I'm stripping Adrian's Bravo. Even I have been tempted to do a "cosmetic repair" to keep the old girl going but I've received messaged and requests from fellow Bravo owners all over the world desperate for parts.

Without advertising the car was possibly going to be broken either.

In a way it's good to know the car is going to helping others stay on the road. It's a long established principle of Panda ownership. Incredibly sad dissecting such a good looking car but it's for the greater good.

Most parts are staying in the UK, window switches are off to New Zealand, throttle body to Germany, link pipe from the air box to the throttle body Japan and the sump breather connector from the cam' cover would have been going to Russia but he has a Coupe engine so my spare out of the shed is going instead.

I have a few jobs to do with the Yellow Bravo and MOT is now Friday so this time I will make sure all the bolts I take off go back on.

New plan. Use my Yellow Bravo through Winter so my Spider doesn't see any salt grit.

 

[Liquid Knight]

MILF Motor

M.O.T passed with no advisories or need for a bribe.

I was worried about a few things that turned out to be nothing.

The MOT tester said my Bravo was a MILF Motor.

Apparently that wasn't an insult and he meant she's been round the block a few times and not afraid to show it. I see what he was on about. Nearly twenty years old (forty in car years), 112,000 miles and dents, scrapes, scratches and dings all over.

An honest car that if she could talk every conversation would start "back in the day".

After that if he failed the old girl I would have probably kicked him somewhere. :devil:

 

[Liquid Knight]

I thought I would try my Winter wheels...

...I'm not a fan of the Bangle Grinder wheels on the Coupe but the contrast between the rounder body kind of works.

Well worked for 673 miles then I hit a pothole and lost a tyre. :bang:

So the 20V turbo Coupe wheels from my Punto GT are on for now.

With different bolts so nobody can try to nick them this time. :slayer: