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General I have this crazy idea and....

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General I have this crazy idea and....

JimMagill

JimMagill

Northern Ireland
Parked in the garage
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Ok I've got an engineless panda selecta thats got a good body and the interior is getting stripped out for my 4x4 that I'm restoring leaving a fairly bare shell....

Anybody see TopGear last week?

How hard would it be to make a panda float?:idea:

Jim
 
not very
all you need is lots of metal sheeting, welder, and that expanding industrial foam

hmm ohh and a life jacket just incase lol

hmm would be a cool thing to do, would be good to see and try and hopefully it would work :p

wouldnt cost to much either, i think lol
J
 
I was thinking of the 'raft-race' type thing with an NIIMC/FF entry in the panda...

Thou going by the looks of the Portrush Raft Race we'd have some tough competiton:(

r06.jpg


http://www.ee.qub.ac.uk/graphics/local/raft_race.htm

Jim
 
hahaha, like it! Then all we need to do is make a flying panda. Theyve tackled road, dirt, hills and once this panda is made into a boat, it will have soon become a submarine (y) with the exponential rusting! :D

Go for it i say tho, i would love to see it. Check around a bit, i think it mightve been done before.
Best of luck
Si
 
hmm sound good to enter a race, but ud have to make totally sure youve got your anti rust kit with you lol

i think it would be cool, im of to scrappies son to see what i can get my hands on, might be worth a go as well as i have a mig welder somewhere :idea:

lol hmm or maybe make it a competition by forum members kinda thing, best floating panda around lol

ive got ideas onhow to do it as i have thought about a floating car in the past and watched lots of programs on them etc . hmmm....

J
 
dave said:
....most people get a crazy idea and thats it it stays as an idea. jim is one of the few that actually does them:eek:
Click to expand...

I'm going to talk to Capt Stu tomorrow about this as the doors, bonnet and hatch are going to needed to be welded up and we're going to have to fill the car with expanding filler foam to add boyency and I was thinking as the engine is missing we could just put a big block of polystyrne under the bonnet. The wheels will need welded up as they'll drop into the water causing drag and maybe an 'escape' hatch on the roof might be a good idea!

Now all I need is raft race to compete in!!!:D

Pic's of the SS. FiatForum-Panda are attached!

Jim
 

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oo sounds fun, or how about one with an engine? get a cheap crappy engine and connect a prop to it lmao, would be fun

shouldnt be hard to seal the car now should it, pretty easy i would think

J

edit... sod the car engine slap a crazy mofo outboard on it and connect it to steering wheel:cool: :rolleyes: :slayer:
 
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You might want to do it like the pick up they had on top gear as if it goes under you can jump out and you could cut it down in the same as my soft top was done!.

Dave.
 

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Attaching an outboard to the rear of the car would be the best option but if we want to enter into a raft race then mechanical assistance is out...

But if we did put an motor on the back, it would certainly draw attention to the 'panda movement' this summer at the beach!!!:p

I'd want to keep the car as standard looking as possible. If I cut holes in the roof we can cover them with the old twin-sun roof soft-top. Like wise I'd want to keep the wheels and steering so that it can be pushed round at dock side. I could trailer it to the shore being pulled by my 4x4!

A lot of this comes down to Stu and his willingness to weld the bloody thing up but as it's going to be quite an attention grabber it could be worth all the work....

Jim
 
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Crap, the biggest Raft Race in Northern Ireland is Tomorrow in Portrush....:(

Think theres one on the Lagan coming up soon, so I'll keep googling...

BTW, if they can make this float a panda should be no problem!:p

hextall-2.jpg


Jim
 
Fred, my ever trusty Fiat Mechanic Bear is at this minute looking up ways of making a Panda watertight with the help of the Porter manual and a few other books about 'Boats' in the house!

DSC01895.JPG


I'll keep you posted on his plans!

Jim
 
Jim, some tips on turning a car into a swimming Panda. (a lot of this is based on people who have done this to other cars)

Plug all holes below the waist line.
Do NOT add any extra bouancy, it will make it liable to capsize.
Do NOT remove wieght, you may even have to add back the engine.
Let the wheels drop, they help satbalise the ship and the fronts work well as rudders.

Add bouancy tanks to the inside of the cabin if you don't want it to sink if it fills up with water.

cheers Damon
 
Jim before you do this, can you PLEASE take off the selecta brake calipers, the gear lever, and maybe the ecu and give them to Alan.D to bring back over here (y)

edit - can i also have the bracket thing/black fuse box that is attached to the drivers side front suspension turret (mine is duck taped on :().
 
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