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Panda (Classic) John Dragon Man's 4x4 Sisley

Introduction

Hello!

Well, I have been waiting a long time to do this!

Introducing (Drum roll please!).....

Edit: about half way through the time it took me to get the car on the road it found the name Talon. So everyone Meet:
Talon. My Fiat Panda 4x4 Sisley:

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Great Looking car.. As i am sure you all agree!

It has its Good points:

No Horrid noises in any gear and the 4x4 system works and sounds brilliant! Its a Sisley! And it came with some nice extras such as the light grill covers.

and also nice low mileage.
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And it has its bad points... Lots of bad points:

Mid body rust, This is the worst on the drivers side (in the UK) front wing:
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The Doors are Rusty.. Ok, i did expect this as it seems to be a common thing on most Fiats over 10-15 years old:
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And the other Door, Not as bad.. I may be able to save this side!
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"Phantom Electronics" the electronics do what they want to do, when they want to do it. No Switches necessary!

Also the Fuse box now lives here :( That means that a flap has been cut in the pocket :(
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The Exhaust is very broken, in multiple parts. even the down pipe!
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Lastly and by far the worst, Under body rust. Now its not as bad as it could be. The rear sills on both sides have a small 1 - 2 inch hole in them. No biggy.
I have still yet to remove all the plastic wheel arch liners and have a proper look.
Here's a picture from the front drivers side wheel arch, its only a skin so a easy repair:
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A bit of work needs doing to the brakes, pads i think. The fluid needs changing and the drivers side front brake pipe is corroded so i will replace that.

Also the engine needs a good cleaning up, a full on service replacing the water pump, cam belt, tensioner pulley, distributor cap and rotor arm, filters, oil, radiator, coolant and starter motor.

I also need a few things like a locking filler cap, the little clips that hold the air box together, a new boot gas strut and a non damaged back bumper.

Its the car I have always wanted right from when I was a young lad. So you can imagine how I was when I won it on eBay for a grand total of £547. Getting it from Wales To my home town of Derby Cost me £135.

With some love, care and late nights I reckon I can turn it into a cracking motor!

Oh and stay tuned as I will be keeping a Video Log of what I will be doing to the car on Youtube!

This is the video i took just as the car transporter left from delivering it:




See the rest of the videos Here: Fiat Panda 4x4 Sisley Restoration Video Logs

See my Youtube Channel >>>Here<<<

Also Click Here for more up to date pictures of this car!

I am so very proud to be the owner of a Fiat Panda 4x4 Sisley!

:D:D:D


Edit: this is how Talon looks now:



:eek::cool::cool::cool::yum:

Since then Talon has gained more lights, and now has some blue rust free Seat Marbella doors. I had also converted him to Fuel injection, however the parts i used were old and worn so now it is back on Carburettor.

This thread has its ups and downs but through the years Talon and myself have pulled through.

When you are done reading this thread, be sure to check out the little red scrap yard rescued Seat Marbella thread and also Project Fallout!

Peace all and enjoy the thread, videos and pictures!
lol. yeah i did think that.

well parts are ordered.. collect them in the morning. they told me they can get me a back box in for £37. but no center section or down pipe. still dont know what to do on the exhaust to be fair.. should i go stainless or stick with the standard... i'd just like to never have to worry about it ever again as i do plan on keeping talon for many many many years.

the drive.. guys.. the drive there and back.. oh man i cant tell you how happy i was. aquamarine that gearbox mate is a minter! every gear is fine and no crunchy noises or whines anywhere.
suspension felt great, no annoying knocks or anything. and the engine.. man.. the engine never spluttered or coughed or did anything out of place.. wish i was the one who drove it though.. man i cant wait >_< ima gonna need plastic surgery to remove this smile off my face! oh man.. im so happy.

https://www.fiatforum.com/members/aquamarine/
 
THe note that the engine is obstructed. What the tester is saying is because you have a spare wheel under the hood they are not allowed to remove it to look at the master cylinder, brake pipes etc.

When I had the Trekking in for a test the tester removed the spare wheel and got told off by the manager that they must remove nothing so they can have a better look:cry:

That fail sheet is an easy fix remember what Urchin posted the front flexi pipes are longer than the standard 2x2 pandas. The flexi pipes must have some play left in them to allow for full turn of wheels each direction. Measure what is existing length and only refit with same length.

I'm going to seek out that O/S/F mud flap for you in the mornig:)
 
Underseal is to cover themself if it turns out you've undersealed nothing but rust.

:ROFLMAO: Yes I'm sure you're right Jon, but what a ridiculous advisory! Taken to its logical conclusion they should maybe mention it has paint (in case it's covering rust) and carpets (in case it's covering rust)!

Whatever happened to poking stuff with a blunt instrument & whacking bits with a hammer? It works, so I guess that's the answer.

The engine cover is as bad - just advise that the engine's in the way & be done with it!

Boy am I glad I have a good Mot chap - if it fails it's a safety problem & any advisories are serious. Fine with me.....
 
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:ROFLMAO: Yes I'm sure you're right Jon, but what a ridiculous advisory! Taken to its logical conclusion they should maybe mention it has paint (in case it's covering rust) and carpets (in case it's covering rust)!

Whatever happened to poking stuff with a blunt instrument & whacking bits with a hammer? It works, so I guess that's the answer.

The engine cover is as bad - just advise that the engine's in the way & be done with it!

Boy am I glad I have a good Mot chap - if it fails it's a safety problem & any advisories are serious. Fine with me.....
It seems to be a trend that MOT testers seem to want to add advisories on items which are neither serious or within the test.. It may be nothing more than annoying, but if you were trying to sell a car to somebody that wasn't very technical, and there was a list of trivial advisories, it might be off-putting.
 
It seems to vary between testers, some are very thorough at covering themselves in case of any comebacks others dont seem as bothered. It seems to have gotten worse now alot of cars are completely covered in plastic underneath which means almost none of the structure/brake pipes etc can be seen.

I'm pretty sure the rear inner arches would have failed my Sisleys last MOT as it was pretty ropey around the seatbelt mount, however the plastic arch guards were fitted so none of it could be seen so it passed no problem. I dread to think how many cars are driving around with rust hidden behind plastic and dodgy repairs covered in underseal that cannot be picked up in an MOT. Hence the silly advisories.

Anyway, excellent result with Talon, those jobs should take you no time at all, how long is it since it last had an MOT?
 
@panda1408: last MOT was 2007 hehe

right my plan of attack tomorrow. wake up (good start), get ready, car over pit (drain pit first) and remove rear prop shaft. by then i hope the guy at the parts place will have my 438mm long panda 4x4 brake flexi hoses in stock so ill give my granddad a call see if he can give me a lift up.. then if he can ill stick them on the car.. soon as i have done that ill bled the brakes (nice and easy) and get on the blower to the mot place again for the Free retest! (awwww yeahhhhhh). he should be able to get me in on monday all going well.

heh i have to laugh at one of the things he pointed out.. "You have a significant oil leak comeing from.... *looks up with torch*.. ............. the front.. cross.. member.. ??"
heh i was like yeah.. thats just my rust insurance. he laughed :)

he said body wise that it was in amazing condition and he really admired the work i did on it

and the brake test!!! best moment ever.. parks it up on the rollers.. with the handbrake on.. and the rollers dont move.. it actualy lifts and pushed the whole car forwards.. followed by an audible "that's a proper handbrake, that".

i dont think ive ever been so happy when involving cars >_< even though it did fail i was still ecstatic.
still cant get over how well it drove.. ahh.


right pictures time.. can see the fault with the prop shaft.. god knows how i missed it cos i banged my head on it enough times!
 

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Boy am I glad I have a good Mot chap - if it fails it's a safety problem & any advisories are serious. Fine with me.....

Ditto. Luckily my tester doesn't believe in advisories. His view is its either road worthy and passes, or isn't road worthy and fails, no in between. Only time I've had an advisory was when the Stilo should have failed on rear axle bushes, but he put it as an advisory as he knows me and knew it'd be done within 4-5 days.
 
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