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Panda (Classic) Project Fallout

Overview Gallery Discussion

Introduction

let me introduce to you, the free panda 4x4 which was first spotted >>Here<<.
First off however, here is the plan:

i will (some how) make the panda look "Post Apocalyptic" yet keep it in a road legal state (so no spikes, sharp rusty edges sadly). We have all seen mad max right? all wanted to replicate a mad max style car?
well let me be the first to attempt this with a fiat panda 4x4.

if anyone here has seen the TV program "Defiance", you surely have seen the epic Doge Charger that looks post apocalyptic. i will be trying to aim for the same theme. with such things as an external roll cadge, external metal mesh / grills covering the windows, custom bull bar, reinforced rear bumper made from tubular metal, custom twin output exhaust, and many many more.

this project is going to be undertaken as cheaply as possible (excluding parts necessary for a safe road going vehicle). reusing as many things as i can find (in scrap yards, freebees), true to a real post apocalyptic constructed vehicle. i will also be taking the "rough is best look" (please note, i say Rough not Rat!) the panda its self of course will undergo all the rust prevention Talon went under when i got him.

anyway, i will leave you a few seconds to build up a mental picture of how a panda 4x4 could look in a post apocalyptic landscape while browsing some of these Pictures.......



ok.. that should do.

First off. i need to get the panda all well and good.
a few things are broken... the exhaust, the front suspension on the passenger side, both rear dampeners are rusted out, the doors are shot but i will try to fix them, the gear stick is really loose and all the roller bearings have dropped out, the wiring is a mess (mice attack!), there are no brakes.. and i mean no brakes, and lets not forget the underside rust.

so today i started by stripping out everything inside the car to get a good look at the floor pan and clean it all out (Dragon Man style!) i found the usual rust: the boot floor is a mess, but easy fixable, a seam has gone just behind the drivers seat anything forward of that seems to be OK, and the back of the sills are just gone so i will need to rebuild that.

the engine runs.. the vac advance line has split so its a bit rough on tickover but it seems good. the fuel tank seems good.. all the 4x4 stuff seems good.

i have go a few pictures took free by a professional photographer! (or should i say someone with an epic camera :p)

Here are a few picture, but please check out >This Album<















like i say, check out the photo album.


i will be keeping >Online video logs< of this, so keep a look out on Youtube too.
here are some videos, both are long but the second one is longer!

Project Fallout a panda 4x4 turned post apocalyiptic - YouTube

Project Fallout Panda 4x4 What to do Post Apocaliptic looking Panda! - YouTube


keep watching guys.. the jet wash will be coming out later today!



Edit:

This is how it looks now: :eek::eek::eek: :slayer::slayer::slayer:



  • Like
Reactions: VmanC, AndyPanda4x4 and MultiRacer
Click to expand...
Repairing leaf spring rails like that is simple compared to some jobs. In my MGB days I used to re-enforce rails with box section. An absolute must if you're going to put more power through the axle.

I'm going to look at the possibility of mounting my 4x4 axle on either a modified 2wd Panda (Omega) subframe or a four link set up to bin the cart springs. Looking at series LandRover to Defender conversions for a ball park idea.
 
AndyRKett said:
you'll need to repair the sills back to original condition other wise there is a very good chance you'll never get it through an MOT
Click to expand...

You could actually do what you like with them, aslong as there is no rot visible and they are solid when tapped with the MOT toffee hammer, then they will pass. So you could get away with tacking or gluing on some patches over the holes and covering them with underseal, the tester wont be able to see the non existent inner sill and all the rotten metal underneath.
 
VmanC said:
Never mind the mot this is definately going to need an SVA test!
Click to expand...


Actually youd be surprised. The rule of thumb is 60% of the original vehicle to retain it's original identity.
For the MoT you can do pretty much what you like so long as you aint got sharp, pointy, jaggedy bits. But...........

Not only would you need a supportive MoT tester you would also need to know the rule book inside out (It isn't hard mechanics can learn it) that is so the powers that be understand that you know what you are doing and not just taking the ****.
 
panda1408 said:
You could actually do what you like with them, aslong as there is no rot visible and they are solid when tapped with the MOT toffee hammer, then they will pass. So you could get away with tacking or gluing on some patches over the holes and covering them with underseal, the tester wont be able to see the non existent inner sill and all the rotten metal underneath.
Click to expand...

No you really can't, repairs have to be seam welded the visibility of the rot is irrelevant its the integrity of the panel which they can assess just by tapping it, its quite easy to tell what's good metal and what's hidden rust with a tap
They can poke and prod as much as they like and if they're still not happy they can refuse to MOT the car heavy underseal can also be documented as an advisory. And structural areas need to conform to factory specs so cutting out rotten sills and replacing with 6 inch I beam although easily stronger than the original sill is still cause for fail as you've altered the structure.

I once heard a story about a carpenter who replaced the sills on his citroen with solid oak painted to match and easily stronger than a piece of 5mm steal the mot inspector picked it up by tapping didn't know what to do spoke to the owner to find out what was going on, spoke to VOSA to see what to do and was told to fail it as the metal sills that should be in place where basically non exsistant.

The mot inspectors have seen it all so you won't easily pull the wool over their eyes with glue and tack welds, they know what's metal and what's rust, and to be honest its almost impossible to weld on rust, and at the end of the day its your own safety your risking more than anyone else's
 
so i guess making a shallow steel plate indent for an exhaust is shunned then.. hmm will have to work around that. :/

dont think i have ever tack welded.. maybe to hold something in place but i always end up seam welding.

man, wonder what the MOT guy would say if i told him i welded half a set of thick steel shelving into talon before i took him in.

reminds me actually.. i still have welds i need to grind down on talon's sills. i only went over them with hammerite too. totally forgot about them!:eek:
 
AndyRKett said:
No you really can't, repairs have to be seam welded the visibility of the rot is irrelevant its the integrity of the panel which they can assess just by tapping it, its quite easy to tell what's good metal and what's hidden rust with a tap
They can poke and prod as much as they like and if they're still not happy they can refuse to MOT
Click to expand...

MOTers are no longer allowed to tap poke or prod, they are only allowed to look. If they can't see a part of your car because it's covered over with something they have to pass it as normal
 
You should probably tell the mot inspection manual then

Having identified the important load bearing members and 'prescribed areas' on a vehicle, the tester should determine whether they are excessively corroded, firstly by visual inspection and then by finger/thumb pressure.

If necessary careful scraping or light tapping of the affected areas with the Corrosion Assessment Tool is permitted.

Excessively corroded metal, or metal treated with filler, emits a duller sound than does unaffected metal. It is not necessary to apply heavy impact blows or to use a sharp instrument to 'dig' at the structure.
Click to expand...

And
The severity of general or local corrosion in highly stressed steering and suspension components (eg. arms, rods, levers etc) can be assessed by lightly tapping or scraping with the corrosion assessment tool.

A small screwdriver may be used to push and probe, but only in places inaccessible to the corrosion assessment tool.

A highly stressed component should be rejected if it has been

- seriously reduced in overall thickness by corrosion, or

- local corrosion has resulted in even a small hole or split.
Click to expand...
 
VmanC said:
Never mind the mot this is definately going to need an SVA test!
Click to expand...

I'd read about that. Adding bull bars is an extra "pedestrian hazard" and if they are not bolt on factory or licensed after market ones you'd struggle to get through the M.O.T and could be flagged up by an M.O.T tester for IVA/SVA attention. :bang:

Unless you go to the same M.O.T guy I do that is. ;)
 
AndyRKett said:
No you really can't, repairs have to be seam welded the visibility of the rot is irrelevant its the integrity of the panel which they can assess just by tapping it, its quite easy to tell what's good metal and what's hidden rust with a tap
They can poke and prod as much as they like and if they're still not happy they can refuse to MOT the car heavy underseal can also be documented as an advisory. And structural areas need to conform to factory specs so cutting out rotten sills and replacing with 6 inch I beam although easily stronger than the original sill is still cause for fail as you've altered the structure.

I once heard a story about a carpenter who replaced the sills on his citroen with solid oak painted to match and easily stronger than a piece of 5mm steal the mot inspector picked it up by tapping didn't know what to do spoke to the owner to find out what was going on, spoke to VOSA to see what to do and was told to fail it as the metal sills that should be in place where basically non exsistant.

The mot inspectors have seen it all so you won't easily pull the wool over their eyes with glue and tack welds, they know what's metal and what's rust, and to be honest its almost impossible to weld on rust, and at the end of the day its your own safety your risking more than anyone else's
Click to expand...

As you will see if you look at my Panda's threads I do things properly, far beyond the standard of an MOT repair. I would never bodge a rust repair. I was just saying that from my experince with MOTs you could get away with what I said quite easily, if you tacked on some steel, sealed and painted it the same as the rest of the underside, it would sound like metal when tapped and you would not be able to see how well it was atttached, I would never do it, but I'm sure it has been done. Even if you seam welded the plates on, you can still leave the inner sill structure totally rotten, there are usually 3 or 4 layers to a sill and only 2 are visible, those could be solid/be repaired, but the inner ones be none existent.

AndyPanda4x4 said:
MOTers are no longer allowed to tap poke or prod, they are only allowed to look. If they can't see a part of your car because it's covered over with something they have to pass it as normal
Click to expand...

I didn't realise they were no longer allowed to poke and prod, that makes it even easier to bodge it(n)

Anyway back to Project Fallout, I think unless you have a very strict MOT tester, a small indent in the sill will be fine. John perhaps you could go and ask your tester beforehand?
 
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took.. err.. hammered the back bumper off today. damn nuts just spinning and not undoing.
say, you allowed bumpers made out of metal bar/ scaffolding poles :devil: i was thinking of having 2 running along the back.. maybe 3...


took the rear leaf shackle off today.. big hole.. the whole tube the shackle is meant to fit down has rusted out.. thankfully the tube its self is totally rust free however the metal sub frame is paper thin. going to have to cut loads out to try and find good metal... thinking of cutting a hole out in the rear slam panel and hammering a length of box section down the whole thing then drilling and plug welding it all in.
the other side is just starting to go but it has come in a hole so it looks like i am going to have to cut all that out and rebuild it.

the rear wheel arch seams are rusted out quite bad. i am going to have to do some work there. boot floor is full of holes. i was thinking of cutting out and scrapping the whole boot floor up to where the rear seats sit (as that is where the rust stops), then weld some flat or checker plate steel in its place, seam welding it to the under floor supports.

took the fuel tank off too i'll be welding near it so just to be on the safe side. looks like it is a replacement tank... its in pretty good condition. :D

got the hand brake working.. in fact i have got it working really well too :D


friend of mine has given me some metal tubing from a old glass table which has long since smashed... sure i can do something with that.
he has also given me some old 2 inch exhaust piping from off his pajero. slight rust in spots but a few years left in it.

sadly i spent most of the day running around looking for places that sell welding stuff. managed to find a place, got the gas, tips and a new shroud, came back home.. set the welder up.. just in time to pack it away as it was getting late.

also does anyone know what size the UJ's are on the 4x4 prop shaft?

and just for laughs, a list of things i need:

both rear shocks (would like some longer ones :D )
front shock
prop shaft roller bearing kit / new UJ's (the play in this thing is just fantastic all the bearings have dropped out! the two center mount bearings are solid as a rock :D)
gear linkage repair kit ( x2 - one for Talon :D )
leaf spring / shackle bushes
complete brake pipe renewal
all pads and shoes changed
front disks?? (slight lip)
master cylinder??


wonder how much all this lot is going to cost me (n)

sadly i will be stuck doing the welding work. as the money i have needs to go to getting Talon new front shocks!

mind you.. Talon has one good shock.. and its on the side the shock is broken on this (still yet unnamed) 4x4... hmm i may be able to get away with just having to buy 2 new shocks rather than 3...should save me.. £40!

not done any video or took any pictures yet. i will tomorrow!


anyhoo.. bed time for me.. :)
 
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