Panda (Classic) Project Panda-looking Pandas.

[Palio]

Thanks to a rather silly (so normal for this section!) exchange of gibberish, Andrew firstcar-Y10 stumbled across the ideal name for the project Panda looking Panda.

He will be known as " Panto! " for fairly obvious reasons. Anyone who can't work it out will have to ask & look daft

Thanks for the name

 

[VmanC]

He will be known as " Panto! "

Oh no he isn't!

 

[VmanC]

Remember Panto?

Well we have been moving slowly forward with this one. The roof is being prepared for it's coat of black paint, hopefully it will be painted by the end of the week.

We've also pulled this from the Punto........



The wiring loom is also out and labelled up.

It makes sense to fit a new head gasket and cambelt kit now so that once it's in it stands a very good chance of staying in and running reliably.

 

[purple haze]

My question is....









What is the car next to it with the white wheel trims?? I see jims car... Oh, and the engine does look yummy.

 

[panda1408]

I think I know whose it is, its a Bianca and a fellow forum member, but not yours Kev, not with that door!

 

[purple haze]

I think I know whose it is, its a Bianca and a fellow forum member, but not yours Kev, not with that door!

Ah......I can guess who's it is...thanks for jogging my memory.

 

[pandamaniac]

Vern
I know Alan has gone back to Maclaren, but that don't look like no Maclaren M12 engine to me.
Couldn't he get one in his sandwich box.
Dave

 

[VmanC]

Vern
I know Alan has gone back to Maclaren, but that don't look like no Maclaren M12 engine to me.
Couldn't he get one in his sandwich box.
Dave

Pete went to MacLaren, Alan has gone nowhere.

As it happens Pete didn't stay long at MacLaren, it's not where he saw his future after all. He's coming in on Thursday to paint the roof. Those Mercedes slr's just couldn't hold him like the Pandas can.

What is the car next to it with the white wheel trims??

Don't worry Kev your doors aren't worse than you thought, this is Matthew's car, the one that had cv boot trouble while in France.

 

[VmanC]

Well today I stripped down the engine in order to renew the head gasket, cambelt and tensioner, and all service items. Rear crankshaft oil seal needs renewing, as does the sump due to rust.

This is how far I got .........





Unfortunately I could not remove two of the cyl. head bolts due to my bit breaking. The bolts are actually the 'Ribe' type but as I didn't have Ribe bits I was making do with a Torx bit. It was working fine until I got to the penultimate bolt, then :bang: Will be replacing it tomorrow as well as getting the right tool I think.


Also picked up some brake hoses from Hampshire hose services. I'd dropped off the originals last week and they made me two sets of Goodridge hoses to match. For those that don't know Goodridge hoses are aircraft quality stainless steel reinforced, they can withstand much higher pressures, last longer, and look pretty

These are the originals......



These are a set for the blue clx in the usual silver........



And to keep to the black and white Panda theme for this project I got these.....



They are covered in a semi transparent black plastic sheath, kind of look like carbon fibre, so will look much better for Panto.

Of course there are actually three hoses per car, two fronts (long hose) and one rear, but you didn't need to see them all now did you.

 

[Palio]

I wanted a like and oh dear button combined for that post. Sumps are regular replacements on mk1 Punto's for some reason - at least they are fairly inexpensive.......

 

[VmanC]

I wanted a like and oh dear button combined for that post. Sumps are regular replacements on mk1 Punto's for some reason - at least they are fairly inexpensive.......

The problem is that the paint on them isn't very resistant to the spray and debris they suffer from hanging low at the front of the car. I'm having to get one for my Punto 75 engine too, both will be painted with something a little tougher before they are fitted.

 

[homeward]

Sumps are regular replacements on mk1 Punto's for some reason...

They're not much better on Mk2s, I'm afraid....

 

[Palio]

The problem is that the paint on them isn't very resistant to the spray and debris they suffer from hanging low at the front of the car. I'm having to get one for my Punto 75 engine too, both will be painted with something a little tougher before they are fitted.

They're not much better on Mk2s, I'm afraid....

The sump was the only non routine problem on my/Mum's old Punto Sporting I can recall. It's showing its age now (lots of work if I can ever justify it Vernon!), but I genuinely can't think of anything else (brakes, exhaust & general servicing aside) which caused a problem over 15 years and 95k - that can't be bad especially considering its enthusiastic use for the first 5

 

[VmanC]

Well Pete popped back to do a couple of jobs today, one of them was to paint the roof of Panto........




I've been looking forward to this bit as it will really hint at what the final look will be.........



The top of the tailgate had to be done too......



The black scuttle under the windscreen stayed black in my design but I'm now having second thoughts and think that maybe it should be white, hmmm.

 

[panda panda]

Reminds me of a mk1 Range Rover except that roof should be vinyl not paint!

1 vote for white scuttle here, and black and white faux fur for the dash

 

[stu0710]

Reminds me of a mk1 Range Rover except that roof should be vinyl not paint!

1 vote for white scuttle here, and black and white faux fur for the dash

I've always thought that the the Panda has more than a passing resemblance to the MK1 RR - particularly the rear lights and the clamshell bonnet, and particularly in 4x4 guise. This car is going to look really special. A black Panda with a white roof could look really nice too - like the Italian Carabinieri ones.

 

[Palio]

Finally saw Panto! today - the first time since the project started.

It's looking really good VmanC and we can't wait for the finished car.

Bit difficult to picture it together as it's currently a Giant Panda (!) puzzle. Here's the shell, the engine here, your roof is on this Panda roof, the gearbox over there, wheels on the shelf, bonnet & doors over there. I'm glad Vernon knows where all the bits are! :worship:

Can we make the exhaust out of whatever aircraft black boxes are made from? :idea: Look at the Pinky fundraising thread if this makes no sense....

 

[Palio]

Reminds me of a mk1 Range Rover except that roof should be vinyl not paint!

1 vote for white scuttle here, and black and white faux fur for the dash

Scuttle will be white.

We are not going for a '70's Cortina look, so no vinyl! For similar taste reasons fur of any description is banned - on seat covers, dashboard, roof lining, floor, or as fluffy ears.......it's not a C*apri after all

 

[homeward]

Can we make the exhaust out of whatever aircraft black boxes are made from?

May be some of this will help...? :devil:

 

[panda panda]

In a moment of rare sanity how about having a stainless steel exhaust made - won't that be PP* ?

*Palio Proof