General Project Peterborough

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General Project Peterborough

After so much fun, I must add like Jim Trott out of the Vicar of Dibley

No, no,nnn, no, nno, no don't give up yet!

Dave
 
Or your neighbour could go
I know one guy, his name is Ivan but we call him "eradicator". I occupy half of the parking with my old italian beauties and he knows how to deal with inquisitive neoghbours:bang: ..........

 
Well that hasn't worked either. The leak is fixed, engine runs a lot smoother on choke but as soon as you touch the throttle it dies.

Oh well; the Tax runs out at the end of the month and I'm getting fed up so it may be scrapped yet.


My bottom line on carburation is "Stick an SU on it".

Pick up an old Mini item, remembering that all SU's are sidedraft, and whack it on.

Anything will run on an SU and they are so simple they just can't go wrong.

If it won't run then........................ Then it is something else at fault.(y)
 
My bottom line on carburation is "Stick an SU on it".

Pick up an old Mini item, remembering that all SU's are sidedraft, and whack it on.

Anything will run on an SU and they are so simple they just can't go wrong.

If it won't run then........................ Then it is something else at fault.(y)

SU's do sound really nice and I have a pair of MGB ones in my shed somewhere. Easy mounting plate and I can adapt the bike carb' manifold (unless anyone wants it for their car to wizzbang round a track).
 
Time for a reality check. The Moke idea will not happen. I can do it, but I don't have the £400-ish to get the car SVA/IVA'd and there's no way I will use it or allow anyone else to use it until I know it's safe.

There is on way the car will ever pass another M.O.T. The sixty eight faults I have found so far are the result of years and years of neglect and I should have scrapped the car before I spent so much time, effort and money on it.

The initial idea of making a Panda 4x4 van has been rendered obsolete by the Fiorino purchase.

With the Councils sword of Damocles hanging over my collection and the Fantasia being the only one that doesn't need months of work both Project Peterborough and Guff II are as good as gone.

I'll be placing classified adverts for any spare part requirements.
 
Sorry to hear this! It's a real pain when other people get in the way of your plans (n) hopefully you'll be able to recoup a fair bit of the money you've spent, 4x4 parts aren't cheap or readily available. And you'll have more funds to restore the special one (y)
 
All the festive overtime and double time was going to go on the raw materials needed to Moke the 4x4 this month and I was hoping to have it ready by my birthday in March but the amount of Tax and National Insurance I've paid this month means that simply I can't afford to do it.

Even if I cut the roll cage out of the Guff racing Panda and reuse it in the 4x4 Moke I'd still come up short. That's not including the IVA/SVA if needed.

Considering the amount of work it will take to M.O.T the car this Summer and the fact that despite several attempts to get the engine working properly it simply won't I have draw a line somewhere before I take a big hammer to it.

£350, £186 insurance and over two hundred hours work to drive a car 111 miles is GM Europe levels of crap.

VOSA will be receiving a full report about this car and whether they decide to audit the M.O.T station is up to them.

I'm breaking the car to ensure it never puts anyone at risk again.

M.O.T fail items I've noticed...

All four tyres have perished side walls and the spare has a puncture.

The drivers side sill looked solid until I chipped away the filler and black silicone to reveal not only was the sill rubbish but the jacking point and floor was gone as well.

The passenger side sill had filler and silicone at each end.

The front brake pads were nearly new on the drivers side, nearly worn out on the passenger side.

The rear brakes were non-existent. Bodged brake lines from the centre to the hubs. A seized solid passenger side wheel cylinder with the front brake shoe unsecured (loose) and the rear brake shoe held in place with a 10mm bolt and nylock nut. The drivers side wheel cylinder leaked brake fluid and the handbrake was completely seized as well.

Both bottom ball joints and track control arm ends had failed with excessive play on the drivers side bottom ball joint.

The exhaust back box was held onto the centre section with black silicone and patch welded by someone who I assume was either blind or never used a welder before in their life.

Both the inner and outer CV boots on the driver side drive shaft were split and bodged with black silicone, the gearbox leaked oil from the inner CV.

Even though the fuel tank was repaired with filler and black silicone it leaked if more than 7 liters of petrol was added.

The rear floor of the car was excessively corroded around the rear seat belt anchors, to remedy this the rear seat was removed.

The front floor was excessively corroded around the driver and passenger seat mounts. This was hidden with black silicone and what appeared to be underseal.

The floor underneath the car was excessively corroded around the passenger side front leaf spring hanger, passenger side shock mount, drivers side rear leaf spring hanger and the drivers side rear inner wheel arch was a combination of cardboard, filler and black silicone.

The windscreen wiper did not work correctly, the washer jets did not work at all.

The drivers side brake light did not work, the reverse light did not work, the passenger side side repeater did not work, when the rear screen heater was switched on the headlights would fail.

The horn did not work.

The battery clamp was nonfunctional due to excessive corrosion.


Advisory items...

Windscreen in chipped and scratched condition.

Corrosion around the windscreen surround.

The bonnet release mechanism was nonfunctional.

In my opinion there is no way all of these faults came to be between the period of the vehicles M.O.T on the 9th July 2013 and my purchase of the vehicle 29th October 2013 and I recommend that...

Shaun Hagen Motor Services Limited
The Workshop
Maple Road
King's Lynn
PE34 3AJ

...be audited for allowing such a dangerous vehicle to pass the Ministry of Transport assessment.

This vehicle has been declared a mechanical write off and will be destroyed at the earliest opportunity to ensure the safety of others.
 
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well... besides the windscreen surround being rusty.. this sounds like my grey panda..

wonder if anyone has ever made a Fiorino 4x4.................

swap the gearbox out for the 4x4s.. lengthen the rear or front section of the drive shaft a bit.. add the mounts for the prop centre bearings.... swap the axle over onto the Fiorino springs... hmmmmmm.....

nahh.. who would ever consider that...;) :devil: :slayer: :D
 
Sounds perfectly logical to me:slayer:

Yes... -- but both you and John are members of the Nothing Is Impossible school...! (Not that this is a bad thing, honest... -- I am continually stunned by both your abilities to conjure up magic with just a bit of steel, a welder, a fine-adjustment tool (hammer) and a following wind....) :worship:
 
A Super FIRE powered 4x4 Fiorino crossed my mind I have a Transit prop' in my shed to lengthen the Panda one and swapping a dead leaf spring axle for a live one would be an hours work. Cutting the cross member mounting points and welding them to the Fiorino floor straight forward once everything was mocked in place. The biggest hurdle is the van is based on the Brazilian 147 (apparently) and not the Uno. So any modular platform ideas have all but gone out of the window. Engine and transmission mounts would have to either be modified or custom fabricated. The biggest hurdles will be the DVLA who will more than likely want an engineers report maybe even an IVA/SVA when I declare the swap from heavy oil to petrol.

https://www.fiatforum.com/fiorino/340943-fiorino-tuning-2.html?p=3394834

This also rules out the idea of fitting a 2.4 JTD and turbo from a JCB. Still the 1.7 is bombproof and the later 1.7TD parts should be interchangeable.

I know very, very little about Diesel engines but the 1.7...

Fiat-Fiorino-17-Diesel-07.jpg


...looks a bit like a Delta Hf with a taller block.

I'll think about prices for 4x4 bits at some point I know the eBay axle went for £50 and mine has new wheel cylinders and shoes so £30 in parts fitted and a couple of hours work. I'll take it off, clean and paint it as well.

"I won't sell anything unless I'd buy it myself" mantle will kick me in the arse again.

I have the off road tyres to fit to the wheels, I'll clean and paint those as well.

The gearbox and transfer box are good, the drivers side front drive shaft has new CV boots, I'll probably check and replace the other front boots as well.

The front hubs have new bottom ball joints. I was going to drill new holes for camber but I'll just paint those.

The 1242 and AP clutch can go back in my shed. Until I get it running properly it won't be for sale.

Nearly new back box, nearly new radiator, the rest of it is crap I guess.

Oh, I can tidy the plastic trim panels before fitting the new "4x4" badges and sell those as well.

Even though I'm sat here it feels like I'm picking at a carcass.
 
I know very, very little about Diesel engines but the 1.7...
1.7 diesel was made from 1.8 petrol block, it has 1.8 crank/stroke but smaller pistons 82.6 not 84 mm like petrol 1.8. The same with 1.9 but it was made from 2.0 petrol dohc block/crank. As you mentioned these are old but bulletproof engines. If your fiorino was 1.7 diesel from factory the best/cheap/reasonable engine would be 1.9TD from tipo tempra delta dedra , early alfa 145 146 , late regata ritmo{strada in UK} or any from the family like 1.4 TD from uno, 1.7 TD from punto mk1, 1.9 from ducato.... anything avialable in UK. I have 1.7 60 hp in my regataD. Slow mule but still lightyears faster than vw 1.6 54 hp from the same era:)
 
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Thank you all for all the tips, advice, encouragement and critique with this thread.

If I had put the time, money and effort into my Fantasia she'd be concourse now. ;)

If anyone needs any parts let me know before the weighbridge beckons.

I was just reading this post of yours from December, why not put all the money from your parts sell off into the Fantasia? Converting the Fiorino could turn into another expensive dead end. At least with the Fantasia you'd end up with a super rare concours panda (y) probably not as exciting for you but will be worth it I recon :)
 
I was just reading this post of yours from December, why not put all the money from your parts sell off into the Fantasia?

That's the plan now. It was originally do the 4x4 up a bit and sell it to raise money for the Fantasia paint and panels. Then it became the van idea due to the missing back seat. Then it became a FrankenFiat off roader thanks to the engine vandalising itself. As it was it bits I notice the amount of rust would mean replacing most of the floor, sills and as I was cutting out it would be a shame not to semi-spaceframe the chassis and cut the roof of wouldn't it?

The Fiorino is the van I should have bought in the first place. ;)
 
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