General Project Peterborough

[pandamaniac]

Beware too much copperslip can affect your health...

I once built a Mini from scratch and used copperslip on ball every bolt I could, going down the road at 60 MPH the front suspension arm fell off, why you ask.

TOO MUCH COPPERSLIP, the nyloc nut had unscrewed itself.

Wall 1 Mini 0
Dave

 

[Liquid Knight]

I spent most of last night thinking about the rear suspension.

If I can modify a front hub assembly and fit it to the rear axle between the axle body and wheel bearing I could simply cut out and weld in a pair of upright turrets into the top of the rear wheel arches and make up a pair of wishbones to replace the leaf springs.

It could work.

Oh and relocating the fuel tank shouldn't be an issue. There's plenty of room to either make a custom tank to fit or use my racing tank from Guff II (the engine I have panned for that car will require a much larger tank than the one I have).

 

[Liquid Knight]

Thank you to my Australian friend who after seeing my Panda vs Muddy Puddles clip sent me this...



...thank you very much. :roll:



I've just cut a bit of pipe to make a snorkel.

 

[Bartpanda]

Why do you want to remove the leafsprings? And if you want to, why trying to break the opened door? Just do it like teenage pandahero from Slovakia

I am thinking of adding a pair of rear shocks to reduce "the jumping" of the rear axle under heavy load { biggest disadvantage of leafsprings without control arms in panda design} which may be destructive to gearbox. Getting rid of the leaf springs potentially removes the "jumpy axle" effect.

here, pandik's work, {about in the middle of the gallery there is rear axle with control arms and coils.}

http://panda4x4modified.webnode.sk/fotogaleria/modified/

 

[Liquid Knight]

5,000 Euros? Hmmmm....

That'll be about £600 after next weeks vote on bailouts.

 

[AndyPanda4x4]

Why do you want to remove the leafsprings? And if you want to, why trying to break the opened door? Just do it like teenage pandahero from Slovakia

I am thinking of adding a pair of rear shocks to reduce "the jumping" of the rear axle under heavy load { biggest disadvantage of leafsprings without control arms in panda design} which may be destructive to gearbox. Getting rid of the leaf springs potentially removes the "jumpy axle" effect.

here, pandik's work, {about in the middle of the gallery there is rear axle with control arms and coils.}

http://panda4x4modified.webnode.sk/fotogaleria/modified/

It's ace that Panda, have you seen his latest project? The orange Panda with an SJ chassis, i have been following it on facebook since he started it's taken some work but it's on the road now!

 

[Bartpanda]

Yes I have seen new Pandik's project and..... it is panda no more.... just a suzuki with panda shell, I understand that he reached the limit of mods on the panda, and moved further, but I liked the modded panda more than suzi with bearshell on top

 

[Liquid Knight]

The orange one that sounds like a diesel? I'm subscribed to the YouTube channel.

I've seen a couple of Mini shells dropped on old Suzuki and Dihatsu chassis. I have the Guff shell waiting for something interesting to happen.

 

[AndyPanda4x4]

Yes I have seen new Pandik's project and..... it is panda no more.... just a suzuki with panda shell, I understand that he reached the limit of mods on the panda, and moved further, but I liked the modded panda more than suzi with bearshell on top

I agree totally, he is a very clever bloke - it's a shame he sold the fully modded Panda I think it will go down in history. You have to admit though the orange one looks fantastic even if it is cheating

C'mon Liquid Knight you must be able to pull something like this off with yours...

 

[Liquid Knight]

Since I have a spare shell and a hotrod builders up the road to guide/help/pay off with cake...

...this could be next for Guff II.

 

[Liquid Knight]

The CV boot arrived in the post today so I need to put the front assembly back together, drop the engine in, repair the cv, take the front assembly apart, refit the driveshaft.

Should be fairly tight in the two and a half hours of daylight left. I'm going to pace it and get the engine in at least. I'm not working on the car Sunday or Monday out of respect. So I'll do the rest next week.

 

[Liquid Knight]

So I knew I was limited with time today as it's Uncle Robs Taxi service to football practice Thursday.

I reassembled the front hub as planned...

...and here's a top tip for anyone doing CV Boots in the future.

Leave it in hot water for a few minutes so it pops over the oil seal easier.

The outer CV looks as shocking as the rest of my shed. I really must buy something to put those Punto GT brakes on.

Finished, tidied, showered, changed and ready...



...to be told soccer practice has been canceled. I could have the bloody engine half in now! :bang:

Still some of the fiddly stuff is don and dusted so I have less to swear about later.

If I had beer I'd get the yard light out and get started again.

 

[Liquid Knight]

There! I say I'm not going to moan about the car any more so I moan about my family instead.

Something I forgot to mention yesterday.

I really enjoyed myself. Looking at how things are coming together and imagining the end result. I'd been looking forward to working on the 4x4 for the five night shifts that preceded it.

 

[Liquid Knight]

Bartpanda

I've just found a Cinquecento fuel pump in my shed. I wonder if I can mount it to my new tank before fitting it and if it would be enough to fuel the VW carb'.

Hmmmmm...

I'll ponder that while I go outside and play.

 

[Liquid Knight]

Well after a bit of effort...

...FrankenFiat II is home.

I needed to make a minor alteration to the crank sensor mount...

...to get round the lower wishbone mount.

I really should invest in an engine hoist. I feel like I've benched an elephant. If I had a swear box I could afford one out of that. :devil:

 

[Liquid Knight]

It's fair to say I've felt a bit shafted by this car and the level of bodges so far. At least today I can feel the project is properly shafted.

It's so much easier to get to the 10mm CV bolts from the top without the carb' and starter motor in the way.

Still no paint because the payday fairies visit this Friday and I plan to paint the whole lot when I jack the suspension up.

One of the many joys of Pandaing is the number of like minded individuals who appreciate these little cars. FrankenFiat II comprises of a Punto 60 1242cc block with 886 Punto 75 cam', Uno inlet manifold, AP Racing clutch, VW Golf 1.4 8V carb' and a black box distributor I paid £50 for last year (for Guff II but the mice and men have been at it again).

I've just sold the carb' and cam' from the filler block 999 FIRE 4x4 for £50 so in the end it'll be a free upgrade.

 

[Liquid Knight]

Tomorrow I'm going to be exhausted. Now the Guff plans are obsolete I may use the Stainless back box from that with a combination of Punto 75 manifold and down pipe connected to the original 4x4 centre section. As I have a welder and stack of spare gaskets.

If anyone wants a 120 mile old original Panda 4x4 back box watch this space.

 

[Liquid Knight]

Hmmmmm....

...would a pair of these...

...be too much?

 

[Liquid Knight]

Pre-payday fairy purchases.

Uno choke cable. The original Panda one is too short.

Bonnet pins. The original Panda release was knackered and I had to use mole-grips.

Skoda Felicia front springs.

I don't want to jack the car 100mm like Bart but enough to clear the new tyres so about an inch would be enough off road clearance without compromising road handling.

 

[Liquid Knight]

My nephew wanted to help so instead of doing the exhaust as planned (that would involve too much swearing for little ears) I did a couple of fiddly jobs instead.

The Punto starter motor from my Fantasia is in place. I'll recondition the 4x4 motor before fitting it to the Fantasia. The Punto motor was a temporary repair and I promised the car an original item would be found. And I showed my nephew how to use a socket in a tight space.

"There are no shortcuts to knowledge but you can always learn experience from others".

My dad showed me the rubber band socket trick when I decided to fit an LCB to my first Mini and now I've passed it on.