General The project has begun!!!

Currently reading:
General The project has begun!!!

Are you going to build it back up as right hand drive or left hand drive?

Just curious, from the pics it looks like the engine sits towards the the right side of the car and from what I've seen the right hand drive conversion adds a bit of weight with some chunky bars linking controls.

Would you get much in terms of balance and weight distribution by building it up lhd?
 
Are you going to build it back up as right hand drive or left hand drive?

Just curious, from the pics it looks like the engine sits towards the the right side of the car and from what I've seen the right hand drive conversion adds a bit of weight with some chunky bars linking controls.

Would you get much in terms of balance and weight distribution by building it up lhd?


I see where you're coming from with the LHD bit, but to be honest the extra cost and work does not outweigh the slight weight advantage. If you look back at post 51 in this thread, you can see the bar going across. It is quite wewighty, but can easily be replaced or modified. The pedal boxes are aluminium, so theres not much extra weight there.

The LHD Bulkhead, pedal box, Dash support, Dash, Loom and steering rack are different
 
Thanks again Kristian,

I was going to draw the diff casing and send it to Quaife. There's probably something out there, not strictly designed for Fiat, that fits?

I will definitly need an LSD:):)
 
Excellent project. John (Nitrane on here) on here runs a Bacci diff on his Cinq http://www.bacciromano.com/index.php?p=prodotti&l=eng&cat1=24&cat2=31&mar=4, it is expensive, especially with Euro being strong against pound at moment, but Bacci are regarded very highly, and do one that fits as Kristian says there is very little different about the 5 and 6 speed boxes fitted to the FIRE engined cars. We both have 6 speed boxes in our Seicento 16V conversions, mine from a Stilo, K's from Panda IIRC

Some of Johns build is listed on here http://www.nitrane.co.uk/cinquecento/index and John is very receptive to questions about his car and no doubt would give feed back on his Cinq which he competes in on hill climbs so had tight regs to comply with.
 
I have bacci gear kit FD and LSD im my tipo gear box which is the same as the uno turbo, I cant quite see what box is on the panda, I know there was some price difference between the cinq kit on johns car to my syncro kit on the tipo. I think with the euro strength the bacci LSD is far more expensive then the quaife and not really worth the extra as the quaife is very good. Also the plate diff tries to lock on manouvering and makes a knocking sound ( I thought it was the drive shaft until I was told otherwise) see here in the paddock at 9.40 minutes

rich
 
A little progress............

The seam sealer is a bitch to get off. But has to come off for seam welding.
Thanks to Brooky for the advice on removing the sound deadening pads. I've always used a heat gun and scraper, then finished off with Brake Cleaner. Brooky suggested using Petrol :worship::worship:. Faster easier and cheaper. Thanks Mate.
 

Attachments

  • 001.JPG
    001.JPG
    1.5 MB · Views: 61
  • 002.JPG
    002.JPG
    1.4 MB · Views: 55
Some of Johns build is listed on here http://www.nitrane.co.uk/cinquecento/index and John is very receptive to questions about his car and no doubt would give feed back on his Cinq which he competes in on hill climbs so had tight regs to comply with.


A BIG Thanks for that Link. I love the in car hill climb vids!!

Hopefully I can run an event with him in the near future.
 
...While the engine is out, i thought i'd mention ... A rotrex C15 http://www.rotrex.com/index1.htm should fit nicely in the space where the air con used to go...
...
Feel free to ignore, it's just one of my aspirations...
I love the use of the word 'aspirations' in there:)

Passing silly question: on the earlier Pandas, is the inside of the engine bay painted the same colour as the body? Mine is, and I think various under-bonnet shots elsewhere they are too. But all the newer ones seem to be 'yellow' inside (the 'basic' yellow that Fiat don't charge extra for, perhaps?).

Good luck Nigel: its a great thread this one, and gives us all a useful insight as to how the cars are built. (Next time, take a 4x4 to pieces as that will answer several questions we've asked here in the past ;))

Pete


Pete
 
Just in case anyone is wondering what their panda looks like with no Dash, here you go. The Dash supporting beam that carries the gearshift and Heater/Aircon, looks mighty heavy!!!!
Brilliant photos - thanks!

Around this time last year there was one in the workshop of Palmers in Watford stripped back nearly as far as this, as a small plastic bit had broken off the climate control system, and they were replacing the whole heater box! That seems to be the unit everything else is built around. It was being done as a warranty job -- just as well as I guess that was several very expensive hours of labour.
 
Passing silly question: on the earlier Pandas, is the inside of the engine bay painted the same colour as the body? Mine is, and I think various under-bonnet shots elsewhere they are too. But all the newer ones seem to be 'yellow' inside (the 'basic' yellow that Fiat don't charge extra for, perhaps?).




Pete

It's not the Yellow that Fiat dont charge for, its a primer, which I believe is etch based. I must say, the build quality of the bodyshell is nothing short of Fantastic!!! The Gavanising on the floor and Bulkhead is of a very high standard. Shame really, cos I'm gonna struggle with my seam welding....
 
I had to remove the passenger seat yesterday as a pound had slipped into the belt casing and was constantly rattling! I wasn't worried about loosing a pound, but the rattle was driving me nuts! Was surprised actually how heavy it was (the seat that is) Piece of cake to take out though.
 
Back
Top