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Panda (Classic) My Purple Panda Parade Progress log

Introduction

Well folks, after keeping it under my hat all week (to avoid any embarrassment if the ebay winner actually collected the car) I have bought the purple panda parade from another user on here, neeny. They had sold it on ebay, and to cut a long story short the winner of the auction didn't collect, so the transaction was cancelled, and I offered to buy it in his place (I had actually nearly bid on the car on the original run but I confused myself and thought it was LHD which wouldn't have been any good to me) So I made the trip to fife (and on the way crossed the forth road bridge and saw the forth rail bridge which is a bit of an ambition of mine) and collected it. It took some getting used to driving! My current daily is a Citroen C2 GT, and the two cars are very very different. I have prior experience driving Fiats, as my first 3 cars were a mix of mk1 and mk2a puntos, and the first car I ever drove was my dad's tipo.

Anyway I digress, I drove it home in blizzard conditions and am very impressed with it! The only thing is that it has sat for a while and the brakes are very spongy (not a criticism of the previous owners, they were extremely honest about the car and answered all my questions, they were very kind and nice people and I hope to see them again, perhaps at a show) The Mohair twin sunroofs were slightly damp on the inside (again, not a criticism, it has been extremely wet in Scotland recently, and there is only so much it can take) not leaking or anything, just slightly damp, so I aim to treat this with fabric water repellant. There are some decals and stickers on it which aren't to my personal tastes, so I will remove these, and keep the ones which are to my taste :) The rear sunroof needs a new strap, so I will need to source one of these, or get my fiance to make a new one if I can get a hold of some leather or rubber if I find they are unavailable :)

I am very pleased with my new purchase, and consider myself very lucky to have managed to get it, the buyer on ebay should be kicking himself! And also I am very lucky to have met such kind people as Janine and Stewart, and to have found a forum with such helpful people. Anyway folks lets get down to business...photos! I apologize for the poor quality of some of these photos, it was dark before I took some of these and it is very cold so my hand was shaking. Hopefully you join me on my journey folks :) The panda is currently in my garage being aired out in an attempt to part dry the sunroofs before I bust out the hairdryer tomorrow :)

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The 4x4 engine is a safe engine so don't worry about breaking cambelts.

The camshaft can't really cause a ticking noise on it's own, it's the gap between it and the followers being too big that gives the noise. As has been said, all you need to do is make sure that the valve clearances are set right, if they are you will need to look elsewhere for your ticking noise.

Cheers Vern :) The valve clearances are on my joblist for this weekend, as well as fitting the new radiator assuming it comes in in time, also my mot is this weekend, once I get that out of the way (or find myself a new list of jobs to do) I can really get moving with this :)

Ticking....... IT'S A BOMB...:eek:

:eek: dam, I thought it was a fire engine not an incendiary engine!!
 
I'm not going to say forget the noise as I haven't heard it & am not a mechanic. You're doing the right thing checking a new (old) car, but don't get too obsessive as it will never be like a new (new) car.

What I would say is that most Panda's create a range of squeaks, rattles, chirrups, and ticky noises over time - it's a cute foible if you can't find anything drastically wrong & it doesn't get worse (y) Lots of the noises come and go with the weather - it's part of the experience of any old car (but particularly Panda's), go with it......... You could try turning up the radio (if you have one), but unless you have a quiet Panda you might not hear the radio in the first place! ;)
 
I'm not going to say forget the noise as I haven't heard it & am not a mechanic. You're doing the right thing checking a new (old) car, but don't get too obsessive as it will never be like a new (new) car.

What I would say is that most Panda's create a range of squeaks, rattles, chirrups, and ticky noises over time - it's a cute foible if you can't find anything drastically wrong & it doesn't get worse (y) Lots of the noises come and go with the weather - it's part of the experience of any old car (but particularly Panda's), go with it......... You could try turning up the radio (if you have one), but unless you have a quiet Panda you might not hear the radio in the first place! ;)

I get what you are saying, I just want to make doubly sure its nothing that's wearing away or that is doing damage, if I eliminate everything I can think of and it is still there then so be it, its not an annoying noise really, I wouldn't be doing such a lovely car justice if I didn't try my best to make it the best car that I can :) im trying to learn too, but at the same time I do know that it will never be like new again, to be honest it is a lovely car to drive and I have improved the driving experience since I bought it, so I am happy either way :)

Cheers gav :)
 
I get what you are saying, I just want to make doubly sure its nothing that's wearing away or that is doing damage, if I eliminate everything I can think of and it is still there then so be it, its not an annoying noise really, I wouldn't be doing such a lovely car justice if I didn't try my best to make it the best car that I can :) im trying to learn too, but at the same time I do know that it will never be like new again, to be honest it is a lovely car to drive and I have improved the driving experience since I bought it, so I am happy either way :)

Cheers gav :)

No you're quite right to do that (y)

People can get obsessed by that sort of noise though. I'm long enough in the tooth to remember Panda's when they were new, and they were never rattle/squeak free out of the showroom. They were always cheap and cheerful as that's how they were designed, and probably the better for it :)
 
No you're quite right to do that (y)

People can get obsessed by that sort of noise though. I'm long enough in the tooth to remember Panda's when they were new, and they were never rattle/squeak free out of the showroom. They were always cheap and cheerful as that's how they were designed, and probably the better for it :)

It probably will just be a cute foible, (makes it sound older wierdly enough, but in a good way (y)) but checking everything I can as part of my learning process and making it as good an example of a panda as I can I would imagine is a good shout :)

I LOVE the cheap and cheerfulness though! As I have said before its like a swiss army knife on wheels, and if you dont need something in there, its not in there. I love the frugality of it, Ive went from spending £120 (on a good month) in the C2 GT, to spending £40 a month and having half a tank left over! Im not being any easier on it either to be honest, and on top of all that, I have a car which noone else near me has, and which only a total of 22 people (On the road) have. That is cool in anyone's book, and it puts a smile on my face every time I look at it or drive it :D

The parts are ridiculously cheap and available too! (in comparison to my C2 GT) for example I just bought a brand new radiator delivered from Germany for £32.21 :eek:

Just have to get through this mot now, in theory it should pass with last years advisorys, but It will depend on the tester. Either that or it will generate a new list of tasks for me to complete.

As someone else recently said too, the help and encouragement you get from the folks on this forum is incredible, such a good community spirit, thanks everyone!
 
Yesterday I used some fabric sealer water repellant spray on my sunroofs, first rain will tell how well that worked :) I used it on a small patch first to make sure it wouldn't affect the colour, having left it half an hour with no change I then lightly sprayed both sunroofs :)

So here is my new updated task list

Timing Belt Cover (Parts in waiting to be done)
Underseal the car
New Timing belt (parts in waiting to be done)
New clutch cable (parts in waiting to be done)
Remove rear window's glue residue (waiting till I have time for approximately 3 weeks of scraping to do this)
New cam cover seal (parts in waiting to be done
Rear exhaust rubber (parts in waiting to be done)
Mot due (booked in for 27/04/2013)
New Radiator (and new coolant after coolant flush) parts ordered
t cut bonnet to remove scorpion shape
Check valve clearances
 
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"Just have to get through this mot now, in theory it should pass with last years advisorys"

In this new digital age when you car is 'logged on' at the MoT garage (or any garage) they will be aware of last years advisories. If they are the same 12 months on then it might seem to some testers as a bit of a liberty.
Perhaps they are not fail items but it can put people in the wrong mood.
You can look at your MoT history yourself at https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-status-vehicle
 
"Just have to get through this mot now, in theory it should pass with last years advisorys"

In this new digital age when you car is 'logged on' at the MoT garage (or any garage) they will be aware of last years advisories. If they are the same 12 months on then it might seem to some testers as a bit of a liberty.
Perhaps they are not fail items but it can put people in the wrong mood.
You can look at your MoT history yourself at https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-status-vehicle

Would be nice if the human element of the tester being in a bad mood was taken out of it though (regardless of the reason) :idea: but I do get what you are saying. If I had more time before the MOT I would attempt to rectify some of them, but I havent. Oh well, I shall just have to see what happens!
 
New radiator arrived, only took 3 days to arrive from Germany! Didn't come with a radiator cap though which would have been nice, but I already have one so I cant complain too much really :) hopefully I can get this to replace my old one after my MOT on saturday :)

Here's a photo of me holding it, Im pretty big so the radiator isn't just as small as it seems :) Though it does seem smaller outside of the car :) Im pleased with how it looks actually :)

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Here's a photo of me holding it, Im pretty big so the radiator isn't just as small as it seems :) Though it does seem smaller outside of the car :) Im pleased with how it looks actually :)

Who's up for a thread featuring happy Panda owners holding their spare parts...? :rolleyes:
 
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