w124bob Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 On 09/01/2021 at 15:14, PatB said: I had a tired Pug 504 estate for a couple of years and, apart from discovering that the tail light lenses were just different enough to not seal properly if you swapped them side to side, I don't remember any electrical issues. In fact, the whole thing was surprisingly reliable until suffering a blown head gasket as a result of thermostat failure. I bought a second one as a spares mule, only to find it had exactly the same problem. There was a really nice, and useful car under the neglect though. I wouldn't mind a really good one. Possibly with a Shorrocks blower tucked into the cavernous space alongside the slanty block. The 504 was one of those cars which continued in production long after it's European sell by date, as it continued to be built in Africa. There was even a 4x4 estate and like the 404 it had endurance rally heritage as well. Peugeot sold 2.1 diesels engines to Ford for the Sierra and Granada, I still think when I see a 504 coupe or cabrio how pretty it was but then I remember the Fiat 130 coupe! 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 50 minutes ago, boxbrownie said: Err, we preferred to call them the fairies from the colouring in department Ah, that may be considered offensive nowadays and just in case it is, we resolutely continue to call them the virgin bedroom dwellers 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium boxbrownie Posted January 13, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 13, 2021 1 hour ago, MrWolf said: Ah, that may be considered offensive nowadays and just in case it is, we resolutely continue to call them the virgin bedroom dwellers It’s an engineering and design research facility.......nothing was offensive, until you mention it! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Steve Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 The maddest car ever built? 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted January 13, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 13, 2021 Panther? 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcredfer Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 1 hour ago, Oldddudders said: Panther? Did you mean Pants-shur.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 Looks like Thunderbirds FAB 1 had angry sex with a Sinclair C5.... 1 1 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1 Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 Panther 6 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panther_6 steve 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 Interesting bit of information. It looks like they also cannibalized the Cadillac bulkhead and screen frame for the project. Rear lights look suspiciously like Vauxhall Chevette. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Steve Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 I worked on this car about 10 years go and it's real bitza. It had lost some of the trick bits it had from new like the LCD instruments, in dash TV, radio telephone etc. I have a pic of it parked next to our MG Midget somewhere, real David and Goliath. Panther said it was capable of 200+mph, but it felt unsafe at about 15 to me! 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium boxbrownie Posted January 14, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14, 2021 18 minutes ago, MrWolf said: Rear lights look suspiciously like Vauxhall Chevette. Geek warning, geek warning.......... Nah.......no fixing screws........ 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardTPM Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 Mk.1 Cavalier, I think. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Steve Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 3 minutes ago, BernardTPM said: Mk.1 Cavalier, I think. Good shout, lots of the bits were sourced from the GM europe parts bin. The front axles were Vauxhall Magnum ( as on the Lima and Kallista) Though the pop up headlamp mechs were TR7, as I had to source a new motor. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, boxbrownie said: Geek warning, geek warning.......... Nah.......no fixing screws........ That I wouldn't have remembered, seeing as the tail lights were the only bits of my chevette I didn't have to fix, weld or swear at. @BernardTPM beat me to my next guess! Viva HB & HC front axles were very popular with hot rodders and kit car manufacturers, which is why they're hard to find now. It doesn't look like it would pass any kind of crash test for a new car, even forty years ago. It's also definitely not the car that you want to turn up in on a first date either... Edited January 14, 2021 by MrWolf Stupid autocorrect 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted January 14, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 14, 2021 I wouldn't fancy going round a corner in that thing, at any speed! Mike. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 2 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said: I wouldn't fancy going round a corner in that thing, at any speed! Mike. Are you suggesting that to attempt to drive it will result in your ending upside down in a field of sprouts? Hopefully Ralph Nader is spinning in his grave... 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doilum Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 6 hours ago, MrWolf said: That I wouldn't have remembered, seeing as the tail lights were the only bits of my chevette I didn't have to fix, weld or swear at. @BernardTPM beat me to my next guess! Viva HB & HC front axles were very popular with hot rodders and kit car manufacturers, which is why they're hard to find now. It doesn't look like it would pass any kind of crash test for a new car, even forty years ago. It's also definitely not the car that you want to turn up in on a first date either... I think you might be thinking of the Viva ,HA which was based on a transverse leaf spring. Vintage looks but true independent front suspension. It survived long after the switch to the HB in the van version. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 Possibly, but I did scrap a rodded Sit up and beg Popular that had an HB front end and a Volvo rear of all things. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted January 14, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14, 2021 37 minutes ago, doilum said: I think you might be thinking of the Viva ,HA which was based on a transverse leaf spring. Vintage looks but true independent front suspension. It survived long after the switch to the HB in the van version. Its the most commonly used option. The very similar early Opel Kadett front end is popular as well in the US where Vauxhalls were not sold. 33 minutes ago, MrWolf said: Possibly, but I did scrap a rodded Sit up and beg Popular that had an HB front end and a Volvo rear of all things. The Volvo 7 series rear ends are tough enough to take the torque from the biggest V8's 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alastairq Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 9 minutes ago, PhilJ W said: The Volvo 7 series rear ends are tough enough If...a trifle wide in the track department? [Mine used to give me problems if using the left lane on a motorway [I do remember using one of those]....where gert trenches had been worn by countless lorries. Used to wallow and tramline due to the wide track. Move to middle [or right?] lane, and peace & calm was restored. Or, run a wheel down the white line of he hard shoulder? 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 I think that the last Vauxhalls sold in the US were the 56 Pontiac inspired F type Victor, which was sold as the Pontiac Envoy and the HA Viva was sold as the Epic. I can well imagine that the Volvo axle would handle the power well and is a lot less cumbersome / horrible to work on than the favoured Jaguar IRS. I remember a friend being very happy having bought a rusted out Z28 Camaro for spares and finding it was fitted with a Bear Racing rear axle intended for a Trans Am. He had a standard Camaro rear axle on a rodded 57 stepside and ripped a couple of wheel studs out. Having a dig among my GM bits revealed that the old 1508cc Vauxhall Wyvern studs were 1/16" thicker, we drilled the damaged splines out of his hubs and pressed in the new items. I dread to think what some might charge for a pair of NOS halfshafts. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 (edited) 9 minutes ago, alastairq said: If...a trifle wide in the track department? [Mine used to give me problems if using the left lane on a motorway [I do remember using one of those]....where gert trenches had been worn by countless lorries. Used to wallow and tramline due to the wide track. Move to middle [or right?] lane, and peace & calm was restored. Or, run a wheel down the white line of he hard shoulder? It had been cut down in a fashion, but all the welding on the chassis was pretty much lethal and the body was rotted in all the worst places. It did yeild a whole lot of new and good used parts that went into sorting out a standard car and another rod. That's true recycling! As for tramlining, a late 1950s American car on bias belts will sit happily in them all day! Edited January 14, 2021 by MrWolf Stupid autocorrect 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doilum Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 58 minutes ago, PhilJ W said: Its the most commonly used option. The very similar early Opel Kadett front end is popular as well in the US where Vauxhalls were not sold. The Volvo 7 series rear ends are tough enough to take the torque from the biggest V8's The jaguar MK1 was the first choice rear axle. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted January 14, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14, 2021 Jaguar rear axles are based on American Spicer components. A few years ago an American hot rod magazine pointed this out and gave a list of Spicer parts such as seals and gaskets that could be used instead of the (very expensive) Jaguar parts. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardTPM Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 (edited) 4 hours ago, MrWolf said: I think that the last Vauxhalls sold in the US were the 56 Pontiac inspired F type Victor, which was sold as the Pontiac Envoy and the HA Viva was sold as the Epic. Envoy and Epic were not sold in the US but were for the Canadian Market (the last models there being the FD and HC, the latter branded Firenza). The FB Victor was sold for a very short time in the USA, but no later models, though the last Vauxhall designed vehicles sold in the USA were battery electric Bedford CFs. Edited January 14, 2021 by BernardTPM 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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