So with the upcoming Summer Action Festival, I've decided to skip a few photos within the Brooklands album as it would be nice to get onto other recent albums! I still have one more Brooklands post lined up for after this one but after that I think that'll be it, but remember you can always visit the page on Facebook and check out the full albums where. To start the second to last post on Brooklands Auto Italia, here's one of the Fiat 131s taking on the steep hill! Lurking away from the event are various old vehicles which should definitely be appreciated more than they are. They're simply sitting rotting away at the moment which isn't very fair... I think this one was an airport converted classic Ford, looks like an American style Ford at that!
Fiat Uno Turbo mk1, this one wasn't with the other Uno Turbos on the banking but nonetheless this is yet another example of an awesome rare car! That I really want So to end Brooklands, here is one of my favourite shots on the banking. My car with the Lancia lurking in the background. What do you think? To see the rest of the pictures then please visit this link: https://www.facebook.com/pg/fendysphotos/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1343386699088704 But, from Auto Italia and my car, that is the end for this one!
Thank you! I appreciate a token of appreciation a lot as well as feedback, so that's great to hear The next album starts at a Morrisons... in anticipation for the Forza LIVE! event held at Muswell Leys Farm by Fiat Forum Here's the Facebook link to the full album for those interested: https://www.facebook.com/pg/fendysphotos/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1386820934745280 As usual, we'll be posting periodic photos too with a bit more information. Starting with the early meet with a few of the classic Pandas... from left to right. We have a Fiat Panda Selecta with the really rare factory fitted driving lamp grille, then we have my Fiat Panda Fizz, and last but not least we have a Fiat Panda 750L that's recently been put back on the road! After this post, we'll get straight into the actual event! We convoyed down from the car park to the venue and met all the other Panda and Fiat owners
Diving into the event now and we start with more Pandas! This one is a 1986 mk2 1000CL - 1986 was the last year of the mk1 Panda and the first year that the mk2 Panda was produced, so this must have been one of the very first mk2 1000CLs to be produced! Another of my favourite little Fiats, the 126. We spotted the white one at Auto Italia Brooklands and that one was here again this time, but we also get a little treat for this event as well in the form of two 126 special editions, the Fiat 126 Brown! These are 126p editions (the engine takes up the whole of the rear, air cooled as well I believe), and have opening sunroofs as well There are 24 RHD Brown editions still registered on UK roads and I'm glad to have seen them both there!
The Summer Action Festival took place today which means an album coming to the Facebook Fendy Photography page soon. For now we'll concentrate on Forza LIVE! (fairly short album) on this page and see what album we start after that! Picture time with all of the Pandas at Forza LIVE! - one of my favourite Panda pictures of all time From left to right we have my Fizz, an extremely rare Sergio Tacchini, a 750L, Selecta and an early 1000CL
What do we vote for, Summer Action or the Panda 4x4 meet next? Classic Fiat van at Forza LIVE! Now we always knew the Panda was quite a small car... but when you're next to a 126, you look like a giant! Fendy Photography is taking a small break while I'm away
Living that panda life #SquadRollOut Only taken a few months ago, but I'm sure you know Greg's changed a fair bit
That's so good. A perfect desktop wallpaper! Also with the surroundings and all reminding of the default XP wallpaper... the colours and composition on it are very nice too! It's lovely! ^.^
Thank you! That's what I thought when I took the photo... sometimes, you just go to take a photo, and it turns out to be like this, and that makes you quite proud when you get a shot so good I do see a bit of the XP wallpaper in it, maybe Windows should pay me for the photo to use in their future backgrounds... And now, we come to the last two photos of Forza LIVE!... firstly, a picture of the Fizz next to a mk1 Uno! And secondly... another one, just from behind A good event overall and I made some new friends and met some new people which is great. Looking forward to the next events...
Next up we have the first Fiat Panda 4x4 off road meet I attended in Four by Fork, my Fiat Panda 4x4 Sisley (1988). This event was held in Yorkshire last month, and it was really exciting! The issue I am presented this next coming month in September is that the next 4x4 off road meet falls on the same day as Rallyday, and I'm really not sure which to choose... or if to choose Rallyday and then attend the smaller part of the 4x4 meet the next day. I know nobody can decide for me but I can't decide either! Anyway, let us get cracking on this album. We start off with the link to the album on Facebook for those interested in seeing all the images, but as always I'll be featuring stories and favourites here for you to read and view on top, or if you don't have Facebook then this is the next best port of call! Link: https://www.facebook.com/pg/fendysphotos/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1411772518916788 Photo below: The Varleys newly built Panda 4x4 Monster called Brian tackling one hell of a descent, with particular ease! There's a lot of photos here so it's not likely all of them will be shared here, but the absolute best and the best stories will be here so keep your eye out on the page! The start of the event. A relaxed start to the Saturday for the meet, meeting at a recretional ground in Yorkshire, dominating it with rare classics and new Pandas alike...
The Four by Fork making some classic friends... We could hang around and share pictures of each individual car but I will leave that to the main album, I think we should get straight into the rough stuff and get into the interesting stories and photos! To start the day, the group split into two smaller groups - one hardcore, one tame... being new to off roading and all, I was told to stick with the easy group to get used to it all. Means a nicer life for the car too! The first lane we attempted to go down was actually closed however, so here's a shot of us preparing to reverse back through the water crossing and back where we came to go for some other lanes!
You bet Off roading is quite fun, especially with such a great community of classic cars and great people around! After we moved away from the first failed green lane attempt, we made the trek over to the next off road section. On the way, one of the red Panda 4x4s had an issue where the gear linkages were no longer attached... this actually happened to me a week before the meet, and it actually happened to another car (Lancia Y10 4wd) on the same day as well, so it seems it is a common fault! It is where the bush that holds the main rod to another rod underneath the car deteriorates with age and exposure to the elements, and eventually the bush will have the head of it break away, which means that if the rods move too much of an extent then the metal ball from one rod will fall out of the bush because there is nothing holding it in any more. To fix it, some cable ties and mulgrips - the cable ties hold the rods close to each other and prevent the rods from falling, and the mulgrips are used to tighten the bush back onto the ball. This is a very temporary fix and requires the bush replacing ASAP! After the fix was completed, we continued our journey. Then, my first taste of a proper lane to explore... here, see the Fork ready to go down the lane. Accompanied by a Panda 4x4 mk3 and one of the red Panda 4x4 classics which had the bush issue. Actually, look closely enough and you can see them under the car again. Mulgrips were needed to push the rod back onto the ball of the other rod again, and this was only 10 minutes after the first fix was done! As far as I know, the fix was then fine until the car returned home and could be worked on there
Carrying on from that lane yesterday, another shot just to really take in that amazing Yorkshire landscape - plenty more to see of it as well... and I thought this was good! After the lane was completed and I had my first real taste of the off road business, we stopped off for lunch on a hill. The hardcore group joined us shortly after, and after a bit of banter and a bite to eat, it wasn't long before we all set off together to take part in some more off roading, stay tuned
The next part of the journey involved everyone rolling out to the next, slightly more harsh off road section, where we then split into groups of four to tackle the section. After hitting the sump guard a few times, a few splashes in water and going over lots and lots of rocks, we all met up in a fork in the section before moving on out again The section completed was called the Six Dales Trail for those interested! I am not sure if you have seen yet, but there is one Panda that rules them all - The Monster. Recently built and put on the road, originally a Sisley just like mine, but now completed restored, higher suspension, beefed up everything, big wheels and tyres, completely refinished paint and interior etc. And it's called Brian. Meet Brian, everyone, he's friendly - honest...
A picture sometimes doesn't need a story with it when it can tell a story itself... driving off into the beautiful scenery After the Six Dales Trail, it was off to the host's house for some of us to repair cars and chat before heading out for something to eat as a group. The host's road out front of the house, and the driveway included, filled with old Pandas and a Lancia! A lot of neighbours may have been wondering what was going on Here, see my Sisley accompanied by another green Sisley (grr, they have a sunroof, bullbar and the door writing... ) and one of the rarest Pandas, a white mk1 4x4. The mk1 was the earlier design and only a handful are left, probably enough to not need to count on more than two hands...
While at the host's house and flooding the whole neighbourhood with Pandas, the Lancia Y10 4WD gear linkage bush (issue as mentioned a few posts ago) bush was replaced. Back up to strength! The last photo of the day was the 4WD leaving after being fixed. This Lancia Y10 4WD was never produced in the UK and hence this is a LHD import, but it's a seriously cool little car - it's basically a more advanced Panda. i.e. things that were manual are now electric, such as the 4x4 system engages via a button instead of a handle in the Panda, the rear windows are operated by buttons instead of handles in the Panda, and the boot has a soft close system that shuts itself (and violently slams at the last minute because it's probably a bit worn )
