Link to panel removal/fitting instructions

[jwight]

Might as well make this a sticky as it comes up so often:

http://www.fq101.co.uk/451panels.asp

[bradgarbus]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
This is what I have been looking for.
I wonder if the smart Passion will be the same in the US version? Hmmm...

[jwight]

Apparently so - several folks have used these instructions to take panels off of their US spec 451s.

[lightey]

I changed my panels on the weekend and had to find my own way when it came to the mirrors. My Passion's mirrors are electric and heated whereas the fantastic instruction guide is for manually operated mirrors.

I found that I had to cut a plastic tie to unplug the mirror and then use a new tie to put it back together again.

I had more of a problem reading the instructions backwards when fitting the new panels

[Frankenstein_Casanova]

One small suggestion: The otherwise excellent FQ101 Panel Removal guide suggests leaving the white plastic sill clips on the Tridon and then sliding the sill onto the clips to reinstall them. This is foolish, and will make you old and crazy before your time.

Instead, take the clips off the Tridon and slip them back into their slots in the sills, and then push the whole thing straight back on the car. There are even spiffy little notches in the sill slots to help you get the clips in the correct position to line up with the studs on the Tridon. That crazy "slide the sills back up on the clips" business is just a quick trip to frustration and scratched panels.

Cheers,

Johnny

[Smart Enuf]

I tried putting the clips in the slots in the skirt, but the slots are so big and roomy that the clips just kept falling out. How did you keep them in place and as close to the studs as possible before pushing in the skirt?

What I ended up doing was leaving the clips on the studs on the car, lining up the skirt in its final position, then gently pushing the skirt onto the top groove of the clips one at a time from left to right. I found that that method worked like a charm without breaking anything. YMMV.

In any case, I agree that "sliding" the skirt back onto the underbody is unworkable; I don't see how it's physically possible, given the position of the "hook" at the end of the skirt relative to the slot it must fit into (i.e., moving the skirt to the right so that you can slide it onto the clips going left moves the hook out of position). Sounds confusing, but anyone trying the skirt refitting process by sliding it back on should know what I'm talking about.

[Smart Enuf]

Oops, never mind. It didn't occur to me at first to slide the clips onto the slots in the skirt. I thought the clips had to go behind the slot, rather than on the slot. Slide the clips onto the slots, line up the little tabs on the clips with the little indentations on the slots (basically the middle of the slot), put the "hook" part of the skirt (at the front) in first, then gently push in the skirt onto the studs on the car. Refitted panels in less than 2 minutes!

[meaux61]

What if you break a clip? Where can you get new ones?

Meaux

[RussBarnes]

I broke one, dealer didn't stock and had to order. Got a pack of 10, good thing cause next time off I broke another. Not real expensive, freight here was more than clips.

[meaux61]

Thanks RussBarnes.

Speaking of freight, has anyone figured out how to ship these things yet?
I tried to buy some from another smartie today and they were impossible to ship reasonably. Has anyone packaged these for UPS?

Meaux