Ford Puma Buying Advice

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Wooticus

New member
Joined
May 27, 2022
Messages
14
Hi all,

I am an American stationed over here in England, and I have been looking into classic/future classic to take back with me. Been looking at various models, but it looks like the Ford Puma is not only approaching its golden years where importing will be an option, but they are also still very affordable. A couple questions for the experts:

1. I read the "typical newbie questions" and "what to look for as a buyer" posts and great info, but I am wondering if anyone had more they wanted to add onto it, seeing as they are over 10 years old. Obviously most of that information is still very prevalent due to expected mileage breaks and rust prone areas, but just curious to see what else is becoming common.

2. Thoughts from a future investor/collector on the Millennium variant? From what I currently know, the only difference was paint/interior and that some came with a numbered badge/keyring (go Wikipedia!) and obviously they only made 1,000, but no unique changes to the chassis or anything. Still, looking to see the consensus on how much more one would be willing to pay.

Thank you for your time and perhaps looking forward to join the community with my own purchase!
 
Hi and welcome to the forum!

Random info, as far as I know only one Ford Puma has been across to the states on a road trip. There's also another member on here ([ref]mmc757[/ref]) waiting for the 25 year marker to consider an import.

1. In my opinion not much changed to those lists aside from the parts started becoming NLA at the 10 year mark, hence harder and more expensive to repair. Most general wear items have reasonable aftermarket replacements, especially where shared with the similar years Fiesta.

2. The Millennium variant in my own opinion was the 2nd best version behind the Racing. Like you say though, there wasn't any substantial changes to the car aside from paint colour, wheel colour, wing mirror colour, floor mat detail, but those Recaro leather seats tip in for me over the Thunder.

How much you should pay for a Millennium is still really variable though and wholly dependent on condition. I'd expect the range somewhere between £1000-£6000 with the top end being superb condition and history.

Whilst the numbering is a nice touch, I don't think it adds much value since it was dealership allocated, not all got them and some were even then retrospectively randomly numbered by owners through the years.
 
Welcome & good luck with your search when/if you get round to choosing a Puma.

All I can advise is bodywork, bodywork, bodywork. Biggest culprit for rust being rear wheel arches, so finding as close to possible unblemished, unrepaired ones will likely mean you also found an great Puma - and a rare one too!

:eek:k:
 
Much appreciated from both of you! Currently looking at 1998's (my tour here ends in February 2024) and also have my eye on a millennium. Biggest upside to the millennium is it has been well taken care of by the looks of things, biggest downside being the logistics of getting it back to the states as while I have UK in-laws, would still need to store/export and Uncle Sam won't cover that once I leave... American problems!

I am looking at one 1998 that had the following MOT advisory (not failure) in 2014:
nearside outersill corroded
both rear undersills corroded
both rear chassis corroded


Got cleared out in 2015. How big of a red flag does this send? Pictures of the outer sill looks like they received some "decent" body work. I only ask as it is about a 6-hour drive for me to inspect in person, maybe see if you can tell from the photos if it probably has been through the ringer or not.

Photos sent to me below:
https://imgur.com/a/sIwfjn2
 
Hi.
Welcome. My advice is, parts, parts,parts. Those parts that are specifically Puma only, such as body panels, trim, and glass are virtually only available second hand. Definitely get a spare windscreen as the windscreen companies do not stock or carry them.
Regards,
Richard.
 
I mean from the photos there that 98 Cuirass looks in good shape, quite limited perspective but without getting under it and prodding things you'll never be entirely sure.
 
http://www.pumapeople.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=110510&hl=usapuma&st=0

https://usapuma.blogspot.com/

Lucky Black Cat (1 to 18):
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Ford+Puma%3A+The+Lucky+Black+Cat
 
Welcome. I'm an American and have put a lot of thought into this. I'm starting to accept that it will probably never happen for me, but I haven't totally given up hope yet.

Lets start with logistics of importing:
My current thinking is that the easiest solution is probably to find one of those little companies whose business is selling imported cars and get them to do the legwork for you. It might cost a little more than trying to manage it yourself but the savings in brain damage would be worth it. If you're military, you might be able to get Uncle Sam to move it for you...I was never stationed overseas so I don't know the current policies on that but its worth looking into.

Car selection: Rust is everything. Mechanical stuff can be replaced but the body needs to be as close to perfect as possible. Wheel arches are easy to repair but rocker panels can be tough. Find the absolute best body available. My current thought is that importing from southern Spain, Italy, or Greece might be a better option than the UK just due to rust. LHD might be nice too although if you're going to be doing a lot of driving in the UK you would probably be better off sticking to RHD.
Personally, I wouldn't be too worried about the collectibility of any particular trim variant...the FRP is probably the only one that will ever matter. I would be more concerned about condition than trim.

Parts: We don't have the Puma engines, transmissions, or suspension in anything in North America so use this opportunity to collect all the spare parts and send them home. It sounds like you're in the military so you can ship packages home for cheap right now...do it. Suspension, engine, transmission, everything. Buy all the parts you can get your mitts on and send them home, even if you don't know if you'll ever need them. Its possible to do brake swaps from Focus on these cars so that's helpful, and it makes me wonder if other parts of the suspension could be swapped too but I don't know. The MK1 and MK2 Mondeo in Europe is the same as the Contour/Mystique, and Cougar in the US and I believe there are some interchangeable (or at least adaptable) parts with that platform as well but probably not many.

MISC:
-There is at least one person I've seen on this forum that installed a 2.0l from a Focus in these cars so if your not afraid of that prospect, you might consider thinking about it. We've got millions of those over here and parts and tuning are readily available everywhere. An engine swap would affect the long term value as a show car or collectible, but it would make life a lot easier if you plan to actually drive it.
 
If you actually go through with it, keep me posted! I would love to hear about your experience and maybe even piggy back on it if possible.
 
YOG,

Thank you for sharing that story, it was a good read!

mmc757,

Solid thoughts, thank you. The military will indeed handle the shipment of the vehicle to my next base and I believe will store it for me if I pick up a tour somewhere else in Europe and don't want to bring it with me, some more research is required on the fine print of the regulations on my ened. Bottom line, they will end up bringing it to the states for me when I go home for good.

As you and Richard said, I am going to heed that advice and work towards building a surplus of parts. The military will ship up to 17,000 LBS (not including the car) for me, and while I am sure all of my wife's assets weigh a few tons, I have been a minimalist my entire life, and will shamelessly capitalize on that free weight.

To everyone,

Thank you again for the wisdom. I hardly consider myself a car mechanic, I can change parts and Youtube my way through most stuff, but I have been an airframe guy for 11 years... very different worlds! The 98 I was looking at got sniped at auction, but I found a 97 in the best condition I have seen yet, and I decided to go with my gut and signed for it, as most 99-02's are not going to hit 25 years before my tour ends. Getting delivered on Thursday or Friday. There is some surface rust that is going to take some TLC, and the flanges (just the flanges) on the rear wheel arches may drive some minor welding, but I think this will be a fun project. Interesting bit, the previous owner(s) put Recaro seats in it! More to come. May start a project post in the appropriate forum to get some advice/criticism.
 
Wooticus said:
...I hardly consider myself a car mechanic, I can change parts and Youtube my way through most stuff, but I have been an airframe guy for 11 years... very different worlds...

Don't worry about that. Cars from this era are amazing learners cars. They're modern enough to be great cars but still primitive enough that you can actually work on them without being a programming engineer.
 
Wooticus said:
Getting delivered on Thursday or Friday. There is some surface rust that is going to take some TLC, and the flanges (just the flanges) on the rear wheel arches may drive some minor welding, but I think this will be a fun project. Interesting bit, the previous owner(s) put Recaro seats in it! More to come. May start a project post in the appropriate forum to get some advice/criticism.

:happee: awesome news, can't wait for updates :drive:
 
Love the shared excitement, I think even if I don't end up loving the car, this already beats the BMW community by miles, thank you all for that.

Working on my grocery list of things I want to get done, what I have been unable to locate is an OEM parts catalogue, and I have been unsuccessful finding it on here too. Does anyone have a good one? I know direct from the manufacturer isn't happening but I have found looking for random parts on Ebay way easier to locate when I have the original manufacturer's part number in the past. AutoDoc isn't too bad, but if there is any full-blown illustrated parts breakdowns with official part numbers still hiding out there, I would greatly appreciate it!
 
Wooticus said:
Love the shared excitement, I think even if I don't end up loving the car, this already beats the BMW community by miles, thank you all for that.

The forums for the long dead or lower volume cars are generally only populated by true enthusiasts whereas the forums for the more popular or current vehicles are often full of A-holes.
 
Try the link below. Has pretty much everything you need. If you can't find what you want go to main page & start search again as there are different catalogues but the one I linked to is likely all you need. Find a part you require, click it's picture tagged number which will take you directly to the part in a list which shows part numbers, or simply look in the list manually.

https://ford.7zap.com/en/car/57/no/

You'll understand what the hell I mean when you peruse the site :lol: :eek:k:
 
yippeekiay,

This is perfect, thank you! Believe it or not, very user friendly to navigate compared to the ones that we use for aircraft... :lol:
 
I was thinking that,
LHD cars from warmer European countries will probably also have alot less issues with rust compared to what we have here.
 

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