Is it worth saving? cost me £400 - 130,000 miles -showing it

[Get Native]

Hi everyone, first post

So 6 months ago by random chance, i bought a Ford Puma. I scrapped My Mk1 Clio as it was beyond saving, and with a £400 budget i set out to gumtree and the local paper to find a new car.

Choices were fairly limited included a mk1 seat ibiza, 1999 vauxhall vectra, 1998 civic 1.4 saloon, and a 1.7 1998 Ford Puma with 126,000 miles on the clock, when I took it for a test drive I knew I had struck gold, it pulled like a dream (well compared to what ive been used to) apart from when the glove box fell off!

It was slightly dodgy, don't get me wrong, there is a huge scratch down the drivers side, all the lights are dulled and misty (rear lights have lots of condensation) stank of smoke, ash everywhere, central locking not working,only one key, no wheel nut key, and a tiny bit of rust on the wheel arches (someone has bodged repaired this), front bumper looks knackered, clearly a car park crash at some point - there is no chassis damage and the sills are in good nick.

So that was that, without really realizing what i had bought, i owned a ford puma, a sports car?, for me this was a chance purchase, i didn't set out to buy one, i needed a cheap car, and this is what fortune gave me.

So my mechanic inspects the car, we dig through all the paperwork and found the cambelt was changed at 90,000 miles, 6 years servicing at ford garages from new, 3 owners, and complety stock, untouched and unmodified. As there were 3 months till the MOT i decided to run the car and see if it blew up before spending any more money, but with a minor MOT failure, i decided to spend £300 on a full service, fluid change, new wipers, single new shock replacement due to a cracked coil, spark plugs, ht leads, air box, air filter, oil filter etc, i have little mechanical skills and no tools sadly, but would love to not spend tons in the garage in future.

Since, i have stripped the rear interior, 'mainly for space for my surfboard' hm hm cough cough... and fitted a sports back box with a lovely grumble, bumped into curb so tracking is slighty off, oh yeh and there is no engine temperature warning as the dial is broken!

But overall, apart from Oil top ups (nickasil arghh) ive spent £700. I really love the car and think shes worth saving, they dont make em like they used to, and i think that definitely the Puma is a future ford classic.

So my main question is this, at 110 to 120mph (private road) the rpm range sits at 5000 - 6000, is this bad for the engine at this age and mileage? ive never taken her past 120, but i am worried im killing her seeing as shes quite old now, im dreaming of turbocharging her but I know the serious dedication and cost it can take to perfect a mod like that, what do you guys think? What are the most important things about keeping her on the road, and is it worth it?

Thanks,

Get Native

 

[mrbushrat]

Change the oil every 5000 miles and replace bits that need changing when they wear out. My 2 1700 puma's have 145,000 and 165,000 miles on and my 1400 has 114,000 all are mechanicaly sound but the body's are a bit scabby. So as long as it's not rusting to bits keep it!

 

[Get Native]

you have 3? damn haha cool though glad to know they can take high mileage, one thing ive been thinking about it a FRP ecu map, but i dont know if this will limit the engine life even more

 

[Puma Babe]

you said that the cambelt was changed at 90,000 miles but not when that was, if it more than 5 years it needs doing again or your engine could be a risk from snapped cambelt

 

[CherryVimto]

My engine is sitting at over 140,000 and runs like a dream which I think was due to a good service history. Unfortunately most of the floor is rusted through so the shell is getting scrapped.

I think a good service when it's needed and as mentioned above, the Cambelt should be changed.
Look after the mechanicals and you should be good.

If the bodywork is pretty sound, a good bit of treatment could make it last a good few more years, but that's as long as you sort it before it's too late.

 

[Ian G]

No reason it won't continue to be a good car. Just make sure you retain a suitable licence to drive it :lol:

 

[Get Native]

ok thats quite bad, just dug through all of the paperwork and cant find the receipt for the cambelt change..., that needs doing I guess before the belt snaps and destroys the engine, the guy it bought it from said it was done at 90,000 and i have seen the receipt before, i think ive binned it by mistake, oops

 

[lusid666]

mine has got very nearly 248,000 miles on the clock now and has just started with a little bit of a big end knock, still pulls like a steam train though and I have once had her upto 130mph indicated on the speedo (private road) and she was popping off the limiter.

 

[Get Native]

248,000 is impressive for a petrol engine, should be loads of life left in mine

 

[Get Native]

so quick pit stop today at the local garage, managed to snap the exhaust heat shield in two and shear all the bolts off! kind of maybe accidentally did a power slide at 70 yesterday in a race with a bmw, managed to correct in time and saved a spin out but the metal gave out under the tension :/ simple fix though, just up on the ramp and bolted the fucker back on with two new bolts and a rattle gun

 

[gingerdave]

Shouldn't worry too much about how long the engine will last because if you keep driving it at 90/100 mph you won't have a licence for too long :grin:Oh and welcome .

 

[trublustu]

A well serviced car wraps around a tree just as well as a poorly serviced one.
If you want to 'drive it Ike you stole it' I wouldn't bother with spending money on future scrap.

Or..
Stop driving like a cock on the roads (kill someone and its prison)
Book a track day and learn to drive fast properly...

 

[pumamartin]

My Puma (July 2002) with 184.000 KM ! (not Miles) ist stil running like the day I bought her.
Now 6 1/2 year ago, then with 60.000 KM, she's still runs like a new Puma

Last Sonday I wennt to German Puma Friends (one's again :lol: ), drove at the A 44 Autobahn 200 KM (GPS) still not flat out.
With 17" rims !!
The 44 has a part of +/- 30 km were's no speed limit. Even at 200 km it's realy relaxe to drive.
Puma has no problems what so ever to get to 200 km+

Important is to keep the engine in good conditon, oil chance (5w/50 !! much better for our Puma engins) sparkplugs, (2x) cambeltchange etc. etc.
Take care of your Puma and she takes care of you :wink:

Drive safe :!:

And yes it is worth saving a Puma

http://www.pumadrivers.nl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2853" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[mrbushrat]

+1

Plenty of legal ways to get your kicks driving. "racing" on the roads is not one of them.

 

[Get Native]

thanks for the comments and advice all, id love to do more on tracks/private roads but without knowing the right people,track days seem overly expensive, hundreds of pounds for one day's driving seems like a kick in the teeth. Im a keen driver, not a boy racer ,and i do live in the middle of absolute nowhere so not exactly much traffic day to day, just empty A roads and country lanes,
just to reiterate to anyone who has commented on my posts, if you have points on your licence that's your fault, no one else's. 5 years clean so far, mainly because i drive normally 90% of the time, and yes occasionally have a bit of fun.

 

[red]

It can be worth saving.. might want to weigh up whether a cambelt is worth it or not depending on how much it costs you against a quote for fitting a replacing engine out of a scrapper especially if yours is already using some oil.

 

[Cherie]

Using oil is never a good sign with the 1.7. It only takes a short amount of time running with very little oil to cause problems, especially if the nikasil linings become scored, as there's just no way to repair that damage without spending stupid amounts of money.

I'm sure the engine will last if it's maintained, but I wouldn't bother with doing more than just using it. If you want to modify and track a puma, you're better off finding a better starting point. There are plenty of bargains to be had for very little money if you have the patience to look and not rush to buy the first one that you come across.

 

[ally frp]

Every Puma I have done with oil usage has been worn or knackered oil stem seals so it is just a recon head that is needed and not a bottom end build.

Cheers

Ally

 

[Ian G]

2hr to Castle Combe isn't in the middle of nowhere.

£30 for a track session.

Not open pit but not hundreds of pounds.

Just hope you don't shear any more bolts off your heatshield by powersliding :|

 

[3xpendable]

A well serviced car wraps around a tree just as well as a poorly serviced one.
If you want to 'drive it Ike you stole it' I wouldn't bother with spending money on future scrap.

Or..
Stop driving like a cock on the roads (kill someone and its prison)
Book a track day and learn to drive fast properly...

+ 10,000

kind of maybe accidentally did a power slide at 70 yesterday in a race with a bmw, managed to correct in time and saved a spin out but the metal gave out under the tension :/ simple fix though, just up on the ramp and bolted the f__ker back on with two new bolts and a rattle gun

Welcome,

Puma owners are always welcome but without trying to be 'that guy' I have to re-iterate what others say on here. Don't be a cock on the roads and posts like above don't really impress anyone. If you got a powerslide on at 70mph it was luck, not skill that saved you. That luck won't last forever especially if your car isn't in the best state of repair.

Trackdays are plentyful and cheap. You say you can't afford a trackday but if you get pulled for speeding or worse, it will cost you (financially and materially) a lot more than that. My car is a 40,000 mile from new example with Full Service History and I still gave it a thorough check over before driving it at even remotely brisk speeds. Sure, we all like to feel the power sometimes and flick the car into a few corners, but you aren't going to get many more chances when 'saving' your car from 70mph slides.

But anyway, keep us posted about your car whether you decide to keep it or not.