My Project Puma

[ItsAnArse]

My reason for joining the forum, hopefully I can update this as I make progress. Bought September 2021.

2001
1.7
43000 miles
1 owner
Rust:
- Both rear arches, not that bad
- Front panel/crossbar/headlight/radiator mount area
- Hole in floor where VIN in located approx 5mm in diameter

Seems to be in really good condition. Sold with a new set of tyres, discs and pads on the front.

Front has been torned down:



The radiator bracket was really bad:



All repainted, rust was wire wheeled to bare metal, coated in Vactan before being primed and painted:



Too bad I'm a dope and got overspray on the rest of the engine bay (though I masked and bagged half of it), gutted as it cleaned up nice:




Any tips for removing overspray? It was fairly spotless before :evil:

I have refurbed one of the headlights, starting with 800 grit I went up to 6000 grit all wet and dry before I gloss lacquered it. Came out decent, there is a run on there so I may revisit it. No doubt I'll do a better job on the other light.



I have replaced the passenger side inner tie rod, there's a guide in the how to section I made. Still need to get it properly aligned.



Lots more to do on it, the car it has replaced was a 2006 Fiesta 1.4 which is a brilliant little car. I did an intake, HEL braided brake lines, EBC discs and Green Stuff pads on that. Perfect corner thrower, great fun absolutely. I wasn't sure about the Puma but decided I'd probably not get chance to own another one, I know it's basically an older Fiesta but it's a sports car with a lot more power than my 1.4 and something that now has become a bit niche. Wicked styling that looks like no other car on the road. So far it's a way better drive than my Fiesta was.

A new cam belt and tensioner is a big next job. I've never done one.

Jobs I want/need to do in no particular order:
- Cam belt
- Tensioner
- Camshaft seal
- VCT seal
- Cam cover gasket
- Water pump
- Aux belt
- Front Mondeo MK3 calipers
- 300mm discs
- braided brake lines
- RBF600 brake fluid
- Some kind of exhaust, cat back
- (maybe) Drivers side window rubber seal (the lower one, corroding inside causing it to bubble at the edge)
- Complete stereo upgrade
- Lowering springs
- 16 inch wheels (looking at Ford Mondeo 16 inch, those Escort Cosworth/GTI style ones)
- Rear arches, remove carpet, wire wheel, Vactan, paint, Raptor liner and run without carpet? Possibly.
- Disassemble, clean and stop the rear lights getting water in them
- Seats out, carpets out, remove/replace sound deadening, repair any rust, reassemble
- Strip and reseal the under side of the car

I've started detailing the paintwork, clay barred the bonnet, front bumper, wing, drivers door and a bit of the rear quarter so far. Lots of contaminants in the paint. Polished the bonnet. No dents or scratches to worry about, a couple of light white small scuffs about. The only damage seems to be a touched up line about 15cm long on the front bumper on the passenger side. You may be able to see it in the picture.

Hope you enjoy the thread, let me know if you have any suggestions.

 

[red]

great start to your journey (except the overspray), this isn't a suggestion but would the paint wipes that decorators use work?

Something like these https://www.screwfix.com/p/big-wipes-scrub-clean-wipes-blue-100-pack/6488F

 

[yippeekiay]

Nice work so far :thumbs:

I'm thinking acetone (grab cheaply from a hairdressers - don't ask how I know :lol might help as it's fairly abrasive to paint if you're over zealous - or how about simple turpentine?

 

[CherryVimto]

Nice work so far :thumbs:

I'm thinking acetone (grab cheaply from a hairdressers - don't ask how I know :lol

Considering these cars were called 'hairdressers' cars... :lol:

 

[ItsAnArse]

Nice work so far :thumbs:

I'm thinking acetone (grab cheaply from a hairdressers - don't ask how I know :lol

Considering these cars were called 'hairdressers' cars... :lol:

Had that joke already and "why are you driving your mum's car?"

 

[yippeekiay]

I remember out drinking one night and one of the lads "tried" to goad me about my Puma - yet he had a Mini convertable that his wife MADE him buy FFS!. I just slapped my forehead and asked him if he wanted me to start on him about his "manly" car. Also challenged him to a race for log books - he quickly backed down :lol:

One of the other lads was about to butt in but I said for him to don't even go there considering he'd just part exed his Merc convertable for a lovely new bright yellow VW Beetle Convertable - listen to this... because his wife MADE him....pussies!!!. :lol:

I swear, my mates are fcuking idiots - ok, guess that's why they hung about with me :roll: :lol:

OMG - I just realised, another mate was made to buy a Peugeot 206 CC haha - what is it with my "gay" friends :lol:

To be clear - it was a in good fun. I couldn't give a crap what anyone drives. Hell, I drive a damn Ka now :lol:

 

[caprixpack]

Yeah I've had similar with my mates, but one of them was made to sell his focus st to buy a family car while his wife still drove around in her mini cooper s, and the other drives a zafira.

 

[ItsAnArse]

I've forgotten to update this, here's what I've achieved. The car had mostly been stood from probably late Nov to early January as I couldn't get into it! Key fob had lost its pairing. With it being cold and wet, I haven't really been motivated.

Done:
- Cam belt
- Tensioner
- Water pump
- Aux belt
- Motul Gear 300 gearbox oil change (did this myself, easy job)

Ended up getting a garage to do these things, I wish I had a garage. I have some pictures I will add later on...

I got some parts, including:

- Matt Lewis Racing braided flexible brake lines
- Motul RBF600 brake fluid
- Mondeo MK3 front callipers and carriers (I actually have them now)

I'm not sure about shaving the calipers. What I do know is that these Nexen tyres on the stock wheels are garbage so I need new tyres. If I'm going to buy new tyres then I'd like to buy some Ford Mondeo MK2 Cosworth style 6.5Jx16 inch wheels, then I can fit the callipers and 300mm discs. Catch 22.

The brakes are awful, the other weekend I managed to start replacing the lines. Fortunately in the warehouse at work (which was luxury compared to my driveway) but the drivers side front line wouldn't come loose and started turning the pipe. So it looks like I need to replace the hard line.

So I put it all back together for another day. I have a track evening booked for Wednesday 23rd March which will be interesting.

 

[Puma D]

Lovely Project Mate, You only have to shave the calipers a touch to get them to fit behind 15" alloys, Also if and when you fit the caliperss it is worth putting braided brake lines especially if you are using the car on track.

 

[ItsAnArse]

Crusty brake pipe won't release!




Clearly the car doesn't want these!

 

[ItsAnArse]

Update on the car, in March I took it on track to the Three Sisters circuit and had a lot of fun for the evening after work. Only thing I did was take the back seats out and the spare wheel off. Stock Pagid brakes, Nexen Nblue tyres etc. I took a GoPro and forgot I left the SD card at work :'(



Here's a short clip:

[youtube]https://youtu.be/SAOYNnBdiMc[/youtube]

I was quite shocked at how well it handled, I was driving it hard and loved the weight transfer through the 'esses'. Flicking the back end left and right. Handled like the Escort RS I have on Forza 7 does, albeit slower. VERY enjoyable. The front tyres were done for after it and I unfortunately clipped a curb kerb kurb at one point:




Stuck two new Toyo Proxes TR1s on the front and continued driving it, all well.

Fast forward to current day, I nearly sold it to a mate reluctantly so as I wanted to focus time and money on my old 5 series. The stars aligned, the sale didn't work out and then the drivers side front brake pipe burst :-D I'm glad it did on me and not my friend. No danger, I noticed it upon my usual inspection every so often.



So I parked that up and had no car for a week or so. I decided at that moment I was going to keep it so I started on the brake pipes. My plan was to run a whole new pipe from the union (?) just before/after the ABS pump. I removed the intake pipe, battery and tray to get better access:



Here you can see one of the unions:



Both fronts are here, new brake pipes made up:




And fitted with stainless braided flexis:



Now this is where I need to bleed the system and both bleed nipples are seized solid, even with vice grips and WD40 I couldn't get them off and so I thought best not waste my time as I've got Mondeo MK3 calipers there waiting so I've left it.

I did oil, filters and spark plug change and soon some rear lowering springs:



And that's it for now. I have just got my 5 series back in the road which is like driving around on a cloud, on a leather sofa in comparison to the Puma. I am pricing up discs and pads, I think I want to go for Halo Performance C hook discs and Tarox Strada pads. On my old Fiesta MK6 I had EBC discs and Green Stuff pads which were great but I would like to try something else.

Meanwhile I was hoping to disassemble the back end, inspect the brake pipes, install the rear braided flexis and wire wheel/paint the rear beam/underside of the car.

 

[yippeekiay]

Lucky you caught the break leak k:

 

[Wild E. Coyote]

You are allowed to use copper for brake lines? It is not allowed here (Croatia, but I think it is the same across EU).

Good job, BTW!

 

[ItsAnArse]

Cheers, it's not over yet! It's not pure copper, it's copper nickel iron tubing. Corrosion resistant known at cunifer

 

[ItsAnArse]

Quick update, wheels obtained! Mondeo MK1 Si 5 spoke Cosworth style Ronals, 6.5Jx16 ET40. Fit really nice especially at the front, still got to put the lowering springs on. Over the moon with these, they will need a refurb at some point but they are the exact fitment I wanted.



I have refurbed the Mondeo MK3 calipers for the front and purchases the Halo Performance discs, looking great!



Unfortunately I need to try and seat the dust seals better. I can't quite get them flush, hopefully sort that tomorrow.



I need some advice though if anyone can help please. The original brake flexis had a little bracket that bolted to the shock to keep them out the way of the wheel, I can't get these off the original hoses. Is there a good method of securing my new braided lines to the shock in a similar fashion?

 

[Wild E. Coyote]

Of course there is: you make your own bracket out of mild, or even stainless steel (that might be to brittle). 1.5 mm thickness should do, especially if you make a profile of it (bend on edge).

PS: Hate to be a party killer, but puma uses 6x15 ET34 wheels. It is very sensitive to that. You should do some maths and perhaps adjust the mondeo wheels with some spacing to get the same geometry.

Good work!

 

[ItsAnArse]

Duh! I should have thought of that haha, yes I will just make brackets myself like the originals, thanks!!!

I will see how the wheels are when I drive it, it has been months since I last did but I still remember how it drives. The front wheels are pretty flush with the arches whereas the rears are sunk slightly.

I had run the measurements through a calculator before hand to see how much it different it would have been.

 

[ItsAnArse]

Sigh... Well I've got the brake job all done and it's driveable after being off the road since May.

I had a knock at the front left before I did the job and now that I've done the brakes and have the new wheels on it's even worse! I'm beginning to wonder if the spring that was replaced on that side before I got it is infact a shorter spring and that's causing the knocking. If I rock the car up and down I can kind of hear a knock.

 

[ItsAnArse]

Oh and it has occured to me that I misunderstood your comment Coyote, yes I need spacers and it's took until now to realise! This whole thing has been quite stressful along with other goings on in my life :'(

 

[ItsAnArse]

Picture time,


I ended up with EBC Green Stuff pads as the Tarox Stradas I wanted were out of stock till mid September.



Spacers required!



Looking good, I'm happy. Needs a good clean with it being sat since May.

The knocking sound at the front left? Well...





New one in, took me bloody ages to get the shock out the hub. Ended up using the Ford jack on a piece of wood against the hub and bottom of the spring seat to push it out the hub. Worked a charm.