Project 'M'

[Longyear]

Hi all,

I have owned my Puma for 6 days (bought 28/12/2011) but today is officially the launch of it's 'Project'.

It's a subtle project this one; no Zetec 2.0 engine transplants, turbos or interior strips. The project is called "Project M". The 'M' stands for modernize, as the objective is to subtley modernize the Puma and make it look a little more contemporary.

Most of the ideas are from other projects I've read about on here, so thanks for the inspiration.

Firstly, some crappy phone pics of the car, totally standard, as I have bought it:-

It's a 2000 (W) Puma 1.7i in Moondust Silver, with 71k, FSH, and in very, very good condition, aside from some issues with the wheel arches (no surprise there).

Here is the project task list then (these are not in any order of priority) :-

[This tracker is revisited and updated regularly, so no longer represents the outset of the project]

PHASE I - COMPLETED

- Obtain second remote fob as only have 1 at present and that makes me nervous!
- Obtain & fit Clear Side Repeaters.
- Clean MAF sensor.
- Clean fuel system with BG44k.
- Free up jammed drivers lock (was working fine with remote but not 'key in lock'.
- Have new Cam Belt kit fitted (inc. tensioners, bolts, aux belt, cam cover gasket etc).
- Remove spare wheel, to reduce weight, and use tyreweld onboard instead.
- Replace front brake pads & discs.

PHASE I - NOT YET COMPLETED

- Engine Service: Change Oil, Filter, Air Filter, Fuel Filter, Spark Plugs.
- Source and fit replacement passenger mirror.
- Paint original wheels matt black.
- Paint mirrors matt black.
- Fit performance panel filter (eg. K&N).
- Fit new number plates.
- New Puma matts for front & back.
- Paint brake calipers red.

PHASE II - NOT YET COMPLETED

- Choose & Fit Replacement Suspension Kit (lower -30mm)
- Fit FRP Manifold & exhaust
- Get FRP type remap from Pumaspeed

:grin:

I would welcome your feedback, thoughts, ideas and suggestions!

Cheers, from the North East,
Longyear

 

[Neil]

Good luck with the project - its nice to read some project threads that aren't about track cars and engine transplants, and instead read about subtle improvements and restoration k:

 

[Kidders]

I dont see wheelarches repaired on the list? Surely that would be a better idea than painting the mirrors and wheels matt black.

 

[jboy01]

Looking forward to this k:

 

[paulob1]

each to there own...and your project is as valid as any we are doing...whatever you do these are one of the most fun cars you can have for less than 10k

 

[crystalpuma]

Looks good, good luck

 

[PumaJay]

nice to see one being turned into a nice little road car, theres alot of various ford parts that can be used on the puma to bring it up to date...id suggest retro fitting the steering column mounted radio control, its a nice little addition for the interior!

also if your planning on lowering then i strongly advise a lower strut brace and powerflex bushes all round, the puma's charm is the handling and these items just transform the way the car feels, tightens everything up and its like a go kart!

 

[slayllian]

looks good, how did you free up the door lock?

 

[Longyear]

Thanks for the support folks.

I dont see wheelarches repaired on the list? Surely that would be a better idea than painting the mirrors and wheels matt black.

I can't see any comparison between painting the wheels/mirrors and getting the wheel arches done; one will cost around £15 in paint and is a style choice, and the other I'd guess would cost £500+ and is purely a restoration investment. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have perfect arches on the car, but the cost wouldn't be worth it for me. The arches are fine in terms of MOT at present, so happy to keep them as is, until they threaten MOT failure. :grin:

Cheers.

 

[Kidders]

Just be nice to see a Puma that hasnt got rusty arches, instead it will be one of the many on the road that does, albeit black adornments that will only draw attention to the rust and blemishes. Just my opinion of course, but thats what i would do first even if it was just a tidy up for a year to keep the car looking smart, and to hold it back as the more it rusts, the harder it will be to repair properly in the long run.

You'll need to spend more than £15 quid on paint to do the wheels and mirrors, i used 1/4 litre of basecoat alone on a set of wheels recently and that wasnt through an aerosol mixed with propellant! Also the durability of a 1k paint with no lacquer will be questionable, spill petrol when filling up on that NSR wheel and watch the paint melt away..

 

[Longyear]

looks good, how did you free up the door lock?

Hi Slayllian (enjoyed reading your project!),

When I first got the car, I discovered the drivers door lock was completely seized. In fact I was worried at first that the ignition key didn't fit the door. (ie... lock changed).

Anyway, I sprayed a lot of Wurth Lubricant stuff (similar to WD40 but I find it vastly superior) into the lock, left it 20 minutes, came back and after a gentle wiggle, the key moved right through it's travel. :thumbs:

 

[Longyear]

Just be nice to see a Puma that hasnt got rusty arches, instead it will be one of the many on the road that does, albeit black adornments that will only draw attention to the rust and blemishes. Just my opinion of course, but thats what i would do first even if it was just a tidy up for a year to keep the car looking smart, and to hold it back as the more it rusts, the harder it will be to repair properly in the long run.

You'll need to spend more than £15 quid on paint to do the wheels and mirrors, i used 1/4 litre of basecoat alone on a set of wheels recently and that wasnt through an aerosol mixed with propellant! Also the durability of a 1k paint with no lacquer will be questionable, spill petrol when filling up on that NSR wheel and watch the paint melt away..

I hear what you're saying but the bubbling on the arch is barely noticible until you're up close. I want to spend £1k on the car, and I just ain't going to spend the lions share of that on getting the arches done. To me, the Puma is just a fun second car. Daily driver is a Volvo V70 D5; lovely but snoozy. The Puma is for fun (I've actually only driven it twice, totalling about 5 miles since buying it 6 days ago lol), but budget to spend on that fun car is unfortunately limited.

...this is definately and proudly a budget project.

Cheers,

 

[Longyear]

Just some small areas of progress today:-

- New key came, and after a couple of failed attempts, sync'd to RCL. :grin: Nice to have a back up, as 'one key cars' always make me nervous!

- Removed the spare wheel and it's rack and retainer. The bolt was very stiff but eventually gave in. As I was removing the wheel, twilight came and the light was poor so I could not get a good view of how the wheel rack was attached to the car at the rear. A lot of wiggling was not working. After turning on the lamp, I found what you folk probably all know: the rack just slots out on the left rear side, but then needs to be rotated 90 degrees to remove the right hand retaining pin, which is curved. (a pretty simple but effective safety feature to stop the rack loosening over bumps no doubt).

So my Tyreweld kit & lightweight compressor are now on board, and I reckon the swap has shaved a whopping 10kg off the weight of the car lol :grin: I wonder if I'll notice a change in handling characteristics on the back end?

I also chased my clear side repeater order today; I know it's been the festive season but I ordered them 8 days ago (4 working days), and I paid £3 P&P for what was stated to be guaranteed delivery in 2 working days. I'm finding this is happening more and more with eBay purchases; people being tardy and late in dispatching things that have been paid for. :evil:

Revised project planner:-

PHASE I - COMPLETED

- Obtain second remote fob as only have 1 at present and that makes me nervous!
- Obtain & fit Clear Side Repeaters.
- Clean MAF sensor.
- Clean fuel system with BG44k.
- Free up jammed drivers lock (was working fine with remote but not 'key in lock'.
- Have new Cam Belt kit fitted (inc. tensioners, bolts, aux belt, cam cover gasket etc).
- Remove spare wheel, to reduce weight, and use tyreweld onboard instead.
- Replace front brake pads & discs.

PHASE I - NOT YET COMPLETED

- Engine Service: Change Oil, Filter, Air Filter, Fuel Filter, Spark Plugs.
- Source and fit replacement passenger mirror.
- Paint original wheels matt black.
- Paint mirrors matt black.
- Fit performance panel filter (eg. K&N).
- Fit new number plates.
- New Puma matts for front & back.
- Paint brake calipers red.

PHASE II - NOT YET COMPLETED

- Choose & Fit Replacement Suspension Kit (lower -30mm)
- Fit FRP Manifold & exhaust
- Get FRP type remap from Pumaspeed

Next will be the engine service, then painting the wheels & mirrors, pics to come!

Cheers.

 

[alexc1983]

Just be nice to see a Puma that hasnt got rusty arches, instead it will be one of the many on the road that does, albeit black adornments that will only draw attention to the rust and blemishes. Just my opinion of course, but thats what i would do first even if it was just a tidy up for a year to keep the car looking smart, and to hold it back as the more it rusts, the harder it will be to repair properly in the long run.

You'll need to spend more than £15 quid on paint to do the wheels and mirrors, i used 1/4 litre of basecoat alone on a set of wheels recently and that wasnt through an aerosol mixed with propellant! Also the durability of a 1k paint with no lacquer will be questionable, spill petrol when filling up on that NSR wheel and watch the paint melt away..

I used 4 cans of high build primer, 6 cans of colour and 3 cans of lacquer to do four alloys. must of cost me at least £40 for a decent job. plus a good 12 hours over a week to prep and spray them. Petrol spillages shouldn't affect them if a decent lacquer is used, but be careful as some newer lacquers react with paint that has been mixed to match your car

 

[Kidders]

Not being headed or arrogant here but I paint for a living and 1k clear coat will soften when petrol hits it, it's durability is shite compared to a 2k product.

 

[oskari]

I'm having a similiar project but didn't realize that I could actually make thread about here (didn't think anyone would be intrested). Any plans for fitting a heated windscreen (if you don't have one already?) or other ford parts like clock with temp. sensor, variable timing wiper stalk, back-lighted gauges (someone here fitted a mondeo one). ?

 

[Longyear]

I used 4 cans of high build primer, 6 cans of colour and 3 cans of lacquer to do four alloys. must of cost me at least £40 for a decent job. plus a good 12 hours over a week to prep and spray them. Petrol spillages shouldn't affect them if a decent lacquer is used, but be careful as some newer lacquers react with paint that has been mixed to match your car

Cheers, will budget and plan a similar approach to that.

I'm having a similiar project but didn't realize that I could actually make thread about here (didn't think anyone would be intrested). Any plans for fitting a heated windscreen (if you don't have one already?) or other ford parts like clock with temp. sensor, variable timing wiper stalk, back-lighted gauges (someone here fitted a mondeo one). ?

Mine already has the heated front windscreen (it works a lot better than I was expecting!). No electrical projects as such for mine, but be very interesting to see some of your ideas brought to life.

Well, I was really hoping to have the clear side repeaters today, and take some pics of them, then fit them and take more pics of them on the car.... but I'm being really messed about by the ebay seller, who promised delivery in 2 working days but admitted yesterday (4 working days after the sale) that he hasn't even dispatched them yet, and "should" get them out today..... casual, mmmm nice. :evil:

Anyhoo, if the rain & wind holds off for a few hours today, it will be spent thoroughly cleaning the exterior of the car, and finishing it with some autogym super resin polish. :grin:

 

[Longyear]

Spent a very pleasurable 2 hours thoroughly cleaning the car this afternoon. (I say 'cleaning' because it wasn't really a detailing session, more of a deep clean, where I could also spot and identify the areas that are going to need some detailing; an example being some green grime just inside the petrol cap area).

Theres something so calming and relaxing about cleaning a car that you love. Good, physical but uncomplicated hard work. It's like a meditation. I am currently job hunting, following redundancy from a good project management job, so I have a fair bit on my plate at the moment, but while spending a couple of hours cleaning the 'cat, my mind was clear and it was really enjoyable. :thumbs:

Anyway, I used Autoglym Bodywork Shampoo, followed by a thorough chamois dry. I then polished with Autoglym Super Resin Polish, and finished off with a quick blast around the car with Autoglym Instant Show Shine.

The car looks absolutely beautiful, but I still have not picked up my digital camera from my Mother's house in Newcastle yet (my wife left it there at New Year!), so I am afraid my work must be degraded by more phone pics! :-

....I know anyone can say it, but the car really looks much better now than the pics suggest! While doing the clean, I spotted some more things that need to be added to the porject:-

- Passenger mirror has cracked in the past and has been poorly glued: replace.

- Number Plates, while appearing to be the original ones, aren't in great condition and will be replaced.

- I've got no matts in the car at present :!:

So here is the revised and updated PROJECT PLANNER:-

PHASE I - COMPLETED

- Obtain second remote fob as only have 1 at present and that makes me nervous!
- Obtain & fit Clear Side Repeaters.
- Clean MAF sensor.
- Clean fuel system with BG44k.
- Free up jammed drivers lock (was working fine with remote but not 'key in lock'.
- Have new Cam Belt kit fitted (inc. tensioners, bolts, aux belt, cam cover gasket etc).
- Remove spare wheel, to reduce weight, and use tyreweld onboard instead.
- Replace front brake pads & discs.

PHASE I - NOT YET COMPLETED

- Engine Service: Change Oil, Filter, Air Filter, Fuel Filter, Spark Plugs.
- Source and fit replacement passenger mirror.
- Paint original wheels matt black.
- Paint mirrors matt black.
- Fit performance panel filter (eg. K&N).
- Fit new number plates.
- New Puma matts for front & back.
- Paint brake calipers red.

PHASE II - NOT YET COMPLETED

- Choose & Fit Replacement Suspension Kit (lower -30mm)
- Fit FRP Manifold & exhaust
- Get FRP type remap from Pumaspeed

:grin:

 

[quest63]

some green grime just inside the petrol cap area).

Thats your car trying to turn a fetching shade of Pacific green that is

 

[Longyear]

Ha ha ..... I'll take your word for that! Let me guess, yours started as Moondust Silver and evolved to Pacific Green lol!

Seriously, Silver and Red were the only two colours I told myself I didn't want when looking for a Puma - and the two final cars on my shortlist were my Silver 1.7 and a Red 1.4 !

Glad with the choice now though..... can't wait to get some black into the equation to modernize her though!

Cheers.