Puma Millennium W965 RDU

[John Woodward]

I'm taking my Red Puma in for the arches to be replaced tomorrow, they don't look too bad, but they have been filled in the past by the previous owner and I would rather have it done properly.

 

[TomEbbs]

@John Woodward we sound to be in a very similar position. Mine 100% had something done before as there was a decent layer of filler. Aiming for this to be done right this time.

 

[John Woodward]

I have previously, ground out all the rust on the old Thunder and it hadn't come back after 9 months including driving it every day during the winter, but my Red Puma is in overall far better condition. I heard someone say that the earlier Puma used German steel and didn't rust as much and compared to my 2001 MSB Puma (arches are rust free !), the Red (1999 built) certainly has less ferocious rust. It may be that the previous owner sprayed old engine oil underneath every year, but in areas that he hadn't done, like above the exhaust heat shield there was minimal surface rust in comparison to the MSB one.

 

[TomEbbs]

@John Woodward A bit of care and attention goes a long way. However you just have to work with what you have.

Replacement radiator and paints arrived this morning.

 

[TomEbbs]

Few shots from the body shop today.













Few parts on the rear to plate up too.

 

[TomEbbs]

Couple of updates today

 

[yippeekiay]

Look forward to seeing the finished result.

I'm assuming you are going to have all the little bits of obvious surface rust sorted too while you're doing the bigger fixes (like the bottom right edge of last picture).

 

[TomEbbs]

@yippeekiay 100%. The major issues the body shop are sorting as I’m no welder. However surface rust and paint I can sort once it’s back at home

The aim is to get it honest for this summer then get a respray over the winter.

 

[red]

Good luck!

 

[yippeekiay]

Yeah, welding car bodywork can be a pain in the butt if not done correctly with care - I welded a whole rear end onto a car once but due to rust it was a nightmare. I wanted to cut it all out/back & refabricate new where needed but my mate just wanted it "thrown" on as quickly as possible as he said he'd make it look good by other means.

Needless to say I never did it again as it was a nasty job (both to do & the final finish) that I didn't enjoy putting my name to & declined any future requests for a favour from said friend. I wouldn't have minded his position if I had charged him for it but I was willing to do the extra work for free too, but he was unwilling to wait or pay for the extra consumables/metal.

 

[TomEbbs]

This mornings updates.

Repairs complete.





Going to be shot in primer shortly.

Picking it back up tomorrow.

 

[TomEbbs]

Primer

 

[TomEbbs]

Picked up the car yesterday. Very happy with the work done.

This morning spend a good few hours prepping for paint.



Half decent colour match considering its rattle can off the shelf. Ordered from Colournuts.





Needs a good wet sand and polish to get it shiny.

Happy with it as a short / medium term fix until a proper respray is booked.

 

[John Woodward]

You can get quite reasonable results with rattle cans. I use 1200 wet and dry to smooth it off, then Farecla G10 with a machine polisher. I was surprised how good it came up.

 

[TomEbbs]

Had some metal plates made up. Really like the look of these.





Going to start prepping the passenger side rear quarter this week for paint.

 

[TomEbbs]

But if progress today

Rear beam spacers fitted


HELP NEEDED
Anyone who has fitted AP coilovers on their puma. The garage have said using the standard top mounts (black mount shown in photo with standard shocks) the thread of the AP strut isn’t long enough and that the fitting guide mentioned an alternative top mount??Anyone heard of this? @caprixpack you recently fitted these to your Mille if I recall?

 

[caprixpack]

Yeah I fit them without the top weight and just used the original top mount. I'll get you a picture when I get home.

 

[TomEbbs]

Panic over. Turns out I need 2 of the standard top mounts. Mine is fitted without them currently

Ordered.

 

[caprixpack]

Panic over. Turns out I need 2 of the standard top mounts. Mine is fitted without them currently

Ordered.
View attachment 10658

Ahh are you Tom ebbs? I replied to your post on Facebook. funny how I've never noticed your name on your posts here.

 

[TomEbbs]

Ahh are you Tom ebbs? I replied to your post on Facebook. funny how I've never noticed your name on your posts here.

Haha small world!