The £650 Puma

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Yep, finesse it with a Clarkson Wrench :p
Seriously though, it looks pretty good. Fords aren't exactly known for nice tight panel gaps. I have a Honda for that.
 
Airbag light came on again this morning! :lol: :lol:

The seats have been moved back and forth quite a bit to get the kids in and out, so it must be a connector that's shonky.

I've decided that I'll be fitting the standard springs back on in the next few weeks as the Eibachs just don't suit me. Sure I can get a few quid back on them though. Hopefully can put that towards getting the parts together for the gearbox change. It has been very stroppy over the last few days and it does sort of spoil the fun a bit!

Looks like I've got some work to do!
 
As I've read quite a few times on this forum.. Ford did pretty well with than standard setup on the Puma - to fix something that's not broken (at the cost of considerable money) seems a waste.
 
Hi

When you say they dont suit you do you mean the ride is harsh? Or do they bottom out? I like the look of 30mm lowered springs but concerned with loss of comfort/ride.
 
It's both in my case. They are pretty harsh but the lack of travel on the fronts means it hits the bump-stops on poor roads. I think my tyres are a contributing factor - they have very stiff sidewalls. For most, it'd probably be fine but I like a bit of ride comfort coz I'm getting soft. :)
 
Well, that's a week of using Jegger as a daily and I've loved it. It's shuttled the kids about happily (they love it), gone shopping, short trips and commuting and not really been any bother. I also got 190 miles out of £30 of expensive fuel with me driving pretty hard most of the time. It's restored my faith in Jegger and reignited my interest in fixing the faults.

Ah yes, the faults.... So the airbag light goes on if you move the seats but then goes out again the next day, so I'm happy with that.

The suspension is still harsh but hasn't really bothered me that much (I'm still putting standard springs on though).

The gearbox is now an even bigger pig. Changes into fifth now take 5-6 tries and sometimes you just have to give up. However, I discovered today that if you pause for two seconds after dipping the clutch and then go for the gear, the hit rate is higher (I'm still changing it).

So the upshot is that Jegger's going up on axle stands this weekend and I'll slowly start dismantling the suspension and the removing the gearbox. Then I'll have a look at what I need to replace (I'm not replacing the clutch if it only has a tiny bit of wear as I think it was done very soon before I bought Jegger). I will do the clutch slave cylinder and the release bearing regardless though. The replacement gearbox has already been cleaned up so it just needs me to pull my finger out!
 
Can't trust you with a quote-edit can we Rob?! :lol:

I've been busy this afternoon -

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Things mostly came off sweetly with some persuasion. This is where I'm at so far;

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The only slight issue was the drive shaft which decided in the end to leave its cup still attached to the gearbox...

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Not sure if this is an issue or not. I'll have to repack it with grease obviously as plenty has escaped!
 
You are my Hero!!!!! An ST150 Fiesta would be sooooo much easier but you've stuck to your guns. Well done.
Barry
 
After crawling around under the car yesterday, I'm knackered. So today I've decided to do some gentle tidying up.

I've removed the arch carpets and given them a good old washing. With the heat, they should dry out quickly!

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I've also dunked the fixings for the carpets and the front mud guards in a Bilt Hamber Deox mixture.

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Once they are de-rusted, I'll give them a coat of Hydrate and good old Hammerite satin black.

Removing the carpets has allowed me to have a good look at the inner arches and the bottom edge of the front wings. Both are in remarkable condition although I suspect the wings have been replaced after a prang. Been giving them a clean out;

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They were full of dry earth and stones but little or no rust! :grin:

I shall also be giving the rubber mud guards a good washing.
 
Badda-boom-tish! :lol:

They are not bad at all! I expected the seams to be the usual Puma rusty mess. I've given them a quick wipe up;

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Note that someone has obviously been in there with the silicone sealant before trying to cure leaks!
 
I've still been slowly plugging away at it all. I've painted up all of the fixings for the front mud flaps and this evening have carried on removing yet more of the gearbox stuff so that, in the event of me getting a few hours free this weekend, I can remove the old gearbox. It's freaking me out that everything seems to be actually coming off nice and easy. No rusted, rounded nuts or stripped threads this time... there's still time though...
 
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