Hello Steve
If you want to compare the cost of restoration against value then the outcome is to scrap the car.
However, as an old man in a shed (lock up garage) the restoration of my daughter’s ex 1999 1.7 has become a hobby, learning experience and labour of ??? I am fortunate in that the Puma is not really needed as a means of transport but will be one day.
Rust is the enemy and to cure it means hacking out dead metal and replacing it. As mentioned earlier Ex-pressed sills are available - not cheap but value for money. Replacing them is only part of the issue. On my car the drivers inner sill, floor edges and bottom of the B pillar all needed fabricating. This has been a learning experience of how to create new panel sections and to weld them so they are as strong as the original.
Puma values have reached the bottom and there is only one way they will go - up. Not for a few years yet though. My children have been told to hang onto the restored car because like Mk 1 Escorts (who would have thought that!) demand will outstrip supply with resulting value increase.
Unfortunately I cannot upload any photos for comparison.
Stewart