Mk1 Focus RS powered Puma, now going RWD, JWRC

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Is this the puma I saw at a meet in Brighton marina a while back? Had a little chat with you.... Sure it was this one as Puma Rs' are few and far between lol! Especially with those wheels and the front intercooler... :)
 
Can I have first dibbs on this when you are bored of it :) ( if that ever happens)
 
JordyBoy said:
Is this the puma I saw at a meet in Brighton marina a while back? Had a little chat with you.... Sure it was this one as Puma Rs' are few and far between lol! Especially with those wheels and the front intercooler... :)

Yea it is, I remember. Was completely different when you saw it!
 
Pixie said:
Can I have first dibbs on this when you are bored of it :) ( if that ever happens)

I think I would sell for the right price! but my right price is a lot more than anyone would pay :lol:
 
Flying Scotsman said:
moondustka said:
Pixie said:
Can I have first dibbs on this when you are bored of it :) ( if that ever happens)

I think I would sell for the right price! but my right price is a lot more than anyone would pay :lol:

Don't be so sure..... lol

Which bit :lol: That I would sell, or someone wouldn't offer enough!?
 
That someone wouldn't offer enough. I've been wanting a Mk1 RS engined Puma for quite a while now. PumaBuild who built the very first wouldn't do it as they said its a dated engine and theres not much point. I can understand that but if i want that engine then thats the one i want. They said if I chose a more modern engine then they would do it, but i just wanted the RS engine ever since I first saw the one PB buit.
So... I by chance you really do get pissed off with it and its not 200k miles then.... well you know how to drop a PM lol
 
Thanks bud.

Also, I think PB wouldn't want to do it as they already made one and there's quite a few custom parts needed to fit it. Maybe a more modern engine fits better. For example, I had my neighbour help me with a custom manual belt tensioner instead of using the standard automatic one that requires the chassis rail cutting out! I wanted to keep the car itself to original. The only thing that's welded on are the intercooler brackets. Rad brackets are off standard mounting holes.

I know Alan the owner wasn't actually happy with the one he built. He eventually bought it back and broke it. My brother had the engine out of it! It needed re-building by that stage.

I will admit the duratec is a more modern and probably better engine. The FRS engine has a lot of potential though. The cosworth engine is still being use too and that's years and years on now. The one to avoid (which I've had in my Ka) is the fiesta rs turbo, cvh. The engine has little potential by comparison and is expensive to tune relative to power.
 
Yes, I think PumaNoob has shown just what a duratec in a Puma can do... It's fantastic, but the level of work required is just far beyond my own skills. The cosworth would be great to have but without changing the Puma dramatically, ie gearbox tunnel etc, i really like the puma engine (modified) or the FFRS1 engine.
 
Never doubt your own skills, you'll be surprised at what you can do. On this build I've learned how to silver solder and mig weld aluminium (self taught) but it's all possible. I just follow some tutorials from you tube and then give it a go myself.

If you wanted to go down the FRS route, I could help with some of the custom bits.

At the end of the day most things in the engine bay are nuts and bolts. Look at it as more of a complicated mechano set! :lol:
 
Yeah i agree, the hardest thing is remembering where they all go again. I will actually consider a Puma FRS but i have my own to complete and then its cracking on with the rally car. once they are done then perhaps the PRS. Should you seel yours though... lol
 
Buying is the much easier, and cheaper, way to go. But I like the fact I can say I built it and made the parts myself. Plus, it's a really good learning experience.

I had a problem with one of my silver solder joints on the power steering pipe (i.e. seeping!) - Off it came and I started to re-do this yesterday, only to realise all of a sudden the heat affected the rubber and it pushed itself out the crimp, rendering the whole pipe useless!! If only I'd applied some cool gel to it to stop the heat travelling it would have been fine. It was actually fine the first time I did the whole thing. Obviously this time it didn't like it. Live and learn! I'll get it repaired or made up fresh. I found a place that specialises in OE and custom pipes.

So car is not useable and I still haven't been able to try out how the power feels!
 
I dont aggree that the FRS engine is dated, just because its older, dont mean a thing. I would put money on it being able to take more power then my duratec, even with forged internals. There was a guy (i think it was Ian Howell), that was building a monster duratec 2.0, and he got to 450bhp, and the corner of the block came off, so he gaave up on it, if you google it, im sure the story will come up somewhere. But the RS engine would be strong enough to take 700 plus with the right mods. Its a heavier engine, and that power is way too much for a front wheel drive car, but if i wanted to build a drag monster, it would be the RS engine id choose over the duratec.

A feewmonths back, someone took an FRP into pumabuild to get a duratec conversion, a few months later it was still there because Alan couldnt do it for whatever reason. When i spoke to him, he said the FRS engine in thte puma was more hassle then its worth, meaning it was a hell of a lot of work to do it, so ii suppose maybe the FRP owner wasn't willing to pay what he was asking.

Both me and MoondustKa were the same, saw something we wantted to do, and taught ourselves how to do it. I spent literally months on the internet looking at how different compression ratios affected performance, and wwhat compression ratios worked with what engines, and then i learnt about ignition timing and fuelling and air fuel ratios, and cam timing, all the information is there if you search long and hard enough.

As said above, never doubt your own ability to do stuff!! I mean no disrespect to anyone, but when is the last time you went to a garage and they all look like rocket scientists with a degree in physics??? You dont have to be the cleverest person in the world to do this stuff, it just takes time and patience!!
 
PumaNoob said:
As said above, never doubt your own ability to do stuff!! I mean no disrespect to anyone, but when is the last time you went to a garage and they all look like rocket scientists with a degree in physics??? You dont have to be the cleverest person in the world to do this stuff, it just takes time and patience!!

Couldn't agree more.. :)
 
Small update and a problem someone might be able to help with???

Car has now gone in to be re-sprayed and I had a last minute change of colour! It was going to be Audi phantom black as it's more deep and glossy than panther black. However, I did have another colour in mind and changed it to this when I got there and I'm glad I did. But I don't think I'll tell, but give clues and you can all guess :lol:

It's still a ford colour, and a dark one.

I don't think its' that hard to guess really..

Anyway, onto my problem!

Basically, the header tank cap keeps blowing off when booting it. It's fine idling. But obviously the pressure is too much when the water pump starts going faster.

Tank is new, cap is new but a FRS item.

Changed the thermostat as old one was knackered and over-cooled the engine. I now have stable temps of 85 the whole time pretty much.

So, my thoughts are to try a higher pressure rated cap as nothing else in the system should be causing this. Everything is now new!

Spec-r do a high pressure cosworth cap and that has the same thread. It's rated 21-25psi. If it blows after that then something is seriously wrong somewhere!

Any thoughts?!
 
Yea, as no oil-water contamination. It's not smoking. And I'm sure it wouldn't have performed as well on the dyno etc. Plus I have more of a problem with over-cooling. HG tends to make cars overheat. I've just got a build up of pressure when high revving in the head tank and the cap is wanting to release it.

Thanks for the reply :)
 
Indeed just a classic sign is excess pressure in the coolant tank. Nothing else can cause that really.
 
My engine temps on idle are higher then that, around the 90s and i havent had any issues with pressurising the cooling system. I know it sounds daft, but is all your piping the corect orientation? How is your turbo coolant routed?? I think i remember you saying you had the FRS rad too like mine, and thats more then capable of cooling the engine. As said above, youd normally associate pressurised cooling system with HG problems.

There isnt always signs of water in oil contamination, if the internal combustion charge is too much, the charge pressure is a lot more then the water pressure, so even if water isnt getting into the oil, the charge can still be getting into the oil and water. What are your breathers like, is it breathing overly heavy on WOT too? Also, were they new head bolts in the engine, i know some bolts need re-torquing after so many miles, and can cause these type of symptoms.

I know youve probably checked these type of things, but thought id throw it out there just incase!!
 
Firstly, thanks for the help!

The reason I don't think it's HG is because it used to do it in my Ka and last year in the puma, but not as much. I would have thought the HG would really show some signs by now if it was that. This is the first time I've had an FRS cap. Maybe a puma one would be better.

Pretty sure it's plumbed right, It's as close to Manufacture as I can get it. I've even got a bypass loop round the back as I moved the oil cooler/warmer to the front. So water can flow round there if the HCV is closed.

There is only one other thing I can think that might cause it and it's where I've got the head tank plumbed into. Instead of going all the way to the rad or bottom rad hose by itself, it joins in on a 'y' just down next to the power steering reservoir. Which means it's a little short of where it normally ends up.

HG is standard so head bolts are original.

Radiator is an alloy sierra/escort cosworth one. Does the job really well!!

On idle mine will get around 90 too. But moving it's always around 85. What do you mean by 'WOT'? Doesn't breathe that heavy also.

The guys at the dyno thought it was the cap not screwing onto the tank properly and therefore not sealing, but I checked that also and it's definitely biting. The spring in the top does feel quite weak.

Thanks gain for replies
 

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