Kidder's 2001 Black Puma 1.7 VCT

[Kidders]

Had to get another, after selling my silver one beginning of last year I've been after another and I'm pretty happy with it as a project/toy. Same owner since 2004, full history, just been serviced, no expense spared although unfortunatly no sign of the cambelt being changed, plus the clutch is high but otherwise it drives great, very tight, engine is the quietest I've heard and the interior is completely unmarked, even the steering wheel hasn't melted! The wheelarches are original, the OS is showing signs of bubbling but I'll keep it in check as its minor at the moment, the NS arch is rust free! Has some dents on the roof and usual dings but I've got a very good PDR man who will sort that out for me.

The Fiesta Zetec-S was purchased after I sold the Puma, its a great car but misses that bit of magic the Puma has, mainly the steering feel and the stiffness of the bodyshell, plus of course the engine although since it has been remapped, its a lot closer in outright performance to the 1.7 but lacks the torque below 4k. Love them both for different reasons, although the ZS will be in full time use for the other half when she passes her test in the next couple of months, hence my new toy!

 

[evilrob]

Looks immaculate. :thumbs:

Except the tailpipe - tut tut! :-D

 

[Fabex]

Looks mint pal!
What are your plans?

 

[Kidders]

Looks immaculate. :thumbs:

Except the tailpipe - tut tut! :-D

Thats the only bit of the outside i didnt clean yesterday! I spent from 7am till 3pm machining polishing it , not so much because of scratches but because of tree sap and bird poo staining, it was one of the worst i have seen, on some panels I had to use 3000 to remove a small layer before machining but the plus point was the ease of removing these scratches and leaving a swirl free finish. Very satisfying end result!

 

[Kidders]

Looks mint pal!
What are your plans?

Well first of all before I get carried away is to replace the cambelt and water pump. I've ordered a Valeo 3 piece clutch kit and hope to fit that during the evenings this week.

I also plan to fit a set of Uniroyal Rainsport2's, the current tyres are good in tread but who would feel confident driving enthusiastically in the wet with Armstrong tyres on the back? They date from 2007 and were supplied by a Ford dealer. The Uniroyal are on the Fiesta and for the money they are great, a little soft but fine for the road.

Once the mechanicals are solid, I would like to get some Eibach's to improve the stance and just sharpen it up a little without affecting the ride. I wouldn't do anything else to the handling as it's so pure and full of feedback, and I wouldnt want to change that in any way.

A set of OE mudflaps are on my list too, you either love or hate them, my silver one looked good with them!

Oh and a set of new number plates. Its still wearing the original dealer plates, a nice touch but they have faded and laminated in places which always lets a car down.

 

[evilrob]

Thats the only bit of the outside i didnt clean yesterday! I spent from 7am till 3pm machining polishing it

I could tell you'd done a bit more than chuck a bucket of water over it! It looks ace! :thumbs:

 

[trueblue]

Love the black when its all polished up. Looks like a great buy

 

[Sparx]

Except the tailpipe - tut tut! :-D

Thats the only bit of the outside i didnt clean yesterday!

Trust OCD Rob to point out the one thing you didn't do despite all your hard work!! :lol:

Looks great dude, well done for getting another! k:

 

[Kidders]

I've got the following bits arriving -

Valeo clutch kit
Genuine Cambelt kit and Genuine water pump + Deflection pulley (And another for the Fiesta, bloody squeaky things!)
Ford mudflaps
New number plates

I'm doing the clutch this weekend and during the week the cambelt, which looks straight forward really as long as you have the correct tools, which of course I didnt, so had to buy them too, plus a flywheel locking tool to make life a bit easier.

So by next week the majority of the mechanical work will be done and then I'm getting it booked in with my dent man for some intensive PDR! Even with dents it looks great! Glad i found a black one as they seem quite rare these days, I've always been a fan of Panther, used to spray it alot for a Ford dealer, when de-swirled it really does pop very well.

 

[Kidders]

Took a better picture of the Fiesta if anyone is interested, being slightly related and all that.

 

[Kidders]

New plates to freshen it up.

Clutch tomorrow morning. Depending on time I may do the cambelt on Sunday, if not I've got a chap who can do it for me during the week when I'm at work

 

[Kidders]

The new clutch is in! Must have been mad doing it in the hot weather especially as its been six years since i took a box off but all good fun. Only issue I had was getting the NS driveshaft out, crowbar didnt work so used a blunt chisel and mallet, popped straight out then.

The new clutch is also different -

It was supplied as a Puma clutch but its the Focus 220mm one, i guess ECP just crossreferenced it. The old clutch was really on its last legs and one spirited pull away could of been its lot.

Bleeding the slave took ages manually, really need an eze-bleed otherwise its foot to the floor, then lock the nipple, release, then foot to the floor and undo nipple etc. Every time we tried without locking the nipple off, it sucked air back in . Clutch is now lovely and light, spot on biting point.

Cambelt is being done on Tuesday whilst I'm at work by a mobile mechanic that used to own my old silver Puma, time is really the factor here as i quite fancied doing the job, but Sunday is family day and during the week like most i'm working till quite late and the last thing I want to do is be struggling with a crank pulley bolt!

 

[Bentleya]

Your Fiesta looks great. Not many 2002 plate's around and it looks pretty standard. Have you done any modifications to it?

 

[Kidders]

Your Fiesta looks great. Not many 2002 plate's around and it looks pretty standard. Have you done any modifications to it?

All I've done is a Bluefin with a stage 2 map and powerflex bushes on the rear beam. Otherwise its bone stock and I wouldn't want it any other way. No black headlights, no taking off the rubstrips, no loud exhausts, just pure. And its a real headturner!

I drove it to Kent and back on Friday night, absolute joy to drive and enjoyed every second of it!

The problem is you get the itch to tweak, which is why I got the Puma. It gives you that lovely VCT engine, stiffer bodyshell and special bits. The Puma will eventually get quite rare and I see it as a future classic in my eyes, often overlooked as a drivers car because of its girly looks.

 

[Kidders]

Flaps are on.

The cambelt and water pump have been done, as well as the deflection pulley so its lovely and quiet now. Had a quick drive with the new clutch, feels perfect, nice and light, good biting point. Now time to go for a proper drive!

 

[Kidders]

Just another picture to keep you all entertained.

So, yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far but even so, I wasn't expecting inlet temps this high!

Off to B&Q for some drainpipe then. And about an hour later we have a tidy but not perfect FRP style box.

It uses the original feed pipe from the inner wing, cut down a little and curves to the lower grille sat at 90 degrees to the air complete with its original radiused entry. The side exit to the box has been blocked as the induction roar increase was significant,1x 68mm inlet is more than enough for a standard 1.7 engine. I took it for a quick spin last night and it did feel very crisp but some low speed traffic work will show how effective it has been.

I've noticed the A/C really saps power at pull away and low (below 2k) revs. My ZS also has A/C but doesnt suffer to the same extent, I should imagine the Bluefin has helped here as it is much sharper at lower revs than the Puma. I'll be contacting Superchips to see if they do more than one map for the 1.7 as I've been very impressed with the results on the 1.6. Its also only £199 at the moment.

 

[Kidders]

The FRP style box has made a big difference, on average 20c cooler! And you can really feel the difference too in traffic and low speed driving. I cleaned the MAF at the same time so there may have been some improvement in drivability there, but it pulls much better between the gears, easily worth 3-4bhp overall.

 

[rob987_0]

Your Fiesta looks great. Not many 2002 plate's around and it looks pretty standard. Have you done any modifications to it?

All I've done is a Bluefin with a stage 2 map and powerflex bushes on the rear beam. Otherwise its bone stock and I wouldn't want it any other way. No black headlights, no taking off the rubstrips, no loud exhausts, just pure. And its a real headturner!

I drove it to Kent and back on Friday night, absolute joy to drive and enjoyed every second of it!

The problem is you get the itch to tweak, which is why I got the Puma. It gives you that lovely VCT engine, stiffer bodyshell and special bits. The Puma will eventually get quite rare and I see it as a future classic in my eyes, often overlooked as a drivers car because of its girly looks.

Hi nice work on the car, it's looking great! What do you think of the powerflex bushes on the rear beam? What kind of difference have they made to the ride?

 

[Kidders]

Your Fiesta looks great. Not many 2002 plate's around and it looks pretty standard. Have you done any modifications to it?

All I've done is a Bluefin with a stage 2 map and powerflex bushes on the rear beam. Otherwise its bone stock and I wouldn't want it any other way. No black headlights, no taking off the rubstrips, no loud exhausts, just pure. And its a real headturner!

I drove it to Kent and back on Friday night, absolute joy to drive and enjoyed every second of it!

The problem is you get the itch to tweak, which is why I got the Puma. It gives you that lovely VCT engine, stiffer bodyshell and special bits. The Puma will eventually get quite rare and I see it as a future classic in my eyes, often overlooked as a drivers car because of its girly looks.

Hi nice work on the car, it's looking great! What do you think of the powerflex bushes on the rear beam? What kind of difference have they made to the ride?

The ride itself isnt much harsher but the noise has increased. The handling feels great though, very precise but unless I can get the yellow softer versions I wouldnt fit them to the Puma. Thats me being fussy, some people may not notice the extra NVH.

 

[slayllian]

Took a better picture of the Fiesta if anyone is interested, being slightly related and all that.

Understatement of the decade!! :lol:

fezza looks nice, I have a Ghia version great little cars