My first puma

[BLACK-RAIN]

Hi everybody first time on here but the site looks good. Well since May i was driving a megane DCI and doing a bit of pizza delivery in my spare time. That was untill the gearbox and turbo decided they had enough in the same night. Well needless to say i quite the delivery but luckly got rid of the megane for 700 quid. So armed with my massive riches lol i decided to go into the ever stressing world of getting a car from Gumtree. At first i wasnt looking for a puma, i actually went and looked at a Tigra not that it was my ideal car but because it was 300 quid. My brother drove me 50 miles to see it and yeah it was pretty clean apart from the small fact the head gasket was knackered. I really wish people would be a bit more truthful on the internet. After searching for days on gumtree i happened to stumble across my Puma. Year 1999 1.7 in moondust silver. Well the woman on the phone seemed nice and explained it is her dads but he has been ill for aq while and cant drive the car. So this time a trip of 35 miles was on the cards and nearly getting lost and arriving when it was dark i set eyes on my pride and joy. Yeah she is pretty clean has the usual bit of rust on the rear arches and has a hell of alot of surfice rust underneath. She has a book full of receipts and had only done 10 miles since the mot in july. The miles was putting me off a bit 110000 miles but with my limited budget i couldnt be too picky. Well i finally got her for 550. First thing i did was jack her up and grind back all the rust underneath, next was a full coat of kurust. Then 3 coats of waxoyl. Luckly she has 4 brand new bridgestones on. The engine runs a dream and the gearbox is smooth. Just a few start off questions, whats the best oil to use. The book says 5w30 semi but i always like to use fully synthetic. What do pumas respond like to induction kits or should i just keep to the standard box. Also whats the best way of de misting the headlights. They have alot of tiny scratches and it looks like the plastic laquer is chipping off. Ive seen headlight repair kits in halfords but at 20 quid its a bit steep especially as moneys a bit tight at the mo. I have a garage full of equipment as i work on motorbikes so if theres an alternative let me know. Well thats me sorry for rabbiting on a bit i can do alot of waffling lol, cheers.

 

[trueblue]

Welcome to project puma.
As for an induction kit I think it is more of an exhaust note you get rather than performance increase. I ditched mine and modified the standard air box to an FRP style.
Scuffed headlights can be cleaned up using various grades of wet and dry followed by a mild abrasive polish such as T cut. They will come up a treat but won't last forever.

 

[tuonokid]

Good job in buying the Puma rather than a bl**dy Tigra. The 5w 30 semi synth oil should be ok and far cheaper than the full synth.
Barry

 

[quest63]

Welcome aboard :thumbs:

 

[cj2013]

Welcome to project puma.
As for an induction kit I think it is more of an exhaust note you get rather than performance increase.

Exhaust note from induction kit???


Welcome!

As for the oil, there's no gradation of how suitable an oil is based on it's synthetic content - if you want to use fully synthetic in everything then that's your prerogative I guess, but it's really not necessary.

In a higher mileage engine like you have, in this instance 100k miles plus , I'd recommend using the 10/30 semi synthetic.

A fully synthetic will have better properties to protect against wear, but by the mileage you have now you might find that this is disadvantageous as it may increase oil consumption.

Either way, if you change the oil, keep an eye on the levels for the first few hundred miles or so at least so you can gauge and hopefully prevent any nasty surprises. Personally, I always find the valvoline ford branded oil more than adequate for the job and well priced.

As for the headlights, a good polish can bring them back up nicely if it is slight surface damage, in the long term it is often better to replace them though as any 'fixes' can be temporary.

 

[jonr]

T-cut and toothpaste every time :grin:

 

[lammy]

hello....