My ProjectPuma master plan...

[ScubaSteve]

And to add i dont have an issue with used 2nd hand parts, if you noticed in my thread I have just bought a rear disc setups used off someone quite cheap.

 

[Gaverick]

Good to see it coming along nicely. I wired in the wideband on ours last night so hoping to get some data tonight on how the engine runs. I'll be updating the thread with results (assuming my wiring is correct!).

 

[fatdonger]

This reads like my favourite novel :lol: although I am lost on the original £1000 target like steve .

Even on ebay throttle bodies don't come cheap .....

But sorry for going off subject keep up the good work do you have any measurements for how much you cut down the inlet manifold and what parts you purchased , would help others thinking on following the throttle body route.Did you manage to shut the bonnet with the filters on or did you have to cut the manifold down more?

 

[phil185]

Coming along nicely :thumbs:

It is an incredible noise isnt it! When i took ours out for the first time i think i said something like ''i dont care if we dont gain any power- the noise is worth it alone''.

As Gary said above we have wired up our wideband lambda and done a bit of data logging with some very interesting results. It would appear that at idle it runs very lean then under acceleration it runs a bit rich, to me there is a simple solution- boot it everywhere :lol:

 

[mikeandthat]

good stuff, bet it sounds great. what are you going to do about the filters?

It seems Gary & Phil must have cut their Puma inlet manifold and possibly rubber trumpets (or velocity stacks) shorter than I did as they seem to have fit theirs in. I will either have to copy and shorten the manifold or, if I'm naughty; cut up my bonnet and have them peeping through. I think for it to remain road legal I would be forced to fit a bonnet scoop that covers them up. I will look into this before I think about using it on the road again.

I can`t believe some of the negative comments on this thread, it does n`t matter if you achieve what your aiming for it`s much more important that you`re going for it and I say good luck to you and will be following this thread with interest

^ agreed, some major ambition, like saying im going to climb mount Everest in flip flops, but that doesn't mean that you cant do it, even if you come close it will still be epic! im following with interest k:

Great job and an excellent write up. I agree with the above as I'm enjoying this so far k:

Thanks, thank you and thank you again!

how much for that engine management and throttle bodies etc? you must be nearing your 999 limit already and not even touched on brakes, wheels, suspension, cage etc etc etc

Ebay is a marvellous thing Steve - you should look on there now and again instead of paying top dollar

my nearing remark was based on ebay prices if i wasnt referring to ebay prices i would have said, "surely you have spent nearly double your 999 limit so far"

OK, so maybe I didn't make my plan clear enough from the start. I definitely don't hope to achieve everything on my list with £999 - nobody could think that was possible! I'm also not including buying welding equipment or travelling to and competing in events for example. The £999 refers to what PPC magazine perceive my car to be worth at the time of each event. There is no need to include the cost of postage of each part. So for the 2012 event it will hopefully be stripped out as far as possible, possibly seam-welded, have strut braces, coil-overs or at least lowering springs, uprated suspension bushes, bucket seat and dished steering wheel, ITBs, a straight through exhaust and MegaSquirt.

The car cost me £400 and I need to sell £250 worth of parts from it to leave me £850 budget. The weight reduction and seam welding won't cost anything other than time and welding consumables (not included in PPC budget). The strut braces and possibly suspension bushes will be made at the cost of material in uni (I may even be allowed the material for free!?). The bucket seat and steering wheel are low on the list and will be as horrible as the budget allows once everything else is completed. The throttle bodies used £24 of what I would call consumables. Otherwise they cost £109.96 and have £57.47 of filters which are not currently fitted and therefore not currently included in the budget. The cheapest new de-cat manifold I have seen is £159 on eBay - where a straight through centre section goes for £64. Now I know that 2nd hand examples have been bought and sold for less than this so that is what I'll be looking for. Otherwise I am sure I could manufacture something even cheaper in uni as my main project this year is focused entirely on improving last year's Formula Student car exhaust. A tricky area will be coil-overs. AP coil-overs fetch just over £400 new on eBay with some other brands also available. I will aim to search for some second hand units which aren't already dead. Failing that I will settle for some cheaper lowering springs. Finally this leaves MegaSquirt. MS1 and MS2 kits are £205 and £275 on eBay here in the UK. The exact same kits are $209 and $272 on the US eBay which is only about £131 and £170 respectively.

I know it all adds up but I am going to be as careful as I can and watch lots of used auctions before I go splashing cash on new items. The budget for the 2013 event follows the same rules so to free up funds I have to sell things such as the intake and exhaust from the 1.7 - maybe even the whole engine and box...we will see...

Good to see it coming along nicely. I wired in the wideband on ours last night so hoping to get some data tonight on how the engine runs. I'll be updating the thread with results (assuming my wiring is correct!).

Coming along nicely :thumbs:

It is an incredible noise isnt it! When i took ours out for the first time i think i said something like ''i dont care if we dont gain any power- the noise is worth it alone''.

As Gary said above we have wired up our wideband lambda and done a bit of data logging with some very interesting results. It would appear that at idle it runs very lean then under acceleration it runs a bit rich, to me there is a simple solution- boot it everywhere :lol:

Ha ha! If only the roads would allow such a solution! Did you have the same problem as me of stalling every time you braked for a junction? I also had a strange problem of the throttle seeming to stick open and the engine to just decide to rev at a constant 3 or 4k rpm - I'm sure this wasn't an actual throttle/cable problem as they opened and closed freely. Keep up the good work and I'll be sure to follow your thread!

This reads like my favourite novel :lol: although I am lost on the original £1000 target like steve .

Even on ebay throttle bodies don't come cheap .....

But sorry for going off subject keep up the good work do you have any measurements for how much you cut down the inlet manifold and what parts you purchased , would help others thinking on following the throttle body route.Did you manage to shut the bonnet with the filters on or did you have to cut the manifold down more?

I can now see how the budget and plan could get confusing but hopefully I've just made it a bit more believable. I had the exact same thought when looking for throttle bodies - I think because the GSXR1000 K1/K2 are so suitable for use on cars (due to their modular construction) the demand has increased (was 'increases' - whoops) and the price has followed. I missed a set for £130 with 0 bids. I then searched for listings of K1/K2 bikes being broken - this is where I scored a set for £100 plus P&P and came to an arrangement to get the air box too (just for the trumpets).
On the outer intake runners (cylinders 1 and 4) of the manifold there are wedge-shaped lumps in the casting - I wanted to have the runners left as long as possible whilst not having to cut through or leave these wedges (the silicone hose wouldn't fit otherwise). I also wanted to cut the runners as close to perpendicular as possible. What I achieved isn't perfect as I got a bit tired with the blunt hacksaw I had at the time, and a better job is possible with specialist machinery; but I doubt you'll see any significant difference in performance. This modification isn't suitable for the road yet as it is dangerous when the engine stalls under braking - leaving you with un-assisted brakes and extremely heavy steering exactly when you need them. I can for now tell you what I bought and where I bought them, but if you think it is something others will appreciate; I could put together a more detailed guide.

Shopping list:
-Suzuki GSXR1000 K1 or K2 throttle bodies - ~£100 (+P&P) - on eBay or at a bike dismantler
-Suzuki GSXR1000 K1 or K2 air box for rubber trumpets - try to include with the above
-1m of M5 threaded bar (just enough) - £1.66 - in B&Q (checked some other shops to no avail)
-100 pack of M5 nylon lock nuts - £1.76 - in Toolstation (non-locking nuts would work at £0.47)
-100 pack of 'heavy' (1mm thick?) M5 washers - £0.77 - in Toolstation ('light' washers £0.38)
-1m of raw 8mm*1mm aluminium round tube - £4.18 - in B&Q (anodised only £3.48)
-UniBond metal repair paste/filler - £9.18 - in Screwfix (already owned and cheaper elsewhere?)
-10 pack of 40-60mm hose clips - £2.31 - in Toolstation (only 8 needed)
-100 pack of 100mm*2.5mm cable ties - £0.52 - in Toolstation (only needed ~20)
-1m of 4mm internal diameter silicone hose - £2.41 - on eBay (black but lots of choice available)
-1 90 degree/L piece for 4mm hose - £1.95 - on eBay (white or £1.80 for blue)
-3 3-way/T pieces for 4mm hose - £5.85 - on eBay (white but £3.90 for black and £4.60 for blue)
-1m of 8mm internal diameter silicone hose - £3.66 - on eBay (black but lots of choice available)
-1 90 degree/L piece for 8mm hose - £1.95 - on eBay (white or £1.95 for 2*black)
-3 3-way/T pieces for 8mm hose - £5.85 - on eBay (white but £3.90 for 4*black)
-4 75mm long, 45mm inside diameter silicone hoses - £13.22 - on eBay (black but lots of choice)
-4 85mm tall RAMAIR carb air filter socks - £42.93 - on eBay (many other options to explore)
-1 Pipercross rubber neck breather filter - £17.49 - on eBay (many cheaper or used examples)

Finally, if you wish to be able to carry out more preparation work off the car, or you wish to be able to revert to the standard Puma set-up; then a Puma 1.7 inlet manifold is also needed. These can sometimes be found on eBay for ~£60 (+P&P) including throttle body, idle control valve and other extras. I have a feeling a better price could be found on a listing for a car being broken or by visiting a scrap yard/dismantler. All prices from eBay (except the throttle bodies and manifold) include P&P but savings can be made by ordering parts at the same time from fewer sellers - took me a bit of juggling to get the best value combinations.

 

[yippeekiay]

took me a bit of juggling to get the best value combinations.

A man after my own heart!!. :thumbs:

Your going about it like yours truly so if your a lot younger than me (which I think you are by a long way) then I take my hat off to you. I'm a bugger for trying to find even a single penny by checking, checking again and checking just because I can, to make sure I haven't missed a trick with discounted postage, cashback, multiple purchases etc etc.

Keep it up. k:

 

[ScubaSteve]

lol so basically now you've tried a few things realised its completely unrealistic to try and do all this on 999, now are suggesting it was never the intention.

either way my only issue was with the ridicuous budget next to the wishlist list, now thats not really on the table anymore i wish you all the best with it k:

 

[phil185]

I think the reason your set up doesnt fit may be down to the fact that you have retained the angle of the inlet therefore your tb's point upwards more, when i cut ours i tried to square them off to keep the height down as when mocking up i knew it would be close. Also our tb's actually sit flush with inlet so the hose joining the 2 is simply holding them together creating an air tight seal rather than spacing the tb's from the inlet, if that makes any sense :grin:

Our current set up does just touch the inside of the bonnet with the tip of the box filter foam so there isnt much in it.

We have not had the problem with the car stalling when breaking or sticking in the rev range so the only possible difference i can think of may be the way you have wired in the throttle position sensor? I might be wrong but from the photos the set up looks pretty much the same.

 

[mikeandthat]

took me a bit of juggling to get the best value combinations.

A man after my own heart!!. :thumbs:

Your going about it like yours truly so if your a lot younger than me (which I think you are by a long way) then I take my hat off to you. I'm a bugger for trying to find even a single penny by checking, checking again and checking just because I can, to make sure I haven't missed a trick with discounted postage, cashback, multiple purchases etc etc.

Keep it up. k:

Ha ha! I'm 23 in just over a month although the level of confusion and memory loss I seem to be suffering at this un-godly hour are leaving me feeling a fair bit older :?. I will do my best to save money as much as possible but I feel time is money too so I'll have to be careful - I was browsing eBay for bucket seats for a while only to miss a great set due to making myself rush for uni deadlines.

lol so basically now you've tried a few things realised its completely unrealistic to try and do all this on 999, now are suggesting it was never the intention.

either way my only issue was with the ridicuous budget next to the wishlist list, now thats not really on the table anymore i wish you all the best with it k:

OK - now I bothered to properly read what I first wrote and can see where I made myself look the fool..."-Everything will be done on a very strict budget - PPCM £999 challenge means £999 total cost!" Quite right that you and others had an issue with this! I'll edit it to read how it should have done in the first place. I guess I was just a tad too excited about sharing my ideas with everybody and rushed. Thanks for the good wishes - I want to help represent these little cars and this forum :thumbs: - all whilst having fun of course.

I think the reason your set up doesnt fit may be down to the fact that you have retained the angle of the inlet therefore your tb's point upwards more, when i cut ours i tried to square them off to keep the height down as when mocking up i knew it would be close. Also our tb's actually sit flush with inlet so the hose joining the 2 is simply holding them together creating an air tight seal rather than spacing the tb's from the inlet, if that makes any sense :grin:

Our current set up does just touch the inside of the bonnet with the tip of the box filter foam so there isnt much in it.

We have not had the problem with the car stalling when breaking or sticking in the rev range so the only possible difference i can think of may be the way you have wired in the throttle position sensor? I might be wrong but from the photos the set up looks pretty much the same.

Thanks for your explanation! You made perfect sense. I'm not in a rush to remedy these issues just yet but in the interest of keeping costs down, and not drawing further unwanted attention to the car (with a bonnet scoop); I will be copying you and shortening the Puma manifold again. This will give me an excuse to re-fill the holes from the secondary butterfly holes as I wasn't completely happy with a few of them. I guess I'll see if stalling and sticking issues remain once I'm up and running on MegaSquirt. In the meantime there are plenty of other jobs to keep me busy whilst I think about it...

I haven't been able to post on here or make any real progress as I've had a couple of important deadlines to meet and I went snowboarding again instead of stripping out the car. I did manage to pick up a hot air gun with accessories in preparation. Whilst digging out some photos for design research from Formula Student 2011; I stumbled across a photo of my car covered in condensation. Me and three of my brothers abandoned our campsite and spent the money on food and beer - so we all slept in the little Puma! Just check out the mug on the dashboard. Anyway I opened it up in MS Paint and quickly tested how it would look with the wheels painted.

What do you all think? Does black suit the green or should I go bold instead?

In other news I came across a video of a Racing Puma with a 2L turbocharged lump fitted. It appears and sounds to be a stripped and caged track weapon. The first video I saw was a shakedown session in the wet. Now a video of a session in the dry has popped up I thought I'd share it and ask whether anybody knows anything more about it. According to the description it is owned by Balgonie Motor Company and is currently producing approximately 330hp. I like it it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=GsEBz7O65b8

It is strange that I found this great video at Knockhill at almost the same time I found out about an accident involving a student who was testing his team's Formula Student car. The circuit holds a special day each year for several universities to compare their cars and get some practice in. I say that this is strange because the same day I also found out that our team's recent test day was their best yet. We managed to dial-in the launch and traction control well enough to record a 0-60mph time of 2.7s! The contrast in the outcome for our team and their team just shows that anything can happen out there and I hope everybody involved fully recovers (the lad injured and his friends/family that had to witness and deal with it).

I'm hoping to make a bit more progress with gathering tools and stripping the interior at the weekend so I'll take some photos keep you updated.

 

[mikeandthat]

OK! So it's been almost three weeks since I last posted.

I'm quite surprised that nobody has anything to say about that awesome 330HP Puma! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=GsEBz7O65b8)

Here's a photo of it taken by Kevin Glasson, on the same day as the video:

Would've liked a few opinions on the planned black wheels too but oh well.

I've been gathering (and using) a few new tools but I'll probably wait a bit longer before showing you all. This is because I've been helping fix up my brother's house and building a wooden Wendy house for his daughter. It's a Christmas present and also frees up space in his shed for my tools . Before I go piling new tools in we've got to reconnect the electrics and paint the shed as it's in a bit of a sorry state.

I've also been cracking on with weight reduction from wherever I can. I ran out of time this weekend (have another uni deadline on Tuesday) so will finish up and share pictures next weekend. I will say this though...

Before starting this project I had a realistic figure for weight reduction of 150kg and an optimistic one of 200kg. I remember reading Warren's post here: http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=138&t=13838 and his list lying somewhere between the two. After removing most of what I plan too I'm quietly confident that 200kg isn't that difficult. It will be a while before I have all the new parts to know for sure.

I was a little upset when I didn't discover any more money under the front carpets - but instead I discovered a previous repair job (welds) and some dirty rusty holes :-(. Let's hope I can get hold of a welder and learn soon! :wink:

I won't know how bad it is until I've cleaned it up and checked underneath too:

This week I plan to get hold of a Fiesta power steering pump, drive belt and any other necessary parts for removing the Puma aircon compressor and replacing the Puma power steering pump. Anybody who has any tips or info on - this please shout out. (Still not entirely sure if a mk4/5 Fiesta power steering pump and auxiliary belt are a direct swap with the Puma pumps removed. Will I need different power steering hoses for example?). I'm still hunting for cheap polycarbonate sheet too. I suppose I'll have to buy a couple of presents before I spend everything I have left on car parts... :|

 

[ScubaSteve]

Any pics of repair welds?

 

[mikeandthat]

In the past couple of weeks I haven't touched the Puma as I've been extra busy in uni, being ill and enjoying my birthday and Christmas. I've been rather spoilt so progress will pick up over the next month as I've sorted a few goodies :grin:.

Any pics of repair welds?

The welder is the top priority as I'll definitely need to fix the dodgy welds - I could actually see water trickling through holes in them!

You can just see the edge of another repair next to the towel the axel stand was covered with:

When I pick up the welder I'll get one of these: http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/clarke-rad-2-right-angle-drill-attachment" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for removing the aircon pump.

Even without the radiator the drill is far too big for access. This is where the bolt's snapped off:

The pump and the block are both threaded or it wouldn't be a problem. About an inch is in there:

I hope everybody else had a nice Christmas. I got a real surprise when I opened a gift from my brother on my birthday - it was a Ford Puma mug! It's from eBay and the colour came out bad so I got two for the price of one. I'll use the worse one whenever I work on the car now .

I was surprised as I spend too long looking at Ford Puma items on eBay but haven't seen these:

 

[Anonymous]

What do you all think? Does black suit the green or should I go bold instead?

My Puma is the same colour. Green and Black make a good colour scheme in my opinion. I personally prefer matt black wheels with the green rather than gloss black.

 

[Longyear]

Wow, are you serious? you spent all that money on buying bathroom scales and pieces of wood. Seriously? that is one of the stupidest things I have ever seen in my life, how can you be so stupid?

Why not take it to a weigh bridge for an accurate reading? you wont get an accurate reading using bathroom scales ffs. It scares me that there are people as daft as you behind the wheel.

I'd so rather have the OPs "stupidity" than your bitter, ill-intended, mean ol' b**** attitude.

=======================================

And Scuba Steve, is your only intention of reading this thread, to make negative comments and hmpphs! and to hang around to say "told you so..." ..... do you think people will respect you more even if you are right? ......... I've found this an amazingly helpful, friendly forum so far, until reading this thread. Some people need to just get over themselves and their insecurities.

Sorry, sometimes we bite our lips, sometimes we don't.

Bullsh*t and bad intentions apart, to the OP: great thread and brilliant project!

Don't let the grumpy old men make you lose your focus...........

 

[ScubaSteve]

Calm down you're getting far too excitable :lol:

Go back to making colour coded lists about filling your car up with petrol and topping your oil up.

 

[mikeandthat]

Ha ha ha! The things people write on the forum do make me chuckle. They cheer me up!

My Puma is the same colour. Green and Black make a good colour scheme in my opinion. I personally prefer matt black wheels with the green rather than gloss black.

I've looked through your project. It's nice to see a fellow green Puma. You've done some good work so far! I'd love a set of Team Dynamics wheels and I never realised 17s would look so 'in-proportion' on a non-racing Puma. I doubt my budget will allow for different wheels whilst I'm on the 1.7 so I'll probably still just paint my props.

It's been weeks and weeks since I last posted!!! :|

Worse still is the fact that I still haven't sourced my power steering conversion parts. I have been busy struggling with uni and with not feeling myself recently. I've also distracted myself by buying and starting to learn the Piano, helping my brother with some more DIY and clearing out some junk via eBay.

Going to the Autosport show (half price) boosted my enthusiasm and I have hunted & bought:
-A couple of tools and all my welding gear :grin:
-A cheap induction kit as I somehow broke my air box when I removed it (for MOT/backup plan)
-A full set of strut braces
-Bucket seats & 4 point harnesses
-Steering wheel, boss & a couple of other interior bits
-Wideband lambda kit (to try and get the throttle bodies running right - possibly on stock ECU)
-Non-aircon Puma auxiliary drive belt for when I'm ready to swap the PAS parts over
-4mm Polycarbonate sheet for the windows (just need to get the slider windows)

It took a while and a lot of hunting to get the bits as cheap as I did. I will update the thread properly when I fit each of these parts.

The immediate job list is:
1) Finish stripping unwanted wiring from the loom and mount it out of the way
2) Clean the residue left from the tar-like insulation and hoover the interior
3) Source Fiesta PAS parts and complete the aircon removal process
4) Repair the holes in the floor-pan and fabricate some seat sub-frames
5) Buy some slider windows and convert the windows

...hmmm...

 

[mikeandthat]

Stage 1 (Nov '11 - Apr '12)

(b) - Gather any tools necessary for any modifications to be carried out (welding?) (done)
I bought my first load of tools during my first year of uni (I think). Half of them are in the first picture where I only had a bad phone camera with me. They were all from Machine Mart on a VAT free day so were good value. The next picture shows some I've picked up since I've owned the Puma - all of which were dirt-cheap from Toolstation. The 3rd picture shows my brother's boot full whilst we moved my tools into his shed. The red toolbox and blue trolley (custom made for it) were given to me, along with some tools; by the maintenance workers on my industrial placement. One of the most enjoyable weeks of that placement was working directly with them during a closure of the factory. I re-programmed robots, changed some welding guns, changed a motor and gearbox and learnt a lot! The brick shed next to the Puma in one picture is currently being fixed up by us to become a dedicated mini workshop. We just need to re-route the electrics to it from the house and install some shelving and a workbench. Behind the welder in the next picture is a large sheet of steel. This was one side of a filing cabinet we were given and I demolished in under an hour. It had 14 shelves and weighed more than me so I have enough practice metal! Next you'll see the rest of my welding gear (so far); followed by me practicing. If the picture was better you'd be able to see the penis my older brother instantly welded on his first go :roll: . Finally you'll see the wooden shed I helped him build and all of his stuff from the brick shed piled in. If you liked the Where's Wally books you might spot a strut brace peeping out at the back...

All the basics: spanners, wrenches, ratchets, sockets, saws, a drill, bits, gloves, goggles etc...

Disc pack £10.10, Grinder £16.54, Heat gun £12.97 and Hobby tool kit £19.98. Not bad?

Extras like work light, tap & die set, Eezi bleed kit, battery charger. Don't think the jack fit too.

An old picture now - it's been stripped out and sitting higher for a while! No dashboard either.

Clarke 160TM for <£280, Argon/CO2 mix £90 rent free (now my cylinder), Regulator for £21.50.

Antispatter spray, clamps, magnetic clamps, masks, gauntlets, apron & welding specific pliers.

The fun that can be had with an old filing cabinet we collected. It's a bit thin for learning on.

With this is out of the way we will have a nicer place to keep tools & work. Photos coming soon.

 

[mikeandthat]

OK question time...

I've been trying to strip back the wiring loom after getting sick of looking at it since the interior and dash have been gone for a while. I've removed the Scorpion alarm system and snipped all the wires going into the doors. Before I continue butchering can anybody help me out?

What's this little box for that's mounted at the bottom of the dashboard in the centre? Can I do without it?

What's this chunky connector for that comes out of the loom next to the airbag control module? Can I remove it?

What's this connector with three wires for? It comes out of the loom near the fan/heater connectors. Can it go?

I did dig out all the electrical parts from the dash/interior to help me label everything but had nothing that I know of to match up here. The beige box is a mystery too. I've seen it described as a 'control relay' and a 'multifunction ECU' on eBay but still don't know what it does.

 

[Longyear]

Calm down you're getting far too excitable :lol:

Go back to making colour coded lists about filling your car up with petrol and topping your oil up.

Just seen this ........... that's cheap. :wink:

But you seem a real insecure guy (you are right and know best, everyone else is wrong, misguided and not as clever as you), so no probs Steve, you keep taking bits off your car and calling that a project, and I'll keep filling mine with petrol and calling that a project :wink:

....and to save the rest of the forum from our tedius handbag slapping, hows about you don't bore yourself with commenting on my project thread, and vice versa.... :thumbs:

Sorry, to eat into your thread Mike, right, back to your project > :grin:

 

[ScubaSteve]

that chunky plug connects to the other side of the ignition barrel, you need that one.

the beige box, not sure, mine didnt have that, which would lead me to believe its either air con, or passengar airbag, if yours originally had either of those