The Arch Bishop
Active member
What was the last car I considered when looking for a cheap bit of fun? Well, it was the Puma. It was only after leafing through the back pages of EVO magazine when I saw the verdict - Pluses: Everything. Minuses: Nothing.
A quick skim through Pistonheads, Autotrader etc proved that a usable 1.7 Puma could be had for about £900. After thorough research (well, about an hour) an ad on Gumtree caught my eye. 94,000 miles, history, 11 months MOT, 11 miles away, £850 ono. A quick email to the seller confirmed that it was still available and that he was keen to sell. I agreed to see the car the following day and, with a healthy dose of the flu (yes, proper flu not man flu), I went to view in the dark.
A look around the car confirmed that it was a bit tatty, rusty but well loved. It also ran beautifully and all the controls felt as they should. Only downside was the rattling rear beam and the slightly wobbly feeling that you only get with four utterly different tyres on each corner.
"£650?" I joked through a haze of Beechams cold and flu and a mild fever.
"Yeah, alright, done."
"Oh, uh, great!"
A week later, I drove my proud purchase home and very good fun it was too! Here's a couple of pictures (after a new set of Falken 912's today).
So, tyres done, next is a bit of a service (all in £43 for oil, filter, air filter, plugs just need to actually do it...), new rear bushes and probably a cambelt, tensioner and water pump change then it's on to the body work.
I've already made a start on the keyed bonnet which came up very well after a clay, Meguires Scratch-X and a polish...
Before (fairly deep keying):
After (keying gone!!):
Lots of fun to come!
A quick skim through Pistonheads, Autotrader etc proved that a usable 1.7 Puma could be had for about £900. After thorough research (well, about an hour) an ad on Gumtree caught my eye. 94,000 miles, history, 11 months MOT, 11 miles away, £850 ono. A quick email to the seller confirmed that it was still available and that he was keen to sell. I agreed to see the car the following day and, with a healthy dose of the flu (yes, proper flu not man flu), I went to view in the dark.
A look around the car confirmed that it was a bit tatty, rusty but well loved. It also ran beautifully and all the controls felt as they should. Only downside was the rattling rear beam and the slightly wobbly feeling that you only get with four utterly different tyres on each corner.
"£650?" I joked through a haze of Beechams cold and flu and a mild fever.
"Yeah, alright, done."
"Oh, uh, great!"
A week later, I drove my proud purchase home and very good fun it was too! Here's a couple of pictures (after a new set of Falken 912's today).
![puma_pic_1.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/b5b/b5b9ce5faa03f51e6f201bf3f8c49678.jpg)
![Puma_pic_2.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/32a/32a1822793fa89ee8ef522c7bdf4028e.jpg)
![Puma_pic_3.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/e8c/e8c062e44dd878fd544a1bdb1038ab21.jpg)
So, tyres done, next is a bit of a service (all in £43 for oil, filter, air filter, plugs just need to actually do it...), new rear bushes and probably a cambelt, tensioner and water pump change then it's on to the body work.
I've already made a start on the keyed bonnet which came up very well after a clay, Meguires Scratch-X and a polish...
Before (fairly deep keying):
![Puma_scratch_1.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/2f8/2f829083aa2422a3d7d4579a380d4b4d.jpg)
After (keying gone!!):
![Puma_scratch_2.jpg](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/a03/a037097259f028ec0d4f7bd769a1e3e0.jpg)
Lots of fun to come!