the puma for the track.

[ricey100]

hi there,
i have been on here for a while now and i have had my puma since November (the third puma i have owned). a lot of people ask my why a puma? and they dont seem to understand that when i was a 9 year old boy and first saw the puma in a ford showroom when my mum was buying a mk 1 focus i fell in love... and ever since then i have been obsessed with them.
So less beating around the bush... this is mine she is a 1998 s reg that was born on 7/12/1998 and sold on my 9th birthday 4/2/1999. i paid £500 for her with 78k on the clock all in good condition apart from the blasted standard rust on rear arches.
before i keep blabbling on here are some pics.....
here is how she was when i picked her up

i didnt waste any time got her straight into the garage and stripped down not before long she was like this...

i needed to do the timing and fit the exhaust mani so i just decided it would be easier to drop the engine out

next i painstakingly got the heatgun and scrapers out and attacked the sound deadening
then started cutting the boot out to save some weight

engine back in

i got some avo coilovers for her that i am not entirely impressed with i think i might get some kws

the exhaust i have...

after i had stripped the car out put the engine back in it was time to go get it rolling roaded and a few disasters happened. basically because i dont have a proper car trailer for her we decided to use a digger trailer it fit on (ish) but the ramp coming off was too steep and put a hole in the fuel tank but that didnt stop the run ran to halfords and got some tank hole repair worked a treat...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI1P_lC3w2Q&feature=player_embedded" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

it ran 124.7 bhp which wasnt too bad seeing as it was running on asda fuel that had been on the floor lol

on the way back the puma damaged itself coming off the trailer again this time the front bumper got caught so i decided rather than damage the whole thing get a saw out and cut the part that was caught off...

my next plans are to get a rear diffuser on it (venturi) to make it stick to the floor (in theory) and i have cut out the rear bumper ready for this it is amazing how heavy the thing is.

as you can see in the pics i got bored of the green boot

there are many things i havent listed such as brake upgrades it is also fully polbushed and the interior is hardly existent i have a nice carbon fibre centre console though

keep watching for more C&C welcome i know a lot of you's would complain that its killed a good condition car but there was no point in me having 2 cars my other being a brand new focus titanium atleast i can kind of justify it this way :lol:

 

[clarkie]

Very good progress so far. What's the plans for the engine then? Are you doing the 1.7 mods or are you going for a different engine and more power 

 

[Bentleya]

Been following on UKFN, your from Essex way aren't you? Be nice to take her for a spin with the FRP once i have her finished .

 

[ricey100]

yeah im not far from chelmsford most of the time my gf lives in south woodham ferrers so ive prob seen you about there are quite a few frps around there.
i have a 2.0 duratec sitting in the garage atm but that next years project, for the time being frp cams and bike throttle bodies. i love the 1.7 engine although tuning capabilities are limited i just want a car that handles like a go kart hoping for around 150bhp its going to be at ford fair this year on the track all day long hopefully...

 

[PumaJay]

very nice, ive got a black track puma aswell, been looking into the rear diffuser my self, which one are you using?

 

[warrenpenalver]

If it works I might copy the diffuser in carbon.

 

[Xrion236]

think i could get a copy Warren?

 

[warrenpenalver]

once i have a mould id sell copys yeah.

ricey you might want to try and get the top of the diffuser to sit on the bend line in the bumper as a) i think it would look better and b) to get the aerodynamic effect you want to keep the front edge close to the boot floor so without a higher rear you might not get much of an angle.

Also dont forget you will need a front splitter at least and perhaps some cannards etc so you dont make your car to light on the front end. You want to consider a flat panel from where the fuel tank starts all the way backwards to the start of the diffuser. Also perhaps an engine bay bottom tray.

 

[PumaJay]

i looked into doing a lotus exige style flat floor with rear diffuser on my puma a while back, could quite easily do it with some ally sheets, or carbon fibre, just have the issue of the heat from the exhaust of you where to cover that over

 

[ricey100]

thanks for all the replies guys its moving slowly atm as i am doing all the overtime in the world to fund it, but the plan is a completely flat floor the tank is coming out and getting an alloy one inside put in and i will prob use sheets of acrylic or something along the lines on the floor plan the original intention is go get the shown bit of the rear diffuser made in carbon fibre. i dont know what to do with the exhaust im really not a fan of side exit im thinking of bringing it through the boot floor and having a central twin exhaust much like a lotus elise. im puzzled wheather to take it over the rear beam or under or just leave it out i can see problems for all three things. im just making up a few cad drawings for it and i am happy to share them after i am done to help other people out if they want to.
does anyone know where it stands at an mot point of view having an exhaust pipe inside the car? would i need to box it off? one of the things i really want is to keep its road legallity just on the odd occasions when i want to take it for a blast.
ive been tempted by a lot of other things at the moment for it. i really need to sort the priorities out.

 

[warrenpenalver]

cut a tunnel in the boot for the back box. Where you want them to exit?? middle of bumper??

I doubt youd get away with an exhaust physically in the cabin as any minor leaks = you dead.

 

[PumaJay]

yeh im with warren on that one, another way round it would be to use a clio sport 200 rear diffuser as a template which was my orginal plan, they have holes in them to allow for the exhaust, the flat floor is quite simple, just the heat from the exhaust that needs sorting.... maybe some louvres along where it runs would work??

 

[ricey100]

i was looking at it earlier its not the actual tip that is the problem its the size of the silencer and i need to have a fairly large back box to keep it as quiet as possible for the track regulations.
looking at the car im thinking about cutting out the boot floor and raising it up 6"'s or so the backbox can sit in the recess and the pipes can come down to exit above the diffuser but just under the number plate recess.
to a lot of people i prob sound like a dreamer/time waster but ive got the relevant tools (mig welder) and a fair bit of experience with welding to do it. i just want to do something different from the norm and i was watching the re run of top gear where they did the renault avantime track car and a wooden splitter shaved seconds off the lap time imagine what a completely flat floor would do for the handling.
im going to try and source some engineering drawings from work tomorrow for measurements of the floor plan and get started on it over the weekend. i need to sort out the brake lines and rear brakes first though :-(

 

[warrenpenalver]

just put the rear silencer further back on the exhaust system. Youve got plenty of space where youve removed the fuel tank for a nice large silencer.

Im thinking of side exit as its easier!

you dont have the prop and rear axle obviously but you have similar space to put a large silencer can then have it side exit behind the door.

 

[PumaJay]

i'll be keeping an eye on this car then.. be interesting to see how your progress with the car

 

[ricey100]

well a bit of an update that isnt the best of news
went over north weald for a run what you brung day and the puma didnt make it off the trailer went to start it up and the timing belt skipped a few teeth and smashed some valves up. so due to my lack of enthusiasm for replacing the valves im thinking of going a different route of a zetec turbo maybe? has anyone done this? easy conversion? i would only be looking at running around 230 bhp on standard internals to keep costs down.
it feels like one step forward two steps back

 

[PumaJay]

zetec turbo would be nice, but id juyst go focus rs engine, 230bhp is nice but you'll always want more than that once your used to it! and the focus rs lump is ready primed for a good 300bhp!

 

[ricey100]

i know but focus rs engines are hard to find and when they do come up for sale they are expensive i would prob start off cheap and gradually build up the funds and start putting things on such as forged pistons etc.
has anyone put a zetec in a puma on here? i had a look but i couldnt see.

 

[red]

The Puma engine is a Zetec...

 

[ricey100]

its a zetec se/sigma im after a zetec e 1.8/2.0