Puma 1.7 Rebuild Mk II

[raggamuffin]

Apart from revving higher, will the Newman fast road cams make the car sound any different? Same question goes for the inlet manifold. I assume when I eventually change to cold air induction, this will change the tone of the engine too?

Ed

[raggamuffin]

Friend of mine reckons the inlet manifold should give the engine a deeper induction sound.

Ed

[raggamuffin]

Hi all,

Just had a chat with J and got a really good update. Half the engine rebuild is done. They're moving soon and he'll be next to the workshop which means the car can be worked on regularly.

He also said as I've been patient waiting and helped them out, any further work can be paid in instalments. This is a big help to me as the rust was the next thing I wanted to address, but I wouldn't be able to afford it until spring.

Now I'll be able to get everything I want to get sorted, done at the same time.

Get the rust sorted, wax oil, chip resistant paint on the inner arches. Get the alloys refurbed. Clean up the aging plastic on the headlights. Maybe some more powerful bulbs for the headlights (any suggestions? ) Get the old girl in tip top shape before I get it back on the road.

Really happy for the update. I'll keep you posted next month with more updates when I get them.

Ed

[raggamuffin]

Also mulling over colours. Probably a long way off a respray. I liked the ST orange Puma's I saw, but it's a little too garish.

I was thinking a metallic copper. Or maybe a mix of copper and sunburnt orange.

s-l300.jpg (6.03 KiB) Viewed 962 times

Ed

[oilburner]

Something like this?

[XAF]

That would look good - or something like Nissan Nightshade which is nearly black, but purply. Or BMW Carbon Black

[raggamuffin]

Ah true, I didn't realise Ford did that colour.

I've seen a matte grey Puma on here before which looked good.

Made me think of the new Cupra's which have the matte grey with copper highlights. Looks damn good in my opinion.

Ed

[oilburner]

It’s called Tiger Eye on the Focus, nice colour.

[raggamuffin]

Awesome, that's good to know. J said that whilst the engine is out, if I wanted to get a respray done he can get the engine bay done before the engine goes back in. I'm going to ask him how much it'd be and mull it over a bit more before making a decision.

Could also do with getting the Vibra Technics engine mount kit bought and fitted before the engine goes back in as well.

Ed

[raggamuffin]

Lorry broke down. J's moving is delayed until next week unfortunately.

In other news, the overdraft took a hit when my PC died and Xmas came around. Looks to be paid off by April now. MOT on the Puma due in May as well as the Focus. Although that should be gone long before the MOT is due. However the clutch pedal's biting point is less than 1 inch from the pedal being fully released. No other signs of the clutch about to fail, but I can't really afford to get the Focus' clutch changed at the moment. Months ago someone clipped the drivers side wing mirror and I never got that changed either. Plus the speed sensor has gone so the odometer is screwed and the speedo drops to zero multiple times every day.

Other than that the Focus is a lovely car. Plus it's a basic and older model. No ABS or traction control. Actually makes a fun drive. I was half tempted to make it the next car project. Get a 2.0 ST150 engine in it. Steady now Edward.

In the mean time here's a sunset pic in the fens of my second puma - Gunny.

Ed

[raggamuffin]

First day I got Gunny I bought it for £999.

The same day I bought it I traveled to Essex and got the £450 eBay bargain I bought the day before buying the car installed.

Probably stupid to buy performance parts before buying the car. I'm impulsive (stupid) like that.

A complete Piper exhaust system, including manifold and sports cat that was installed at OC Motorsport.

Those pops and bangs were lovely.

[raggamuffin]

Work should start up again shortly. J is hoping for a couple of hours each day in the workshop. I've asked if the engine could be done and I get the car back as the clutch on the Focus is about to go and I don't want to be left without a car, or sink money into the Focus when I want rid of it within a month.

I've got the 18th and 19th of February off work so I'm checking with J if the car could go back to him from 16th to the 19th of Feb to get the door cards and strut braces fitted along with sorting the rust out.

Just waiting on a reply at the moment. Got some time off next week from work which is good, as I want to use the Focus as little as possible. I'm driving very slow and steady to try and wheedle as much life out of the clutch as possible.

The fact the biting point is now less than an inch from the clutch being full released is really making me nervous.

Ed

[raggamuffin]

Had a word with J on Sunday evening asking about the above and seeing how quickly the engine could go back in. Focus clutch is getting worse - biting point is less than a centimetre from the clutch pedal being fully released. Thankfully I've got Mon-Thu off and only have to drive into work on Friday.

J said he's off work on Wed/Fri of this week and asked me to ring him on Friday evening for a progress update. As the engine rebuild is half way there according to his last update, I'm really hoping the Puma could be back on the road soon.

He said he didn't want me to be without a car, and I know I've been waiting a fair old while, but it still feels awkward putting pressure on to get the Puma back. Not sure why that is.

Either way I'm hoping the Focus goes the distance until I get the Puma back.

[raggamuffin]

Asides from the biting point being extremely high up there's no issues with revs or finding gears etc. Am I right in thinking the Focus clutch is hydraulic? Could it just need the fluid changing or topping up? Can't say I know how it works, but other than the biting point the clutch and gearbox seem to be fine?

In other news, can't believe FRP #255 went for only £6550 on eBay. Bargain. All the overtime I've been putting in and my Xmas bonus made this pay cheque a good one. I'm back to where I was before forking out for Xmas and my PC breaking. More and more overtime this month and hopefully get another decent pay in 4 weeks. With any luck by the end of Feb there'll be less than £700 left to pay off.

Really should've just stuck with the engine rebuild initially. Could've saved myself well over a grand But that's what I get for browsing performance parts on eBay.

Ed

[sickofguessing]

As far as I understand worn master and slave cylinder does change the clutch biting but its mostly just the clutch material wearing down to the rivets as the cylinder is having to extend more and more over time eventually grenading the clutch.

Strangely my puma came with a terrible clutch but somehow over time it has improved with use. That or I became used to it.

[raggamuffin]

Hmm, just have to hope it lasts a little while longer then.

[raggamuffin]

J asked me to ring him tonight if I don't hear from him. Really hoping there's some good news.

Ed

[raggamuffin]

Rang J yesterday and he said he'd be working on the car today. Should get an update this evening.

Ed

[raggamuffin]

Looking at Wednesday of next week. Some house moving and car issues on J's end. Not to worry though. We had a chat about the clutch on the Focus and he recommended putting it in 3rd and trying to pull away. No slipping on the clutch so it put my mind at rest somewhat.

Anyway, as ever I'll keep you posted once I get more news. With everything J's end hopefully being sorted next week the progress on the Puma should pick up pace shortly.

Ed

[raggamuffin]

Rang J today and he said it'll be ready before the Focus is due for the MOT end of March.

Ed

[Simonavis]

I don’t know how you have remained so patient!!!

[raggamuffin]

Funnily enough, I've always been an impatient person. I can do nothing but wait as I'm still paying off my overdraft. I'd been impulsive getting the project underway without enough savings to cover it all. Having said that, if I had stuck to the original plan of an engine rebuild only I'd have been out of debt months ago. Probably would've come in at about £1750 in total. However I've now spent double that amount.

A lot of friends have repeatedly told me to get someone else to finish the work, and I've always told them that I financially can't do that. Had I done this project a year or 2 ago before I bought my first house I could've got the mechanic who lived over the road from my parents to do it. He'd always fitted performance parts to my previous cars and always a quick turn around and very cheap hourly rate.

When I worked with his wife she did say his time keeping wasn't the best and I know there's been a lot of changes in their lives since the project went underway. Yes, he probably should've finished it by now, but he hasn't. Nothing I can do about that.

I just know I'll be over the moon once I've got the car back. Recently I have stressed to him that it needs to be done before the Focus is due it's MOT at the end of March. I've set a lot of potential finish dates since this project started last summer. I'm hoping this one materialises.

Ed

[raggamuffin]

So I had a great chat with J yesterday and I'm definitely getting the car back before the end of the month.

Now, I know a lot of dates have passed by where I thought the car would be worked on or possibly finished and when I asked if it would be finished before the Focus was due for it's MOT, his reply of "Yes mate." probably wouldn't have filled many people with confidence at this point.

However, upon reading that reply, I knew deep down this was it. It was actually going to happen. So I left it a couple of weeks, as i'd been pestering him a lot prior to this. We chatted yesterday and I could tell things are definitely in motion. He also asked me what colour I wanted the engine block. I figured black would be fine as the aftermarket LMS inlet manifold is black as well.

So there we have it, in around 3 weeks I'll have the first step in this project done. Knowing an end date has definitely quelled any doubts I had about keeping the Puma project going. Whilst I won't be able to get anything new done to the car in quite a long time, I think I want to keep adding to the car bit by bit. I'm convinced now that, asides from going with the millennium Edition interior and seats, I want the exterior to remain completely standard.

I want to see how the cams, inlet manifold and larger throttle body affect the engine tone. I know getting cold air induction will also help improve the engine note. I'm saying this as I'm half tempted to avoid going down the aftermarket exhaust road. Or maybe look into just doing the manifold. I know performance cars and aftermarket exhausts do have a much deeper note to them, but unless I'm hearing large displacement engines, I think bassy exhausts just sound cheap and chavvy. Whilst my last Puma with the piper system was a laugh, it's a little too brash for me to live with day in day out in my 30's.

But we shall see I suppose. My mind changes a lot and if I ever had the money, there's no knowing if I'd wind up not buying it.

Ed

[raggamuffin]

Renewal letter for the car insurance on the Focus came through. 97 more a year. Cancelled the renewal and told J the last day the Focus is insured is the 28th.

He confirmed he'd like the Focus to break for parts. Originally I'd said I'd sell it for £100. But I offered it to him for free - I just need the Puma back and we're approaching the final weeks of the project.

21 days to go.

No going back now.

Ed

[raggamuffin]

Here's a turn out - I just went on Confused and looked up insurance for the Puma with the modifications. It's somehow turned out nearly £150 cheaper than my renewal quotation for my standard Focus.

£572.21

For once I've been quoted happy.

Ed