My new Puma

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3xpendable

New member
Joined
Jul 29, 2014
Messages
74
As a thanks to all of you who gave me advice before buying I wanted to show you the new Puma I now have :)

1999 Model (so Gen 1 right?) 40,000 miles with full service history. Good Pirelli tyres, 5 mths Tax and 11 mths MOT and drives very well. There are a few rattles like a loose door trim etc but I think this car is fairly unique wih the colour and lower mileage. Interior is like new! I haven't used it much except to take it home last weekend to change the timing belt which wasn't TOOOO bad a job apart from the bottom pulley. After 15 years and 40,000 miles it was the original belt, eeep!

So here it is, more pics after the weekend (if its dry)

20140807_0701361_zps768f7849.jpg


20140807_0701251_zpse236c133.jpg
 
lovely Melina blue :)

Analogue dash - series 1, digital dash series 1.5+..

http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=67" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
THATS WHERE IT IS! Thanks Dal, I knew I'd seen it before but couldnt find it.

Now thats interesting. Mines has the analogue dash but a 6000 radio and a non numbered gearknob, could the radio be retro fitted?

EDIT: I think mine has the Lux pack as it has electric mirrors etc.
 
Thanks Sparx, it was too good to resist, especially as it was lower priced than others I looked at.
 
Thank you guys! I love that colour too, it looked more purple in the advert but glad it was this colour. I have a feeling the rear wings have been painted as they look a different colour to the rest of the car sadly.

No doubt I will be on here asking questions sometime, and of course posting updates and piccies.
 
Not in detail yet, I checked the sills and floors the best I could when I bought the car but next time I'm back at my parents I'll check it over the pit but from above (under the carpet the best I can access) they look fresh.

Spent some time on the Puma, got it cleaned and after that it looked like this:



After using it lots last weekend I hoovered out the interior (mainly the mats) and paid attention to some little details like cleaning out the gunk from the embossed gear lever and cleaning the windows. With such a little used car the interior is pretty immaculate, no wear on the seats at all:





I'll get a new boot carpet as the current one has a few stains



Incidentally, the book is tiny. It's not so bad but the shape is so restrictive I can't get my unicycle in there!

Under the bonnet, There are some clips missing holding the bulkhead trim on which I suspect was the garage that changed the HCV being lazy, the screws holding the wiper trim are rusty so I'll change those and a few other clips missing. It will also need some tyres soon on the front. The indicators stalk doesn't self cancel so I'm not sure if the mechanism for this is repairable or just to get a replacement unit and I need a new set of batteries for the keyfob remote central locking.

So today I spent tinkering, and tomorrow I plan on taking it for a fun drive :) Luckily I'm not far from some wonderful routes in the Brecon Beacons!
 
Finally had a day that was dry to tinker with the car, so got the throttle body cleaned up to cure the sticking throttle issue. It's not seamless but is miles better! I then decided to have a go at cleaning up the engine bay a bit:



I also cleaned up the exhaust, its not perfect but looks shinier :)



Unfortunately I found the drivers matt was wet, so I must have a leak somewhere after all this heavy rain. Are there any common leak issues/points on the Puma?

Oh and finally, these are the clips at the back of the engine bay I need, any idea what they look like or where to get them?



 
Nice Puma you have, well done I do like that colour!

What did you use to get the exhaust so shiny? Mine has gone all dull/rough and metal polish does not seem to work?

Thanks

Mike
 
Hi Mike,

Apologiies only just seem this. I am lucky that mine was pretty good anyway and was just carbonated on the end. I know what you mean and I think yours has a different endcap as I;ve seen a few that are basically just rust. I used a Brillo pad on mine and then polished it with silver polish after.

I found a car locally that the guy decided to break as he had a lot of timewasters looking at it so I got a load of bits off it. It was an S reg 1.4 and mine is the T reg so I thought everything would be compatible, wrong. I know the later cars (from about V reg on) had an intermitent wiper setting option so when you fit a later wiper indicator stalk to an earlier car, it will keep blowing the wiper fuse. My car wouldn't auto cancel after right turns so I thought I'd change it (not that it botheres me as I cancel my indicators manually) and getting a spare from a car earlier than mine I thought I'd be safe, but no, so bang went the fuse and I had to refit the old stalk. I think I'll leave it on tbh now and the one I bought is for sale.

I got a new boot mat:

Old


New


I also got the spare wheel and tyre as I'm going to clean it and paint it up. I may powder coat it, if the surface is too rough to get a nice as new finish. I also plan to get the spare wheel tray powder coated too.

After the indicator stalk drama I did some more cleaning, the Ford badge was missing from the engine cover so I got a replacement cover and took the badge off it, I took the opportunity to clean and polish the cover too:



I friend then told me of APC (All Purpose Cleaner) that a lot of detailers swear by so I gave it a go on some of the brightwork in the engine bay. This bonnet stay grip was almost black when i started:



A weak spot on my car appears to be the door trims/clips, which fail and then become rattly. On the passenger side it is the clip thats failed so I've ordered new ones. They come in 2 parts and its the bit that clips to the door that usually breaks. On the drivers side its a bit more problematic, as you can see this is what the clip holder in the door SHOULD look like:



And this is what it actually looks like



This is the 'spare' doorcard I bought with exactly the same issue. So I will probably cut and graft some bits off this one to fit the other one, maybe re enforce it with a riveted plate or similar to stop it happening again.

So, after all that I decided to go for a short drive Sunday morning. Nothing fancy but I went to see the old Transporter Bridge in Newport
http://www.newport.gov.uk/heritage/index.cfm/transporterBridge/

But the pain point of my trip was to check out a 'Touchless & Spotless' drive through car wash. I'd heard about it online and its one of the few in the UK at present but they are popular in America. Intrigued I took the Puma up there, its between £8-£10 depending what was you have. I couldnt get out of the car but here are some pics of another car going through it (taken from detailingworld)

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The car is then blown dry, here is the Puma afterwards:



My verdict? It's good as it obviously doesnt touch the car but also jet washed underneath. However for £9 I can get my car washed twice in my local jet wash with a wax finish (only the £10 option gives you this) and the car wasn't fully dry and spot free afterwards. There are arguments for and against, but one big plus for this is the underbody washing. I would probably use it if it were too cold to hand wash my car, or maybe once a fortnight in winter as it would be great for keeping salt at bay.

Plans for later in the year are repairing the arches, oil & filter change and some new tyres.
 

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