1.7 Black Edition

Been on the forum for a while now but never got around to starting a project thread so here goes.

I purchased the car back in July, its the limited edition black with the addition of the platinum sound pack. It has mint bodywork and had already has some subtle mods (clear repeaters 17" wheels and lowered 40mm) but did need a bit of TLC.




The first thing I noticed after a day of driving was the the clutch was on its way out, luckily my Dad is a mechanic (although a busy one) and finally managed to fit me on for a freebie clutch changed after a few weeks.

The next thing on the list was to sort out the iffy handling caused by the woefully wrong offset wheels (ET48). I liked the wheels so decided to fix the offset rather than just change them so I fitted some 15mm Hubcentric spacers on the front and 20.5mm beam spacers on the rear.



That combined with new rubber all round made the world of difference.

Next up was a much needed service.

A trip to Steavie for new:

Cam belt + Tensioner
Aux belt
Idler pulley
Water Pump
Rocker cover gasket

Then I changed:

Oil
Oil filter
Fuel filter
Spark plugs
Pollen filter
HT leads
Coil pack
Air filter
HCV

And did the FRP air box mod at the same time

Next up was the suspension and bushes, the current shocks and top mounts were shagged and the springs a bit rusty. And as with all fords the 10 year old bushes were a little worn.

I got hold of a new rear beam that was already poly bushed from a forum member.

New FK springs



Low mileage shocks from a forum member, with a coat of hammerite.



Fitted with new top mounts and bearings




Really impressed with these springs, they have a nice ride and give the perfect level stance.

And that's where I am at today, going to change the wishbones and drop links next week and then that should be all the urgent 'To Do`s' out of my head until I think of something else a week later :lol:

perhaps im wrong ..but the rear springs are mounted the wrong way ..turn them so that the part vhere it is now at the botom will be at the top :wink:

Wont make a difference mate, Lots of people have different opinions on what way round to install progressive rate springs but for a given force you would get the same compression rate regardless of orientation of the spring

that is so true :-D

New Delphi wishbones and drop links fitted today. Was quite an easy job for a first timer although in not sure I would have shifted the bolts without an impact wrench.

I also learnt to always use Delphi or Ford pinch bolts as ECP ones just spin as soon as they get anywhere near tight.



Heres a pic of how the car looks on the FK springs for those of you thinking of buying them (sorry cars filthy).

nice looking car, really like the wheels... just doesnt look very low on the FK springs, could perhaps do with coming down another 20mm or so

good effort so far tho! blacks are the best

Thanks buddy I am getting there slowly :grin:

Yea its not that low on the FKs only down 40mm rear 35mm front. It was a little lower when I got it but I decided with the state of the roads at the moment and the miles I do (use the car for work too) that I would go for comfort.

Nice wheels, superturismo and superleggeras are the best!! And 17inch is just so ... awesome. :grin:

Lovely looking Black puma you got there mate - by far the best colour for the standard Puma

really suits the wheels aswell k:

Thanks Zara :-D

Few slightly better pics.

My middle box had rusted away and was leaking exhaust gases (noted on last MOT and I had strong smell in the boot after long journeys for some reason).

I decided to have the middle box removed a replaced with stainless pipe rather than getting a new middle section because it would be cheaper and hopefully sound nicer.

So a trip to Powerflow today and 30 mins later I was out and back on the road. The car is just a little louder than standard (before it was blowing) and gargles nicely, it has also solved the poor running after 5k rpm I had noticed lately and best of all the gassy smell in the boot is gone.



For £40 im happy :grin:

that looks sweet, how much has that been lowered by?

Sorry for the late reply, lowered 35MM on FK springs mate :grin:

I noticed I now had rust coming through from under the offside scuff plate and the nearside door sill (thankfully not on the arches yet) that along with the dings and scratches that had been annoying for for months pushed my into finally trying my hand at bodywork

So off to Halfords for some rust killer, primer, paint and lacquer.




Havent got all the before during and after pics (corrupt memory card :x )

Rust!



Deep scratches / dings sanded down!




After lacquer, rubbing compound and a good polish!




Pretty happy with the results for a first time effort, very slight colour difference but its only noticeable if you are about 2CM away in direct sunlight.

That's really good, nice work.

Hi All,

Just a quick update, thank you and goodbye!

The time has come to sell my beloved Puma, its has been a really great car and never missed a beat, I just felt it was time for a change really.

Just wanted to sign off with a big thank you to all those on the forum, this is by far the friendliest and most helpful forum I have ever been a member of.

Keep up the good work!

For anyone interested this is what I have just purchased, its the 190 T-Sport model where everything goes crazy when you hit 6200 RPM

Bon voyage, Bon chance :thumbs:

Dead to me.....

Nice.....did it come free inside a cereal packet :grin: