Timmy's Puma

I made a post in the newbies thread the other day but felt it was time to start a project thread seeing as I will be doing some bit and pieces to my car as time goes on.

Spec:
2000 series 1.5/2
1.7
55k miles.
I am the second owner.
Completely standard.
Factory/dealer fitted sunroof
6000CD none CDDJ radio.

Plans are at present to take out the interior and rust proof as much as possible. The car at the moment appears to be completely rust free with no bubbling or signs of repair anywhere.

Car may also need a new drop link on the NS as I'm getting a slight knocking over bumps (sounds like the shock bottoming out but having just come from a 106 GTI project I know that the ARB links are the first place to start).

Other than that there's not a lot on the cards other than attempting to stop this near mint Puma from rusting into nothing

Stunning car and a good find! That must have been garaged from new unless it's been repaired in the past.

The Arch Bishop said:

Stunning car and a good find! That must have been garaged from new unless it's been repaired in the past.

Click to expand...

All I know is that it was owned by an elderly couple and they part ex/d it in for a new car. Between the MOT I've just had put on it (which it passed without fault) and the last one (July 2013) it had only done a thousand miles which suggests it's been very well looked after and quite probably garaged.

I've had a really good look around and cannot find any signs of repair at all, no orange peel, no weld cover ups. Seems completely standard.

I'm guessing it will have the usual seam rust under the passenger trim but I'll find out soon enough when I abuse it tomorrow...weather permitting.

Crickey, that looks well tidy!

I hope you look after it and keep it that way. Make sure you protect it from the dreaded rust before you do anything to it!

That's got to be one of the cleanest Pumas ive seen.

Well this morning I took it to a mates garage to get it up in the air to investigate the knocking. The drop links were totally shagged and the arb bushes while looking fairly new were showing a little give.

Having managed to track down some bushes from Ford who delivered them a fair way for me, I picked up some drop links from Eurocarparts (I hate them but they're cheap).

This afternoon I've fitted the drop links and the knocking has gone and the ride is much much better but I left the bushes for now as I was running out of time but it's on my to do list. The underneath of the car is nicely clean, even has the original Ford Exhaust on it! Thankfully the wishbones bushes all seem good with no warping or squashing present. Only thing I saw done was the rear brake lines had been painted black and quite recently by the look of it, something to investigate.

Was a pleasure fitting these and no hacksaw or grinder was needed (as was the case with my 106 where all of the bolts stripped and the nuts got stuck), also the ARB levers without too much force.

Still have to get round to the rust proofing but it's way too hot to be sat in the back of a car at the moment.

Arches and suspension could do with a good clean but sadly I can't get a hosepipe to where I do my fixing:

So it's nearly been 2 years since I last posted here. The Puma has been through a lot. All (and I mean all, every bush, every top mount and shock) of the suspension has been replaced and the engine has had the usual work done...timing belts etc. I also fitted a Connect2 to the 6000CD and sorted out all of the missing screw covers on the interior etc.

The good news is that after nearly 20,000 miles as my daily driver, the rust proofing I did on the inside seems to be working well and the car is still as minty fresh on the outside as it was when I bought it....apart from the crease I now have in my passenger door thanks to a hit and run nobhead which smashed into me outside my own house while it was parked up and then did off!

The only problem she's had really is a hesitation issue which came down to the TPS in the end.

This week she's getting a full service (by me) and I'm treating her to a new K&N panel filter (I know they're placebo but I got some PPI money back!) clutch will need doing soon though so I'm dreading that cost wise, it's the only thing I wouldn't dare tackle myself.

Anyway, some pictures :grin: :

That car is a real credit to you. The deep red really suits the shape. I hope to get mine into that shape one, but as the rust is already in the rear arches, and my suspension sounds as buggered as yours did. Hopefully mine will be ok, first two weeks of ownership have, squeeks and knocks aside, have been great

Looks great!

Thanks guys. It's been hard work keeping her together and there's always something going wrong each month but it's worth it just for those few days where everything is spot on. Just looking forward to some better weather so I can really get stuck into some remaining odds and ends.