New Puma project

Not many of you would probably have seen my Puma project thread, but the Puma is so rotten underneath, it being stripped for the scrappy.
I don't want to see another Puma doomed but this one is so bad, the flooring has rusted away from the sills.

Anyhow, I've got another project in the pipeline which involves the use of my old Puma engine and various other parts as I want to keep the good Puma parts alive!

I had a turbo conversion planned for my a Thunder so as I've got almost all of the parts, it will be a shame to see it all go to waste.
I have been asked if this engine is suitable for a turbo conversion as it sits at over 150,000 miles. The condition of the Puma was consistent with a vehicle that had been motorway driven. I consider this to be better than a daily to/from work car as it's not had loads of start/stop/start/stop journeys.
Although the mileage is high, hopefully the engine wear shouldn't be anything like a 'daily' car of the same mileage.
Secondly, I've now got the BMW as my daily, so if this breaks it's not a massive issue.

This is going to be a fun/interesting project for me to do in my spare time. It's just for 'sh**s and giggles' and may not be to everyone's taste in the end.

Basic list of engine work
Size/line up, turbo & manifold - DONE
Strip parts - DONE
Clean engine - DONE
Remove remaining parts and clean - DONE
Fit oil return to spare sump - Ongoing
Drain engine oil, remove sump, fit spare sump
Remove cylinder head, fit decompression plate inc. new gaskets - On hold
Fit turbo & manifold inc. new gasket - DONE
Remove oil pressure switch, fit oil feed adapter, refit oil pressure switch
Fit oil return from turbo
Fit oil feed to turbo from oil feed adapter
Remove oil filter, fit sandwich plate inc. new filter
Fit refurbed inlet manifold inc. new gaskets - DONE
Fit fuel rail adapter - DONE
Mount fuel pressure regulator - DONE
* Replace any gaskets and/or seals as deemed necessary *

Additional work slotted in between the above
Gearbox strip & rebuild - but may use different gearbox with different ratios
Paint cam/rocker cover - I have a painted engine cover so may not bother with this

Before I started on any prep work for my project, I wanted to get the turbo lined/sized up:

The oil return is angled slightly out, but as these engines sit leaning slightly back, the return should be vertical once the engine is mounted.

Now that's out of the way, stripping the engine commenced. I've left a few parts on as these are areas that I can leave sealed/closed but still get round them to clean...

Nothing left on the back of the engine:

A bit grubby...

Inlet, starter & wiring, fuel rail & wiring removed:

I can't believe how dirty this is.....

Next job is starting to clean the gunky oil off the engine.

Interesting stuff, will keep an eye on this one

Will be nice to see this project rise from the (rusty) ashes! :thumbs:

Fit oil return to spare sump:

Started off with trying to get the sump cleaned up:

And yes, it's in the bath!

Not perfectly clean, but a bit less oily:


Cleaning off the old sealant is a bit of a long job.

Replaced the return fitting on the turbo to a smaller one, but will be chopped shorter:


I've got a brass tank connector to fit in the sump and a small piece of copper pipe to put in to that, with a piece of pipe to go up to the turbo.
Total cost for the oil return... £2.49

will you be going for stronger conrods? Since the engine is apart... :?:

They would be nice... But they are lots of ££££££'s. :-(

Oil return on the sump is virtually done. Just need a little tweak to get it more horizontal:


That's better:


That probably doesn't look any different, but it's definitely more horizontal. I can't get it 100%. The hole in the sump was a tiny bit tight, but that allowed me to screw in the tank fitting which has made it more secure. I can't adjust it as it now won't come out!

Just need to make sure the area is degreased well and run round it with some sealer.

mite be worth making a little baffle plate tony,i found if i had my car on ramps or accelerated quick or went up a steep hill it smoked,so i pulled the oil return off on the ramps and the oil level was near the brim of the oil return! i drained the oil off of max and kept it at half way on the dipstick which helped a bit but not ideal.

Glad to see you're sticking with it mate! Can't wait to see some tasty progress!

Sticking with the engine anyway!

No progress as I'm waiting for pay day.

Will get the engine cleaned and start bolting things to it!

What injectors and management are you considering?

Standard injectors and management. I'm going to get it build and running and have a bit of fun first.
After that, I know the power won't be enough, so I'll start looking at stand alone management etc.

Ahh nice, I'm looking to run a low boost turbo build. Everything's pretty much ready, just waiting on my 'AEM FIC 6' to run as a piggy back for the fuel and injection,

Do you have Instagram?

fiestaseb said:

Do you have Instagram?

Click to expand...

Nope, is it necessary? Lol

No, was gonna see so I could follow pics of your build. Il keep an eye out on here tho

Ah, ok. There is an app for the iPad/phone which I may download and have a play with.

Very small update... I've bought my engine cleaner....



Cif, as recommended on the forum and washing powder as I used that to clean the inlet and it did a good job!

I've decided not to paint the engine or gearbox.

Mines painted with vht silver, it's easy enough to do too

I've not really made any progress as such as I've been trying to organise the oil return.
The idea to drill and tap the block was floating around, but after fitting up the turbo & manifold and the centre shaft, it leaves almost no room to get the return in and keep it as vertical as possible. So, that idea has been shelved.









I've got the brass fitting removed from the sump and have ordered a different fitting to save space.

Although I've already got a fuel pressure regulator, I've ordered a new one which looks a lot better quality.



Fuel rail adapter has also arrived.

Cleaning of the engine has commenced:

Looks good buddy, where did you get the fuel rail adapter from?