My Daughter Calls it Tigger

Well, today's the first day for getting stuck into my project. My six-year-old daughter has a habit of naming all our family cars, so she gave this one the excellent name Tigger.

2001, 1.7, Moondust Silver, 100K on the clock.



First things first, having pix taken (album can be viewed in above link). It's rough round the edges, but it is a project after all.
Secondly, I took the front bumper off to get a better view of suspected impact damage - Many thanks for the 'How To' http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=8542 section for this.

As mentioned in my introduction 'Puma Virgin' http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=27911, there are a few issues...
-The bearings need replacing ASAP (being done next Tuesday)
-Spongy brakes (also being sorted next Tuesday)
-Damage to front bumper (looks like a run-in with a tow bar). It has pushed the front bar in a tad (see pix)
-A couple of weepy oil leaks (rocker cover, possible cam belt seal and the gasket on the side of the engine under the air filter - don't know what it's called)

I've ordered service parts - Oil, filters etc and will start fitting them this week.
Bought two near-mint Peugeot 206 front wings off a local Ebayer for £19.
I plan to replace rear arches and upgrade tired cloth interior to leather. And am not sure about the rims, I might replace them.

It might seem a bit of a lemon to some, but I think of it more a blank canvas.

Was wondering if I should replace, try to pull it out, or just live with the front damage? The re-alignment can hardly be noticed, but the bumper will be replaced.
What do you guys think I should do?


I also took off the splashguards from under the front wings to give the panels the once-over. Stunned to find quarter bucket of sand on the bottom of each wing. Cleared them out and found a plant trying to make a home!

Also found the only proper rot (other than the rear D/S arch) on the little panel that has the vehicle ID code, in the driver's footwell.

I think you'll have a hard time pulling that pit. I did similar damage to mine, we managed to pull the panel roughly straight (looking at the back edge) but was never able to pull the rest of the box section back out. I just left mine.

Hi
Them Escort alloys will most likely be the wrong offset and could be the cause of your bearing wear and steering issues.
Paul

Thanks Paul
Think I'll get shot of the rims and get proper Puma ones.
Could I upsize to 16" or even 17" rims, or does it get too complicated?
Anyone recommend a good tyre for the Puma?

Have a look in my album Beastie, I have a set of Thunder wheels for sale

showbeastie said:

Thanks Paul
Think I'll get shot of the rims and get proper Puma ones.
Could I upsize to 16" or even 17" rims, or does it get too complicated?
Anyone recommend a good tyre for the Puma?

Click to expand...

Goodyear EfficentGrip Performance

Dunlop Blusport response

I'd stick to 195/50 R15 : the tyres are really cheap and car drives best

Many thanks for the advice so far.
Here's my shopping list at the mo:

Set of digi clocks- £19.50
Front bumper- £25
Front crossmember- £25 (140)
Leather interior- £110- Carpet £19 extra
Parcel shelf- £13
P/S weatherstrip- £3 (45)
Puma alloys (no tyres)- £120
Prices are from local scrappy, ones in brackets are what Ford are looking.

I've managed to grab a bargain set of Thunder alloys that need a refurb, which I'll do myself.
Question is, should I spray them black, moondust silver or anthracite?

Update- They're not actually 'Thunder' alloys. They came off a Fiesta and have an offset 43.5 (if Im reading it right). Will this really affect handling?
They do give the car a whole new cleaner/meaner look though :twisted:

Moondust, keep it standard

Got it back from the mechanics today. They sorted the front and back passenger side bearings, and welded the hole in the floor.
Brakes are not as bad as before but are still a bit pants, so will upgrade to ST150s.
Thanks to the recent turn in the weather it now has idler squeak, so will replace this and drive belt.

Okay, spent this afternoon replacing the rocker cover gasket. I couldn't have done it without the excellent instructions in the 'How To' section, which made things very straightforward.

I took my time in cleaning things up and also replaced the spark plugs whilst in there (after clearing up their oil-filled holes). Also did a bit of bodywork clearing a few rust spots. Good fun.
Idler pulley and aux belt are next on the hit list.

It's been a while since checking in with a progress report. Unfortunately things are not well with the Tig.
I sent the car for repair to the rear arches at a local body shop that specialised in crash repairs, a quick turnaround and a very competitive quote. I now wish I had gone somewhere else.
From the outside they seemed to have done a decent job, taking sections from the Pug front wings and welding them onto the Puma. But on closer examination I noticed that they completely bodged the worst side. They didn't address the rusty driver's side inner arch, leaving the inner and outer arches actually separated from each other.
Before After Inner arch

I'll be returning the car this week for either a proper repair, or a refund (paid £200 cash).
To be honest, the whole thing has left me deflated and with a dilemma. If I get the refund should cut my losses and send it to be scrapped once the MOT runs out in September, or carry on throwing money at it hoping that it will be worth while in the end? But chasing the rust may not be worth it now.