My Puma 1.7, more than a year on (A works in progress)

Cheers Rob. No plans to fit coilovers to the rear as the rears not bad and I'm too tight to shell out for new ones. The front is a revelation after the cheapo lowering springs though, although I think you know that already.
Cheers Richard. I've had Recaros before on my MK2 RS2000 and they are some of the most comfortable, supportive seats you can fit, if you can find some, get some and you will not be disappointed.

Excellent set of photos and restoration.

Would rather a set of those alloys on my own Puma.

Cheers Ken, yeah my son found those on Ebay at a bargain price. They are BSA and I'd never heard of them before but really like them.

Good job on the MOT Barry . And damn, I allways thought it was not recommended/unsafe to drive with only coilovers on the front. I might try the same thing, since a lot of knocking is often cause by the rear coilovers and their stupid upper mountings. I really think the back is ok with only lowering springs and decent top mounts. Makes me cry because I already bought new front Sachs standard absorbers which I planned to run on lower springs. I really liked the front end with the coilovers on though. Arghhh

Cheers Tyler I can't see any problem with having coilovers on the front and normal struts on the back as long as the spring and damper rates match each other as the coilovers are just struts with adjustable spring platforms. I haven't had the chance to do any more driving with mine as I'm not taxing it until 1st April but once I get some mileage on it I'll report back with my thoughts and any adjustments I've made. I can understand your frustration with the knocking on yours as I had a similar problem with the standard front struts with the 40mm lowering springs but mine was more of a shattered spine when it went into a pothole!

Anyway been buying a few more bits for mine to address a few issues

220320173186_zpstnaxhk16 by barry wilson, on Flickr

It's great having a Son as now I get bought Xmas and Birthday presents that I really want or need. So for my Birthday last week he bought me this Sealey lowline Jack which is perfect for lifting the front of the Puma :thumbs:
I also bought a headlamp polishing kit and various grades of wet & dry and then lastly cleaned and re-oiled my cone filter and I'm going to run some cataclean through the car as I've still got an inefficient cat and the car's running a little lean.
If that doesn't work I managed to find a 200 cell sportscat at not too dear a price on Ebay but it's another welding job for me if I do.

tuonokid said:

[post]361395[/post]So for my Birthday last week he bought me this Sealey lowline Jack which is perfect for lifting the front of the Puma :thumbs:

Click to expand...

Haha.. you sorted out your low profile jack. Looks good and no bad thing it being red either - that's the one small thing about my new one. It's very well made in true over-engineered British style, but being black meant that it can be hard to see various parts of it (release valve, etc) when under the car. 5 minutes with a silver paint pen outlining saddle, valve, socket, etc. sorted it out very quickly though.

Hi Nick
Aye it's good to have 2 jacks now as sometimes it's hard to jack the whole front of the car and get it safe on axle stands as when one side is supported it tends to move when the other side is jacked. It used to be easy on rear drive cars as you had a cross member at the front and you could lift the whole front from the middle of the crossmember.

Happy belated Barry! Kept that quiet you sneaky bugger

PS: Should have mentioned the wet and dry, I have reams of the stuff!

Rob.

Hi Rob
I don't celebrate Birthdays anymore now I'm an old git but thanks for the offer on the sandpaper
Ooh if you're still reading this do you think a Puma rad grill is a good candidate for dipping?

Could be mate. Ill dig my spare out and have a look. What film are you thinking? please don't say carbon :roll:

Hi Rob
Funnily enough I don't like that kiddie cartoon or camo combo so yes black carbon :grin:

There's a bajillion different films available Barry. What about a nice walnut? Or crocodile skin maybe??

I'd like to think I have a little taste Rob So black carbon or it gets painted black.

http://dipthis.co.uk/category/film/film-carbon/
http://dipthis.co.uk/category/film/film-carbon-weave/

Have a look at these links Barry, see if there's owt that matches that vinyl you used. I have some in stock so ill use what I have, see if you like it

It looks like carbon illusion's the one Rob but do you think it's do-able with the top and bottom of a slat being wider than the gap between them?

Forgot to ask you Barry, did you have a go with the T-Cut headlight resto kit yet?

Rob.

Well I finally managed to get shut of my scrapper last night as the guy that sold it to me said he wanted to weigh it in for scrap so what a result. This was all that was left.

020420173209_zpsm385bjtk by barry wilson, on Flickr

So I've got lots of spares and this car donated mine the coilovers and the boot release solenoid as well as selling a few bits that won't go on my car as mine's a newer model.
Anyway I was asked about the coilovers earlier in this thread and after a long journey on Sunday to the Leeming Lodge all Ford meet I can report that the front suspension is still crashy over bumps even though the dampers are backed right off. I also noticed on Saturday that a couple of the tyres (205/40/17s) were developing cracks so it's decision time now, do I order 205/45/17s for a more supple ride and risk them catching in the arches (they'll also match my Focus ST170 spare) or do I stick with the 40 profiles and live with the crashy ride?
Anyway the car otherwise ran faultlessly to the show and we met up with a friend from the North East who now owns my ex MK1 Mexico HAD 840L. He'd shown up in his ex Merseyside Police Mexico which appeared in "for the love of cars" in the chase sequence with a MK1 Capri so I got a few shots of my Son Andrew sat in it.

020420173202 by barry wilson, on Flickr

Hi Rob
Not as yet as that spare glass I have is sat with the radiator grill above the Anglia where I can't get to it at the moment.
TBH I think it's a bit of a rip off as it's only got compound, some sort of sealant (to wipe on?????) and a micro fibre cloth in it. I think other kits may be better value.

I have the gear to do the job tbh, just wondered if a kit might be a bit quicker.

Still not sure weather to strip that protective film off and go straight for the lense :?

Rob.

Hi Rob
I searched the internet about this and there's so many different views but I intend to try polishing and then the adhesion promoter plus the clear lacquer after. I cant believe that a wipe on sealant will protect the covers. From what I've read you have to go low grade on the headlights to remove the protective coating before you go to higher grades and polish.