Bargain basement Puma 1.7 Black
Discussion
A couple of glasses of red wine on Thursday + an impromptu visit to eBay resulted in me handing over a whopping 174 notes, and piloting this little beastie home down the M4 48 hrs later.
She's a 2000 Puma 1.7 Black edition with 134,000 miles, a remarkably complete service history (full, in fact up to the last one recorded at 111k), a dinked wing and bonnet (looks vandal related), a blowing back box and a badly slipping clutch. But she fundamentally drives really well. Amazingly tight and taut considering the miles, and very responsive. There's a peach of a car in here with a little bit of work and not a lot of money. All warning lights go on and off as expected, fluid levels are all cock-on and look reasonably fresh, no smoke, no knocks or rattles, and idles beautifully. Absolutely everything works, apart from the air-con.
First job is the clutch this weekend. Timing belt change is stamped in the book at 96k so a quick inspection of that will suffice I think. I picked up the replacement bonnet yesterday for a whopping ten quid, in the right colour and ready to fit. Currently searching for a similar wing. Otherwise it's a general check over and crawl underneath to see what's what. Sills are solid, and rear arches, although a little bubbly, are not going to be an issue until at least a year down the line. What I can see of the floor looks OK, but a proper crawl under will reveal all. Absence of suspension noise and responsive steering suggests the bushes are in good fettle too. Rear beam bushes were done 2 yrs ago which is a bonus.
Not sure what the plans are for her yet. Fancied a project, and this came along at the right time. There's potentially a track toy in time, but the idea at this point is to get her mechanically fit and healthy, and as a secondary goal, to sort the cosmetic bits without spending more than pocket change, if I can. So far a clutch and bonnet have set me back just £95!!
Once the clutch is done, a proper clean is needed, and then some more pics will follow. For now, just these slightly iffy ones which were taken with the car completely "as is". More to follow as we go on.
She's a 2000 Puma 1.7 Black edition with 134,000 miles, a remarkably complete service history (full, in fact up to the last one recorded at 111k), a dinked wing and bonnet (looks vandal related), a blowing back box and a badly slipping clutch. But she fundamentally drives really well. Amazingly tight and taut considering the miles, and very responsive. There's a peach of a car in here with a little bit of work and not a lot of money. All warning lights go on and off as expected, fluid levels are all cock-on and look reasonably fresh, no smoke, no knocks or rattles, and idles beautifully. Absolutely everything works, apart from the air-con.
First job is the clutch this weekend. Timing belt change is stamped in the book at 96k so a quick inspection of that will suffice I think. I picked up the replacement bonnet yesterday for a whopping ten quid, in the right colour and ready to fit. Currently searching for a similar wing. Otherwise it's a general check over and crawl underneath to see what's what. Sills are solid, and rear arches, although a little bubbly, are not going to be an issue until at least a year down the line. What I can see of the floor looks OK, but a proper crawl under will reveal all. Absence of suspension noise and responsive steering suggests the bushes are in good fettle too. Rear beam bushes were done 2 yrs ago which is a bonus.
Not sure what the plans are for her yet. Fancied a project, and this came along at the right time. There's potentially a track toy in time, but the idea at this point is to get her mechanically fit and healthy, and as a secondary goal, to sort the cosmetic bits without spending more than pocket change, if I can. So far a clutch and bonnet have set me back just £95!!
Once the clutch is done, a proper clean is needed, and then some more pics will follow. For now, just these slightly iffy ones which were taken with the car completely "as is". More to follow as we go on.
Edited by Limpet on Tuesday 25th August 23:58
I had a 350 quid puma for a few months, and loved it. It rand weell, drove well, just mid 30's mpg meant i had to sell due to the milage I was doing. The only other issue was i just mwich they were a big quicker.
My mate had one back in 2000 or 2001 bought one new, chucked me out the car for having muddy shoes lol
My mate had one back in 2000 or 2001 bought one new, chucked me out the car for having muddy shoes lol
Happy memories for me there. I had a brand new X reg puma black, with different wheels though as standard. Looked a little like split rims, but I think the same design was shared by the Mondeo at the time. Loved that car so much. Cheap to run, a lot of fun and awesome for ragging round the country lanes (I lived in Norfolk working for Lotus at the time). The missus managed to put it on its roof about 6 months after purchase. Funnily enough, we're in the midst of a divorce now....karma.
Happy memories for me there. I had a brand new X reg puma black, with different wheels though as standard. Looked a little like split rims, but I think the same design was shared by the Mondeo at the time. Loved that car so much. Cheap to run, a lot of fun and awesome for ragging round the country lanes (I lived in Norfolk working for Lotus at the time). The missus managed to put it on its roof about 6 months after purchase. Funnily enough, we're in the midst of a divorce now....karma.
There's some blistering on the rear arches, but nowhere near as bad as most I've seen. Sills are good too, and having now ventured underneath, so is the floor.
Changed the clutch this weekend. Bit of a swine physically getting the gearbox in and out (it's tight) but otherwise reasonably straightforward. At least no need to mess around dropping subframes and other nonsense.
Drained all the transmission oil out and refilled with fresh 75W 90. Now has a lovely light, progressive, slip-free clutch and even slicker transmission than before. £85 and a day and a bit of work well invested. Driven it in anger now and it sounds lovely and pulls well.
Still to do: Replace bonnet and front wing (got a tidy bonnet for a tenner, ready to fit), engine oil and filter change, and two front tyres.
A few more pics.
Changed the clutch this weekend. Bit of a swine physically getting the gearbox in and out (it's tight) but otherwise reasonably straightforward. At least no need to mess around dropping subframes and other nonsense.
Drained all the transmission oil out and refilled with fresh 75W 90. Now has a lovely light, progressive, slip-free clutch and even slicker transmission than before. £85 and a day and a bit of work well invested. Driven it in anger now and it sounds lovely and pulls well.
Still to do: Replace bonnet and front wing (got a tidy bonnet for a tenner, ready to fit), engine oil and filter change, and two front tyres.
A few more pics.
buymeabar said:
Happy memories for me there. I had a brand new X reg puma black, with different wheels though as standard. Looked a little like split rims, but I think the same design was shared by the Mondeo at the time. Loved that car so much. Cheap to run, a lot of fun and awesome for ragging round the country lanes (I lived in Norfolk working for Lotus at the time). The missus managed to put it on its roof about 6 months after purchase. Funnily enough, we're in the midst of a divorce now....karma.
I loved my X-reg black Puma from new too! Drove it to Italy and back. My missus crashed it three times in two years, and told me it was my fault because it was too fast, too small and too hard to see - she became an ex-missus, too...Thanks everyone for the kind and encouraging words.
It's got a pair of Toyo Proxes on the rear which are in good nick, some nasty budget rubbish on the offside front with tread starting to separate, and an utterly knackered Michelin Energy on the nearside front. Even with this handicap it still turns in sharply and is beautifully throttle steerable. I'm going to sort some tyres out for it as a priority but there are still some driveway jobs to do before it goes on the road properly let alone anywhere near a track. I also want to get an experienced mechanic mate to stick it up on his ramps and give me his (usually crushingly honest) opinion lol
It's got a pair of Toyo Proxes on the rear which are in good nick, some nasty budget rubbish on the offside front with tread starting to separate, and an utterly knackered Michelin Energy on the nearside front. Even with this handicap it still turns in sharply and is beautifully throttle steerable. I'm going to sort some tyres out for it as a priority but there are still some driveway jobs to do before it goes on the road properly let alone anywhere near a track. I also want to get an experienced mechanic mate to stick it up on his ramps and give me his (usually crushingly honest) opinion lol
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