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
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.
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
Quick update.
Put about 100 miles on it since the clutch swap, and it hasn't missed a beat. Pulls really well if you let it rev, and the gear change quality and the feel and response of the steering are the equal of any car in mass production today, and actually better than most.
Faults? Of course there are. There is a slight knock from the front over really sharp bumps, and the frilly rear silencer makes it sound like a fully paid up member of the Corsa / McDonalds crew. I also managed to put a hole in a suspicious looking scab in the middle of the offside outer sill with worrying ease, and the nearside wasn't looking too clever either Nevertheless it managed a commute or two and some local running about without so much as a misfire. Steers, goes and stops delightfully, quite honestly.
After a 10 mile blast to get it hot, I dropped the black goop passing for oil out, filled the sump with fresh Ford Formula F synthetic oil and fitted a genuine (FoMoCo) oil filter. Also replaced the filthy air filter. This was nothing more than mechanical sympathy at work. However, before getting too embroiled in the list of other stuff I knew about, and spending any more cash prior to the October MOT, I decided to get it down to my friendly MOT tester who gave it a once over for me on the ramps after hours, and an honest opinion in return for a couple of beers down the local next week.
I paced nervously while he did his stuff, (and kept looking across at me with his best grave expression while cruelly shaking his head). The news was actually quite encouraging. Front tyres and rear silencer need replacing (obvious), anti-roll bar bushes and drop-links tired (suspected something amiss due to noise), sill needs plating (corrosion very localised so easily patched) and a split wiper blade. That was it. Brakes sailed the balance and efficiency tests, which I wasn't surprised at, as for a Puma they actually feel pretty good. They have reasonable bite, and pull up square. I've driven a few Pumas with pant-soiling brakes, but these aren't too bad. Emissions the only question mark as they couldn't be tested due to the exhaust blow.
Rear brake pipes will need doing next year, and perhaps rear inner arches, but they aren't a concern just yet.
So, ordered some stuff and will make a start this weekend. Got four weeks to get it all done and tested.
Loving the parts prices on this car. Rear silencer came in at £28, anti roll bar bushes a whopping £3.20, drop links £15 a pair. All new prices from reputable sources.
Next step - get the new bits on the front suspension, restore some decorum with the new silencer, then find someone with a MIG who works for beer money!
After that, some new front rubber and it should pass the MOT without any hassle. I have to say, I'm having a lot of fun with this little car.
Put about 100 miles on it since the clutch swap, and it hasn't missed a beat. Pulls really well if you let it rev, and the gear change quality and the feel and response of the steering are the equal of any car in mass production today, and actually better than most.
Faults? Of course there are. There is a slight knock from the front over really sharp bumps, and the frilly rear silencer makes it sound like a fully paid up member of the Corsa / McDonalds crew. I also managed to put a hole in a suspicious looking scab in the middle of the offside outer sill with worrying ease, and the nearside wasn't looking too clever either Nevertheless it managed a commute or two and some local running about without so much as a misfire. Steers, goes and stops delightfully, quite honestly.
After a 10 mile blast to get it hot, I dropped the black goop passing for oil out, filled the sump with fresh Ford Formula F synthetic oil and fitted a genuine (FoMoCo) oil filter. Also replaced the filthy air filter. This was nothing more than mechanical sympathy at work. However, before getting too embroiled in the list of other stuff I knew about, and spending any more cash prior to the October MOT, I decided to get it down to my friendly MOT tester who gave it a once over for me on the ramps after hours, and an honest opinion in return for a couple of beers down the local next week.
I paced nervously while he did his stuff, (and kept looking across at me with his best grave expression while cruelly shaking his head). The news was actually quite encouraging. Front tyres and rear silencer need replacing (obvious), anti-roll bar bushes and drop-links tired (suspected something amiss due to noise), sill needs plating (corrosion very localised so easily patched) and a split wiper blade. That was it. Brakes sailed the balance and efficiency tests, which I wasn't surprised at, as for a Puma they actually feel pretty good. They have reasonable bite, and pull up square. I've driven a few Pumas with pant-soiling brakes, but these aren't too bad. Emissions the only question mark as they couldn't be tested due to the exhaust blow.
Rear brake pipes will need doing next year, and perhaps rear inner arches, but they aren't a concern just yet.
So, ordered some stuff and will make a start this weekend. Got four weeks to get it all done and tested.
Loving the parts prices on this car. Rear silencer came in at £28, anti roll bar bushes a whopping £3.20, drop links £15 a pair. All new prices from reputable sources.
Next step - get the new bits on the front suspension, restore some decorum with the new silencer, then find someone with a MIG who works for beer money!
After that, some new front rubber and it should pass the MOT without any hassle. I have to say, I'm having a lot of fun with this little car.Edited by Limpet on Thursday 17th September 19:54
There are some excellent owners groups and sites which are a wealth of support and useful info, but the killer really is the dreaded tin worm and it is taking hundreds of these off the roads permanently every year judging by the number of outwardly undamaged ones being broken at the moment. It attacks the sills and rear arches, floorpan, front inner and outer wings...you name it. Front wings bolt on and are easily replaced, but there are also currently no repair panels available for the sills and arches. People have fabricated rear arch repair panels from Peugeot 206 front wings, but it's not a job for the unskilled. So unless you are a skilled fabricator, it becomes a case of MIG patching the thing until eventually you run out of good metal to weld to.
One of the owners clubs is talking to a metalworking company who may be up for producing a run of outer sill and arch repair panels if they can get enough interest, which will allow two of the major grot prone areas to be simply cut out and replaced with good metal. Properly sealed, protected and painted, this should extend the life of the vehicle considerably.
They are a great little car with bags of character. We have a 6 month old 320d and a 3 week old Cooper S in the house, and I still love driving the Puma, even in its current slightly tired state. Just such a laugh to drive.
One of the owners clubs is talking to a metalworking company who may be up for producing a run of outer sill and arch repair panels if they can get enough interest, which will allow two of the major grot prone areas to be simply cut out and replaced with good metal. Properly sealed, protected and painted, this should extend the life of the vehicle considerably.
They are a great little car with bags of character. We have a 6 month old 320d and a 3 week old Cooper S in the house, and I still love driving the Puma, even in its current slightly tired state. Just such a laugh to drive.
Fitted the new back box today. Took about half an hour to get the old one off (clamp had to be cut off, and then the flange joint peeled like a banana until it parted company with the mid section).
The cheap £28 "Klarius" replacement from ECP looked completely different next to the old box...
But it fitted like a dream. Took 5 mins to smear the joint with assembly paste, slip it on, and hook the rubber mounts on. A bit of jiggling to get the tailpipe straight and lined up nicely
And tighten the shiny new clamp.
Difference instantly noticeable on start up with a lovely sweet, smooth idle. A quick blast up the road revealed an engine that sounds flippin' brilliant for a four pot. The growl over 4500 RPM is addictive, and now there's no annoying farting noises from the blowing silencer, you can hear the induction noise for which this engine is well known (it has an acoustically tuned inlet manifold expressly for this purpose, apparently!)
Also have the droplinks and ARB bushes to fit next weekend, which will just leaves a pair of tyres and some welding to do.
Oh, and put some fuel in it today, and fag packet maths suggests even with a blowing exhaust and being driven quite hard, it's doing about 37 mpg!!
More updates to follow. Thanks for reading!
The cheap £28 "Klarius" replacement from ECP looked completely different next to the old box...
But it fitted like a dream. Took 5 mins to smear the joint with assembly paste, slip it on, and hook the rubber mounts on. A bit of jiggling to get the tailpipe straight and lined up nicely
And tighten the shiny new clamp.
Difference instantly noticeable on start up with a lovely sweet, smooth idle. A quick blast up the road revealed an engine that sounds flippin' brilliant for a four pot. The growl over 4500 RPM is addictive, and now there's no annoying farting noises from the blowing silencer, you can hear the induction noise for which this engine is well known (it has an acoustically tuned inlet manifold expressly for this purpose, apparently!)
Also have the droplinks and ARB bushes to fit next weekend, which will just leaves a pair of tyres and some welding to do.
Oh, and put some fuel in it today, and fag packet maths suggests even with a blowing exhaust and being driven quite hard, it's doing about 37 mpg!!
More updates to follow. Thanks for reading!
greypianosflying said:
Is it possible to drop the gear box and change the clutch yourself, or do you need 2 people?
I would say that depends entirely what tools and kit you have. I was using a trolley jack and a block of wood to lift and drop the 'box and managed to get the box out on my own. It would have been loads quicker with two, but it was possible.A mate came over and gave me a hand to put the box back in, and I would say unless you have an engine crane, you really need two people. One underneath operating the jack and keeping the box balanced, and someone above to guide and move things out the way. Otherwise you literally need to be in two places at once. If the box is properly supported on a crane or hoist, you could do it single handedly without any problem at all.
If I ever have to remove this box again, I'm going to spend £15 and hire an engine crane for the day. Would have saved me hours, even with the help.
EDIT - the other thing to bear in mind is that these gearboxes have no drain plug, so it will pour oil absolutely everywhere when you move it. You'll lose a bit when you pull the offside driveshaft out, but it will literally pour out as soon as you move the 'box. Once I'd got the 'box out, I tipped it on its side over an oil pan to drain it. Apart from the benefits of a transmission oil change on future lifespan of the box, knowing the box is empty of oil gives you one less thing to worry about when refitting. To refill once you have the box in and bolted back up, rig up a length of garden hose and a funnel, and fill from above. It's easy enough.
Also, I'm not sure if you've encountered it before, but be warned, gearbox oil STINKS! Any material you spill it on will need to go in the bin
Edited by Limpet on Sunday 20th September 18:31
Replaced the slightly clunky anti roll bar clamp bushes and the tired droplinks this weekend.
Straightforward enough in both cases. The rearmost bolt for the anti roll bar clamps can't be extracted without dropping the subframe to allow the bolt to clear the floorpan, and Ford's official procedure is to do just that. Instead I cheated and used the established alternative way which is to remove the front bolt, slacken the rear a few turns, and then gently bend the clamp with a pry bar just enough to slide the bush towards you along the anti-roll bar and out. The bush is horizontally split on one side, so can be easily slid over the bar for removal/installation.
Also the track rod is in the way with the steering dead ahead, but moves nicely out of the way if you apply full lock.
Clamp opened up and bush removed:
Old vs new bush. Note the wear visible in the increased diameter of the hole where the anti-roll bar passes through, caused by the rubber becoming compressed. This allows excessive movement, and an annoying clonk over sharp bumps. The replacement bushes are peanuts (I paid about three quid for the pair from ECP, and I don't think Ford charge much more) so no point ignoring this job.
New bush in situ, and with a bit of gentle persuasion, the bracket's front bolt holes can be roughly lined up so the bolt can be started.
Tighten both bolts fully, and the job's a good-un.
All the slop gone and it looks good.
The droplinks were very tired. Rusted to hell and the balljoints had some slop in them. New and old for comparison. Straightforward enough to do. Bottom bolt on the nearside put up a fight, but
Also found a shining example of Ford's complete lack of consideration around body corrosion. Peeling back the arch liner (itself a lovely thick "carpet" that absorbs and traps moisture like a sponge) I found this half inch deep clump of wet dirt sitting in the lovely tailor-made trap in the rear of the front wheelarch. Shocking design. Other side was exactly the same:
And after a quick clearout:
Front suspension now much quieter in operation, and body roll is noticeably reduced with the slack taken out of the anti-roll bar links.
Just leaves the sill welding and new rubber up front, and she should go through the MOT
without any hassle.
Car currently owes me a whisker under £370. And a chunk of time.
Straightforward enough in both cases. The rearmost bolt for the anti roll bar clamps can't be extracted without dropping the subframe to allow the bolt to clear the floorpan, and Ford's official procedure is to do just that. Instead I cheated and used the established alternative way which is to remove the front bolt, slacken the rear a few turns, and then gently bend the clamp with a pry bar just enough to slide the bush towards you along the anti-roll bar and out. The bush is horizontally split on one side, so can be easily slid over the bar for removal/installation.
Also the track rod is in the way with the steering dead ahead, but moves nicely out of the way if you apply full lock.
Clamp opened up and bush removed:
Old vs new bush. Note the wear visible in the increased diameter of the hole where the anti-roll bar passes through, caused by the rubber becoming compressed. This allows excessive movement, and an annoying clonk over sharp bumps. The replacement bushes are peanuts (I paid about three quid for the pair from ECP, and I don't think Ford charge much more) so no point ignoring this job.
New bush in situ, and with a bit of gentle persuasion, the bracket's front bolt holes can be roughly lined up so the bolt can be started.
Tighten both bolts fully, and the job's a good-un.
All the slop gone and it looks good.The droplinks were very tired. Rusted to hell and the balljoints had some slop in them. New and old for comparison. Straightforward enough to do. Bottom bolt on the nearside put up a fight, but
Also found a shining example of Ford's complete lack of consideration around body corrosion. Peeling back the arch liner (itself a lovely thick "carpet" that absorbs and traps moisture like a sponge) I found this half inch deep clump of wet dirt sitting in the lovely tailor-made trap in the rear of the front wheelarch. Shocking design. Other side was exactly the same:
And after a quick clearout:
Front suspension now much quieter in operation, and body roll is noticeably reduced with the slack taken out of the anti-roll bar links.
Just leaves the sill welding and new rubber up front, and she should go through the MOT
without any hassle.
Car currently owes me a whisker under £370. And a chunk of time.
Edited by Limpet on Monday 28th September 10:13
Another update - two new Uniroyal Rainsport 3 tyres fitted to the front this afternoon, ticking off the last MOT job apart from the sill welding. Took the opportunity to give it a proper wash and polish, and finally fit the replacement drivers door mirror that I bought weeks ago, to replace the one on the car that looked awful being held together with Gaffa tape.
There is no doubt that photos flatter this car, but I think it's fair to say that even in the flesh, it looks like considerably more than the £450 it currently owes me
A few more pics for your perusal :
Old mirror
Ten quid scrappy replacement bolted up - massive improvement:
Freshly serviced 1.7 Sigma pulls well and sounds sweet as a nut, even with 134k on it.
And a wash, shampoo, rinse, dry and a coat of Zymol later has this old girl looking half presentable:
Next job - a small plate on each outer sill, and in for MOT. Unless emissions throw something unexpected, I am confident it will pass.
There is no doubt that photos flatter this car, but I think it's fair to say that even in the flesh, it looks like considerably more than the £450 it currently owes me
A few more pics for your perusal
:Old mirror
Ten quid scrappy replacement bolted up - massive improvement:
Freshly serviced 1.7 Sigma pulls well and sounds sweet as a nut, even with 134k on it.
And a wash, shampoo, rinse, dry and a coat of Zymol later has this old girl looking half presentable:
Next job - a small plate on each outer sill, and in for MOT. Unless emissions throw something unexpected, I am confident it will pass.
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