RE: Ford Puma: Spotted

Author
Discussion

FWDRacer

3,564 posts

223 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
quotequote all
Terzo123 said:
Great little cars. My wife had a 1.7 lux.

Only sold it as we couldn't fit the baby stuff in it after our eldest was born.
Spent Shiite loads on a pram that avoided that problem, and kept ours....

QuadCamCapri

259 posts

150 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
quotequote all
Bought this one last year for very little, from BCA Blackbushe Auctions. This one like others came in via BCA owned 'We Buy Any Car', had to have it as looking underneath it was completely rust free, 1 owner and 58k miles.
A year later, had the interior out etc. but still found no rust anywhere, so they are about. Have now pumped Bilt&Hamber Dynax S50 in every orifice I can find.



Edited by QuadCamCapri on Thursday 4th April 08:53

Sa Calobra

37,005 posts

210 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
quotequote all
FWDRacer said:
Terzo123 said:
Great little cars. My wife had a 1.7 lux.

Only sold it as we couldn't fit the baby stuff in it after our eldest was born.
Spent Shiite loads on a pram that avoided that problem, and kept ours....
I could get a full-sized proper mountain bike in mine or pram and all baby stuff. He must have had twins!

egor110

16,818 posts

202 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
quotequote all
paulyv said:
Well if it's pictures we're sharing I'll paste the usual one of my 100 pound Puma.



Upgraded last year to a 300 pound Puma. Still doing track days in it.



Edited by paulyv on Wednesday 3rd April 23:03
Are you running st brakes or totally bog standard ?

paulyv

1,017 posts

122 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
quotequote all
egor110 said:
Are you running st brakes or totally bog standard ?
Standard brakes, albeit with drilled and grooved discs, quality pads and good brake fluid. The point was really to get an unmodified car for peanuts and run it as much as I could on track...if it got dented or hit the wall then so be it as I can just go out and get another one. The fact that I have no fear of expense means I appear to be able to commit to corners to a greater degree than the somewhat more exotic machinery. I also have no worries about letting complete strangers take it out on track which in turn means I get to go in their far fancier machines. Lots of people seem to want to have a go driving the Puma and all emerge with a smile.

All that said, I am rather tempted by the idea of an LSD in one of these and they inspire so much confidence in the corners already, although I am by no means a track demon, so perhaps I am doing it wrong!

Edited by paulyv on Thursday 4th April 12:58

tannhauser

1,773 posts

214 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
quotequote all
Sa Calobra said:
These things are great but why Ford never used decent steel or treated them is beyond me.
Because Ford are cheap-ass.

tannhauser

1,773 posts

214 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
quotequote all
QuadCamCapri said:
Bought this one last year for very little, from BCA Blackbushe Auctions. This one like others came in via BCA owned 'We Buy Any Car', had to have it as looking underneath it was completely rust free, 1 owner and 58k miles.
A year later, had the interior out etc. but still found no rust anywhere, so they are about. Have now pumped Bilt&Hamber Dynax S50 in every orifice I can find.



Edited by QuadCamCapri on Thursday 4th April 08:53
Looks fantastic, always has a soft spot for these, apart from the rust. An example like that, can only appreciate in value from now!

Any thoughts on the ridiculous carpet wheelarch liners? Can they be removed? Otherwise I'd advise using the car in dry conditions only! laugh

Sa Calobra

37,005 posts

210 months

Bergs

203 posts

175 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
quotequote all
Fab little car, I loved mine for the 4 years I had her - sold her to a ex girlfriend of a friend and she trashed it. (I think she reversed into a lorry or something, dippy girl)

This car is the reason I'm married (and the PumaPeople website)

egor110

16,818 posts

202 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
quotequote all
paulyv said:
egor110 said:
Are you running st brakes or totally bog standard ?
Standard brakes, albeit with drilled and grooved discs, quality pads and good brake fluid. The point was really to get an unmodified car for peanuts and run it as much as I could on track...if it got dented or hit the wall then so be it as I can just go out and get another one. The fact that I have no fear of expense means I appear to be able to commit to corners to a greater degree than the somewhat more exotic machinery. I also have no worries about letting complete strangers take it out on track which in turn means I get to go in their far fancier machines. Lots of people seem to want to have a go driving the Puma and all emerge with a smile.

All that said, I am rather tempted by the idea of an LSD in one of these and they inspire so much confidence in the corners already, although I am by no means a track demon, so perhaps I am doing it wrong!

Edited by paulyv on Thursday 4th April 12:58
I think your's is the right approach to pumas although you can get used st brakes for £150 so hardly braking the bank and it really improves the car.

I've never understood people spending thousands trying to get more hp when they end up with what a stock clio 1*2 would have from stock .

bangerhoarder

520 posts

67 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
quotequote all
There's been some debate on the wheel arch liners. Many think that they're not the problem at all, and I tend to agree. If they're soaked in salt and scum they won't help, but the main issue seems to be that the inside arch and the rear wing is simply rolled together at the seam. This isn't sealed or treated, and traps moisture and crud then rots from the inside out.

More concerning and terminal is the rot that sets in around the trailing arm mounts at the rear, near the end of the sill. Mine was very crusty here but crucially not holed or thin - I've seen them go through here, and that's a killer.

aaron_2000

5,407 posts

82 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
quotequote all
This was a guy who took a shed Puma to drive across the US

http://usapuma.blogspot.com/2016/02/usa-puma.html

Limpet

6,293 posts

160 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
quotequote all
bangerhoarder said:
More concerning and terminal is the rot that sets in around the trailing arm mounts at the rear, near the end of the sill. Mine was very crusty here but crucially not holed or thin - I've seen them go through here, and that's a killer.
That's what killed ours off. It was an advisory on the MOT (as in, borderline, it'll need sorting next year), and I didn't even bother putting it in for a test the following year, as even a crawl underneath showed it would have failed quite badly. Yes, you can fix it by dropping the beam and replacing sheet metal, but when it involves securely and accurately locating a major suspension component, it wasn't something I fancied tackling. I'm sure a more talented welder and fabricator wouldn't have chickened out, but it was too much for me.

The rusty rear arches are what these are famous for, but that's actually the least serious of the rust issues. Inner and outer sills are a much bigger problem. I welded up two small holes in the outer sills on mine, but by the time I'd cut the rot out, they were two massive holes in the outer, and two small holes in the inner. Quite a tricky repair on its own.

Horsey McHorseface

2,519 posts

183 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
quotequote all
aaron_2000 said:
This was a guy who took a shed Puma to drive across the US

http://usapuma.blogspot.com/2016/02/usa-puma.html
Strange choice for driving in a straight line for thousands of miles.


anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
quotequote all
QuadCamCapri said:
Bought this one last year for very little, from BCA Blackbushe Auctions. This one like others came in via BCA owned 'We Buy Any Car', had to have it as looking underneath it was completely rust free, 1 owner and 58k miles.
A year later, had the interior out etc. but still found no rust anywhere, so they are about. Have now pumped Bilt&Hamber Dynax S50 in every orifice I can find.



Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 4th April 08:53
I think your find the early ones like yours with the fan wheels are a bit less rust prone underneath than the later ones like I now have.
I bought this one with 78k mileage 1.7 in 2016 for £300.

Horsey McHorseface

2,519 posts

183 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
quotequote all
I bought a Green 1.7 (9 spoke) in about 2013. No rust, 40k miles IIRC. £1000 eBay auction. Changed to propeller wheels, because they look better. Both wheel styles are made of chocolate, not helped by the suspensions inability to negotiate pot holes above walking speed.

Passed it’s MOT last Summer, then SORN. Just haven’t had time to sell it. A little rust on one rear arch now, about 55k miles, overdue a cam belt. Offers over £10k, if anyone’s interested tongue out

egor110

16,818 posts

202 months

Thursday 4th April 2019
quotequote all
Christ, if you think the puma suspensions bad try a Mini Cooper s !

soad

32,825 posts

175 months

Friday 5th April 2019
quotequote all
tannhauser said:
Sa Calobra said:
These things are great but why Ford never used decent steel or treated them is beyond me.
Because Ford are cheap-ass.
"Does the Puma have that carpet-like material lining the rear wheel arches? We had a Fiesta with that and it trapped all the dirt etc off the road, especially depositing it on the inner edge of the arches. Regular pressure washing produced piles of muck on the drive but kept the car free of rust. However, many folk, if they wash their cars at all, don't bother with underside."

gigglebug

2,611 posts

121 months

Friday 5th April 2019
quotequote all
soad said:
"Does the Puma have that carpet-like material lining the rear wheel arches? We had a Fiesta with that and it trapped all the dirt etc off the road, especially depositing it on the inner edge of the arches. Regular pressure washing produced piles of muck on the drive but kept the car free of rust. However, many folk, if they wash their cars at all, don't bother with underside."
Funnily enough when I had my Puma arches replaced I was advised to stop doing exactly that as blasting the liners and saturating them with water was probably the last thing it needed. I just cleared as much built up debris as I could with my hands and a soft brush as regularly as possible, easier when it was dry of course.

Great little package the Puma, only recently sold mine. Felt it's age though, which in some respects was a very good thing but definitely not so good in others. Happily mine has gone to a good home and will carry on being enjoyed for some time to come all things being well.

aaron_2000

5,407 posts

82 months

Friday 5th April 2019
quotequote all
Horsey McHorseface said:
aaron_2000 said:
This was a guy who took a shed Puma to drive across the US

http://usapuma.blogspot.com/2016/02/usa-puma.html
Strange choice for driving in a straight line for thousands of miles.
Someone hasn't bothered reading the blog then.