sick of having boring and slow daily drivers and really want something to play with, a cheap and cheerful, fun, quick motor than handles well, and thinking about a puma?

anyone got any opinions of them? ive been in a mk5 fiesta zetec s with avo coilovers and was very impressed by how it handled. i assume the puma will just be the same but quicker?

anyone know to what extent the parts from the puma to the mk4/5 fiesta are interchangable? could i use suspension and steering rack from a fiesta?

would be looking to get it on decent suspension and just take as much weight out of it as possible. obviously strip the interior, perspex windows, chop out doors and boot, ditch heater etc, swap power steering gubins for a manual fiesta rack. possibly try and pick up a fiesta 1.25 gearbox as id assume theyre lower ratio?

recon itd make a decent track / fast road car?

 

Then you won't go far wrong!

Nice and simple, not hugely powerful, but small, nimble and can carry plenty of speed through the twisties.

Very good little car to drive. Just concentrate on uprating the brakes, a decent set of tyres first and foremost, then a suspension upgrade and job done!

 

shoter ratios arnt always want you want, they need to work with the car, maybe a lighter 3rd/4th but you dont want it so light it spins

neil from fast ford uses a puma as a semi track/road car i belive

 

Great car for track use, check out zsoc.com if you need some advise, as everything bar the body panels and some interior parts are interchangeable between the puma and zetec s.

Bargains can be had on old 1.7 pumas with dodgy bodywork, which is perfect if you want a track car.

 

exactly what ive been looking at. theres a crashed one that needs new front and rear bumpers and the front crossmember pulling straight going for Ł300 in somerset, waiting to find out more details but something like that would be perfect. theres shitloads for well under a grand needing just simple work for mots and stuff.

 

great cars for trackdays!! They like to rev so give them death with the loud pedal and change just before the limiter!!

 

ive been thinking the same

 

Hi stu, you back from ireland yet ? Added you to new msn (the smiley one)

I want a puma, or a tigra, both could be a weapon IMO, longer wheelbase than fiesta / nova but same engines fit....

 

i got a 1.7 puma engine mk4 fez... goes like stink....

 

Aye, i got one.

For the money as a cheap smoker that girls like and a track day toy for peanuts they are good.

I found mine boring as hell in a straightline, but a laugh round a track.

Brakes are shocking for trackwork. They just fry!
Get a Dreamscience remap, mine revs to 7300 now. Standard engine, just a remap and panel filter.

Bushes and suspension and your away.

Cams and suspension are next on my shopping list, but the clutch is dieing and my FRST is back so the Puma is just doing my daily chores.

It is great round town and suprisingly ok on the motorway.

They are worth a punt IMO

 

I'll try and find my video of Neil's in action round a track, not quite as quick as my clio, but when you think mine is totally stripped out etc, I think his put up a really good fight. Took me nearly 2 laps to catch him and get past him IIRC
I enjoy my clio a lot on track so I dont think the puma would be too slow to enjoy as well as there was literally only a couple of seconds a lap at most in it.

 

Full road trim, shit tracking and of course my 20 stone of FIA approved race ballast beside me (jamie) haha

It has great potential but i am 100% going to keep it in a sensible road spec too. So the glass, carpets, heaters etc etc are all staying no matter what.

I drove the Bonus daily in winter and it nearly killed me. Never again.

 

Im sure if I still had the glass and interior etc, there would have been nothing in it

 

True mate, was fun. A good chance for me to gauge improvements

I'll build mine up to a fun, reliable spec for around 2k including car purchase.

Cheap trackday cars are soooo much fun. No paraniod checking of gauges...because it just doesn't matter!

 

[Cheap trackday cars are soooo much fun. No paraniod checking of gauges...because it just doesn't matter! [/quote]


Wholeheartedly agree with that mate!

 

Just watch for oil consumption on the 1.7. They hate being starved of oil and will throw a crank bearing...

Other than that, cracking little cars that'll show up much more powerful cars in the corners

 

As for gearbox alot of people with Zetec s like to go for a FRP 'box or 1.7 ratio's and 1.6 final drive. My zs is a heap of fun to drive and im sure you wont go wrong with a puma for a bit of a laugh on track!

 

do it!

they're ace!

 

sweet glad theres so much good to be said about them!

ive just taken my parents saab 95 off their hands as theyre emigrating, so i now have that and an LDV minibus thats 90% converted to camper, so cant be getting another car just yet!

will finish the camper van and flog that, then use whatever money i get from that to buy a puma and do whatever work/mods i need to, then could potentially also sell the saab and pump a few more quid into it from the sale of that perhaps!

seen a black one that looks tidy enough, mot til march '10, new tyres and zorst, but cambelt snapped for Ł600. also seen a few accident damaged/written off repaired cars going for well under a grand, so shoould be ample from the sale of the van to get a car and still have a wedge to spend doing a few bits.

chip a mate of mine had a clio valver and it was quick enough to be good fun. if a standard puma is about on par with a standard clio valver then itll be (or feel at least!) plenty quick enough when its been stripped of interior and sound deadening etc!

 

Im planning on puma'in my mk5....

 

how much and what sort of power do they claim mate? how do you rate it?

engine wise i think id probably stick to just a panel filter and drilled airbox, 4 branch and decat the std system, then id be removing power steering, and aircon if applicable. any guesstimate what power they would make at that with a remap?

also anyone got an idea what they weigh stripped? apparently theyre 1040-1050 standard. recon sub 850 is doable with a socket set, angle grinder and some perspex?

 

A question to people with more experiance ... Is a puma engine swap to a fiesta a hard un or simple seen as they use the same chassis ?

 

very simple as far as im aware as the 1.25, 1.4 and 1.6 zetec engines are essentially the same as the 1.7 mounts wise. just different loom and ecu required.

 

Very easy to swap, however it is easier to tune the 1.6. (If going down the NA route)

 

supposdly the 1.6 sigma can get over 180 bhp ??? , or is that just bollocks ?

 

olddan - as a self proclaimed zetec expert, can you tell me a bit about tuning the 1.6 and 1.7? wouldnt be looking to get into bottom end work or anything but maybe reprofiled cams and mild headwork. whats the best route for most power?

 

No - built one my self which made 198bhp a month or two back!


stu - with a 1.7 I'd just whack in some FRP cams and remap, 4-2-1 and frp inlet if you can find one cheap enough and you'll be near to 150bhp anyway. That'll make for some good fun in a puma.

 

so , olddan ... Im thinking about getting a ZS soon , how much would you say it would cost to get a 1.6 sigma to 130 / 140 ish ?

 

Set of cams - 4-2-1 manifold and a remap.

Probably lookin at about Ł1000 in parts. Possibly a little more.

 

hmm affordable for me , what would you declare on insurance ? just the outside mods(eg 4-2-1) ... surely they wont check internals and ecu etc ?

 

what sort of money do the cams and inlet go for?

150bhp in something that weighs fuck all and handles well certainly would be fun.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Genuine-Ford-R...3%3A1|294%3A50

inlet ? , this price has to be a joke

 

you realy would need to be soft in the head to pay that.

 

I know ... wtf

 

Yeah you would be imo but people do.

Standard inlet manifold should be good for 145-150bhp anyway I'd say - especially as the standard 1.6 manifold is!

 

You can get the odd one for Ł500 but I'd flinch at paying that.

For Ł1400 you wouldn't be far off getting a set of bodies and omex!

 

wheres the best place to get the cams and remap for the 1.6 sigma ?

 

should have bought ours stu when you had the chance!

propper hoot to drive, the full piper exhaust system made a massive difference to how it drove. cams and throttle bodies would have made it a right little monster.

4x4 cossie brakes go on with a bit of modding and are fooking more than enough. could lock it up at 90 if you tried hard enough lol (does away with the abs tho.)

some decent coilovers and your laughing. mine had H&R's that were good, but were the base spec so you couldnt adjust damoing etc that it desperatly needed.

with 17s on and a good lowering the tyre hit the inner arch, so i had to bend the lip over with a mallet. with the std 15"s on it was fine, but they didnt clear the brakes so had to use 20mm spacers on the front lol

 

Remap - Motorsport Developments

Cams - ShawSpeed

 

i know i kick myself for that!!

gagging to get this camper sorted and fucked off so i can start hunting for one now