just got myself a tidy black 1.7 for the winter. love the turn in on it, just darts into the corner

remember the ad featuring steve mcqueen driving and san francisco? in my head, that's me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2OV7Zz4VsM

top gear's car of the year as well

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3QuH7z1Z1o

 

My missus had a 1.7 for a daily for a while, absolutely loved it, such a hoot to drive. Felt so much quicker than it was, really willing and such a great car through the twisties.

It's sitting idle now, about to be messed about with. I think they're probably one of the best bargains in the Ford world at the moment

 

Have to agree my better half's got one and I love it for a quick blast round the local twisties. As said the turn in is superb. Really chuckable. Just have to get in slowly or risk knocking myself out lol.

 

Puma is on my list of cars to own

 

ive just bought a 70k one with fsh and a new clutch for Ł1100, superb little car

 

And most people are retarded enough to call them hairdressers cars a hairdressers car that outhandles almost all RS cars bar the focus 1 and 2.

 

exactly, ive taken a few people out in mine already through some great roads in the peak district (not far from me) and they cant believe just how well it takes corners.

Not sure about any worthwhile engine mods for it, but tempted by some rear beam spacers and a set of new uprated dampers and springs

 

im on my second.

1st one had H&R coilovers, full piper 4-2-1 manifold, sports cat and silencer and 4x4 cossie brakes.

that thing went and handled amazingly well but had to seel due to our first baby unfortuantly.

im now on my second, bought on 53k miles, 51 plate. the single best mod you can do is the brakes nick, i found them to be utter shite so binned them off for a mk3 mondeo calliper and focus ST170 front disc setup. it now stops on the button.

i took it round combe on the RS day and was keeping up with volcomstones racing puma rally car, which surprised me!

its boggo std other than the brakes

ps the piper full system makes a MASSIVE difference to unleashing a bit of power, the old one just seemed to rev sooo much easier

 

Yeah, i agree about the brakes, although mine is also a 2001 and i thought they had the larger discs?

so is the piper system a genuinely worthwhile addition? not too loud?

 

i think the disc/calliper combo are the same as a 1.25 fiesta!

mine were fucking shit anyhow and i had the discs lying around off the 3dr, so Ł30 and a pair of mondeo callipers later i had a very cheap brake upgrade

the piper system was quite noisy, i had the 3.5" tail on it

 

and this pic was taken of my current one this morning.

how to get a free stripe down the middle of your car.

hit a pidgeon at circa 75mph lol

i think the cunt may have dented the front edge of the bonnet, as well as shitting itself and leaving feathers on the aerial lol

 

shit hes left a good mark on that, i remember hitting a badger in my xr2i, it smashed the whole front bumper clean off. I think the current discs are 260mm so im guessing a mondeo would be 300? do the calipers mount ok or do the mount holes need to be opened out?

 

hub holes need drilling to 13mm, belive it or not i used a masonry bit i had lying around. went straight though lol

also the callipers need a little shaving off to fit under the std wheels but nothingt hat will comprimise them. and yes, ST170 discs are 300mm

 

great, nice and cheap mod then. I will get down the scrap yard for some mondeo calipers. I assume you have the standard 15s on, hence needing to trim abit off

 

Great cars, but at 6'4 I find them too small, even with the seat fully down, my head is on the roof

 

yeah at 6ft i just get away with it

 

have you had the inner rear linings off to check the rust in the arch seam? ive spayed a load of waxoyl in there as it was starting to appear,

 

Rot in rear arches and behind the shit guards is a problem.the issue with the shit guards is the ridiculous material their made from,carpet effectively!!!

Best bet is to rip them out and get some really good rustproofing in there and the car will go on for years,that yamaha lump is awesome as well,plus their a reliable little bus,rarely see one down and out with any major electrical/mechanical issues.

Why people rip the engines out to put in shitbox mk4/5 fiestas I'll never know,the pumas a better car in every way!!!

 

Puma's are great cars, I had a mint 1.7 and really enjoyed the driving experience, great handling and peppy little motors.
Unfortunately, some drink driving arsehole smashed into it while parked up outside my house and wrote it off!

as Vaughant said, only issue is the rear arches rotting, mine had started to get the tell tale bubbling/rusting on the drivers side arch, which i had spent good money getting repaired before Mr dickhead drove his Astra sporthatch over it!.

Here it was; would serioulsy consider having another, probably go for a 'thunder' or 'millenium' special edition tho

 

i was gonna get one of these a while back, but most on here said thet were girly..

 

These a cracking car. A friend of me and the wife had a 1.6 puma on a 51 plate.It still felt really tight and was a bloody nippy car.

I would have one,they woukd make a good track toy.

 

a few people on project puma have made theirs into track cars and apparently they are excellent on track days. Alot of chavs ruin them by putting big wheels on and lowering them which spoils the great handling

 

i found mine to be a bit slow tbh round combe. i didnt pass that much lol, but then most other cars on track seemed to have at least 300bhp lol

 

i guess if more power was wanted then a duratec engine would be a worthwhile upgrade

 

I did a fair bit of reading a while back on one of the Puma forums and was very keen on getting hold of one as a fun daily, but I couldn't find a sensible way to fit two labradors in the back unfortunately.


Cheers,
Grant

 

well i must say, as a daily it amazes me how well it does on fuel, me and the g.f went to kent in it last weekend from derby (380 mile round trip) and it got us there and back on Ł50

 

my only criticism would be that its not a motorway car, keep feeling like it needs a 6th gear

 

Forgot about the parcel shelf issue as well. The bloody string clips keep coming off the holders so the parcel shelf doesn't raise when you open the boot. Haha

 

i have one, great little car. only prob i have is trying to sell it, no one wants it. only wanted Ł500 not even a phone call.

 

i cant believe how cheap they are, im absolutely convinced in 10-15 years time they will be more sought after

 

what suspension was this running mate?

 

the boot on them is an odd shape and a pain in the arse to get anything it. i did manage to get an engine crane in tho lol. i have also fitted one of the 3dr gas struts to mine, so now when you press the button on the fob, not only does the boot pop, it actually opens up too lol

thats fucking good going mate, i get 285 miles on average to a 38l tank, or Ł50 ish at the mo. thats 33.3mpg tho. i only use the car for work and its 9 miles each way so its hardly got warm really.

yeah that can be annoying, mine sits at about 4krpm at 75mph

so its not just mine then lol. often i find the shelf just in the boot lol

thought about shifting mine on lately for something quicker, but id want the top end of Ł1500 lol

it was on H&R coilovers mate, i forget the exact ones but they were only adjustable for ride height, not damping aswell which was a shame as the fronts could have done with being a bit harder.

for info on lowering/ride handling pm volcomestone, he has some useful info for good springs etc.

 

ah ok mate will do, i didnt realise the damping had adjustment too? but i dont want too harsh a ride for a daily driver due to our shite roads. Im planning on taking it over to Italy via the alps next summer then on to greece so want to get it perfect for some amazing driving roads

 

the standard stuff is not adjustable for anything

 

parcel shelf is an easy fix, use a rubber band/o ring or one of those wiring bulk head gromits sized to press over the holder when the hook is on. Also some tape wrapped round the parcel shelf spike thingy will stop it falling out there too.

 

no i meant the h&r coilovers mate

 

We got one too, it is totally awesome - the body control is fantastic and the way it holds on in the bends is unreal. The slick and short gearshift also adds to the experience!

Like others with families we are having to sell too as we can't fit little one in there too well - sad times

 

ah ok. the H&R i had were height adjust only.

they do other kits however that are damping/rebound adjustable

 

ha ha totally

 

ah ok mate