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Thunder - Crash Damaged Project Rate Topic: -----

#1 User is offline   jim2007xx 

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Posted 10 September 2012 - 10:13 AM

One July morning I was browsing through eBay when I came across this..

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Now, me being me, the nice guy that I am :bleh: , I wasn't prepared to allow someone to buy this and break it for spares. So I got bidding ;)
If it was the standard model I wouldn't have bothered, but you may have noticed that I have a soft spot for Thunders.

So, after winning the auction I paid the guy to deliver it to our spare garage. As it had been off the road since April I decided to give it a bath :good:

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Having properly assessed the damage, I popped down to my local breakers and they kindly cut the front end off another Puma for me :woot2:

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Now that I have some available space on my drive, last night I got it dropped off and I started work on it this morning :cool:
Looks like I'm going to be busy for a good few weeks :blink:

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#2 User is offline   happy-kat 

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Posted 10 September 2012 - 09:02 PM

The rest of the car looks pretty tidy though :)
What's the mileage?
searching is fruitful | I'm a sponge not a mechanic | please do try that if stuck with a Puma problem whilst waiting for a reply | For the Puma fan this read 'The Inside Story Book' is very nice to own sometimes still seen for sale

#3 User is offline   jim2007xx 

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Posted 10 September 2012 - 09:14 PM

Yeah it is a fairly good example, minus the crash damage :rolleyes: lol. It needs the arches doing too but I'm going to tackle them myself.
The leather hasn't got a mark on it which is a bonus :good: . The rest of it just needs a bit of tlc and it'll be a little gem when it's finished. I'm keen to get in touch with the previous owner though, spare key, any invoices etc... and also to ask how she ended up crashing it :rolleyes: (I say she because there's evidence in the car that suggests it's a woman) :roflmao:

Mileage is 90 k.

#4 User is offline   jim2007xx 

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Posted 10 September 2012 - 09:37 PM

Also sourced this second hand bumper for the tidy sum of £20 :good:

After a good clean and polish its come up a treat :cool:


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#5 User is offline   happy-kat 

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Posted 11 September 2012 - 06:30 PM

Crickey that seems very cheap so a bargain to start you off.
I would guess you need to add a full cam belt change to the list of stuff to do.
searching is fruitful | I'm a sponge not a mechanic | please do try that if stuck with a Puma problem whilst waiting for a reply | For the Puma fan this read 'The Inside Story Book' is very nice to own sometimes still seen for sale

#6 User is offline   jim2007xx 

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Posted 11 September 2012 - 09:30 PM

View Posthappy-kat, on 11 September 2012 - 06:30 PM, said:

Crickey that seems very cheap so a bargain to start you off.
I would guess you need to add a full cam belt change to the list of stuff to do.



Already on it.. had a kit sat in my bedroom for the last 3 weeks :good:

Full Gates cam belt kit delivered off eBay for £45 all in :cool:

#7 User is offline   jim2007xx 

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Posted 11 September 2012 - 09:48 PM

Made a bit of progress today before I went to work.. Made a cut to the slam to I could straighten out the crease at the inner wing

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Also made a cut in the X member to straighten it out


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How it stands at the moment


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#8 User is offline   Pricey36 

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Posted 12 September 2012 - 03:13 PM

Looking good! Want to swap it for another project when you are done??? :blink: lol

#9 User is offline   Ian G 

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Posted 13 September 2012 - 07:40 PM

That bumper is cheap, not often you find them in that condition, never mind for so little money.

#10 User is offline   jim2007xx 

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Posted 22 September 2012 - 05:50 PM

Right then guys, got back from Torquay yesterday and I couldn't wait to get cracking!

Spent a few hours on it today removing the remainder of the front panel and was pleased to discover that the chassis legs and inner wings hadn't moved even 1 mm after comparing them with my donor

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Removed the parts off the donor front panel that I didn't need

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I then tacked the panel into place and fitted the front end parts to confirm the alignment

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Ended up with this!

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I plan on fully welding it in place and painting it tomorrow... providing that it doesn't lash it down :cool:



#11 User is offline   happy-kat 

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Posted 22 September 2012 - 06:11 PM

Great panel alignment :)
searching is fruitful | I'm a sponge not a mechanic | please do try that if stuck with a Puma problem whilst waiting for a reply | For the Puma fan this read 'The Inside Story Book' is very nice to own sometimes still seen for sale

#12 User is offline   jim2007xx 

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Posted 23 September 2012 - 07:45 PM

Thanks Happy-kat.


Made a bit more progress today inbetween showers :rolleyes:



Finally have the front end finished and now I can start n the arches :cool:



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Might not be an AMAZING project, but at least it's one more saved from the crusher :beer:

#13 User is offline   jim2007xx 

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Posted 25 September 2012 - 04:12 PM

Right then guys, got the final panel alignment done today... in the rain.. my neighbours think I'm mad! :crazy:
Quite pleased with it to be honest, not bad for a DIY job :beer: . Next ...... ARCHES! :woot:

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#14 User is offline   jim2007xx 

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Posted 18 June 2013 - 06:28 PM

Right.. think it's about time I updated this :lol:

Finally made a lot of progress with this now..

Got loads of bits and bobs for it as well as fitting a Toad alarm system to it :ok:

Also got this off my favourite auction site for less than £100 delivered :thumbs:
This will eventually bolt to a Hoffmann race tube centre section and standard back box. I'll be running it on a TAPE ECU so I don't have any issues with the Engine Management System.

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Again from eBay, managed to get hold of some new discs and pads for the front and new flexi as well as mental pipes all round.

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New wishbones

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New drop links

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After fitting the new brakes it was time to tackle the arches..

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Both sides have plenty of Waxoyl on the insides of the arches. That should keep the rust away for a few more years.

All put back together ready for the MOT and VIC check on 8th July.. Then it'll finally be back on the road after 15 months :thumbs:

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#15 User is offline   happy-kat 

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Posted 18 June 2013 - 08:53 PM

Wow you sure tackled that rust repair directly, looked quite scarey and then the finished job looks amazing.
searching is fruitful | I'm a sponge not a mechanic | please do try that if stuck with a Puma problem whilst waiting for a reply | For the Puma fan this read 'The Inside Story Book' is very nice to own sometimes still seen for sale

#16 User is offline   jim2007xx 

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Posted 18 June 2013 - 09:14 PM

Blood, sweat, tears and God knows how much swearing went into those arches :phew::/>

#17 User is offline   Fatttty 

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Posted 22 June 2013 - 10:23 AM

Nice work on the arches!

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