Help
Previously to this i owned a ford fiesta MK5 51 plate that received an awful lot of attention and was well looked after, was pretty much my first car (due to writing my fiesta MK4 off a month after passing my test! ouch) I owned it for four years and after i began to get bored with it i started saving up for a new car - either a cheap but almightily good Peugeot 306 GTI 6, a ST 170 or a Racing Puma. The 306 went out the window quickly as it is so hard to find a decent low mileage one, but I did have problems deciding between other two. Finally i decided that I'd get a racing puma whilst I'm young, without a mortgage and don't have to drive to work and the plan is to get a ST170 for next car.
I've not regretted this decision in the slightest, ever since I set eyes on the Racing Puma at the British motor show I wanted one even though I was ten.. ish! it has always been my realistic dream car and it's not disappointed me. I was a little worried about the supposed running costs... but if anyone is thinking about getting one that is a handy mechanic then i wouldn't worry about the running costs - working on these cars isn't hard! Mine hasn't cost me an awful lot, but it really is up to par now.
Here is my on going progress on #406
October 10th 2009 – Car purchased from John Etheridge in Southampton for cash. Was first person to view car, purchased and driven home on same day.
October 13th 2009 – Discovered minor coolant leak from heater control valve, ordered new heater control valve and fitted on 14th October and topped coolant up to full mark.
October 31st 2009 – Received top engine mounts. Took Vibra Technics top engine mounts off and fitted original ford engine mounts.
November 4th 2009 – Fitted new indicator stalk due to faulty light switch resulting in no side/tail lights.
November 5th 2009 – Fitted new Front anti roll bar drop links to cure knocking from front suspension.
November 11th 2009 – Removed Vibra Technics gearbox mount/torque link and fitted new original Ford Racing Puma Lower gearbox mount/torque link.
November 15th 2009 – Cleaned and inspected Alcon front callipers. Spoke to "eldude" on puma people forum to confirm they were reconditioned by him, These also have his special 909 (marine) grade stainless steel pistons fitted.
November 18th 2009 – Winter body work preparation – Clayed, 3 coats of Autoglym Super Resin Polish, 2 coats of Autoglym Ultra Deep Shine and finished with a coat of Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection.
November 22nd 2009 – Fitted Fiesta Gear X outside temperature sensor and clock, Fitted glove box light from Fiesta Gear X and a second boot light.
November 28th 2009 – Fitted new design boot air vents, old design was prone to letting water in. Replaced due to having a damp boot floor.
November 29th 2009 – JBL GTO 527 13cm two way front door speakers fitted, JBL GTO 627 16.5cm two way speakers fitted in lower of speaker pods, original rear speakers left in. All joints soldered and gaskets fitted. Waxoil sprayed onto inside skin of rear arches.
December 2nd 2009 – New boot rubber seal fitted to cure leak into boot area, leak cured.
December 9th 2009 – Re-Bushed, rubbed down and spray painted front wishbones in black (didn't have time to paint with proper paint - Job for future). Inspected ball joints for play or wear – both seem very tight and not in need of replacing. Tracking checked and set to 2mm total toe in (1mm Toe in per side).
December 31st 2009 – Fitted new ford rear beam bushes, cleaned and painted rear beam black, cleaned and painted rear brake callipers in silver, treated under body with waxoil rust treatment and prevention. New Bosch Aerotwin front wipers fitted.
January 8th 2010 – Removed headlights and cleaned outer body, removed lenses washed out and cleaned inside, cleaner rubber seals. Fitted Ring Xenon Max +100% bulbs to dipped beam, Extreme White LED side lights, Silver coated amber indicator bulbs
January 12th 2010 – Goodyear Eagle F1's fitted to front to replace evenly worn out Toyo T1 S, Tracking reset due to fitting new rear beam bushes.
February 2010 - First picture in thread appears on Racing Puma Owners Club home page as "car of the month" photo.
February 13th 2010 - Washed, Clayed and waxed.
February 27th 2010 – Changed oil and filter as part of a bi annual oil change program. 5-30 part synthetic Mobil Oil used, new sump plug and washer fitted.
March 14th 2010 - Cleaned and painted wishbones
Painted outer part of rear discs and recoated rear calipers with silver engine laquer
Fitted new Ford Racing stickers onto canon muflaps
15th March 2010 - Bought spare set of headlights from user "K80FRP" to practice 'refurbing' using wet and dry sand paper and compound polish. Used passenger headlight assembly to replace the one on 406 as the headlight leveling motor did not function. Reset beam pattern on new light.
27th March 2010 - Passed MOT, No problems.
10th April 2010 - Washed, Clayed, Super Resin Polish'd and a layer of Collinite applied. New number plates, plain with 3D lettering fitted to replace old style ones with black line border.
25th April 2010 - Front wheels removed and cleaned, clayed and sealed using autoglym products. See Images on new post!
28th April 2010 - Front drivers side wheel bearing replaced after it started to make a noise underload through corners. problem solved.
18th June 2010 - Front top mount / strut insulators and top mount bearing replaced on both sides. (pictures on new post in thread)
19th June 2010 - Rear top mounts replaced to cure knocking over larger bumps. Problem solved, (No photos taken but receipt retained)
15th July 2010 - Alcons serviced and painted by Eldoodarino, new Hi Spec Discs and Textar pads fitted (Photos on new post in thread)
22nd August 2010 - #406 attended the 10th Anniversary Racing Puma meet at Duxford Imperial War Museum (Photos Added in new post on thread)
9th September 2010 - Fitted new Oxgen sensor to cure lack of torque and the odd misfire, Problem solved
10th September 2010 - Removed and cleaned Mass Air Flow sensor and Idle Control Valve. Checked wiring to Throttle Position Sensor and #406 has been fitted with the revised connector. Reset ECU and cleared error codes thrown up by the faulty Oxygen sensor. Engine now running very smoothly.
15th September 2010 - Replaced front passenger side wheel bearing to keep in with the drivers side being replaced (Pictures Added on new post)
16th September 2010 - Service time! done a full service including air filter, pollen filter, oil (5w 30 part synthetic) and oil filter, fuel filter, spark plugs (gap set to 1.3mm) and HT leads. (Pictures added on new post)
23rd September 2010 - New tyres fitted on front end to replace worn Goodyear Eagle F1's (the low tread depth was giving a scary drive in wet conditions). 2x Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta XL 215/40/17 fitted and the tracking checked and re aligned. (Photos added on new post in thread)
19th November 2010 - Replaced the non geniune front top mounts and bearing with geniune ford parts due to the bearing not providing enough clearance between the mount and the strut top plate resulting in a squeeking noise when turning the steering wheel! Problem fixed - Sorry no photos of this one! receipt for parts kept. Also took the time to Clean the pistons and caliper rails on the Alcons whilst the discs were off.
5th December 2010 - Full brake fluid change. Using dot 5.1, Receipt kept. Also cleaned off alcons and done a full wheel clean whilst they were off the car.
14th December 2010 - Back box section gasket replaced and cat to manifold dome gasket replaced due to leaking gasses. The rest of the system was checked over too - No leaks found. receipts for gaskets retained.
23rd February 2011 - All new suspension fitted front and back, 2 new outer CV joints, 2 new lower arm ball joints and 2 new track rod ends also fitted. Alcons Cleaned inside and out, wheels cleaned inside and out and cleaned wheel arches. Tracking re aligned after all work was carried out. Photos in new post on thread!
29th March 2011 - Changed oil and oil filter, Checked, Cleaned air filter and bled the clutch. sorry no photos for this! Receipts kept.
2nd April 2011 - Sticky throttle, Replaced Cable with brand new genuine Ford Cable - Alot smoother now!
Put through a MOT and passed with no advisory notices.
7th July 2011 - Bought a 2003 Focus Ghia 1.6 and have taken the Puma off the road to rest! The plan is to keep it off the road over winter and enjoy it for a few selected months next summer!
7th March 2013 - Wow time does fly.... thought i better post an update on how things are. <br style="color: rgb(28, 40, 55); font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(250, 251, 252);"><br style="color: rgb(28, 40, 55); font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(250, 251, 252);">I put it through a MOT last year and it passed with flying colours so i insured it for three months and drove it a 'handful' of times here and there! But was struggling to get the time to drive it with work being very busy. <br style="color: rgb(28, 40, 55); font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(250, 251, 252);"><br style="color: rgb(28, 40, 55); font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(250, 251, 252);">Did manage to get out to a PH meet in blindley heath.<br style="color: rgb(28, 40, 55); font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(250, 251, 252);"><br style="color: rgb(28, 40, 55); font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(250, 251, 252);">So it has been tucked away in a garage since august last year
.<br style="color: rgb(28, 40, 55); font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(250, 251, 252);"><br style="color: rgb(28, 40, 55); font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; background-color: rgb(250, 251, 252);">Plan on getting it out this year and hopefully getting a few more bits done to it and possibly getting out to a few meets!
This post has been edited by Tiwe98: 07 March 2013 - 03:32 PM
caliper rails and pistons looking pretty tidy there... 
