Ford Puma...the proper one
Discussion
All due respect to the current Puma, which is a decent car that drives well, but there is only one in my eyes.
I had a Mk1 Puma 1.7 in Moondust Silver when I was 21 as my daily car. I loved how it drove and went everywhere in it, and the car was sort of part of the reason my partner & I got together. I ended up selling it to move on to something else, as we usually do at that fickle age, but I've always hankered after another.
I've viewed many Puma's that have promised to be amazing, only to be let down by predictable corrosion (a notable one being a 9k mile example a few years ago that had a fist size hole in the nearside sill), suspension that looks like it's been parked in the sea and general tiredness. I'd kind of resolved I'd never find one quite up to scratch.
A mate who is a notoriously bad influence posted in our pals car group chat one coming up for sale on Facebook (I'm not on social media) out of the blue a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't that far from me, so I popped up for a look, thinking this would be another one just to tick off the curiosity list.
It wasn't. It was mint, dammit, and had lovely provenance, together with the added curio of being one of the oldest left, as it's from the first month of production. The paint is all factory, and there's a statement from the original owner in the history file asserting it had never been driven in the wet! A deal was negotiated, and it came home with me a few days later.
Disappointingly the brakes were absolutely terrible (the pedal was very soft!) and coolant was basically water, despite a recent service & pre-delivery safety check from the supplying trader, so a brake fluid change & coolant flush/change later restored things to where they should be. Which for a mid 90's Ford on 240mm front discs, is only "reasonable"...
It was on very old (the rears being dated 1997!) Pirelli P6000's and the geometry was an absolute mess, so the other calls were a set of Michelin Pilot Sport tyres and a DIY string theory alignment, then a drive over to STS (not the chain, a good independent by the same name!) in Bedford to check my work. It pleasingly wasn't far out at all, only needing a small tweak - proves a simple rig of axle stands, plum weights & line, tubes and a micrometer plus a whiteboard for the maths works well.
The supplying trader did make a lovely job of detailing it - no paint correction required, the interior is mint and I only needed to touch in a couple of stone chips that had been left unprotected. You can see why Puma's rust so badly - the lower sills are basically body in white, as is much of the underside, and the remainder of the paint is only 80-100 microns thick.
It's a shame, as it means many of one of the best front wheel drive cars I've ever driven haven't survived.
Anyone remember the clever advert featuring Steve McQueen? It made 10 year old me want one, anyway, much like the Top Gear review of the S1 Elise did for a diminutive Norfolk sports car.
I had a Mk1 Puma 1.7 in Moondust Silver when I was 21 as my daily car. I loved how it drove and went everywhere in it, and the car was sort of part of the reason my partner & I got together. I ended up selling it to move on to something else, as we usually do at that fickle age, but I've always hankered after another.
I've viewed many Puma's that have promised to be amazing, only to be let down by predictable corrosion (a notable one being a 9k mile example a few years ago that had a fist size hole in the nearside sill), suspension that looks like it's been parked in the sea and general tiredness. I'd kind of resolved I'd never find one quite up to scratch.
A mate who is a notoriously bad influence posted in our pals car group chat one coming up for sale on Facebook (I'm not on social media) out of the blue a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't that far from me, so I popped up for a look, thinking this would be another one just to tick off the curiosity list.
It wasn't. It was mint, dammit, and had lovely provenance, together with the added curio of being one of the oldest left, as it's from the first month of production. The paint is all factory, and there's a statement from the original owner in the history file asserting it had never been driven in the wet! A deal was negotiated, and it came home with me a few days later.
Disappointingly the brakes were absolutely terrible (the pedal was very soft!) and coolant was basically water, despite a recent service & pre-delivery safety check from the supplying trader, so a brake fluid change & coolant flush/change later restored things to where they should be. Which for a mid 90's Ford on 240mm front discs, is only "reasonable"...
It was on very old (the rears being dated 1997!) Pirelli P6000's and the geometry was an absolute mess, so the other calls were a set of Michelin Pilot Sport tyres and a DIY string theory alignment, then a drive over to STS (not the chain, a good independent by the same name!) in Bedford to check my work. It pleasingly wasn't far out at all, only needing a small tweak - proves a simple rig of axle stands, plum weights & line, tubes and a micrometer plus a whiteboard for the maths works well.
The supplying trader did make a lovely job of detailing it - no paint correction required, the interior is mint and I only needed to touch in a couple of stone chips that had been left unprotected. You can see why Puma's rust so badly - the lower sills are basically body in white, as is much of the underside, and the remainder of the paint is only 80-100 microns thick.
It's a shame, as it means many of one of the best front wheel drive cars I've ever driven haven't survived.
Anyone remember the clever advert featuring Steve McQueen? It made 10 year old me want one, anyway, much like the Top Gear review of the S1 Elise did for a diminutive Norfolk sports car.
Edited by itcaptainslow on Saturday 3rd October 16:55
Lovely example, the P6000 s weren t the best in period heavens knows how bad they are after 25yrs!
Worked at a Ford main dealer when these were new and Ford were enjoying there golden period. See such a mint one has brought back many happy memories. Such a shame their current range is utter dross (Mustang aside).
Worked at a Ford main dealer when these were new and Ford were enjoying there golden period. See such a mint one has brought back many happy memories. Such a shame their current range is utter dross (Mustang aside).
It really does remind me of how brilliant the Richard Parry-Jones era Fords were. I was fortunate enough to have a Mk1 Focus as a first car, and it spoilt (and flattered!) me with quite sublime, vice free, communicative handling.
It also set with me a taste for feelsome, talkative steering that prevails today. It’s one of the first characteristics I look for in a car when I drive it for the first time, and RPJ’s ‘Fifty metre’ test really chimes with me.
I was worried the Puma wouldn’t live up to the halcyon memories. It very much does, and takes me back to simpler, lighter times.
It also set with me a taste for feelsome, talkative steering that prevails today. It’s one of the first characteristics I look for in a car when I drive it for the first time, and RPJ’s ‘Fifty metre’ test really chimes with me.
I was worried the Puma wouldn’t live up to the halcyon memories. It very much does, and takes me back to simpler, lighter times.
itcaptainslow said:
MC Bodge said:
Will you be improving the rust protection?
It s kept in a dehumidified garage and will never see the wet if it can be helped. I m still tempted to do a little unobtrusive and hopefully invisible protection, just in case.Taking the wheel arch liners out there was some corrosion behind, so worth getting some rust protection in there.
Yours looks great, thanks for sharing.
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