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Fatttty's Ford Racing Puma #401 | Ford content... Front running gear refurb


fatttty
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OK, my original thread got deleted somehow (possibly cos it was Ford related lol) so I've recreated it as I know a few of you were interested in it.

Quick info about the car-

Ford Racing Puma (FRP) #401 of 500

The FRP was a special edition model of the popular Ford Puma that was designed developed and built by Ford Racing in Borham, originally 1000 were meant to be made but only 500 ever made it off the production line. They feature the Zetec 1.7 VVT engine with different cam shafts, engine managment, improved air intake system and a full racing exhaust with 4-2-1 manufold and 100 cell sports cat (from standard) producing 157BHP.

Externally they have wider alloy front wings, extended steel rear arches, wider front nad rear bumpers and all came in Ford Racing Imperial blue paint. They all came with 17" wheels, 295mm front brakes with alcon racing 4 pot calipers up front.

Inside they had Sparco Ford Racing seats with blue alcantara trim, matching door cards and steering wheel.

As many of you know I previously owned a Lupo GTI which was sold earlier this year. I had originally wanted one of these even before I purchased the Lupo, at the time they were just out of my budget so I had the lupo. My itch for one of these cars didnt go away so as I grew tired of the lupo the hunt was on for a good FRP.

I found this one in Birmingham so very local to me, it had been fully repainted inside and out, all panels correctly alligned and lots of new parts such as hubs, barings, bushes and powdercoated rear beam and front wishbones.

Here it is when I first got her-

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w39/inkexpress_photos/FRP/IMG_1496.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w39/inkexpress_photos/FRP/IMG_1498.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w39/inkexpress_photos/FRP/IMG_1497.jpg

My plans are to fully strip the underside, refurbish and replace any parts which require it before fully undersealing the car and painting.

I've owned the car for 5 months and covered just 50 miles. Sad I know, but it will be worth the wait when it is done.

Alex

Edited by fatttty
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UPDATE: finally got the car in the garage and the strip down begins :)

The new home for the next few months-

IMG_1769.jpg

Starting taking the rear brakes and calipers off, rear discs have seen better days-

IMG_1775.jpg

Had a disagreement with one of the caliper carrier bolts 913mm bolt wih a 12mm socket bit hammered on lol)-

IMG_1778.jpg

Removed the rear discs and caliper carriers-

IMG_1776.jpg

Removed rear axel beam and ABS loom-

IMG_1779.jpg

Tomorrow will be removing fuel tank, exhaust back box and brake lines

Alex

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UPDATE: Removed the nasty mild steel exhaust back box, got a new stainless steel Piper exhaust system ready to be fitted after the rebuild.

Fuel tank unbolted and ready to be removed-

IMG_1780.jpg

Removed fuel neck-

IMG_1784.jpg

Fuel tank off this was a nightmare to get off and one of the scariest things I've done on a car due to the petrol fumes and possible death by fire!! Taking this to be sandblasted and painted in the next few weeks so will look minty fresh-

IMG_1783.jpg

Back box removed-

IMG_1786.jpg

Next up was removing the brake lines, these are really rusted and I will most likely replace these with copper brake lines to ensure they dont rot again. Rear main brake lines removed-

IMG_1792.jpg

Removed the swing arms for the rear axel, these will be powdercoated along with the rear axel beam-

IMG_1795.jpg

A few of the clips I removed from the underside these are mainly for the handbrake cables and brake lines. Hoping to replace these with new Ford items-

IMG_1794.jpg

Most of the removable parts from the rear end of the car are now off so I can start getting to work on stripping the old paint and attacking the surface rust on the back of the sills and the underside of the boot floor.

More to come guys, Alex

Edited by fatttty
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Looking great mate. It's awesome seeing this level of dedication go into a car :thumbup:

Thanks Pete, made some more progress stripping the old undersealing and paint from the boot floor. Grinding any rust patches down to pitted level. Going to attack the arches at the weekend.

Lots more to come guys :)

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Good work as usual! It shouldnt have been deleted, fair enough its ford but how long have you been a cl member!

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Good work as usual! It shouldnt have been deleted, fair enough its ford but how long have you been a cl member!

Thanks!

I'm sure it was deleted on accident Tom :) There were loads of spam threads a few hours before and then it was gone.. along with the sapm threads so guess it got dumped by accident.

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Thanks!

I'm sure it was deleted on accident Tom :) There were loads of spam threads a few hours before and then it was gone.. along with the sapm threads so guess it got dumped by accident.

Ahh I didnt read the previous comment you said saying it was an accident :) I really should read more LOL

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Bet its killing you, waiting to hear the new exhaust :)?

Hehe ohh yes Joe, unfortuantly I need a whole new exhaust system. The one fitted at the moment looks to be standard type and is only 2inch. The FRP should have a 2.5" system. So need to budget for a complete new system now lol! Will sound awesome though :D

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Was it just a backbox that you bought?

Yes mate, the Piper back box should fit straight to the existing system using the bolt on flanges, the system fitted has slide on connections so need to change the rest of the system to the Piper / OEM type.

To be honest its a good excuse to get the whole exhuast polished too lol :D

Alex

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UPDATE: for the past two weeks I have been stripping the old paint and underseal from the boot floor, chassis legs and the rear sill areas. Its hard work, but I want to get everything back to bare metal so I can get the best possible rust protection for the future.

Theres still a little bit more to do, and a few small patches of surface rust that need grinding down but I'm pleased with the progress, its slow going but will be worth it in the end.

Excuse the photos its a bit difficult to make out what some of them are!

Boot floor area-

IMG_1810.jpg

IMG_1811.jpg

NS chassis leg, pretty much done all old paint removed and the rust patches have been pretty much ground out-

IMG_1806.jpg

OS chassis leg, still needs the remaining paint and sealant removing and a few patches of surface rust to sort still-

IMG_1808.jpg

Looking down the car from the rear, you can see the boot floor and where the fuel tank should be. The light grey paint near the back is actually the original underbody colour. Debating on painting it that colour or perhaps the body colour (imperial blue)-

IMG_1813.jpg

IMG_1814.jpg

Removed the rear suspension struts it preperation for sanding the rear wheel arches, the rear struts look pretty much brand new and having checked the fronts they look the same. Really pleased with the condition. Also the original Eiback stickers are present and in good condition which is quite rare too :)

Struts after a quick wipe over-

IMG_1815.jpg

IMG_1816.jpg

More to come this week, hoping to finalise the prep on the boot floor and hopefully get the arches ready for stonechip painting.

Alex

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Great work Alex, looking forward to seeing more and the FRP back on the road!

Keep it up,

Joe

Thanks joe, lots more to do. I'm pleased with how it's going, it's hard work tho. Much harder than I imagined!

Edited by fatttty
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