Ford Racing Puma, the way Ford should have done it.

In the late 90's, the small coupe market was dominated by Opel with the Tigra mk1. 

It was brilliantly based on the Opel Corsa B chassis but had better aerodynamics and styling.

What it didn't have was better handling. Sure it was decent, but the enormous glass over the rear, coupled with front vented disks vs rear drums, and an over powered brake bias to the rear, would grant you a spin if you slam on the brakes or had to brake hard mid turn on a slippery road.

You see, historically, Opel tunes their chassis at Lotus Engineering services. So even if the design was not original Lotus, the final handling has a very decent feeling to it. This, however, does not mean that one recipe fits all, so by adding weight to the rear of the corsa b chassis, with the Tigra, Opel kinda messed up slightly.

Ford, at the time had just released the brilliant ford fiesta mk4. Ugly yes but a joy to drive with a brilliant Yamaha Zetec-se engine and a flawless chassis, the fiesta was an excellent platform for Ford to copy Opel's recipe and sill take the lead as the basis was so much better.

However, and unlike Opel, Ford chassis design and tuning was made in-house, by people that has rally pedigree and the results show up till this day... with the focus chassis being the pinnacle.

And so, copying the recipe, but caring a bit more of engineering into it, the Ford Puma mk1 was born.

Unlike the Opel, Ford took much more care with the puma. Sure the chassis was Fiesta based, and the engines too, but they fine tuned it to be even better, lighter, more responsive, and even with the same vented disk front and drum rear, the breaking under cornering was far more composed and progressive.

The Puma was an instant hit and it is, till this date, the best handling small coupe you can find. That's probably why It's now gaining value. 

As the industry messes up by creating Under-engined and over green, all the same, dull as is gets, cars, older cars have been gaining value. 

The new Puma is partially to blame. I mean a SUV?!?!? seriously ford? Wouldn't it be better to build a car that would improve on the Fiesta ST, instead of fitting a 3 cylinder 900 cc engine in it!?

To me, Having ford Kill the Focus RS, and having a 3 potter with 900cc wear the ST badge on the Fiesta, is as bad as making the Puma a mini-kuga!

Deception to the levels of seeing Honda Type-R vtec atmospheric masterpieces turbo-charged, learning that Mitsubishi lancer will also be a SUV. I mean, the industry has gone mad! 

Something must be done, and, for once, I've been doing that to my cars what the manufacturers, influenced by the idiots from the green party, have failed to do. 

So back to the PUMA.

Back in the glorious late 90's early 00's (before economists and marketeers driving car manufacturers, and Elon Musk and His legion of sheep pollute the world with lithium and the car world with 2ton electric cars), the car industry was putting out marvellous machines. Ford, with their chassis tunes and excellent engines where shining, but the high performance was still our of reach. 

You see, they has just ditch the old models XRi fiestas and XRI and RS Cosworth escorts, but they still didn't have a new line of cars to pick that market with their brand new fiesta, puma, ka and focus line-up.

At the time you had Subaru and Mitsubishi carving the Rally grounds and also the market with the road legal versions of their Rally champions, that had an easy way in with the passive Ford retirement of the RS cosworth line. 

 

Ford was working the new sports line. It would have the ST and the RS. ST would be the Sportive option over standard, and the RS would be the Racing Specs but road legal option. 

So with the success of the PUMA, ford presented in 1999 what was internally known as the ST160  the first ST ever. 

If was based on the Puma, but wider (with bigger suspension components, no spacers), disk brakes all round and more power. It was named the FordRacing Puma. 

The engine was the 1.7, but the power was tweaked by means of a new plenum design, cams and remap, to 153bhp... a bit shy of the 160 mark.

The interior was way better, with sparco Torino2 seats all trimmed in blue alcantara.

The FRP was a hit, but for some reason, ford produced only 500 units, at a prohibitively high cost, and only LHD. 

Lack of vision? Focusing on something else? Had the ST150 fiesta on the forge and didn't want to cannibalise it? IDK... however, costing the same as a Subaru impreza GT in the UK (the only market for the FRP) it was doomed to be a collectable and not a main streamer.

Around the same time, the Puma was rallying in the s1400 and s1600 categories. It was based out of the 1.4 and 1.6 zetec-se units, but tuned to scream past the 200bhp in atmospheric form. It also had the wide-body aggressive looks and improves chassis, but underneath, a secret was hidden from the public eye.

The Puma handles brilliantly, the FRP handles even better, but if you take it out of the race-track tarmac and experience an uneven road say a broad with some tree-root bumps mid-turn, you'll find it rear happy...or... say... bumpy. Approach a corner while breaking and you'll find that tail happy to be a bit too scary for the majority f drivers. It's one of those aspects you need to anticipate.

The reason for this is the Fiesta heritage.  You see independent rear suspension is expensive to produce and the Fiesta was at it's core  an entry level car. So the PUMA rear axle was the exact same as the fiesta.

A rigid torsion beam design was used. In this design, The rear wheel alignment is easier to maintain during even cornering (and that is one of the reasons Renault did not change that design while upgrading the normal megane to the MRS), however while loading the outer wheel during corner, if the unloaded inner wheel suffers a bump, the entire system is twisted and the outer wheel looses alignment, generating a jumping attitude. That has actually caused some MRS owners to not understand why a car that feels glued to the tarmac 90% of times, just let go all the sudden on some b-road and... crashed'em.

So now you're thinking of the rally PUMA, and you say: jeez rally is uneven roads with bends all over and you floor-it and break hard and late in EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM bends!. 

Well the Rally puma has independent rear suspension. Like all cars should IMHO.

So that was the great secret that the FRP missed and I think it's unforgivable that ford overlooked this detail. 

So why mess with a good car? 

First because Ford neglected the non UK customers, so you do it or else Ford will not. 

Second because 2 guys in the UK (that I know of) have done it and with good results.

Third because all conversions retained the gearbox and i'm about to change that, all conversions retained the puma front geometry and added spacers and i'm about to change that, and finally because unless you are a rally team, no one has an s1400/s1600 chassis to build on.

Finally because they killed a brilliant concept for the American SUV supersize trend and killed it, so no point in expecting anything good from that department.

This will then be a UNIQUE car. And that alone makes my day.

In the end, like a lot of good brands, Ford replaced reason for madness, engineers for economists and marketeers, so you should buy the good old stuff, improve it, and stick to that. Ignore the fruitcakes out there following Musk Electric trends and 'Suburban Soccer Mum' i-wanna-have-an-SUV trend.

So what am I about to do?

The FRP the first ST,  should then have been exactly what it was, but with a 2.0, over 200 bhp, independent rear suspension, 6 speed gearbox and an LSD... and a good 5k cheaper than the sale price (but having a GLOBAL sales strategy and a mass produced model would have solved this).

The best news in this department is that I'm having a custom build rear independent axle for my ST220 Puma.. so with a 2.0 ST170 engine and 6speed gearbox, plus an s1600 chassis, well, it will be difficult to beat.

As with the Volvos and the s2000 i'll be posting along the build progress, so you can follow the quest so subscribe or make sure you drop-by often.

Why not AWD? well a bloke form the UK managed to source some badly crashed escort RS cosworth and adapt the drive-train and engine to the puma. It was a beast... but this would then be the PUMA RS. 

You see, as much as I love that Volvo t5 engine on the MK2 focus RS, without AWD it's just not worthy of that badge. Should be ST. 

I would love that, but truth be told... I'm realistically sure i will never be able to source a cossie and let alone scrap-it for parts... my heart wouldn't survive the pain of killing a landmark of human evolution.

Don\t get me wrong, it's a blast of a project car, but way out of my reach. Still take a look at one:

 

My PUMA:

Last summer, tired of using the V70 T5 or the s2000 as an everyday car, I decided to buy an old MK1 puma 1.4. 

Immediately decatted the car, added a racing filter, remapped the ECU and got around 100 to 105 bhp out of it. However this is really not enough for me. I was sure that pulling it the way i find satisfactory on my commutes, it will suffer catastrophic engine failure in the near future. And then the daily driver was... no more. 

Enter the project CAR - Fixing Ford's lack of will.

OK, so O would be transforming the Puma, as a ford racing puma should be. After all those would be my one and only critics on the car. 

Soooo the first step would be to find a donor car. 

Little after launching the st160 as FRP, Ford finally decided to use the ST badge and launched the Focus ST170.

The ST170 was an evolution of the 130 BHP 2.0 ZETEC engine. Bare in mind that the Puma was ZETEC-SE (yamaha based, all aluminium block and head), while the ZETEC is an older design here the block is cast iron and only the head is aluminium... it's so different that they have different I/O layouts, the Zetec-SE intakes front and exhausts rear, while the ZETEC intakes rear and exhausts front.

Ford tasked their friends at Cosworth to upgrade the 130BHP unit so Cosworth changed pistons to higher compression and forging spec, forged rods (crank was forget as standard), added bigger oil squirts for the pistons and worked the head. 

Head work includes better flow, but, more important, better valve springs and Variable Valve Timing and Lift. 

The st170 produces a mild 170BHP, but a simple decat frees 5BHP, air filter box a further 3bhp, remaps can easily manage 18 to 20 BHP and if you remove the RAM system and go for full on ITB's you're looking at an engine that can produce 220 to 225bhp ALL engine. This is Honda territory... i mean OLD honda. Today all they accomplish if copy-catting renault and VAG recipe while they add hair-dryers to the k20a engine, only to produce as much as the k20a would in NA form at BTCC over 10 years ago!!!! ridiculous... evolution is going backwards and we deserve the asteroid to wipe us all out... please... anytime now... no asteroid? let's continue then.

Obviously, being an ST, I'd source the st170 engine, getrag 6speed gearbox and the focus braking system too.

Now doing the math, 220Bhp on 900 kg of lightened car is 244bhp/ton

A brand new MRS trophy 300 is 194bhp/ton

A Golf GTI 7 that most sheep love is just 162bhp/ton

An all mighty S2000 is around 196bhp/ton

Now, before the "hairdryer" fan-boy team starts puffing away that a turbo has more low end torque, or the VAG fanboys talk about the wonders of DSG think of the following:

The St170 gear box is a short ratio one. so much that the top speed of a focus is 215km/h, while the puma 5speed is 203km/h. 

Add to this that a light 1000kg (125bhp/ton) puma takes 9.3 seconds to reach 100km/h, while the 1300kg (130bhp/ton) focus takes 7.9 seconds to reach 100km/h. 

So an even lighter car, with an even more powerful engine and no excessive torque (like the hair dryers do) is just going to be a bullet instead of sitting still, smoking the tires for the ape crowd to go mad about.

This then should be a clear indicator of the thrills ahead. 

Again and putting things in perspective, the Ford Racing Puma VK16 , also known as the RALLY S1600 Puma, was a 880Kg 200 Bhp machine. That's 227 Bhp/Ton

And it moved, as you can see.... here:

Getting Goose-bumps just by writing about it!

So from the ST170:

- engine

- gearbox

- rims

- brakes

- possibly the focus front frame (under review. I need to make sure it fits).

- eventually front coils.

Sourcing the donor CAR:

The car i was looking for would be dismantled and sold for parts, however, I found out the hard way that the price of a ST170, in Germany was way beyond 3000 euro! Add the transportation to it and we-re looking 3500 to 4000 euro. Not doable. 

Then a quick look into the Spanish territory (a territory i often visit and know very well) got me a TRACK DAY car, for sale. The ask price was 1800 and I managed transportation for 800, so this meant a good 2.2k euro less than initially predicted. 

Not only the deal was PERFECT, the guy was SUPER nice. He is also a petrol-head, he loves cars and project cars and he has a mechanical fabrication company. If you need precision manufacturing, https://www.ribaforja.com/ is an excellent option and run by the nicest person.

I gained a car at bargain price and a friend as this dude is super honest and trustable.

The car was pulling out 175BHP, full inox 3' exhaust, black diamond race disks, racing wheels with full slicks, normal wheels with rain tires, coil-over set + standard suspension set, full roll-cage, full-stripped car.... i mean... nothing to choose from. Buy and ship! now! please!?

The car was chosen:

Diet:

The st170 engine and gear box is heavier then the original 1.4 and 5speed gearbox. So we-re gaining weight here... not loosing.

A ZetecSE 1.4 weight around 90kg (full accessories)

A Zetec 2.0 without A/C is around 110kg

We're looking at shifting about 25kg out of the front-end. 

Solutions? well plenty of weight to save on the puma:

Rear spare tire... really? out you go! the maths is easy: if you have a flat, a spray-can fixes it! If on the other hand you blew the tire, other parts are damaged and you pay road-hazard option for a reason! tow home.

Rear tire holder mechanism? nothing to hold, buddy, remember? it's gone! and so can you.

Carpet lining? really? it's not a house, it's a car, remove that stuff and just use smaller mats in the areas they make sense.

Bonnet! Ever tried to hold a PUMA mk1 hood? I mean it's massive as in it has a lot of mass. Fiberglas or carbon it and save weight.

Then comes the battery relocation. Good bye front, hello boot. 

A/C !?!? what? you pay for the sauna extra in the gym, why the A/C in the car? out!

Finally, the pumaspeed fibre kit. Everything lighter and wider too.

The front fenders, bonnet and battery relocation and removal of the entire a/c system, should compensate the engine/gearbox differential... hopefully. The frame here is the key. If we fit the focus frame, we're in the green. If not and we need to space out the puma geometry, it will add weight for sure... let's wait and see.

But there is a cherry on top of this cake: 

Racing door interiors:)

yeah, i've just got and excelent contact in the UK (Andrew) that manufactures race-car doors. Check https://www.ebay.com/str/atechmotorsport?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=GLgQUURIShS&sssrc=3418065&ssuid=lftu7HVjStW&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY 

You chose the materials and models, he builds them for you and ships them to you.

Nice, decent guy, very easy to communicate with and, above all, trustworthy. 

So yeah, Puma is getting fomex door interior.

The climate controller console is also out, a New part with minimalistic buttons is in.

And the bulky 2din radio: 

Radio, again is... useless. Wanna listen to music, use your High-fidelity Stereo at home of just rev that 4 cylinder under the hood. Inside the car? Radio serves to run Torque pro and get you a decent dashboard:

The SEATS:

Well a car is not your living room sofa. You want comfort, buy a sofa, a car doesn't need to carry carpets, the seats don't need to be fully adjustable at a turn of another heavyweight mechanism.

So Carpets are off. The rear seats are to be re-trimed in Gray-black trim matching the front bucket choice. 

The FRP had Sparco Turino2 customised with ford racing logo, but, the Turinos no longer are sold and the R100 that replace them seem less than of a bucket than the Turinos, Sooo I went for the r333's:

Holding you in position, will be a 6 point sparco harness:

Steering wheel is already installed. I opted for a SimoniRacing With quick release and hub.

Handbrake

well that serves to park the car, or go faster around bends, so:

yup hydraulic hand brake

Exterior:

Exterior goes for the Pumaspeed body kit (light glass fibre like the S1600 and S1400)

Engine Tune-ups:

Ever heard a vtec owner saying that nothing is more.glorious that vtec? He is wrong, Vtec on CAI is better, VTEC on ITB is sublime.

This boy doesn't not have VTEC but it does have Variable Valve Timing and Lift control... and there is a trick about Zetec engines and ITB's (not yet, i'll disclose after making my shopping).

Build progress:

The build is starting Next month, so expect progress reports. Stay tuned.

Update 1:

Car started to be stripped down, and the new seats and harnesses where installed.

The 6 point harnesses require drilling the floor and installing nuts and washers. But they are all all easy tasks. Do not forget to paint the holes to protect from rust. I've also used big washers to split the load on the metal panel and added A LOT of paint to both FILL and remove any air, but also help locking the nut in.

The factory seat-belt harness can be used for the mid left and mid right harness... the rest, you drill'em to the car floor panel.

Some matching floor mats and we're done for this part:

More to cone. stay tuned 

Update 2:

Mechanic is now starting to dissemble the Focus, Puma to go in for surgery soon enough.

1.4 Engine is out, and it's being worked to fit another 1.4 puma with "heart problems".

Update 3:

Guess what I've found : https://www.plastics4performance.com/ford-puma-lexan-polycarbonate-rear-screen

Yup the rear glass heavy, High standing, weight is now 50% gone.

Plus I've managed to contact a fiber glass manufacturer that probably will be making the bonnet, and HOPEFULLY, the doors :)

Doesn't get much better than that.

I'm also looking into the Roof scoop, because I'm ditching the AirCon, and Portuguese summer is hot.

Credits and Special thanks for this build:

(to be filled at the build end)