RACING PUMA RESTO

Your projects: It’s not just ’80s Fords that are now requiring full rebuilds — Rob Davenport’s 1999 Racing Puma is going under the knife in time for its 20th anniversary.

First off the line gets full-on rebuild.

The often-quoted adage that cars are much better built than they used to be may ring true to some extent, but that doesn’t mean they’re not immune from the dreaded tinworm. Just take a look at Rob Davenport’s much-loved Racing Puma — built just as Ford (and Tickford) were seeing out the ’90s and entering the new Millennium — which is now undergoing a full restoration at the hands of Rob; one that would rival any classic Ford from the ’70s or ’80s in for major work to the bodyshell.

One of only 500 built, even when new the Racing Pumas were pretty special, but Rob’s

is even more so, being the first production car to roll out of the Tickford factory’s doors. It’s partly this reason that Rob has hung onto the car for the 13 years he’s owned it, and also for the level of finish he’s planning to achieve by his own hand — think factory-fresh and you won’t be far wrong.

With parts and panels for the limited-edition Ford being pretty much unobtainable, this is harder than you may first think. But that’s not stopping Rob, as with the Racing Puma’s 20th anniversary looming, he’s got a deadline to make — there’s just the small matter of a few panels to fabricate first...

Car number one? Where did you find it?

Back in 2006 I was looking to buy one, and my wife mentioned that a girl at work knew of one for sale, which turned out to be in the next village. I went to look at it and the owner mentioned it was the first production car built, then I opened the bonnet and saw the build number on inlet manifold and thought, fair enough!

Did you use it regularly?

Yes, it was my daily for a while and we took it to shows, but it started decaying over the years to the point where around three or four years ago I knew it wouldn’t pass another MoT, so I parked it up in the garage. Then towards the end of last year I thought it was time to get it into the workshop and go through it — it was all or nothing.

How bad was it?

Pretty bad, especially when you think it’s not even 20 years old. It needs new outer sills, rear inner sills, repairs to the rear quarter panels and sections of the floorpan, plus localised repairs here and there. Much of the suspension components are quite badly corroded, too — I gave the car a minor restoration about 10 years ago, but the rust has come back with a vengeance.

Who’s doing the work?

I’m doing it all myself, right down to making the repair sections, and I’ll be painting it, too. There are a few Racing Pumas that have been restored with help from professionals, but I think this is the first one that’s all been done by its owner.

We’re assuming it’s hard to find panels for these...

Apart from the outer sills which Ex-Pressed Steel Panels (01535 632721) now make, pretty much everything else is unobtainable. I’m having to make a lot of it from scratch — there’s a sandwich plate between the inner and outer sill for example that was completely shot, so I’ve made a laser-cut one up at work, but there are some trickier sections to do next...

What about the parts? Are they easy to find?

Not at all, even the stuff which is standard Puma, and the parts you can still get from Ford are ridiculous — £60 for a drop link? I’ve spent so much time tracking down the bits that need replacing, the rest I’ve been sending to Surface Processing (01384 242010) to be chemically dipped and then E-coated prior to painting in their original finish — it’s got to be done right. Would I have gone this far if it hadn’t been car number one? Yes, probably.

Are the engine and ’box good?

Thankfully, yes. I’ll give the engine a freshen up, but it doesn’t need a full rebuild.

When do you hope to have it finished?

It’s got to be done by the end of the year. There’s a big celebration planned for the 20th anniversary of the model next year so it has to be there. Plus it was first registered on January 6, 2000 so it would be nice for it to be back in one piece for that.

Anyone you’d like to thank who’s helped out so far?

Yes, my wife, Debbie, my Dad, Ian — that’s his Mk1 Escort we’re restoring in the background — everyone on the Racing Puma Facebook group, and Jon Cristini of the Tickford Owners’ Club (www.tickfordownersclub.com).

“IT GOT TO THE POINT WHERE I KNEW IT WOULDN’T PASS ANOTHER MOT”

Car: 1999 Racing Puma Start condition: complete but in need of tlc Condition now: major body repairs underway Time taken so far: three months Estimated date of completion: December 2019

Name: Rob Davenport Age: 37 Job: engineer and fabricator Location: Cheshire, UK

Above: the look on the face of Rob’s dog, Ruby says it all — there’s a long way to go...

With next to no repair sections being made for the Puma, Rob’s been fabricating his own.

Rob’s Dad, Ian helps him line up the replacement outer sill — one of the few panels now available for the car.

Suspension was heavily corroded, so has been dipped, E-coated and painted or powder-coated.

Puma sills feature a sandwich plate that Rob’s had to make from scratch.

Tickford press shot shows Rob’s car at the end of the production line.

The engines had the car’s build number machined into the inlet.