Interesting cars for sure. They sure look great in bright colors.
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Really enjoyable thread so far. Congrats on what looks like a quality build. I'm sure you'll have a ton of fun with your new Puma.
Good for you Jimmy that car is one of the nicest examples you should have very little to do
Outstanding Jimmy! That's a really cool car. I never paid much attention until now, but I'm starting to develop a bit of desire for one of those!
Yes the Puma is sort of a cousin to our Speedster Replicas. According to a recent article in Reincarnation Kevin Hines / Special Edition was a USA dealer for Puma and later the first Beck Speedster and Spyder's were built in Brazil by Chamonix and imported. I have liked the Puma for many years now. I cant wait until Saturday!
I just learned the Wheelbase for the Puma and our Speedsters is the same. The VW pan is shortened to make the Puma as well. My version of having a coupe. Can you tell I am excited?
Here's what the original Puma engine cooling shroud looks like. Not sure why they used a different than normal stock VW one. Maybe its one the Brasilia (donor car) uses or the engine lid is lower? The Puma shroud seems to bring a premium price ($150-400) for some reason. Link to $150 one on Samba.
You are correct the Puma used a special shaped cooling Fan housing for clearance reasons. The engine in the Puma I am buying has an after market fan housing . Not sure Of why the builder did this. I do know the engine oil cooler has been upgraded to a type 2 closed style so maybe the fan housing being used allows this cooler to fit. Not sure at this time. More to be revealed.
They are kind of cool cars and look a bit like an IM Italia
The Puma has been picked up by my friend the car hauler and is headed back to me. It will arrive tomorrow morning. My friend face timed me for an inspection of the car. It is better than the pics. show. So tomorrow is Christmas in May for Jimmy! I will be posting some pics and videos soon.
Congrats Jimmy!!!!!!
Nice score on that car, Jimmy!
The Puma arrived this Morning. My Friend who picked the car up said the seller was actually crying as the car was trailered away. I am very happy with the car. Ride quality is very nice, it has a smooth quiet ride even with the windows down. I have been spoiled by the torque and large power band of my Suby engine. I would think the 2110 this car has is putting out 140-150 HP and I had the passing thought of having the car converted to Suby power like my Speedy. Will I do it? I highly doubt it, but think of 200 hp and also having air conditioning. I will probably pull the engine and go through it, I see a couple things I would do differently. The car has a stage III clutch which is crazy, the clutch pedal is super stiff. There is no reason this light of a car with this HP would ever need a clutch this strong, my Speedster with the 180HP Suby engine does fine with a Stage I, so the stage III has to go.
These little Puma's are really cool. I will keep you posted.
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That car is beautiful, Jimmy. Well done!
Good for you Jimmy, good catch on that feline vehicle.
Just gorgeous, Jimmy.
Very nice Jimmy. Glad I posted it, and it found a good home. Have fun!
Very cool!
It's going to be hard to drive them both to Carlisle!
That thing looks excellent.
Soob job would be cool but...cooling system would need to be invented. And could you make it easily reversible?
I look forward to hearing more about his car and what you do with it.
Straighten out the things you don't like.
Don't re-invent the wheel. This car is very very cool as is.
Really good score, Jimmy.
Actually the car would be a good candidate for something like a Subaru conversion because it has been modified somewhat from stock form already. I estimate the conversion wouldn't be all that intrusive. I am in love with the design and shape of the car not so much the drive train. I took the car up to the corner gas station and the first guy that pulled in asked me if the car was a Ferrari. I will let the idea sit awhile.
Injected Type 4.
All.
The.
Way.
Going to get the engine I have in it now lined out. I will check compression an leak down test first. Probably pull the heads from there. The case hasn't been full flowed and it has one of the oil filter/oil pump cover combo's. I cant remember but I thought those were not good. Any feed back on that? What say thee?
Don't listen to that devil on your shoulder(Stan that's YOU!).
Check out the 2110 as you are planning, remove that filter/pump. Yes, they are restrictive. Full flow it and bring it back to health. If you still don't like it you can sell a newly freshened 2110 and you won't have much money in it, even if you get the heads redone and buy new jugs and bearings. As long as the case is good, you'll spend less than $1000 and could easily sell it for 2x that. Then get a Suby..........
My take: If both toys have the same motor, it would be a bit boring.
"My take: If both toys have the same motor, it would be a bit boring."
X2. Variety is - well, you know.
@DannyP posted:Don't listen to that devil on your shoulder (Stan that's YOU!).
I prefer to think of myself as the angel of speed, whispering truth into the ears of those who just need a little nudge.
Very cool car Jimmy! What carburetors are on it? How high does it rev with power? Any details (cam? headwork & valve sizes? compression? exhaust size?) on the engine? I've heard it said the filter/pump combos are ok 'till about 6,000 rpm; after that the smaller passages in the cover can't pass any more volume and will eventually break off the pump drive tang. I have heard of guys trying to re-work them so they flowed more but don't know how successful they were.
@Stan Galat posted:I prefer to think of myself as the angel of speed, whispering truth into the ears of those who just need a little nudge.
The Angel of Speed- I like that Stan!
And yeah, I think 1 of them should be really fast
I read that the oil filter coming off of the oil pump cover was the way Mexican Beetles came from the factory at some point. Is that correct? Must be it was on the internet.
If you don't go AC, you have to goto Forced Air.... Turbo Subie
As the engine is now it doesn't have much power. The specs ALB are further back in the thread. The engine was supposedly built with 8.2:1 CR. which is low to me for a performance engine. It runs and drives but doesn't feel like it has any torque to speak of and no power band at all. So I would suspect once I check that the compression is way low from worn rings or burnt valves or both. The parts supposedly used to build the engine are good so I should be able to do something with it for a reasonable amount. Not sure why someone would build an engine with 044 ultra mag heads with valve combo 44/37.5 and set the CR at 8.2:1. Asking you aircooled hot rodder's, would this make good power? I seem to remember some of Pat Downs builds that have been dyno'ed online have made good numbers with lower CR. not sure how that works. I thought 9.5-10.5 would be the min. to make a snappy engine. The guy who built this car did some things that you would do if it was going to used for drag racing. The stage III clutch, kafer bars and solid mounted reinforced case welded gusseted trans with 4.12 R&P all point to someone wanting to drop the hammer and go fast for short bursts in a straight line. I will have fun sorting the car out. It has a lot of potential and is very solid. It came with the original alloy wheels that are in super shape. A brand new set of Recaro high bolster high back seats in the box and wrapped in plastic. I new set of headlight covers that cost $210.00 14 years ago from a Brazilian Puma parts place. How about "Purring Pumas" for a company name.
Well... let's not make this little thing a 'death machine'. (lke a Miata with a v8 ) IMHO a well sorted 2110 will be kick ass . More than enough. And by the sounds of it Jimmy, you are going to enjoy making it happen.
Yes I will. I have to make myself remember it is a marathon and not a sprint. To enjoy the process as much as the end result. It is great having you fellow SOC members to share it with.
Ok all you air cooled guys, why cant I get a plug wrench to fit and grab the spark plugs, it appears to have 12mm plugs from the build specs and what I can see with my trusty mirror. This size plug takes a 5/8" deep socket ,right? I cant get the socket to fit the plug, Help please.
Never mind, I figured it out, the 12 mm plugs in my engine take an 18mm socket. I pulled all the plugs and did a compression test. it is in line with the low power the engine has. cyl,#1-95 psi , #2-100 psi #3-60 psi with and without oil in the cylinder, #4- 91 psi.
So out goes the engine for a rebuild. I messaged the seller to let him know about the engine and how his description was somewhat different than reality . I know it's on me, the buyer beware thing and all that. I was happily surprised, the seller offered to refund me $1000.00 as compensation (so we are actually splitting the cost of the rebuild ). Thanks Dennis ,you are a true gentleman.
I will probably pull the engine when I get back from a week in Hilton Head and send it to Westerfeld Enterprises in Cincinnati. I will have him build it back with 94mm P & C's to make a 2276.
Depending on how those Pumas cool, Jimmy-- you may want to consider thick-wall 92s instead of 94s.
I'm not selling anything, I just think thicker cylinders are better on a GT (as opposed to a GS).
Point taken.
Thought Gene Berg or some famous name like that was a low compression partisan. This would've been years ago though. The Raby 1914 I bought is 8.5-1CR; that whole series of engines he made for Cary & Co. were set up so duffers wouldn't (necessarily) ruin them.
Since it's toast seems like a 2.5 SOHC Subaru might make sense. FWIW I'd pull that gearbox too and replace either with a Rhino-cased stock ratio setup with a 3.44 R&P or a 5 speed. "While you're in there...".
The only way I would go with a Suby conversion (not that I am) is if Carey did the job and that would run in the $15K neighborhood. I am going to get the Type 1 engine fixed regardless. I want to drive it awhile with the aircooled power. As I said the over all ride quality is very smooth and rattle free for the most part, surprising for a plastic car.