My description of the Ford Puma based on the two I've had a shot of was that they're an absolutely cracking car to drive but an utterly horrible thing to be a passenger in. I remember rock hard seats and an incredibly fidgety ride as a passenger, but didn't notice any of that when driving the very same car on a decent road.Hell Razor5543 wrote: 11 Feb 2021, 19:26 If it does come into your possession (regardless whether it is a temporary or permanent thing) have fun with it.
My very first car was a red BX 19TRD (H408 NCF), and although I did not pay that much for her I enjoyed driving. Because she was my first car I wanted one that I would not be scared to drive (for fear of having an accident in an expensive car; I knew somebody who spent over £2000 on his first car and then rode a bicycle 20 miles to and from work, because he was too worried about damaging his car to drive it!), and that I could go from being a safe driver (which is what the driving test is there to prove) to being a good one (I don't know if I am a good driver, but I try to be). She was nice and easy to work on and maintain, with bags of room under the bonnet to work.
The first time I gave my Great Aunt Sylvia a lift in it she was none too certain until I showed her the delights of the hydro pneumatic suspension; because of her age Sylvia found it uncomfortable getting down into and up out of cars. I raised the suspension to full height and the seat height was almost that of her favourite chair! Coupled with the fact the doors opened wider than most other vehicles it made access/egress far easier for her. Given a choice of vehicle she preferred my BX to her sons' Ford Puma (nice sporty little car, but not easy for her to get in and out of). Bob was not put out by this, as he cared deeply for his mother.
I've always fancied a BX but have never really gone looking for one for a couple of reasons. Firstly that it wouldn't really fill any niche in the fleet that's not already well covered by other cars. Secondly that I know that by this age they're generally quite needy cars, and that parts availability isn't exactly stellar. Thirdly that for me to really be interested it would absolutely have to be an early car before they got all sensible and reigned in the near GSA levels of insanity in the interior...and those cars on the rare occasions they did turn up tended to change hands for far more money than I could ever justify. It's a car where I've always preferred the idea of a more basic model to a sporty one...Not sure why, but lazy wafting just feels more in the character of the car than blasting along being a hooligan...that's the Activa's game, and generally the early cars I've seen tended to be the higher performance models.
As this one is more of an automotive refugee seeking safe harbour though I don't feel quite so guilty for potentially having taken my fleet size up to five...The fact it ticks so many of the wishlist boxes though is completely coincidental.
It did however remind me that I really needed to finish getting the paved parking area sorted out. I started that a month or so ago but stopped halfway through as I nearly died of exhaustion. The issue is that the area between where the (very heavy!) paving slabs are currently stacked and the parking area was all completely dug up during the recent bamboo removal work. This combined with the recent wet weather basically means that it's a giant clay bog at the moment...and is about the worst terrain you could be wanting to shift heavy things around on. Just now however that's all frozen solid so far easier to deal with. The downside of this however was that all of the slabs were thoroughly frozen together and required no small amount of brute force to separate. Got there in the end though and after an hour my temporary (um...Two years and counting...) overflow parking area was looking rather less dodgy.
There's going to be some pretty major landscaping work done here at some point in the future so an *actual* driveway extension will probably happen then so this isn't intended to be any way permanent. If we crack a slab or two in the interim I'm really not too bothered - though to be honest those on the nearside of the car have been there for a while now without any issues. The fact that it elevates the car a bit above the grass I like too as it should help with ventilation and reduce the usual tendency for cars to rust so quickly when parked over grass.
The wiring supplies I'd been waiting on arrived today so hopefully I should be able to get the temperature gauge in the Invacar wired in fully next time I've got an hour or so free in the garage.
That's a very early Series 1 and very desirable 
Rare as the old proverbial now...
