Puma with 2110

Wow I love that car! I have been wanting a Puma and this is the exact body style I like. I am tempted as well.

I'm also really tempted. 

Oh yes, with the early chrome bumpers.  If I didn’t have something special being built for me I’d be interested in that myself.

Agreed, very tempting indeed. I'd even leave those wheels on it.

The Paint even matched my Speedy!

We all have fallen in love with a few photos and no info. Sadly I am part of that group too.  ;-)

For me it is a matter of garage space. If I could I scored it , I'ld  swap the 2110 with the 1835 in my IM.
Also it has been a year or so since I have seen a PUMA in person. As I recall they are pretty dang small.  At 6' !' might be a bit tight...

Even so  : if ,would, could... pretty pictures.

I just closed a deal to purchase the Puma.  I have been looking for one this nice for some time. The others I have seen that come close to what this car appears have been $15-20K.  I sent a deposit to hold the car until I will fly up to inspect. I will have the car trucked back to My home outside of Louisville. I will post more info. after I have the car in possession.

Congrats Jimmy. Glad you could take advantage of the deal. Be sure to post some photos for us. Have fun.

I am jazzed about the car. As I said I have kept an eye out for some time now and they come up for sale often and I am not cool with trying to import from south America.

Nice!!!  Can't wait to see some detailed pics.

One thing to keep in mind is the title. With luck it will have a VW title. If it is titled as a PUMA, you might want to check with your DMV about getting a title in your state. Often they require special inspections etc. I had to fill out piles of paper work to get my IM with a clean Florida title moved to Ga . Took about 6 frustrating months of bureaucratic bs. 
Don't let that be a deal breaker.
I am glad I went through it and have my IM, just look into it so you will know what is ahead.

Way to go Jimmy!

I am lucky in the fact that here in Indiana the License branch is no problem. I have bought sold and registered over 60 cars in the last 30 years and haven't had a single hitch or hold-up. Thanks for giving me a heads up. 

Really glad it went to somebody "in the family"

Well bought, I think. Congrats, Jimmy!

The guy who owns the Puma is a 73 year young car enthusiast that has owned 3 other Pumas, he appears to have the same strange mental twist as we have. We have much in common in our tastes, he has owned and raced some Devin sports cars, Porsche's , Vw's and many other odd ball bastard type cars that seem to always prick our interest. He seems like a straight shooter and isn't rushing me to close the deal which gives me time to do this thing the right way. By the way those who haven't met me, I am the perfect height for a Puma ,5'7". The owner and main builder of this Puma was a Porsche mechanic from Texas where the car came from last year. It has disc brakes all around , drop spindles on the front . 2110 with 48 Webers? if confirmed and said they are tuned well. It has a freeway flyer trans of some unknown gear ratio but he said about 3200 at 75, I assume the 16" wheels help this as well.The original Puma alloy wheels and other cool parts come with the car. He said the engine doesn't leak at all. This will be a delight to see if it is in fact true. More to come in the days ahead my Puma fans and friends. Engine pics coming tomorrow.

Hey Guys, Just received a pic of the engine. Is that type of fan shroud any good? He said the stock oil cooler is integrated to this fan shroud. Comments?

Find out who built that engine and with what. Fan shroud ok, but add external oil cooler with relay fan. Mine?  I have a manual on off button located above my cht gauge. Comes in handy  - a lot.

It has one and he said the engine doesn't run hot and keeps good oil pressure. The guy he bought the car off of built or had the engine built and the info is scarce for now. I have a feeling I will get a pile of paperwork to look thru.. I am going Friday to check the car out. It has full gauges oil temp,pressure and head temp. I will know if the engine runs hot. I will check a bunch of stuff out. The car has a rhino case trans with full kafer bar setup supporting the trans/engine. All in all I am still excited about the car. The price is such I feel I can recoup all or more a few years into the future. My motto is this. Some of my money is spent on toys that can be sold for what I paid plus or minus 10%. The last 30 years I am way up and have had a ton of fun. If I wait and say someday I will get one of those that day may never come because we aren't guaranteed a tomorrow. The seller is a 73 year old car nut who has a menagerie of cars like a Deserter mid engine dune buggy, a V8 manta, a Jaquar replica built on a Corvette, a Devin sports racing etc. Kindred Spirits.

I searched a bit and found where the Puma was listed from the Texas owner and the following info was found:

1977 Porsche GTE Additional Info:

1977 Puma

Additional Pics for your viewing pleasure.

That is what you want to see. Great!

What an excellent purchase. Well done!

I am curious who was the owner and builder in Texas?  There are lots of VW interest groups, especially in the Austin and DFW areas and reputable builders.  I have attended the Texas VW Classic for many years and it is amazing the number of quality VW and VW based builds that would attend.  I do not remember ever seeing this car, but curious where it was built.

Beautiful car and should be a ton of fun!

The story given to the current owner is that the car was owned by a retired Porsche mechanic and he built the engine. The engine build sheet is reasonable, the compression ratio is lower than what I would have built but has been an issue of debate with these aircooled wonders.  The parts are all nice. The stage 3 clutch is way over kill. I  have a stage 1 on my 180Hp suby and it never slips. More info to come.

Very nice Jimmy. What would your Speedy be worth in this environment?

People seem to be polar on these (like/dislike).  I personally love the look.  It appears they took a good portion of the design from period 911s and/or Datsun Zs which is a good thing.  Puma was an actual car manufacturer in Brazil so licensing shouldn’t be hard at all.  These are not VWs, kits, mods, etc.  They are Pumas!

I see a lot of Renault Alpine A110 in the front end.  I really am jealous, Jimmy. 

WNGD That was an off the wall question. Why do ask what I think the value of my Speedster is "in this environment"? Don't it wrong I just don't understand why you are asking? Are you interested in it? I wasn't thinking about selling it but as they say (especially with me) everything is for sale. I am looking forward to your response.

Pumas are cool looking and I think the design inspiration was pretty obviously the Dino.

I like that they're neither fish nor fowl. The Puma's I've seen look for all the world like very nicely done turnkey "kit cars" (or tributes, or whatever), clearly cribbing from the Dino notes.

... but they were a legit (at least in Brazil) car company. I spent 3 months in Brazil in the early 1980s, and was stunned to find a 2nd (and 1/2) world country producing cars. Everything was based on tariffs-- imported stuff was heavily taxed, which was why car companies built stuff in San Paulo for use "in country". Puma just filled the niche that this system created. They were essentially rebodied Fuscas (Beetles), but there was enough of a market for them to be a legit manufacturer. It's to our benefit that what they built was as cool as it is. What aircooled idiot can resist a sub $20k fiberglass Dino with a Type 1, that isn't a mere replica?

Not this kid. And clearly not Jimmy, either.

I actually like the pre 76 Puma's with the shark gill sides but they made far less of this style. The 77 had a run of a tad over 2000 and the Shark style body that was a copy of the Dino and designed by the same guy I believe didn't have over a 1000 over a 10 year period produced.  So I will go with this one.

Hooked by the bright blue paint!  Sounds like a great buy.  I like the original Puma wheels too.  They had a different engine shroud - you do occasionally se them for sale on eBay or SAMBA.

Yes, I have been watching them for the past couple years and then Reincarnation had the article on one and really got me going. I was hooked when I saw the listing. I will have it in my possession Saturday.

Carey's Dad Kevin was involved with the Puma and has one of the Stinger prototypes that they were getting Mohamed Ali to endorse and it fell through. I would say his car is worth something. Any pics and info you can share Carey?

@Jimmy V. posted:

WNGD That was an off the wall question. Why do ask what I think the value of my Speedster is "in this environment"? Don't it wrong I just don't understand why you are asking? Are you interested in it? I wasn't thinking about selling it but as they say (especially with me) everything is for sale. I am looking forward to your response.

It was off the wall for me too. It crossed my mind that perhaps you'd be selling the Speedy but it's more I really like your car (and Toys Superwide) blue color combo and wondered what yours would be worth with the CMC/Suby now vs a newer VS air cooled. My interest is in the future as I'm currently doing a 2-Speedster addition to my house and still have 2 kids in university, you never know lol but importing into Canada has its intricacies. Kinda hoping the might loosen up the restrictions one of these days

WNGD My car has a smaller group of potential buyers than non wide body cars and then builds like the Becks and the Vintage Motorcar Speedsters etc.  I would say my car is easily worth $32K but getting it I think would be a wait for the right buyer situation that is if I were interested in selling. It is nearly perfect for what I want and is trouble free and a joy to drive.

...and ride in.  I can attest to that.

I'd kinda like to Soob one.

Assume they're all swing axle cars?

The Puma's were all swing axle from the factory. I know many have been changed to IRS because it is very doable. The Puma is the same as Speedsters that are built on VW pans.