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As a kid who grew up in the South of England, I was lucky in that my father would take me to Brands Hatch Racing Circuit about every two weeks, so I was raised on the smell of Castrol R, watching the likes of Stirling Moss, and John Surtees. Later I was privileged to have seen the late, great Mike Hailwood race. As an aside, you may not know but Mike won the George Cross (the highest civilian honour for bravery) for pulling a driver out of a burning car. My father at the time was financially fairly sound and rather than buy new cars such as Ford Zodiacs or Vauxhalls he bought 15 –20 year old cars such as Bentley sports, Rolls Royce Phantom III, and Lagonda 41/2litre Rapide. We then had a succession of very quick Jaguars, XK120, MkI 3.4 culminating in an E Type. So I guess it is not surprising that I have petrol running through my veins. Australia beckoned in 1971 and Jan and I had our first sports car in 75, namely a TR4. That led to an XK 120 roadster, which we took with us to New Zealand in 76. We joined the Jaguar Drivers Club over there, which led us to start a business in Auckland with another JDC member. We would buy Jags to either wreck, or restore and the company was called Vital Parts. These were happy days as I could indulge my passion and claim tax against it.Over the ten years of business I had ALL the Jaguars possible and spent 10 years racing them. I met other like individuals through racing and I also raced their cars too ie:- 1957 Connaught FI Car, Cooper Bristol, Lister Jaguar, Lotus 23b, Porsche Carrera RS. I also restored several others including a four valve Lancia Stratos. 1987 saw Jan and I back here in sunny SA although this time we came back with an Aston Martin DB5. A great car but so few other people to play with. That went only to be replaced with a Mike Hailwood Ducati, and a BMW K100RS. They didn’t last long (I started to ride like I was 17 again – not healthy). About this time the thought of building a car started up again (I had the same thoughts in NZ but had put them on hold). At that time, 1989, the only car approved in SA was the Cobra and I wasn’t confident enough to do my own thing so a Cobra it was. That was registered in 92 and we helped put the club together at the same time. I then built another three cars for others who had started but had lost their way. All the time this was going on I kept grumbling about the ladder frame chassis and whilst they looked like show ponies from the outside the underneath was very agricultural. The good thing about the cars was the fact that I had a good working arrangement with Graham Burton of Tonkin & Associates. In 1997 Jan and I were in the UK on holiday, we went to some Kit Car Shows and the book “ How to Build a Sports Cars for under $250” was released. That was the start of something big. We arrived home, book under the arm and totally enthused. Neville Darwin wanted to build a car too so we pooled our resources and started the first Puma. We decided to go the route of excess power as I weigh over a 100 kgs and am 6ft 3 so lightness did not seem to be the thing to aim for!!! Using the book we spent a considerable time lengthening, widening and generally increasing the size of the car. We also had to Australianise the book in order to pass the tests. With guidance from Graham we finally finished the first car and got it registered on the 31st December 1998. So, what is a Puma built from? The motor/gearbox is a Nissan SR 2000 Turbo with 5 sp G/Box. The diff is a TC/TD Cortina fitted with a 4 pinion LSD. The brakes, front uprights, steering column, hand brake are TC/TD Cortina. The rack and M/cylinder are MkII Escort and the rest is fabricated. Wheels can be 14. 15, 16, 17 between 6 to 8ins wide. Power – well on my latest car is 164kw (220bhp) at the rear wheels. There is one in S.A. that is producing 205kW at the rears and another in Vic producing 220kw. That HAS to be enough power. Weight between 650 – 720kgs depending on specs. Since starting I am now building chassis number 17. Will I do more? Certainly but I only build to order but I don’t advertise so it is all done by word of mouth. I think it is a car that suits Oz well being larger than the original clubman but vastly more powerful too. Costs: Most of the builders who have built have come in at around $20,000 to $24,000. A complete car at about $35,000 or my latest one for about $38,5000. To sum up I guess I would say that the Puma represents "the most bang for your buck".
John Karnon
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