Production number #0394 is owned by Shaun Skinner (Chairman of the Tickford Owners Club) #0394 has an interesting story.  When Shaun purchased it in October 2009 there was only the shell and the whole car needed to be built back up again.  Sadly, for a few years the Ford Racing Pumas slipped down in value, soon some unscrupulous people worked out the cars were worth more as performance upgrades for Fiestas etc.  So people were buying up the low end high mileage rougher examples for around 3k and doubling their money on breaking for parts, sadly this car was one of those casualties. Thankfully times seem to have changed with the recent more welcomed higher values, meaning rough FRP's are now more likely to be saved and restored.

When Shaun found this ex Ford management car it had been heavily stripped and dumped in a barn. It was looking very sad, being devoid of almost all mechanical parts, plus the expensive aluminium front wings had also been removed and sold.  It was perfect for Shaun as he was, at that time looking for a project to create a wide bodied Puma to his own specifications, but quickly he became caught up in the FRP scene and was soon converted to the idea of originality.  

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Just under 5 years later she went back on the road, as almost entirely standard (at great cost!), including a genuine racing engine from car #0277 (found fitted in a Fiesta of course!) Shaun had great fun building the car back up and met some very interesting people along the way.  Shaun’s own mark on the car, apart from completing a great deal of the work himself, seemed to end up just some subtle upgrades including an EVO boot spoiler, Miltek stainless exhaust, K&N induction and Powerflex polyurethane bushes. Shaun now has the bonus of a fair knowledge of what makes a FRP tick.

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Ford really did get it right with this one and of course I must say they chose the right people to build it! Shaun has been asked many times if he would sell the car, but as it stands he is quite attached, being only the second car he has built up from a shell (The first being a Tickford Capri which he still owns).  The FRP is such a great little car which gets lots of positive attention at shows, so is very unlikely that he could ever consider parting with it.