Learn me Merkur xr4ti

Just for the record, my old 94 Aerostar has a remote mount TFI on the passenger side. Very easy to get at for removal.

darkbuddha wrote:

Nice VW bumper.

Brochures are spoken for.

In reply to MrMook: Good eye... most can't place it. A friend originated it and we did mine very shortly after... it's urethane and uses the VW metal understructure with impact foam, which is why we chose to use it. My original bumper was ripped, so I need another anyway. Unfortunately, legit urethane Cosworth bumpers are way expensive, and a fiberglass replica wouldn't have survived a week of Seattle street parking or boarding ferries to Bremerton to go auto-x'ing. Cheap and urethane (and good looking on this car IMHO) is win-win(-win). Front shot:

In reply to darkbuddha:

It actually looks great. The styling is so similar that it works.

wow... yes, that does look like it belongs there

Not fast today, but man, for the time it was fun.

It's been years since I drove one, but my dad had one when it was new and my best friend had one in HS at the height of our years as genuinely stupid/dangerous drivers. I can't count the number of times that thing almost killed us. Not that you'd keep it stock, but in factory form it was an ill-handling turd made worse by 1980's turbo power delivery. I also remember a lot of electrical issues on both cars and difficulty finding parts back in the early/mid 90's.....

Darkbuddha's photos make weak in the knees, but owning one is not something to take lightly. They're not "exotic" but it's one of those cars that becomes something of a cultish lifestyle. An E30/E36's can be owned and maintained like a toyota if you like, without some encyclopedic knowledge of who has what part, what parts to hoard because they're discontinued, which models shared parts with it, etc.

(without some encyclopedic knowledge of who has what part, what parts to hoard because they're discontinued, which models shared parts with it, etc)

Yup. This is the feeling I got today. Went to my normal parts store, where the company I work for gets a discount, and they didn't even list Merkur on their computers. Ended looking up parts for a turbo thunderbird instead.

you have to remember.. when the Xr4ti was new.. it put out around 175hp.. and the 5.0 Mustang put out all of 205 hp

mad_machine wrote: you have to remember.. when the Xr4ti was new.. it put out around 175hp without an intercooler.. and the 5.0 Mustang put out all of 205 hp

Fixed

In reply to Repteel: If you're looking for parts you can't find, drop me a line and I can try to point you in the right direction. Be sure to join the MCA and MerkurSport and refer to the MerkurEncylopedia regularly. Oh, and I forgot to post: http://www.merkurtech.com/merkurtech/index.php for even more good stuff.

I am a bit surprised that your parts supplier didn't list Merkur since it seems like all the big ones I've tried do... Discount, Advanced, Pep Boys, Schucks, Rock Auto, NAPA. But you've already figured out one of the tricks for getting some parts... tell 'em it's an SVO or Turbocoupe if they're confused. That will work for almost any and every engine/ignition part (except hoses). You'll also find that some parts can be found at parts stores if you know what to ask for. I've gotten several hoses from local parts stores just by knowing what part numbers to ask for.

BTW, I dyno'd mine a while back when it just had an intercooler, 17 lbs of boost, SVO ecu & VAM, and a really bad 3" exhaust and it made 180 whp and 220 wtq... that's 215 hp and 260 tq at the crank, net. Not a rocket, but respectable and fun.

All of this is now of great interest to me.

hit enter too soon: I'll be looking for information on the brakes and a possible 5 lug swap if I can do it on a tight budget.

In reply to Brett_Murphy:

Brakes now have some easy and cheap upgrade options both in size and # of pistons, including rear end conversion to discs.

5-lug swap:

http://www.merkurtech.com/merkurtech/picturepages/main.php (search 5-lug) not exactly plug and play...

I wonder how hard a 5.0 swap is?

Brett_Murphy wrote: All of this is now of great interest to me. hit enter too soon: I'll be looking for information on the brakes and a possible 5 lug swap if I can do it on a tight budget.

Did u buy the one that was listed locally??

In reply to Appleseed:

Not really actually. There are 5.0s (old ones not the new), LSx swaps (go figure), duratec swaps, twin cam volvo heads attached to the stock 2.3 block, I think someone put a 3.8 V6 in one, the engine bay is huge and there's tons of null space...

Bondurant used some XR4's for class cars, I believe with 302's and T5's swapped in, may be another source of info / inspiration.

Repteel wrote: Besides the engine is there any other interchangeable parts with SVO mustangs?

The engine is not interchageable, not in the "identical part" sense.

SVO is completely different. Different trans, axles (stick vs IRS), etc etc. I guess the ECU may be similar but not the same programming. Different brakes, front suspension...

It's like Capri vs. Mustang II or Cortina vs. Falcon.