Which TurboBeater: Starquest, XR4ti, or MR2?

The XR4ti can be retrofitted with a T5 transmission if and when the T9 takes a dump. What does interior matter for a rally car? Oh wait, that's my personal dream that I'm interjecting here, isn't it? :)

Simply because I have never had / driven the Conquest and it is on my bucket list of cars to have and at that price (it is a challenge car waiting to happen) that is my car of choice for me at the moment. Ask me tomorrow and it would probably be the XR4TI

Then again.

I've owned a StarQuest, but the turbo engine didn't last long. It got a 351-W quickly (so THAT's where your screenname came from). Although I never finished the project and got rid of the car, here's my take on it...

Aftermarket parts are a PAIN IN THE ASS to get. Replacement parts are a PAIN IN THE ASS to get. Any type of real aftermarket support is EXTREMELY LIMITED.

The Merkur Xr4Ti. Working at Motion Dynamics, we had a LOT of time to play with these. They're cute. Lots of crazy German crap on them like the transmission and stupid drum brakes, but that stuff can be swapped out. The brakes can also be converted to Ford 5-lug bolt pattern if I remember correctly. The biggest thing I had against the Merkur was the owners. LOL Lots of the Merkur specific parts were hard to come by, but if you find the right Merkur guys, then you're golden.

AW11. I don't have much experience with these. And by "much" I mean I drove one once. Parts seem to be pretty plentiful and lots of go-fast guys know them in & out. Probably the most GRM capable car out of the bunch, and by that I mean most people here have owned them and can tell you anything you want to know about them. That one sounds like it's pretty strongly built and the money he's asking is good.

My vote is for the MR2.

I say the mr2 also. Fun to drive, pretty decent aftermarket for them too

I've had lots of experience with the starquests. While I agree that they are the coolest looking of all the 80s sports cars, they are a gigantic pain inthe ass. All the ones I worked with had electrical issues. Aftermarket parts are nearly non existent. Another big limiter is the TBI, one 1600cc injector. You can't fin anything bigger than that, unless you go full standalone with a custom intake manifold or something along those lines.

XR4, ugly duckling, but not horrible. The 2.3 has a big aftermarket for it. Someone already mentioned the trans swaps, so that's not a big deal. From what I recall, suspension stuff is hard to come by as well.

Spoolpigeon wrote: From what I recall, suspension stuff is hard to come by as well.

Nope, Koni yellows, KYBs, and several others are available...

Of that group, the MR2 looks best to me. I loved my Merkur, but man, did I ever have trouble with it. I'm a little gun shy on them. Mine was an '88 and that is the best year. And you can get power out of them really easily. Very fun car.

Ah, my mistake then