Learn me Merkur xr4ti

What's the problem areas with this cars? There's one down the road from me for sale for $600 Think it might be a good winter project for me. It's an 87, manual, and rwd.

Some things are a little too unique, you can't just walk into any OReillys and get what you need that day. The engine is the exception. Speaking of which, I really like turbo 2.3's. They are so simple, and get good mileage too.

That's a crazy price. What does it need?

In reply to Repteel:

Transmissions are not strong. Factory electricals are certain to make entertaining sequences of flashing dash lights at almost unpredictable intervals. The engine is as refined as Harry from Dumb and Dumber.

Having said all that, I love these cars.

Now I am searching for xr4tis on CL. And look what I found...

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/2502066932.html

Sounds like the dash might be a free strobe light then. I did read another thread on here and sounds like people do swap in t5 from mustangs, so that could be a possible fix.

@belteshazzar from the add "Needs work (smokes) runs and drives 2 sets of wheels 19'' csa needs back tires 3'' exhaust no cat and auto light boost gauge in a pillar pod 600$" Only has one pic, looks solid and shiny.

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

I wanted one for 12 years. Finally got one and was underwhelmed.

Now, it did follow a megasquirt'd Fiat X1/9 and I didn't put much effort into it because I was so disappointed in it. Probably not the car's fault, but my own for putting them on a pedestal for so long and then not doing much of anything to make it better. I think they are better looked at as a platform with potential than much good out of the box.

That said, I did buy it for $300. Replaced the headgasket and drove it for 9 months and sold it for $1600. I got it back for free - put $500 into it (tires, clutch, and Bat/Quaife quick shifter) and sold it again for $1800 - which funded my Biturbo.

So in my case - they are excellent investments!

not really any thing else in common with the svo.

the smoking could be a bad turbo, pull the intake tube off of it and see how much is in there. great excuse to do something different there.

Repteel wrote: "Needs work (smokes) runs and drives 2 sets of wheels 19'' csa needs back tires 3'' exhaust no cat and auto light boost gauge in a pillar pod 600$" Only has one pic, looks solid and shiny.

Hey, GTFOff of Kijiji. I was going to go take a look at that one. Where in Alberta are you? Hell, tomorrow was even payday...

Honest to god, stock they are SLOOOOOOW. I always keep wanting to actually buy one, but then I remember all of the ones I've test drove. None of them seemed "right".

I gots one Granted it's a heavily modified AutoX / Track rat: http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/437/

Transmission: In stock form, T9 shifts like crap and aren't very stout. T5s from Mustangs (4cyl and 8cyl w/ pilot bushing), Thunderbird TurboCoupes, and SVOs all swap in, wonderful upgrade, mostly a bolt in affair with a new driveshaft and adapter or a custom shaft.

Turbos: seals can go out (if you buy that one let me know I have a beautiful T3 off of a 60k original auto trans 89 (means it only saw 10 lbs instead of 15lbs of boost). T3 flange means you can put alot of 'other' turbos on there...

Engine: headgskets can pop if you turn the boost up too much without enough fuel/intercooling. That said you will run out of injectors, turbo, and intercooling (non in stock form) before you can ever blow up your engine, they are just about the strongest part of the car, not very refined, but rugged as hell.

Electrical: it's old, you'll find 'Made in West Germany' stamped on most parts but most of that can be remedied or easily sorted once you know what to look out for.

Ignition: TFI modules are attached to the distributor and are very sensitive to heat and vibration, so of course the logical place to put it is on a hot vibrator, relocate and most ignition problems go away.

Brakes: Real downer in stock form, small discs up front, drums in the rear, you can convert rears to discs though easily enough and fronts can be stepped up.

Wheels: Not great choice since they're 4 lugs but you can get creative once you get some acorn nuts to help with hubcentricity.

They're cool but forgotten cars from the 80s and they're ugly. They had alot of features like a fuel injected turbo 4 banger with an manual gearbox, 4 wheel independent suspension, very low CD (hatch back design). That being said they're pretty tough and driving dynamic is excellent with upgraded suspension, tires and brakes...

for more info check out: http://www.merkurencyclopedia.com/

I live in Red Deer. Buddy who owns the car wont be around untill the weekend. Kijiji is my best friend and worst enemy.

One of the ford guy at work says the svo where known for valve seals so if it's that or the turbo it shouldn't be too bad then. Hopefully the body is soild because I suck at body work......

Thanks Raze, sounds like you've done abit to yours.

Repteel wrote: I live in Red Deer.

I'm born and raised from there If you've ever saw a turbo firefly or sprint or swift around there, chances are I've owned it!

HiTempguy wrote:

Repteel wrote: I live in Red Deer.

I'm born and raised from there If you've ever saw a turbo firefly or sprint or swift around there, chances are I've owned it!

im that guy in kelowna haha. 2nd turbo sprint, 4th swift gti/gt, 2nd metro!

@ HiTempguy Have seen a few swifts but I don't know who's who around here.

If I get to take this for a test drive should I expect some turbo lag? Only turbo car I've owned is a WRX so I really don't know what to compaire it to.

I'll give a bit of input as well since I'm an XR owner and enthusiast.

1. As previously stated, stock they are a bit underwhelming, but they are comfortable and capable of being quite reliable.

2. There's nothing particularly exotic about them in terms of repair, maintenance, upkeep, or parts. They've gotten a bad wrap in a lot of ways, but really, they are really no different in terms of this kinda stuff than any other 24 year old european car.

3. Mechanically they're pretty darn easy to work on. Parts for the engine can be had pretty readily in either new or used form, and usually very reasonably priced comparatively. Ford put that damn Lima 2.3 in one form or another in cars/trucks from 1974 to 1999. You can get axles and arms and hoses and whatever new from the usual auto parts store type places (if you know what you're looking for).

4. There are more specialty parts suppliers than ever for the cars, whether you wanna restore, go auto-x, go rally, whatever. Merkur Parts Midwest, Rapido, BAT, MC2 Racing, JVAB, OEM Parts Haus, and forum classifieds. Coilovers, poly bushings, custom diff mounts, LSD conversions, euro lighting, Cosworth bits, YB motors, awd conversions, V8 conversions, body panels, interior pieces, etc., glass, it's all out there.

5. They can make good power fairly cheaply without going boom. Forged pistons from the factory means less worry about raising boost levels. Head gaskets are cheap and easy to replace (~3-4 hours and under $40). Lots of hop up stuff can be done for cheap... ported/gutted manifolds, SVO/turbocoupe ecu/VAM upgrades, intercooler, etc... the usual stuff will get you 250hp+ without touching the long block or injectors.

6. Brake upgrades are fairly readily available and fairly inexpensive (think $200-$400 per end).

7. There's good community support via the forums on the Merkur Club of America and MerkurSport, as well as the now ancient IMON email list. And the really good news is that the community has been very good about documenting known issues and resolutions since the beginning. Check out http://www.merkurdesktop.com/desktop.php and http://www.merkurencyclopedia.com/index.html just to get a hint of the info that is readily available. My point is that if you run into a problem, it's probably been identified, resolved, and documented and you won't have to struggle excessively to find out how to fix it.

This is my quickie stuff... if you need more info, let me know and I'll help if I can. BTW, my car (bought and built since 2006):

(Ignition: TFI modules are attached to the distributor and are very sensitive to heat and vibration, so of course the logical place to put it is on a hot vibrator, relocate and most ignition problems go away. )

Wonder if I have this problem. Made it most of the way home, then lost power on acceleration, pulled over shut it off but it wouldn't restart. Cranked like it had a dead battery. Got a ride home, got a truck and trailer, went out to the car. The car started so we drove on to the trailer. Are the TFI affected by heat?

Yes. They overheat and fail. It will continue to do it until it simply stops working altogether. Ford remotely mounted the TFI on some vehicles where it was mounted on a fairly meaty, highly fin'd heat sink, like so:

Thanks darkbudda! Should get the stock one or is the a better version of it on a different model?

These cars travel in packs, if you buy one, two or three will soon follow. I have a friend who has five. One of which is, of all things, a stereo competion car. They're kinda heavy, and his car is stupid loud, like 150 dB. One sub, one amp. Not my cup of tea, but it's successful at what it does.

Repteel wrote: Thanks darkbudda! Should get the stock one or is the a better version of it on a different model?

I recommend Motorcraft for the TFI modules. The parts store and aftermarket TFIs have a reputation for going bad more quickly. That said, I still have the original TFI in my car, so you might be able to buy one (or 5) at a u-pull-it yard and be just fine.

BTW, if you do visit the u-pull-it yard, take a look in older Aerostars and F150s for remote mounted TFIs and grab it with the wiring and all that stuff, then less worry for the future. In fact, I think I'll do the same.

I've got a bunch of original sales brochures from when they were new. If anyone wants them, shoot me an email.

BTW, gratuitous "inspirational" XR pic from yesterday's rally-x:

Someone has a photo of Joel and I dragging the exhaust of my white XR after a rallycross. It was a sight to be seen as I had basically ran it over and the whole thing was sticking out the tail and I "adjusted the positioning" of half the cones on the course.

Classic!

I bet your popular with the workers that day

I may be interested in a brochure...