Merkur XR4ti DD?

Anyone have experience with an XR4ti as a daily driver? I'm thinking about picking one up and want to know if anyone can share their experiences. It looks like it might be a good combination of moderate fun with practicality (good sized storage in the hatch, decent fuel economy, 4 seats in a pinch).

How's the reliability on a well-maintained car? I don't mind replacing wear items here and there, but don't want to be fighting major drivetrain issues or loads of electrical gremlins. I've seen a few of these with wiring harnesses that were shot, but others seem to be in pretty good condition even after all these years.

It would be an '88 manual for reference.

FYI, I read through some of the older threads about these and I'm mostly interested in how they will work as a DD specifically (not going to be doing much in terms of mods or racing).

I had one for a daily. It never once had an issue that kept me form getting to/from work in comfort.

While the engine is generally bulletproof, some of the wear items and trim bits are getting hard to come by. Headlights always yellow out due to cheap plastic, and the Euro conversion is not plug-and-play. The driveshaft has a rotoflex coupling in it that can go bad at any time, and a hanger bearing that can be troublesome. The stock T9 stick shift isn't bad, but avoid the automatic. They all have European electrics from the early 80s, for what that's worth.

All in all, get the best one you can possibly find, otherwise you'll be chasing demons for the entire time you own it.

I DD'd one for awhile during college. The headlights yellowed out and really sucked at night. The gauges also needed to be re-soldered. It never left me stranded.

rallymodeller wrote: The driveshaft has a rotoflex coupling in it that can go bad at any time

That's true of lot's of European stuff. I've had the XR4ti, Alfa Milano, M-B 190E, Maserati Biturbo, Volvo 740 all the Guibos.

This would fix those pesky issues:

Haynes Roadster

rallymodeller wrote: The stock T9 stick shift isn't bad, but avoid the automatic. They all have European electrics from the early 80s, for what that's worth.

I thought the stock manual tranny in those was the T5, same as was behind the turbo 2.3 in the Turbocoupe and SVO.

In reply to ReverendDexter:

Nope, it's the T9. In my experience, it's fine behind a stock or lightly modded motor.

I enjoyed my Merkur. I just spent a lot of time working on it. Great car when it was working. Maybe I just had bad luck. Others don't seem to have had as many problems. '88 is said to be the "good year".

In reply to ReverendDexter:

Nope, T9, my friend has five of them. They travel in packs. He has one stick car, three autos and one that has been picked to a shell. It had suffered an engine fire, and everything that could be taken off of it has been.

The rubber parts under the hood are prone to wear because of the under hood heat from the turbo, that has no intercooler.

I think they're a good platform, and with a T5 swap, some engine work, and lightening they make for some solid cars. As far as a DD, go for it! People will react to it one of two ways. Either they will remember them, and they used to have one, or knew someone who did. Or they will be puzzled over what it is. Many people call my friend's an escort, but then the logo throws them off.

get the RS500 body kit and the 'whale tail' if you want it to look half decent, or at least a Ford Motorsports grille that opens the front facia and will keep under hood temps cool, you can get the glass euro spec headlights that don't yellow and look nice, or swap in Rob's angry eyes grille that uses Avalanche headlights. The list of possible mods and combos is huge.

When shopping I'd look for OEM first, but most likely parts have been changed or modified over time, even on 'stock' cars. If that's the case the mods you want right which are on many nice examples in the $3k-6k range (the latter being very nice mostly original unmolested garaged cars) are: Koni Yellows, T5 swap, front mount intercooler, and 3" exhaust. If you have only these mods the car has much more 'modern' driving dynamics. For reference, a set of Koni yellows is $500-600, a good T5 swap with a proper cross-member is $500-1000, a front mount intercooler runs around $200-300, and a good 3" exhaust will run around $500-750. Like I said, I've seen cars in the $3-6k range with these mods on them, meaning the car is worth the price of the parts...