Why SHOUDNT I buy it...

Other than the fact that its an autotragic transmissioned car, what should i look for on XR4Ti's? Im going to look at it this saturday.

Who here thinks its worth selling the civic for?

Reasons I want it: -Turbo=more torque than my honda will ever have. -RWD, RWD, RWD -Eurotrash. never owned a euro car, love the 80's rally look. -2.3T seems to have a decent aftermarket.

SO why shouldnt I? -Is the trans swap not worth it? too dificult? -Are parts readily available? I know it doesnt have a honda sized aftermarket... but does Ford at least still carry some basics?

Heres the original CL Post:Merkur

Like I said, going to look at it saturday, let me know whats up guys!

CRAP, can a mod please move this over to the motorsports forum?

No worries.

Remove transmission replace with T5 from 1984-1988 Thunderbird Turbo transmission. Pedals are easily sourced.

anything goofy about the swap? are T5s stout? im assuming i will need the turbo coupes transmission crossmember...

No, but google David Godfrey and buy a driveshaft adapter from him.

Personally the best swap is the 5.0L/T5 but it's your dream ;)

yeah!!! i was wondering that too... I figured a 5.0 has been swapped in at some point (seems like more people would like it that way)... But i figure that comes after blowing the 2.3 all to E36 M3 lol I really hope its a good runner. at the price i dont want to pass it up...

are suspension parts hard to find? seems like you can get quite a bit from BAT but is there anyone else out there selling parts for these oddballs?

It is really hard to really damage the engine with one exception: the cylinder head. The head is the engines achilles heel. Good rebuildable cores are getting rare.

Auto cars are deathly anemic. Adding boost only causes transmission issues.

the automatic wouldnt be in long. hopefully. lol

btw thanks a lot john, you have been really helpful. im reviewing money stuff now, seein if i can nab it.

so whats the verdict, think it would be worth it if clean?

I have sold worse for more. A nice runner with an auto tranny for $1500.00 is fair.

cxhb wrote: the automatic wouldnt be in long. hopefully. lol btw thanks a lot john, you have been really helpful. im reviewing money stuff now, seein if i can nab it. so whats the verdict, think it would be worth it if clean?

I went and looked at one recently that was making fine boost but cutting power under full throttle (probably a MAF issue if I've ever had one with a boosted car before).

Anyways, I was underwhelmed. I thought it'd be much cooler. I personally would prefer a second gen RX7 now I believe... of course, I ended up going with a minty tsi talon, so YMMV!

I would prefer an E30. I want one badly... but hey, we'll see what happens. I can imagine its nothing fast. but the potential is there...

That's the difference between us and other car people. Most people see old slow junk. We see the potential of what could be! Sometimes it turns out well, sometimes it just really is old slow junk.

Remember that the automatic XR's only made 150hp compared to the 5spds 175. Lower boost and something else in the ECU was changed.

I found a page recently talking about putting a c4 auto trans in one. If ever there was a small/light auto that could be made to hold turbo tq, the c4 is among them. Its super damn easy to build, too.. buy a book and build it yourself, imo.

But id stay 5spd if i could.

I just was talking to a good friend yesterday who races a turbo miata about the two he owned. He highly recommended them mostly for aesthetic reasons. The stock performance is unspectacular, but that can be changed. The 2.3 is a VERY solid motor, and easy to work on, too.

A decent Merkur forum might help answer some of your questions.

I can't see your ad from work, but I've owned a couple of '86 XR4Tis, so I'll throw my two cents in.

My first one was purchased with a disassembled automatic transmission in the hatch/trunk.

I didn't bother putting an auto back in. I sourced a used T9 (the stock 5 speed), driveshaft, speedo cable, pedal set, flywheel, clutch, etc, and bolted it all together.

I never did anything as far as upgrades on either car. They were fun daily drivers. Mostly fun because 99+% of the general population has no idea what they are.

You have to keep good plug wires on them. I just got parts store ones and waranteed them when it started cutting out under boost.

PCV valves are a consumable maintenance item (like spark plug wires).

Suspension parts are not easy to come by (think bushings and such). They were out there, but not cheap enough for me.

In my mind, the real problem with these cars is that they were as much or more "luxury" as they were "sport" when new. You'll have a car full of non-working accessories. If this bothers you, steer clear of them in general. If you're ok with disabling, bypassing, deleting, or dealing with quirky electronics and options that don't work anymore, you'll do fine.

I'd say it's not a good car for the anal retentive.

In stock form, the car shines in "passing" situations. I was never happy with "off the line" performance, but if you want to go from 50 mph to 80 mph RIGHT NOW...they'll do it.

I'll probably own another again someday, but I'm not really looking out for one. When one comes along cheap, I'll pick one up. (well I say that...and now I have the urge to search for XR4Tis within 150 miles of me ;)).

Clem

There's a guy with a full-caged 5.0L XR4Ti that runs at some of the Georgia Autocross events. The thing is a bat out of hell. I've got a good engine bay pic somewhere....

I want an XR4ti since I was 17 (holy crap, I'm 30 now) and finally bought one last March.

The car was close to free as the HG was blown, I replaced it and the car was good.

I was severly underwhelmed by the car. I think it was a combination of having put the XR on a pedestal for 12 years and the XR being the replacement car after having to sell my X1/9 (this is probably the larger of the two reasons and unfair to the XR)

I honestly liked my Volvo 740 turbo wagon more than the XR, granted it had more mods than I put into the XR though. I thought the XR would be a good compromise between the utility of the Volvo and the nimble-ness of the Fiat. It wasn't.

I still the the XR is a good platform for modification though, but out of the box with just a bit of suspension work and higher boost, it isn't all that.

The caveat is that last summer in Texas was the hottest on record and my XR never did get an intercooler installed. YMMV.

That said, I finally sold it in November when I bought my Alfa Milano, a car which I love dearly.

hmm... maybe i ought to wait it out for an E30 after all?

seems like everyone who has owned one (for the most part) was underwhelmed...

thanks for the help. I suppose its still worth checking out... we'll see what happens...

EDIT: Besides... I cant be TOO dissatisfied... the fun car at the moment has been a civic for 4 or 5 years. It isnt like their too fast lol

btw, that was really nice insight m4ff3w.

The auto is a C3, which is better known in it's O/D form as the A4LD. Those things are total and utter trash.

Swap a 5-speed in one, hit the Tubo Ford forums, and have a grand ole' time.