merkur xr4ti

[auto alchemist]

so i found an xr4ti for cheap and i was thinking about buying, but i was wondering if anyone has links to sites with performance parts or anything?

i was also wondering if the 2.3 turbo motor in them are the same as the mustang and tbird motor?

and last, does anyone make coilovers or performance suspension that will work on them, someone told me that mustang suspension parts work on them, is that true?

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

I've been daily driving mine now for about 3 months and love it. The turbo engines are different, having forged internals and take a TON of abuse. As for links, i'd suggest you register over at http://forum.merkurclub.com/forum/index.php?sid=1797e4e72c87f0c9c95a108e5ee2ad0e

There are others but that's the best i've found. Look for a guy on there, screen name is Grayson (also his first name). He runs a company out of West Chester and sells a whole slew of suspension parts for Merkurs and he specializes in suspension.


Here's a few websites
http://www.mc2racing.com/
http://www.merkurtech.com/merkurtech/magarticles/main.php
http://www.davecompton.com/MerkurColdAir.html
http://www.turboford.net/index.shtml
http://www.40bob.com/
http://www.merkurencyclopedia.com/

[cstreu1026]

These guys were popular when I had my Tbird. I don't know if they are any good to deal with any more though.

http://www.rapidogroup.com/

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

These guys were popular when I had my Tbird. I don't know if they are any good to deal with any more though.

http://www.rapidogroup.com/

Yeah they sell a lot of hard to find parts for the XR as well.

[auto alchemist]

i found out the car has a cracked windshield, how hard is it to get windshields for these? and about how much would one cost?

sorry but i have no idea where to look for windshields, ive never had to replace one lol

[Rick93coupe]

Just look in the phone book, and call around for prices. Hell, there's even a member named Glassman on the board, maybe he does windshields. Either way, I've found that they will compete for your business, so shop for the best price.

[Carl]

I would pick it up in a heartbeat as long there aren't too many issue's with it. I have really grown to love my little 2.3T.

[auto alchemist]

I would pick it up in a heartbeat as long there aren't too many issue's with it. I have really grown to love my little 2.3T.


oh i will,its in mint condition besides the windsheild, plus its a 5 speed, there are no cracks or rips in the interior, and its all leather, i still havent heard it run, but hell i might buy it even if it doesnt run right

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

I'll tell ya my opinion of the 2.3 has really changed since owning this car. This thing has balls like no other 4 banger i've ridden in. It's no rocket but it's got really impressive torque for what it is. Just tonight i was driving down 125 goofing off and broke the tires loose half way through 2nd gear when the turbo spooled up...it really surprised the hell out of me and sent the ass end way out sideways. I had the big :D

[auto alchemist]

^ so how does it handle turns?

i kinda have a thing for light weight rwd cars that handle well (th reason why i own 3 240sx's lol), im hoping the coilovers i found in one of your links are really stiff, because after using my 240 as a daily for so long i have come to hate cars with soft suspension, i have the coilovers in the front of my 240 set so stiff the only give comes from the sidewall of the tires, the rears are stiff too but their a little softer lol

[auto alchemist]

oh, and if their ends up being something wrong with the bottom end or the head i can use the turbo coupe long block and head right?

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Yeah the engines are generally the same from turbo engine to turbo engine, but there are some intake differences between them, the older ones being taller than the new ones (something to do with the styling change of the last years of the Tbird Turbo Coupe having more slope to the hood so they lowered the intake to compensate, and that translated over into the Merkurs).

In stock form the suspension is VERY soft, but i can take on/off ramps onto the highway at 50mph without so much as a tire squeal, and that's with 195/50/15s. One of the things i hate so far is the wheel wells are F'in tiny and you can barely get 17s on them, and to do that you've really gotta massage the fender lips, take off the fender flairs, pay special attention to backspacing and offset, and in some cases even remove the inner wheel wells. It's even a challenge to get 16s on them but a lot of guys manage ok. I'm gonna stock with 15s and get some decent tires since even with the pizza cutters it doesn't get loose in the corners very easy.

The guy i talked with from MC2 racing, he's the guy who lives in West Chester. He has 3 of these cars and one of them is an all out autocross/road course car, and he said he can humiliate even modded Evo's and WRX's on the course even with their AWD. He can hook you up with anything you need for the suspension to make it a serious threat in the corners.

Another thing that's not so great is the stock T9 five speed. It's really weak for these cars and a T5 (or better) swap is highly recommended, although i just put a clutch in mine and i'm gonna baby the T9 until more funds are available. There's a lot of stupid little quirks with these cars, things that'll piss you off and make you shake your head at it. They're definitely not for everyone. When i got mine, i mentioned to a few people that i had daily driver in mind when i got it and they said i was crazy, but i haven't had any serious problems with it yet. I think if you're the kind of guy who pays attention to the engine and don't have a problem with doing some routine maintenance then you'll be ok.

I will say though, they're NOT drag cars. The IRS in them is just not up for launching on slicks, people do anyways and some people have luck with it, but they have an open differential (one wheel peel) and are only a 7.5 inch, and the half shafts just aren't that strong. If you go breaking things like the rear end, you're gonna find that parts are pretty hard to come by. There are some limited slip units that drop right in, but expect to pay around 1k for them. I've been reading up some on a Buick 7.5 rear end swap you can do that's pretty stout, but i don't know all the details yet.

If you want you can check mine over and even take a ride in it. I'll probably be out in Eastgate tonight shopping/screwing off. PM me if you want and we'll meet up somewhere.

[auto alchemist]

well i guess im SOL now, the guy kept ducking my calls, and when i finally got ahold of him today he said he had just sold it even though i said i was going to buy it.

im kinda bummed, i was looking forward to getting it:(

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Well all is not lost....there's a pretty badass one in the classifieds for a great price if you've got the cash

http://www.stangbangerz.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35476

[auto alchemist]

i would be all over that if i had the extra 2k to spend, but this other one was only 700 bucks!!!!

but yeah if i wasnt trying to have my car done before it gets warm i would buy that

my friend did tell me about a fox coupe down the street from his house though, ive been looking for one thats a rolling shell for cheap to put one of the extra 5.0 HO's i have in it

[Ryan218]

next summer im hoping my dad will let me pick up a 2nd car and retire the stang as DD...if love to find a xr4ti, 85's is really clean!