Ford Merkur

[QwanSanchez]

Hey I need yalls help or input on the 1988 Ford Merkur. Theres one for sale near me in good condition. Its a 5 speed 4cyl turbo. I honestly dont no much bout this car so any info would be helpful. aka potential for speed. O if this is supose to be in the newbie section one of ya mods plz move it.

[Angel5]

The XR4Ti is a great little car. It's a lot like the Mustang SVO.
Good potential.

Some links for you.
http://www.merkurxr4ti.com/
http://www.merkurowners.org/
http://www.merkurdesktop.com/
http://www.merkurtech.com/merkurtech/index.php
http://www.turboford.org/
http://www.mustangsvo.org/wwwboard/wwwboard.html

[turbo2.3]

:D One important piece of advice, they are not all out drag cars. Don't dump the clutch, you will kill the tranny real quick and break a rear end. And it is a Merkur XR4Ti not a Ford Merkur :P


gratuitous car shot
http://www.sromagazine.com/photopost/data/500/7204p1010030.jpg?8324

[Turbo_Tercel]

Well I got a turbo from that very same car. It's a T3 Ball-bearing turbo with a .60 A/R compressor, and .48 on the exhaust. oil/water cooled. The motor is a log style SOHC but it's fast as shit. all you gotta do is get a boost controller and a performance clutch and the car will fly. This motor was used in about 10 other cars too, including a turbocharged mini van and wagon.

[turbo2.3]

ball bearing? not that I was aware of.

[Moloko]

Originally posted by Turbo_Tercel
Well I got a turbo from that very same car. It's a T3 Ball-bearing turbo with a .60 A/R compressor, and .48 on the exhaust. oil/water cooled. The motor is a log style SOHC but it's fast as shit. all you gotta do is get a boost controller and a performance clutch and the car will fly. This motor was used in about 10 other cars too, including a turbocharged mini van and wagon.

when did ford have a turbo minivan and station wagon?

[Turbo_Tercel]

Saw it on a website a few weeks ago. I'll post if I can come across it again.

[Dr. Disque]

those were dodges there buddy, not fords

you're getting your 80's domestic turbo OHV 4 cylinders confused

[Turbo_Tercel]

***foot in my mouth***:bow:

[_/_/_/ []V[]]

Merkur XR4Ti, WOOOOOOOO!!! :headbang:

[atomicbomberman]

My very first car EVER!

One word of advice tho, these cars can have LOADS of problem if it had not been taken care off. During the one year I had my car I had to replace the alternator, starter, steering rack, clutch, thermostat, sparkplug and wires, a crap load of hoses and probably a few mor things, oh ya and my trunk antanna was still broken when I sold it.

Still they're fast, and they're very nice, i like them, good suspension even for today's standard, a bit heavy but comes with great power and torque, and the interior feels more German then American. One problem is they don't come with an Intercooler, so get the MAF from a Turbo T-Bird and the intercooler from that too, or buy a spearo one. The tranny, I don't know if it still is a popular mod but the B-W T5 tranny is one that a lot of people swap on. They have near 50/50 weight distribution, and RWD... What more do u want? ;)

[accent1]

If you buy it the first thing you want to do is an an intercooler!

Anything custom will work. I used on from a toyota supra on my Turbo coupe! Then just bypass the stock boost controler ad a K and N filter and you are on your way to around 250HP

AT 18psi Those suckers really run good!!

[turbo2.3]

at 30psi they blow up(don't ask how I know)


ohh, and the KBB value is about 1k-1.5k depending on the condition

[EastBayRacer]

those are killer cars, but they have alot of "ghosts" in the wiring. but yeah the turbocoupe/SVO T5 will work GREAT! and Volvo intercoolers are real nice as well. i wouldn't reccomend the T bird/SVO intercoolers since they have the most retarded placement, over the header/turbo.... just get a nice one from a car in the junk yard and make it front mount. turboford.org is a real good website. i've owned an SVO and it was a cool car, but it lost compression in the no. 2 cyl... i sold it to my friend and he blew it up so i traded him a car for it and sold it. i'd pick up a merkur if i could find one... esslinger or whatever the name is makes the only aluminum head for it, and you can get the ford ranger Roller cam from the 2.3 as well. those 2.3 SOHC turbo motors RULE! the bottom end is bulletproof, the topend isn't

[atomicbomberman]

well the bottom is is forge iron block, pretty heavy, but well, my dream is to swap in a Euro Sierra Cosworth engine in that thing, make it a euro Cossie ;) But i'm not even sure if that is doable, a good 3" exhaust will also work wonders for that car, from the year i've owned it, I've notice that the exhaust placement have probably robbed it a lot of power, and since it's a "cult" car, you won't get the rice boy image driving it, cops won't pull u over because they don't know what the hell it is, and you'll pull on a lot of people. Stock they come with 177hp/200ft-lb of torque... not bad out of a 2.3...

Ahh.. the advantage of driving a "cult" car, it's part of the reason why I bought my se-r. It's fun, it's a sleeper image, and because of the lack of aftermarket support, it really forces you to learn about the car and how shit works, so it's a great car to learn on.

[_/_/_/ []V[]]

u guys heard of jim rome? he has a radio show or something. he always talks shit about merkurs.

theres not too much space in the front to put a nice sized IC so most people swap in an audi or saab radiator, move it down, then put an IC where the hole is on the cosworth grill.
I've also seen some people put ICs on the bottom of the stock bumper, where its at an angle. so its best if you buy a cosworth bumper. looks cool and is pretty functional for an IC...

[turbo2.3]

Im going full RS500 conversion to my merk. Ive got the cossie rear end coming right now, and I plan on getting all the body panels and rear 1/4 windows. The last thing on my list will be to get the cossie motor. I will of course keep everyone updated on it.

[atomicbomberman]

wow.. turbo2.3.. dude that car is one of my dream car man!

For the longest time I want to import a Sierra Cosworth RS500.. or move to England hehe...

I think the only other car in that class in that era that can potentially be better is the Lancia Intergrale... Man that car is badass... although the 80s italian interior is about as worthless as a pile of shit.