[jetrinka]

So I sold the ST. I wanted something that was RWD and have been hunting for quite a while. Well I was driving by the local Ford dealership a week ago and saw a car that really caught my eye.

Its an 88 Merkur XR4ti. Its got the 2.3 liter turbocharged engine with a 5 speed manual. Its in incredible shape. Only 69000 miles, the body and interior are perfect and the engine is incredibly strong. It has a 3" turbo back exhaust and I believe a bigger turbo. It also has some adjustable Koni shocks all around paired with an aftermarket spring. It feels amazing.

On to the pics!!!

I am very happy with it. I will still stick around here though.

 

[stilix]

Nice find dude.

 

[xpeterbilt387x]

hot damn! it looks brand new. Nice find, that has to be pretty rare.

 

[1sloho]

<---this guy is jealous! very nice man. any plans for it?

 

[loudfocus01]

One of those kind of cars you like the looks of but don't know why.

I like it!

 

[jetrinka]

<---this guy is jealous! very nice man. any plans for it?

As for now I need to talk to the guy who owned it before me and find out exactly what he did to it. I guess he was the head guy at the service department at the dealer I bought it from at one point, quit there and opened his own shop for years. He put it for sale on consignment with the dealer so I never actually met him. I hope to speak with him on Friday though and find out exactly what the mods are that are on it. Whatever they are it feels and drives amazing and he did everything exactly right and was meticulous about it. Very nice.

 

[2002greenzx3]

such a good find. congrats on your new car!

 

[TheGlassMaker]

Damn I'm super jealous. Jeremy Clarkson would be proud lol. Nice find for sure.

 

[Buickboy]

mmm thats one of the cleanest ones ive ever seen

 

[Hal3st0rm]

Awesome find! A set of wheels to fill out those wheel wells would really set it off I think.

 

[Jgrove998]

Good now join the Merkur Club of America and tell them "Focus Rising" sent you!

LOL! A lot of XR owners are Focus owners as well.

That gem was posted up on MCA awhile back....Not sure if I saw that it had an upgraded turbo but the stock turbo was a Garrett T3, oil and water hookup. A common upgrade for the turbo is the bigger Cossi exhaust housing but that means fabricating a new downpipe. There are a couple of mint XRs around the country and more seem to be popping up all the time.

Once you join MCA the modding bug will bite you after you see what other people do to these things and how easy they are to mod. The online resources for the Merkurs are amazing.

MCA, Merkur Midwest, Merkur Depot, Rapido, etc

Merkur Encyclopedia
Merkur Desktop: So many links to Merkur resources

 

[fhh02a]

that is freakin awesome

all you need to do is get rid of those Mb Sprite wheels and buy my wheels... or get you some white rally wheels

 

[Chick]

Very nice. I love those cars.

 

[mikebontoft]

Dang you got basketweaves..... really wish I could keep mine but two different bolt patterns equal fail.

That is VERY clean though. Really impressed with the condition of it after 23 years

 

[DEMENTED SVTF]

An older guy at work has one but its an automatic and is in no where close to as clean as urs

 

[stadtsoldat]

Used to have one of these, myself. Miss it a ton. Congrats on the purchase! I've never seen one in better shape.

 

[jetrinka]

LOL! A lot of XR owners are Focus owners as well.

That gem was posted up on MCA awhile back....Not sure if I saw that it had an upgraded turbo but the stock turbo was a Garrett T3, oil and water hookup. A common upgrade for the turbo is the bigger Cossi exhaust housing but that means fabricating a new downpipe. There are a couple of mint XRs around the country and more seem to be popping up all the time.

Once you join MCA the modding bug will bite you after you see what other people do to these things and how easy they are to mod. The online resources for the Merkurs are amazing.

MCA, Merkur Midwest, Merkur Depot, Rapido, etc

Merkur Encyclopedia
Merkur Desktop: So many links to Merkur resources

I think the first mod I am going to do to it is a FMIC and a shorter aluminum radiator so the IC piping can pass over it. Should be good. However there is no rush as the car isn't going to be driven in winter at all. This weekend is going to be full of washing, claybar, and lots of wax. [clap]

 

[azdamay]

Geez that thing must have been garaged it's whole life... or recently repainted? They nearly all have paint fade and cracked/busted spoilers by now. I wanted one of these cars so bad when I was a kid back in the 1980's. I still have my Matchbox XR4Ti/XR4i, just like this one:

I've got basketweaves too! [hihi]

 

[Jgrove998]

I think the first mod I am going to do to it is a FMIC and a shorter aluminum radiator so the IC piping can pass over it. Should be good. However there is no rush as the car isn't going to be driven in winter at all. This weekend is going to be full of washing, claybar, and lots of wax. [clap]

Sweet. Merkurdepot makes a aluminum shorty radiator that will bolt in. He also makes an shorty aluminum radiator with a FMIC on top of it. He even provides the piping separately.

Then you'll want a repinned LA3 ECU from a Turbocoupe and Big VAM...then boost to about 18-20 psi!

I love these cars! [thumb]

 

[jetrinka]

lol wow, sounds like you know what your talking about.

I put it up on a lift this morning at work and confirmed that it indeed has a 3" downpipe feeding into a 3" exhaust. It goes into a high flow cat and a muffler. Comes out of the muffler with dual exits at 2 1/4" tubing. Sounds amazing.

It has a slight oil pan seep, some slight oil on the transmission and the differential seals are seeping just a bit but its nothing horrible at all. The turbo oil return line at the turbocharger is probably leaking the worst but its still not dripping. Nothing that can't be fixed over winter. I expect seals and gaskets to dry out when they sit for long periods anyway.

It needs front brakes. The previous owner put drilled rotors on it (I will be going with blanks). And the rear tires are showing cord on the inside edges. I read somewhere that these have camber problems so I will figure out how to fix that. (its creepy how much this car reminds me of the Focus....)