Not PT, but progress on my XR4Ti project

[DarkBuddha]

Well my '70 Mach has been in mothballs for so long now it looks like I might have to redo some stuff to fix some problems from it just sitting. It's just plain too hot in Tampa in the summer to work on it.

But my XR4TI is making little bits of progress. Since it's my daily driver I can only do little things and bolt-ons because I really can't be without it a day. Most recently I did some maintenance stuff, replaced the high pressure turbo oil feed line, cut out the leaking gouged muffler, and cut a new grille (until my Cosworth grille finally comes). I've also bought a bunch of parts, including a gutted/ported intake set, the Cosworth turbine housing I mentioned, a billet fuel rail and AFPR, a nicely ported exhaust manifold, a set of ARE 16x7 wheels for auto-x days, and a few other bits and bobs.

Oh, and I got it to the dyno and got some mixed news. I should start by saying that I went to just confirm that the changes I made from last year resulted in the kind of improvement I anticipated, which they sorta did. So that is good. But there was some bad stuff too... First, the first dyno run was botched because my exhuast was rubbing on the rollers, so the subsequent runs were with the engine a bit heat soaked. Second, the clutch is going south. DAMMIT!!! It was obviously slipping on the dyno. And third, the afr went way way rich to 10.3 when boost came on and stayed rich around 11.5, which means I'm actually losing power because it's overly rich. Sure rich is great for preventing knocking, but it also kills power.

So it made a corrected 176hp/220tq with a slipping clutch, slightly heat soaked, and way rich, which is actually not all that bad, but it isn't the 210/240ish I was hoping for. And these numbers were on a Mustang dyno, which is the heartbreaker of dynos really. Still, the potential is there.

Anyway, a couple pics to show the grille and the dyno sheets:

[hechtrod]

Slap a T3/T4, run 18-20psi! My bro built an '87 Turbocoupe motor and put it in an 87 LX Mustang 4 cyl car. He ended making 320hp wiht it. He front mounted the stock intercooler, ported the head, TB and intake manifold, fpr, tweaked the vam (not sure exactly what) and put a 3" downpipe and exhaust in it. It was such a cool car. Dummy sold the thing. It was killer! I can email pics. Just PM me or email me
Chris
[email protected]

[twosaturns]

Feels very lonely sometimes.

try modding a saturn sometime...

[curly]

Cool car! I remember a girl had a red XR4TI when I was in high school and I always thought it was a neat car. She had the only one around and I don't think there was another one after she left / got rid of hers.

[DarkBuddha]

try modding a saturn sometime...

Been there, but that was back in the mid-90s with the '92 SL my parents bought new. After driving it for a few years in the late '90s (it got a K&N filter and some synthetic oil) I gave it back. Good car though... original clutch went 125k miles, and the car has 185k on it now and runs like a top.

[Damn True]

C'mon Wyatt, make with the auto-x action!

[Frank Grimes]

i like those cars personally i would try and get rid of the pillar and make it look much more like the euro cars but your car is a looker for sure.

[paul67]

Over here in the UK they are ford sierra's and in aussy they used to put ford v8s in them.

[DarkBuddha]

Over here in the UK they are ford sierra's and in aussy they used to put ford v8s in them.

They put V8s in 'em in South Africa too... called 'em XR8. I'd love to have a legit Cossie, but they're impossilbe to import and too pricey anyway.

[paul67]

Why are they so hard to import?

[DarkBuddha]

Why are they so hard to import?

There are laws and NHTSA rules that decide what can be imported and what hoops you have to jump through. In Canada it's pretty simple, but getting it into the US is much tougher. It can be done, but it would be cheaper and easier to build a copy using an XR4Ti. In fact, there is a guy local to me that has the stuff to do a complete 4x4 Cossie 2.0 coversion if I wanna spend $8K-$10K, which I might do one day, but for now I'm happy tail-sliding with the boosted Pinto motor.

[DarkBuddha]

I thought I'd share my most recent upgrade on my XR. The stock front brakes were getting a bit sketchy and shuddering because of warped rotors. So I took it as the perfect opportunity to upgrade. There's a local guy who does rally car builds and used to be a Ford rally team mechanic when they raced Sierras and Escorts, so he spec'd me a new set of brakes based on the Ford rally gravel setup. It uses a custom two piece rotor setup using an aluminum hat and machined heavy duty 283mmx1.25" Coleman rotors. The calipers are Wilwood FBSL 1.62"x4 piston calipers. We also built new braided stainless brake lines. Having done it now, I'll never buy prebuilt brake lines again.

Anyway, here are a few pics:

Side by side comparison with stock rotor:



Mounted up:




It sure wasn't cheap but well worth it, especially considering I plan on tracking the car a bit. The pedal feels great and catches nice and high. They're easy to modulate, provide excellent feedback, and stop the car much much quicker. My confidence level is much higher compared to the stock setup. Now I just need to upgrade the rear drums... sigh.

[705.0Merc]

I really like those cars. Great bang for the buck. I dig those brakes!

[DarkBuddha]

I really like those cars. Great bang for the buck. I dig those brakes!

Thanks! I've sorta thrown my original budget for this car out the window, but it's still way cheap comparatively. Hell, even with the brakes and the cosworth bodywork I just got, I'd guess I'm into the car for less than $4k. It'll be double that before I'm done, which will still be a deal versus just about anything else I could buy for that kind of money. Besides, it's one of my dream cars... I guess it really is good to have cheap dreams.

[vintageracer]

I went and looked at a good black 2 owner XR4TI last night with 153K on the clock. Actually in pretty good shape. It's been sitting for 9-12 months. Very complete. Good interior and the paint would probably buff.

At $1600 I probably should not complain but I will. I have not decided whether to buy it or not. If he will take a Grand I will probably play. Something else to work on that I will never get to!

[DarkBuddha]

I went and looked at a good black 2 owner XR4TI last night with 153K on the clock. Actually in pretty good shape. It's been sitting for 9-12 months. Very complete. Good interior and the paint would probably buff.

At $1600 I probably should not complain but I will. I have not decided whether to buy it or not. If he will take a Grand I will probably play. Something else to work on that I will never get to!

Depending on condition and location, $1600 may be about right or a bit high. It would also depend on what year it is ('85-'89), manual or auto, and if any mods or maintenance has been done. I'd say if the body is solid and rust free, it's a manual, and is in good/decent operating condition, then $1000-$1200 would be a good deal, $1500 would be a fair deal.

BTW, the paint on these cars does buff up really easily and nicely as long as it hasn't been done much. As for the interior, the biggest issues are either cracking dash pad, cracking seats (leather), and broken turn signal switch. The cloth seats are actually very durable and usually hold up much much better than the leather (which was recalled). And if you didn't know, the stock seats are designed and built by Recaro and are therefor pretty comfortable and supportive.

Also, make sure the body is as clean as possible. The fenders are welded to the chassis, so it's best to avoid front end damaged cars. Also beware of rust under the plastic cladding and bi-wing, as they both tended to trap dirt and leaves and cause rust.

The auto trannys suck and the auto cars got lower power ecus. Maintenance stuff is hit or miss as some things are cheap and easy to get (like tune-up stuff), but others (like hoses) can be pricey or difficult to locate.

BTW, just a warning... these cars are addictive. Even in stock form they have good character and are comfortable and fun to drive, especially on the highway where you can roll into the boost and get pushed back in the seat.

[vintageracer]

It's a Black/Black 88 with a 5 speed. Completely original under the hood and throughout the car including the original air cleaner box. Original jack, wheels, wheel locks, Michelin tires, nice carpet, door panels and good leather seats. One small cut in the driver's leather seat otherwise nice leather for 153K miles. Dash pad is not cracked however it is curling on the edges. All original glass in good shape, manual sunroof, power windows, short wing, 5 speed, original radio, power mirrors, gauges, etc. Gauge lights do not work, and several other electrical gremlins. Car has no rust, good clading and completely original paint. A couple of very small dents with on small crease dent down the middle of the passenger door. Turbo supposedly replaced at 90K. Head with new valves and valve joby at 152K just before he parked the car. He "says" he parked the car because of the clutch/shifter starter interupt safety switch gave problems and sometimes became difficult to find the "sweet spot" to get the car to start.

Overall a lot better car than what few I have seen still out there in this neck of the woods!

[DarkBuddha]

Sounds like a decent car. I suspect $1000 might be a bit low, but $1200-$1500 sounds fair. Let me know if you do buy it and I can point you in lots of good directions for info and parts/supplies. If you don't buy it, I know there are others that would be interested.

[vintageracer]

Looks like I now own a 1988 Merkur XR4TI. The seller called today and accepted that $1,000 offer. I will pickup the car this weekend before my trip to Scottsdale!

What have I gotten myself into?????

[Damn True]

Ok Wyatt, enough screwin around with that thing. Go auto-x it!