Not PT, but progress on my XR4Ti project

[DarkBuddha]

Well, I'd been driving it a bit... hard usually... and it finally caught up with me too. My custom spec super quick spool turbo suddenly and violently frag'd and I mean bad. Some of the turbo is salvageable, but it makes more sense financially to buy a rebuilt replacement right now than rebuild that one again, so I basically got the same thing but without the upgraded turbine wheel. While I was at it, I figured I'd port out the E6 log manifold and match the turbine inlet. Should increase flow and decrease spool time, which means more power when and where I need it. A couple pics...

frag'd turbo:




new rebuilt turbo:




Pics of porting...

E6 manifold:






turbine before and after







I'm also going to take this time to re-do the intercooler plumbing, some of the cooling system plumbing, add an oil catch can, and install the EGT sensor (and maybe the wideband sensor as well), and clean up some other stuff. Car should be much better off for the hassle.

[DarkBuddha]

Got it done... newly rebuilt turbo, ported manifold, re-did the IC plumbing, added an oil catch can, fresh ignition stuff, EGT sensor installed, relocated air intake and filter to fenderwell and fab'd a stupid simple splash guard, fixed coolant hose routing, and cleaned up some wiring and vac lines. It always rewarding to fix annoyances that have been bugging me for a while, and I really hated how much stuff I'd left sorta half done because of time constraints. It's extra nice to have both a garage and tools, and an alternate daily driver so I can work on the car as I want and get it done correctly. Anyway, some pics:







And button'd back up:



Now I'm just looking forward to getting it out to an auto-x event soon-ish.

[RobertGP]

Nice car dude! We had alot of them here in Germany, it called Ford Sierra.

[DarkBuddha]

Thanks... I love it. BTW, I know that there were LHD Sierra RS Cosworth 3 doors exported to Germany (and Italy, and Poland, and..), but wasn't the German "domestic" version the XR4i? I'd love to have a legit Cosworth just for bragging rights, but at this point, my wannabe version is better than a stock Cosworth in almost every way (except maybe the awesome front bumper and the big side window), and for less than 1/4 of what a decent driver legit Cosworth would cost. I can live with that, quite happily.

[Ash]

Was checking the GATEBIL RUDSKOGEN on speedhunters. When I saw this RS Cosworth on Custom classic-style OZ Rally's. I want one now!

Makes you wonder why ours came with side moldings.



Any update on yours?

[DarkBuddha]

Any update on yours?

Drool!!!

As for mine, I haven't been doing much in terms of more build progress because it's been so much fun to drive since getting the new turbo installed. Mainly I've just been banging on it a bit to make sure it's up for the rallycross this coming weekend. It's a 3 hour drive over and a 3 hour drive back, plus I expect the temps during the event to be in the mid 90s, so I really wanna know the car will handle it all. So far, it looks very promising.

As for plans, I'd like to add some proper gauges to monitor the motor, install some Recaros I have, and add a roll bar (or half cage), harness bar, and harness. I'd like to do more road race type events and since the car is capable of over 140mph, I think a bit of rollover protection would be wise.

[rab]

im picking up 2 xr's and making 1 good one and useing the other turbo motor for my ranger.

can u tell me more about the bmw diff swap?

also on the pics you post from the rally/drive on page 4 , i really liked the stripped look, ie when you had the side moldings ,ect removed. also on that same post there is a pic of a black xr front shot, http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/519/IMG_2836.jpg/
what bumper is that a vw corrado???? it looks different from yours, i think yours is from a jetta?

[DarkBuddha]

Well, welcome to XR ownership.

The BMW diff swap isn't overly difficult, but it does require quite a bit of fabrication and the ability to do careful measurement and the like. There are other (probably better) options available now that weren't when we did the BMW conversion. For example, http://mc2racing.com/ offers a kit to retrofit an Eaton limited slip unit into the stock differential. The only issue there is that you're stuck with stock diff ratios. Another excellent, and the one that would get my coin if I were to do it again, would be JVAB's Mk3 Supra LSD diff conversion. He sells a mounting bracket and axle adapters to mount the diff, and he can give you the part number of the correct diff flange to get for the driveshaft. It's a very strong diff and readily available in junkyards, and because it's the same diff used in Toyota trucks (which are very popular in off-road circles), there's plenty of aftermarket support and lots of different gear ratios available. John V (JVAB) is the guy to talk to, but ya gotta call him... he doesn't do email. Here's a link to his picture pages: http://www.rallyrace.net/jvab/spgm/

About the "stripped" look, I too liked it for a while. I actually go back and forth on what look works best on these cars. It's hard to argue with the Cossie bodywork, but there's a leanness about the stripped look that is very appealing. And every once in a while I see a pic of a really clean stock XR that's got just the right stance and wheels, and it knocks me out too. Really, any of the looks can be awesome with the right combo.

The bumper on the black car is also a Jetta bumper... his was actually the original Jetta bumper conversion. The things that make his look a bit different is that it has OE orange turn signals and a scoop insert instead of the parking/fog lights (inboard of the orange turn signals). I actually bought those scoops to put on mine, but they looked much better on his black car than mine. The scoops used to be readily available on ebay if you're looking for a set.

If there's anything else I can help with or questions I can help answer, feel free to drop me a line. And if you're not already, join the Merkur Club of America and MerkurSport forums.

[DarkBuddha]

BTW, an update on my XR...

Not particularly interesting or significant, but I tried an experiment with a bit of white vinyl tape on the front air dam and decided I like it. Eventually I'll paint it properly. Here are a couple pics:






Also, I did do that rallycross event, and had a ton of fun. Car ran awesome, and in spite of the high temps (mid '90s), it never even came close to overheating. It did take me weeks before I was able to get most all of the mud off the car... the wheels still have a light coating on the inside of the barrels. A couple pics from the event:








Most recently (a few weeks ago), while "testing" the XR in a parking lot in preparation for an auto-x the next day, I broke something in the driveshaft. I haven't had any time to do more than a cursory glance, but I think the rear u-joint is probably frag'd. Since the u-joints aren't replaceable from the factory, I'm going to remove the driveshaft and take it to a local shop to have it machined for replaceable/serviceable u-joints and have it balanced. It's only a matter of time and money, but eventually I figure darn near everything on the car will have been fixed, replaced, upgraded, or rebuilt.

[Tig]

Awesome build, looks amazing.
Youre doing a great job man. Everything I've done to my car/truck is basically preventative maintanence, hah. Whether I need it or not
I have always been a fan of XR4s, you never see them. That RS200 is just nasty. That black XR on SpeedHunters is just insane to.

[SuperB70]

Thanks... I know that there were LHD Sierra RS Cosworth 3 doors exported to Germany (and Italy, and Poland, and..), but wasn't the German "domestic" version the XR4i?

Hi Wyatt! Here we have Sierra and Cossies also and for the record, first where made in UK but 4d 2wd & 4wd Cossies where build in Belgium. I have had five: '88 2d 1.6 2wd from my Dad, '85 2d 2wd 2.0 Turbo (small IHI and Weber DAT carb. 247Hp), '86 2d 2wd 2.8V6 180Hp, '86 2.8Twin Turbo 4x4 442Hp and stock '90 2.0 2wd stw. Good to drive, simple and cheap to fix
My friend has real '90 2wd Cossie 460Hp and '88 2.0 GL a "granddad-model" with 5.0 TT about 630hp. Also here is one with Explorer 4.0 V6 Twin Turbo, about 600Hp
I havent ever heard that rear diff chance you wrote about, we just use Cossie diff... Nice looking Ford you got there, keep it up...
Something to read:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Sierra_RS_Cosworth

[DarkBuddha]

That's a helluva list of Sierras to have played with. All of the Merkur XR4TIs were made in Belgium as well, even though Ford was daft enough to claim they came from Germany and put this one the grilles:



I guess they can claim that because Karmann did the US market conversion.

As for the diff, we just don't have a big enough supply of Cossie stuff stateside to conveniently find diffs, transmissions, etc. There are a few folks that have imported stuff, but it's still cheaper to do the BMW, Supra, or Eaton diff conversions.

BTW, I'd love to have a '90s Cossie 4x4 and have Reyland lean on it a bit... maybe if I win the lottery one day.