Owning A Merkur For A Year Was Not A Disappointment

"Matthew Keyser" (teisco15)
12/27/2014 at 13:45 • Filed to: Top Gear, Merkur, XR4Ti

So I have now officially owned my 1986 Merkur XR4Ti for an entire year. In this year, I learned how to drive stick, taught myself how to heel-toe rev-match, completed several successful journeys, and was only stranded once. Lets start by talking about some of the work that has gone into the car.

After the initial debacle of getting the car home, un-sticking the front brakes, and rebuilding the cooling fan, (you can read about all of this !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ) we began making the car as comfortable and reliable of a daily-driver as possible. This included replacing miscellaneous bits and pieces around the car with new ones that actually worked. My dad and I fixed the hood release that only worked when it wanted to, strengthened the rear parcel shelf, remedied a horrible rattle the exhaust system developed, and did basic maintenance under the hood that should be expected when buying an older car.

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Pictured: At least I won't lose it in the parking lot

Also on the list is the installation of speakers and a radio. When the car was being built for Top Gear, the idea was to make it functional for TV. This means that after removing the aftermarket stereo system that had been installed previously, replacing it was not the top priority. This means that there was no music for the trek from Chicago to California for filming, much to the annoyance of the driver as I am told.

As the wires were still in tact all we had to do was mount speakers and away we went. While the original radio in the car most likely would've been functional, I decided that listening to Led Zeppelin off my iPhone via Bluetooth was preferable to listening to Blondie via the horrible excuse for classic rock stations we have around here. A new head unit was in order.

There was also an extensive amount of cleaning that took place. It isn't like the car was trashed or anything, Hardigree did his part to keep it pretty tidy, but after 28 odd years a lot of nastiness can accumulate.

Pictured: Sometimes you have to improvise when the seats are out of your car.

My dad also got to try his hand at fiberglass repair as the drivers door card was torn and falling apart in places.

Now comes the part where I reveal the biggest setback and issue with the car to date. The issue occurred early in the year, the car was finally running well and while my manual driving skills were moderate at best at the time, I decided to drive down the road to get some food for a friend and I. This was my first time actually going anywhere in the car, but confidence grew as I approached my destination and the car hadn't caught fire or anything. So there I am, waiting to pull up to the speaker and order my sub-par chicken nuggets. The line was taking a very long time so I put the car in neutral and engaged the E-brake as there was a slight incline. The line moves, I take off the E-brake, put my foot on the brake pedal and it goes straight to the floor. No brakes.

Let me take this paragraph to address the ridiculousness of drive through lanes. These things tend to be fairly narrow with tight turns and traditionally feature very high curbs on either side of the car. I find it amazing that the people that plan these things out still design them the same way even though watching mothers drive their minivans up on the curb while rounding the corner and falling off violently as children and dogs fly around in the back is quickly eclipsing baseball as America's national pastime. The mother is always somehow so engrossed in her phone conversation that she rarely notices the medium sided car accident her children just experienced.

So back to the 'No brakes' thing. With cars both in front and behind and high curbs on either side I had to balance the E-brake and clutch to get through the line until I could find an opening to escape and find a parking spot to await my mother who upon receiving the rescue call didn't even hang up the phone before she was out the door in a panic.

Pictured: My car looked like this for 4 weeks

The weird part comes when my dad and I go back to the parking lot later in the day and find that the brake pedal is solid as ever. He drives the car home and we decide the issue must be a leaky brake master cylinder, so I contact Merkur Midwest and get one ordered. We install the new master cylinder to find that we are getting no fluid at the rear brakes and the pedal will not pump up to give a firm pedal. Another email exchange and another master cylinder arrives days later. This chain of events happens several times before we decide to try a newly rebuilt cylinder straight from Cardone. This takes several weeks to obtain and arrives to yield the same results. After several weeks my car up on jack stands going through something like 5 different cylinders, the problem was uncovered.

Originally, the car was an automatic, but was converted to a 5-speed at the request of Top Gear. The car also has rear disk brakes as opposed to the drums that came standard. For some reason, possibly as a result of these modifications or a mismatched part over the 28 years of the car existing, the brake pedal when not pressed did not have the master cylinder fully decompressed meaning it would not build pressure when pumped. The issue was discovered because when the pedal went soft, I was able to put my foot behind the pedal and pull back toward me and it would pump right up. The addition of a few spacers between the master cylinder and the firewall and the brakes were functioning perfectly. It's always the stupid little things.

As far as performance enhancements go, the car already had a different computer allowing more boost as the automatic cars aren't able to boost as high. In its current state I am running 15 psi with the knock sensor removed. Removing the knock sensor made a world of difference because it's not constantly killing power in fear of the engine knocking. These few little things teamed with the basics like spark plugs and wires and such really make a difference.

This picture was taken at a Merkur Club meet in Chicago in 2009 by me. 11 year old me and my father drove 2 hours in his '88 Merkur XR4Ti to attend the meet where I saw the car that just 5 years later would be sitting in my garage. The black paint was immaculate, its really a shame that it got covered up.

Doug DeMuro bought his Ferrari 360 around the same time I bought my Merkur. While he took to Jalopnik a few weeks back to say that his year of Ferrari ownership was !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , my year of Merkur ownership was certainly not a disappointment. Most of my year was spent making the thing work properly and waiting for snow to melt, but the months afterward more than made up for it.

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Pictured: Why don't more cars have dual wings?

While Doug has now sold his Ferrari to move on to bigger and better things, I still have the XR and even bought a winter car to help protect it and slow the spread of rust.

It has been a great year of ownership with many great drives and good times had. I have to thank Matt Hardigree of course for selling me the thing, my dad for letting me buy it and helping me work on it, and the crew up at Merkur Midwest for putting up with my questions and supplying parts.

My car is currently in storage for the winter in my grandmas garage, but that didn't stop me from sneaking in a drive on a nice day last week. This last year has been great, and I look forward to the years to come. See you next year.

DISCUSSION (100)

jkm7680 > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 13:46

Awesome looking car!

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 13:55

glad it's taken care of someone who knows their shit about merkurs!

Matthew Keyser > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist)
12/27/2014 at 14:05

Thank you! It's a really fun car and pretty easy to work on

Matthew Keyser > jkm7680
12/27/2014 at 14:05

Thank you!

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 14:09

does it still have the welded diff?

RotRod > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 14:13

Nice Sierra

Cé hé sin > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 14:14

Strange to see a Sierra without a Ford badge on the front!

Matthew Keyser > RotRod
12/27/2014 at 14:14

Shut up Goodwin hahah

Matthew Keyser > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist)
12/27/2014 at 14:15

Nope! That was the one real thing Hardigree did to the car thankfully.

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 14:22

Aren't you in indiana? So far this winter it's been nice to drivers considering how warm it's been. I saw a few guys on sport bikes on Christmas riding around haha

03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 14:35

My Dad had a Merkur, loved it! You have a really nice one, glad to see it being taken care of.

cesariojpn > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 16:36

The line moves, I take off the E-brake, put my foot on the brake pedal and it goes straight to the floor. No brakes.

Rutledge Wood wanted to kill you.

chilidog > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 16:37

Well written article! I look forward to hearing more!

Jonee > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 16:41

Great story. Thanks for sharing it. You have the absolute right attitude about owning an old car. You have to work on it. A lot. And, that's part of the fun and what makes driving it when it's all fixed that much more enjoyable. I always loved seeing a Merkur when I was a kid. It was like getting a glimpse of the future.

True > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 16:51

XR4ti

The ultimate expression of the silly alphanumeric model name?

toecutter (so grey, I gotta wear shades) > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 17:05

I just saw a blue one of these this morning. And now there's an article here about one.

How cool is that?

I remember mispronouncing it years ago and being corrected by an owner. It's the first thing that comes to mind when I see one.

eyedocare > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 17:07

Great job. Both the post and your work on the Merkur. Happy motoring

Paul-Michael Van Hook > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 17:12

Kinja'd!!!

Great article my friend! And word to Merkur Midwest...they make Merkur ownership painless. Hunting for parts and paying through the nose when you find them is a thing of the past!

By the way, the picture is my '86 XR4Ti...most enjoyable car I've ever owned!

Gene > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 17:18

Kinja'd!!!

The sign of true car love. Buying a sacrificial car to protect the one you love. You got a good truck there, BTW.

haveacarortwoorthree > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 17:19

It's always nice when a car finds someone who loves it!

Equana > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 17:28

I miss my old Merk. Thanks for the article. Maybe I need to search for one!

Matt Hardigree > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 17:36

I'm glad none of my weirdo friends ended up with this car and you did. You've done wonderful work and I'm so excited to see a photo of the car when you saw it as a child. That guy who bought the car, I'm told, had it when he had some rare form of brain cancer that was cured.

Matthew Keyser > Matt Hardigree
12/27/2014 at 18:03

Thank you Matt, so grateful I was able to buy the car!

Matthew Keyser > cesariojpn
12/27/2014 at 18:03

Haha maybe that was it!

Matthew Keyser > Jonee
12/27/2014 at 18:05

Thank you! Glad you liked it!

Matthew Keyser > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
12/27/2014 at 18:06

Yea I'm hoping for a decent snowfall at some point just to justify my purchase of the Blazer haha

Matthew Keyser > Gene
12/27/2014 at 18:10

No use in beating this thing up over the winter and making the rust underneath any worse. My grandma has an open stall in her garage and I found the Blazer at a very very good price. It all worked out!

Matthew Keyser > True
12/27/2014 at 18:10

Pretty much yea haha

Brede > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 18:12

Kinja'd!!!

Ah, that dashboard crack! I've owned a few Sierras, so I'm familiar with that one. :-P

Great article. Love the car. My first car was almost a Sierra XR4i.

Matthew Keyser > Brede
12/27/2014 at 18:15

Yea, on the later cars they changed something so they crack less... My dad's dash is 100% crack free.... dang..

Yea this actually is my first car! Life is to short to drive boring cars!

Salmanorguk > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 18:20

the fact Top Gear owned this. The fact they turned it into a manual. The fact HardiBro - lord of Jalopnik- owned this. The fact it was then sold to a Jalop. Whos maintained and improved it. Who saw it when he was young. When it was bought by someone as a treat for having kicked cancer in the ass....

...right in the feels man

Kinja'd!!!

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 18:33

Snow hoonage is the best hoonage. Is the blazer 2wd or 4wd?

David Tracy > Matt Hardigree
12/27/2014 at 18:40

Ah, so this is what happened to the ol' Merkur! Glad to see she's in good hands.

Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan' > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 18:40

Holy shit it's been a year already?! Man...

Good luck, have fun with it!

Haroldina > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 18:49

I miss my XR and wish I had never sold it. The last one I had was in great shape and they're getting harder to find.

Steve in Manhattan > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 19:20

Nice work - if I'd had that brake problem, I would have diagnosed collapsed line. And been utterly wrong.

William Robinson > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 19:30

love love me a xr4ti... My 88 was the Apple of my eye. I bought mine with low compression on one cylinder(which one escapes me). A ricer in a nopi'd up neon blew by me @ about 85 and I took up chase only to get right on his as$ and hear a death rattle and slow down to a limp. I make it to my mechanics shop and tell him to remedy the problem and give them a visa. One week later the car is ready with a,.30 over bore new pistons rings and a deck job and to top it off a built head and some fancy (3 layer) head gasket. I was ready to take it easy and break the engine in before really laying into it. I got about 28 miles before the head gasket chewed itself. Back to the shop my mechanic replaced the head gasket checked the head and block and put it back together only to have the same thing happen in 14 or so miles. The mechanic replaced the head gasket with a oem Ford part which didn't even make it out of the parking lot. Bummed I towed the car home and started saving money and parts for a 5.0/t-5 swap(the latter I had already, rebuilt and ready to go) shortly after my landlord sold the house I was renting and I had to be out in a week. With no place to put it and needing a place to live the car went to the junk yard with a bunch of great parts. That was the end of my merkur dream. But I will have another someday. Maybe I'll jam a coyote 5.0 into it.

redmouseball > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 19:33

this car has the same engine as my old 323 GTX had, but weaker rods... B6T

Matthew Keyser > William Robinson
12/27/2014 at 19:48

that's too bad... You'll get one someday though! On that won't blow up!

Matthew Keyser > Steve in Manhattan
12/27/2014 at 19:50

It always seems to be the stupidest little things that cause the most trouble. I'm just glad I got the problem rectified and the car back on the road!

Matthew Keyser > Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan'
12/27/2014 at 19:51

thank you!

Matthew Keyser > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
12/27/2014 at 19:54

4WD. Everything works, heat cranks. It's nice for a change driving something I'm not attached to. I don't find myself parking far away from other cars not do I have to check al the cars around me for red paint scuffs when I come out of school or wherever

Matthew Keyser > Salmanorguk
12/27/2014 at 19:58

Really honored to be able to own something with such a rich history.

SixSpeedSteve > True
12/27/2014 at 20:12

I just call it the Exerati.

Quade > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 20:27

Love the story. Makes me want to get one.

Removing the knock sensor made a world of difference because it's not constantly killing power in fear of the engine knocking. These few little things teamed with the basics like spark plugs and wires and such really make a difference.

You sure this is a good idea? I always consider the knock sensor, particularly on a boosted car to be a defense against a bad tank of gas causing the engine to pop. Knock sensors work by hearing knock (or something that sounds like it) so, unless you have something rattling around that sounds like knock, it might really be hearing knock and pulling timing to protect your engine. To me it's kind of like driving without a seat belt. Fine, until you hit something. 93 octane isn't the same at every gas station. Some are better than others for boosted cars. You might find a different station gives you better results.

Master cylinders on your typical Japanese cars have a threaded clevis that lets you adjust the pedal to master cylinder distance without having to use spacers on the MC. I'm going this car doesn't have one of those?

Are these things really that hard to get parts for?

Quade > William Robinson
12/27/2014 at 20:29

he mechanic replaced the head gasket with a oem Ford part which didn't even make it out of the parking lot. Bummed I towed the car home and started saving money and parts for a 5.0/t-5 swap(the latter I had already, rebuilt and ready to go) shortly after my landlord sold the house I was renting and I had to be out in a week.

You needed a better mechanic. Sounds like he repeatedly screwed up this job. It's not rocket science.

Tuned-Port-Injected-Rage > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 21:12

Great article, man. Not to mention, that's a kick ass car. Enjoy!

Dr. Strangegun > redmouseball
12/27/2014 at 21:45

XR4TIs had 2.3L Ford 'Lima' fours, the same SOHC engine that was in the SVO and Turbo Coupe. And, are RWD. It's essentially a Ford Sierra from overseas.

Dingers Ghost, Champion Jockey > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 22:04

Saw the picture with the Blazer, and it looked like the same one Adam had in the Winter Beater episode.

You aren't stock piling old TGUSA cars on us, are you? I mean first the Merkur, now the Blazer, what's next? Tanner's Porsche-rocket-camper?

Jeff Coats > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 22:24

We had an XR4Ti with the waste gate stuck on giving full boost. That car was ridiculous fast. We had an 88 Vette, a 91 Trans Am with a worked over 5.7 tuned port, a 91 GT Mustang convertible, and a 911 Porsche, not sure which one, but that Merkur would smoke any one of them with that waste gate giving tons of boost. It was wicked fast and a blast to drive.

Matthew Keyser > Dingers Ghost, Champion Jockey
12/27/2014 at 22:29

I'm restoring the TurBoat as we speak! haha

Matthew Keyser > Quade
12/27/2014 at 22:42

No adjustment on the master cylinder.

As for the knock sensor removal, It's a fairly common thing to be done to these cars as they are very primitive systems that kill power for no reason at all. When we first pulled it there was a little pinging particularly rolling on the throttle in 5th gear. Retarded the timing a few degrees and haven't heard anything. I'm really very easy on the car. Rarely come close to red-line so for what I do with the car (mainly driving back and fourth to school with the odd blast on a nice stretch of road) It works very well. I also always get gas at the same station. 93 octane no ethanol. If I went on a trip somewhere or started getting the suspicion that the car was knocking or running incorrectly, the first thing I would do is plug the knock sensor back in. And in the event I get caught up in a moment of teenage stupidity and run it too hard and damage something, there's an extra head sitting in the garage.

As for getting parts, for the most part it isn't too bad. Rock Auto carries some stuff and for what they don't have, Merkur Midwest does. They're based in Chicago, been up there a few times. If I need anything the first thing I do is email the guys up there. The first couple times I ordered stuff from them I asked if they had the part, to which Jeff answered "I have every part God made for the XR, the question is how much"

Matthew Keyser > Tuned-Port-Injected-Rage
12/27/2014 at 22:42

Thank you very much, I appreciate it.

Matthew Keyser > Jeff Coats
12/27/2014 at 22:54

Boost does a lot to transform a car. The engine in these is essentially a Pinto motor with a bunch more air being shoved into it and they can be made to go very very fast as you are describing. For me with my year-ish of driving experience and 17 year old mind, my car is plenty fast for me at the moment. Don't tell my parents, but in a quick roll on from 30 ish on, mine will smoke a V6 Crossfire and an E36 330i.

shop-teacher > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 22:57

Yep, it's because they're the hardest to find.

We (my dad's construction company I used to work for) once had a mysterious problem, a complete lack of water supply to a faucet in a house we were remodeling. After a lot of frustration and failed attempts at repairing, we cut out all the new copper water lines we'd just installed. We found one of the brand-new copper pipes had a plug in it from the factory.

daredevil7442 > Matthew Keyser
12/27/2014 at 23:31

Oh, those Merkur's love-em or hate-em, I had a black 88 Merkur in the early 90's and overall a nice car and good on gas but, seriously and I mean seriously, I broke 3 rearends in that car and after the last rear replacement, I sold it..... I sure symptom of the rear is getting ready to break is, the posi or locking rear gives away to only one tire spinning and the cool thing about that is, you could be in 2nd gear at around 30mph or so and punch it and spin the smokey heck out of that one tire and that's the coolest feeling in a 4 banger turbo but, soon after the posi demise, clanking starts and then BOOM if you let it go that far....

redmouseball > Dr. Strangegun
12/27/2014 at 23:41

holy geez, how'd I mess that one up... I meant the Mercury caprice XR2. But you're right.

Quade > Matthew Keyser
12/28/2014 at 00:18

I wondered if the problem was old electronics. I'm a little paranoid about detonation. I once killed an engine because I had way too much advance but, couldn't hear the pinging and knock because the car was so loud. Oh well, learned my lesson.

randomadjuster > Matthew Keyser
12/28/2014 at 00:26

I dig your car. It's fantastic. As an aside, there's a lot of Xrat fans in the rally circuits, and a bunch of them are on Rally Anarchy's website. Those guys can get all sorts of widgey parts, including a lot of used stuff and oddball performance upgrades. Figured I'd pass it on.

Pit Pat > Matthew Keyser
12/28/2014 at 01:10

This is awesome. I edited the episode of TGUS that featured this very car. Soooo cool to see it live on as true Jalop car.

Matthew Keyser > Pit Pat
12/28/2014 at 01:19

That's awesome! The internet is a truly amazing place. I had Rutledge Wood talk me into buying the thing on Twitter, I met the guys that built it for the show, I've talked to the guy that actually bought it for the show, and now the guy that edited it! Thank you for commenting!

Matthew Keyser > randomadjuster
12/28/2014 at 01:20

Thank you! That knowledge may come in handy!

96'3KGTVR-4me > Matthew Keyser
12/28/2014 at 01:21

Love the story! I always appreciate when someone loves, cares for and is enthusiastic about rare cars like this. I remember seeing a lot more of these in the early - mid 90s, don't think I've actually seen one in at least 5 years or so. Always a cool car. Thanks for this, I await your next update

Pit Pat > Matthew Keyser
12/28/2014 at 01:25

Hey, what did you do with the differential? Tanner had the diff welded closed during the filming of the episode so he could drift the damn thing. We were all pretty amused by it... but I was curious if you replaced it with a stock, unwelded unit...

Matthew Keyser > 96'3KGTVR-4me
12/28/2014 at 01:32

I'm hoping to make a video when the weather get nice talking about some of the quirks the car has just as a result of being old and a mismatch of Ford parts. That'll also give me an excuse to drive in an enthusiastic manner with a GoPro attached to the roof, and who doesn't want to do that? I love driving this thing because people notice it. I get approached fairly often by people wanting to know what it is, or by former Merkur owners that want to know whats been done to the car. I'm in high school and while most of my friends bought themselves a Ford Taurus or something along those lines, for the same money or even cheaper in some cases I bought my car. Live is too short to drive boring cars, but they don't have to cost a fortune. Thank you for the support!

Matthew Keyser > Pit Pat
12/28/2014 at 01:37

Hardigree replaced it with a stock diff while he owned it so it would be drivable. He said with the welded diff you either drift everywhere or drag one wheel going around corners. So yea the diff has been swapped out, I have yet to change the tires however. Very minimal tread left on the rears. That's one thing that has to get done when it awakes from its winter slumber. If you haven't read my first thing about the car the night I picked it up trying to get it up the driveway last December in Northern Indiana with a large amount of snow and ice and Tanner Foust abused tires you should do that. http://teisco15.kinja.com/i-bought-matt-… There's a link to that. Funny story now, not so much then.

Salmanorguk > Matthew Keyser
12/28/2014 at 05:50

and a first car no less. I expect to see you presenting top gear or running jalopnik or something in the future

Chiburbian > Matthew Keyser
12/28/2014 at 06:00

Have you considered running any sort of aftermarket engine management? I bet a Megasquirt could be set up for this car for pretty cheap (all things considered). Proper engine management would get you better MPGs, better performance, and less risk of killing the motor.

You had fordboy357 at "meat tornado" > Matthew Keyser
12/28/2014 at 09:31

This is a way better read than the Ferrari posts. This is just a much more interesting car than a 360

Les-Patterson > shop-teacher
12/28/2014 at 09:36

I have heard that some plumbers put a plug in the water line as a way of ensuring that they get paid for the job. If they don't get paid they don't remove the plug. If they get paid it only takes a few minutes to remove the plug. Sort of like a quick and dirty method of placing a lien on the house. The plumber that told me this was a bit of a D-nozzle so he might just been making it up. If you were the guy installing the new pipe yourself (an obviously wouldn't sabotage your own job) it might have just been a "joke" from a disgruntled guy at the pipe factory?

Thomas Kent > daredevil7442
12/28/2014 at 10:07

I wonder if there's a TORSEN made for the Merkur?:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torsen

Matthew Keyser > You had fordboy357 at "meat tornado"
12/28/2014 at 10:18

Haha well at least someone thinks so! Thank you!

Matthew Keyser > Salmanorguk
12/28/2014 at 10:20

That'd be the dream right there

Matthew Keyser > Chiburbian
12/28/2014 at 10:21

I haven't, but that would probably be a good idea haha

SlowpokeTexas > Matthew Keyser
12/28/2014 at 10:35

I "rooted" for this car when it came out; never understood why they didn't bring the AWD model over though.

Justin Hughes > Matthew Keyser
12/28/2014 at 10:51

Great story, and nice car! Keep up the good work work on both!

Sampak > Matthew Keyser
12/28/2014 at 12:30

Ok so maybe I'm confused, but I remember in Poland, there were 80's Ford Escorts that basically looked the same except the tail lights had a slightly style (like those old horizontal patterned M.Benz lights). Also, another 80's Ford, a "Sapphire" internationally, had almost the same exact tail lights and headlight setup (I assumed it was a Taurus in the US?) from what I can remember.

Or am I simply mixing things up in my head from 25 years ag0? LOL.

Brockles > Matthew Keyser
12/28/2014 at 12:30

I had a UK Ford XR4i (2.8 litre V6 N/A) that was a 1986 car. It was awesome. Dangerous (because it had been very badly lowered and essentially ran on the bump stops) but great fun. If it hadn't been so rusty I may have spent some money on it to redo the suspension, but times were hard.

I had a tyre start to blow out on me at about 110mph on the way home from work once - there was this funny noise and vibration, so I stood on the brakes as it was worrying. It got progressively worse as I slowed down until it finally let go at about 50mph. With a bit of wobbling and sliding around I completely got way with it and changed the wheel and went on my way. Pretty exciting.

Sampak > Cé hé sin
12/28/2014 at 12:41

Hah, That's the name I was forgetting! Used to see them all the time in Poland and Mozambique....

shop-teacher > Les-Patterson
12/28/2014 at 12:45

We put the pipe in, so I think it was the latter. Some d-bag at the factory thought it was funny.

Matthew Keyser > Sampak
12/28/2014 at 13:36

Ford back in the 80's sold pretty much this car over in Europe as the Sierra. That car had different V6 engines and there were several hot versions by Cosworth. They wanted to bring them over to the US but couldn't use the Sierra name due to a pickup truck featuring the same name, and they couldn't use any of the Euro engines because none would pass the stupid emissions laws we have here. They wound up fitting it with the 2.3 Turbo inline 4 out of the Mustang SVO and Thunderbird Turbocoupe and thus, the Merkur XR4Ti was born. Hope that answers your questions!

Matthew Keyser > Justin Hughes
12/28/2014 at 13:36

Thank you! will do!

Matthew Keyser > SlowpokeTexas
12/28/2014 at 13:39

The Cossie engine that they used in the AWD cars didn't pass our stupid emissions laws in the US so they resorted to the 2.3. Would've been cool to have the AWD Cossie-engined car over here, but with slow sales and all that, it wouldn't have been cost effective to make all that work. One of the reasons they stopped making them in 1989 is because for 1990 they wouldve had to fit airbags and other safety features but because of the pitiful sales in '89 they just stopped making them.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > redmouseball
12/28/2014 at 15:26

You mean Capri?

RWD-FTW > Matthew Keyser
12/28/2014 at 16:03

Nice to see one being taken care of/saved. A friend of mine had a sweet black 5-speed '89 with the Cosworth alloys many years ago and it was a fun car. I almost bought a gray one myself back then. Haven't seen one on the road in YEARS.

Dusty Ventures > Matthew Keyser
12/28/2014 at 16:34

I wouldn't mind a video just to hear what it sounds like. I co-drove a Merkur rally car a couple years back and the turbo was so loud it made the whole thing sound like some kind of truck

Dusty Ventures > SixSpeedSteve
12/28/2014 at 16:40

I say X-Ratty

Pif > True
12/28/2014 at 16:50

Not sure where the XR comes from, but pretty sure the 4TI is 4 Cylinder Turbo Intercooled.

Vincent Davidson > Matthew Keyser
12/28/2014 at 19:52

A XR4ti was one of my first Matchbox cars as a youngun in the late 80s.

I remember reading this story last year, and have read the sporadic follow-ups. Very cool story.

Good for you man. Keep her on the road (sans salt of course).

Vincent Davidson > Steve in Manhattan
12/28/2014 at 19:53

Same here.

Sebastian L. > Dusty Ventures
12/28/2014 at 19:59

The one I bought sounds like a freakin' spaceship. Helps that it's straight piped, but you can't help but laugh when you pull up to the shop and a neighbor tells you it sounds like a spaceship with a fart can strapped to it.

daredevil7442 > Thomas Kent
12/28/2014 at 20:36

If my memory is correct, I believe it had some sort of crappy IRS set-up and it was pretty weak. When I bought the car it was almost new and still under warranty so, dealer fixed all these issues FOC! So, I never swapped in a 8.8 rear or did any mods, I only had it for a little over a year. This car was supposed to be Ford's replacement for the SVO Mustang but, a more European luxury version and to be honest, I looked at a BMW 325I back then and this Merkur seemed like a bigger, nicer and felt like a slightly quicker car over the 325, while the Merkur was priced around 16K or so and the BMW was....I think 22K so, the Merkur was a better value Anyway, this Merkur was nothing like or even to be considered a replacement to a SVO Mustang but, never the less, I liked it but, I was to much of a brute on cars back then to drive a delicate car so, I sold it and went upward and onward!

NJAnon > Matthew Keyser
12/28/2014 at 20:57

I still don't see the popularity for these 1980's sleds in the US. Maybe for EU jalops its different. But I guess the low buying price or something is why people like it.

Matthew Keyser > Vincent Davidson
12/28/2014 at 21:25

Thank you! Really appreciate it!

Matthew Keyser > Dusty Ventures
12/28/2014 at 21:27

There is a bit of diesel truck turbo noise about it. I especially get that sense in like 5th gear just cruising along with a bit of acceleration just to get the turbo spooling. You get that really high pitched constant turbo sound that TurboDiesels usually have.

Dusty Ventures > Matthew Keyser
12/28/2014 at 21:34

That's exactly the sound I'm talking about

Matthew Keyser > Dusty Ventures
12/28/2014 at 21:37

It's one of my favorite things. Not many people get to experience a sound like that, it's a very interesting experience, especially when you get the sound bouncing back at you off of some trees or a center divider or something along those lines.

RoseDoris > Matthew Keyser
12/28/2014 at 21:38

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Millertyme > Matthew Keyser
12/29/2014 at 01:29

Neat story. Was wondering what happened with this car. Sadly as much as I love watching Top Gear it just hasn't been the same since I watched their second Alaska episode. Living in the area of filming I can show ALL the conflicting editing. Nothing was in order and clear / poorly scripted. We all joke about up here.

Anyways, fun car!

The_Phalanx > Dusty Ventures
12/29/2014 at 09:42

I prefer X-Rotty. No negative connotations, just fun to say.