Merkur is Back on the Road! UPDATED (AGAIN)

"Matthew Keyser" (teisco15) 04/09/2015 at 20:00 • Filed to: None

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The snow has melted, the ground has thawed, and our yard has returned to its natural shade of brown. This can mean only one thing, it's time to break out the Merkur XR4Ti. After several months of snow, salt, and ice, and an even longer period of telling, begging, and pleading my father to allow me to collect it, today was the day.

In case you are unaware of the car I'm referring to, you can about it !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , sort of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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As she awoke from her winter slumber, I knew the drive home was going to be fun.

What I should actually say is I anticipated it would be fun, and for the most part it was. Beautiful, sunny day and crisp, cool air. Perfect for making boost. The trek home however was hampered by 2 things. The first being some of the ridiculous speed limits in the part of Michigan the car was stored.

The other being the farm equipment being driven by people who believe it is their God-given right to drive in the middle of the street at 20 miles and hour.

So this year should be pretty great. Tires are the first thing that need assistance. These 3 Bridgestones and a Firestone just aren't cutting it any more, and it's time for some new rubber. Apart from that, this year will be one of driving and fixing as needed. This summer I am planning on making a video review highlighting some of the finer and weaker points of owning such a car. Very exciting.

So in the mean time, you can keep up with all the things happening with the car on my !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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That's all I got for now, happy driving!

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UPDATE: So after pretty much a solid day of driving, there are 2 other issues that have been discovered that need to be resolved. The first being some detonation under hard acceleration. Retard the timing a bit and we should be in good shape. The other issue is that the car every once and a while thinks it is acceptable to idle at 2,000 RPM. This makes for some interesting braking scenarios and a noisy trip up the drive way. Oh the joys of owning an older car! Never know what you'll find!

Some pics from today

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So I had a break down. First one in my year and a half of ownership. While testing out the fix on one of the other issues we were having, I accelerated gently up to about 50, the tach plummeted then surged back up to stay alive, the car backfired, the power steering quit, the revs dropped to 0. I was able to coast to a side street that was either gravel or very poorly maintained. A Christmas Tree of all the idiot lights glared in my face including, strangely, the one that comes on when the driver isn't wearing a seat belt. Strange.

A very scenic breakdown it was

I immediately tried to re-fire the engine which led to the engine revving to about 2 grand, then coughing and dying again. At least the car stopped just in time to block the driveway of a man flying a Confederate flag off of his porch with 5 diesel Ram pickups scattered about his lawn.

After an hour of waiting the tow truck arrived. The trip back to my house was almost exactly 2 miles and $80.

I'm fairly sure the issue is the VAM (Vane Air Meter) which is a pretty cheap and easy fix. Never a dull moment with an older car thats for sure!

For Sweden > Matthew Keyser 04/05/2015 at 00:09

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4/04/15 11:55pm

You were FIVE MINUTES from making this an Easter Resurrection!

RotRod > Matthew Keyser 04/05/2015 at 00:10

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Sweet Sierra!

Matthew Keyser > RotRod 04/05/2015 at 00:32

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Can I block you on Oppo or something?

DrScientist > Matthew Keyser 04/05/2015 at 00:49

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this is a joke right?

it doesn't even match up to a round kilometer number.

Matthew Keyser > DrScientist 04/05/2015 at 00:59

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That is actually the real sign going into the neighborhood where the car was stored.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Matthew Keyser 04/05/2015 at 01:05

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What is wrong with 25? What did 25 do to get the shaft?

cornerslide > Matthew Keyser 04/05/2015 at 01:34

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Two things 1.)Joe Bonamassa is killer. 2.) Humorous story. Worked at a dealership that sold these cars new. A young man came in one night and said he had seen an Xerati and wanted to know if we had one he could test drive. Cool car at this point though.

Echo51 > Matthew Keyser 04/05/2015 at 03:56

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Only if you add cosworth styling to it!

Matthew Keyser > cornerslide 04/05/2015 at 12:44

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Joe is spectacular. Huge fan. Seen him 3 times, and never fails to deliver a stunning show.

That story is great! i always get "Meer-Keer"

Chasaboo > Matthew Keyser 04/05/2015 at 13:23

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I love the nose of this car, I love the rear of this car, god I just love this car! What in the world is wrong with me?

cornerslide > Matthew Keyser 04/05/2015 at 14:44

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The thing that amazes me about Joe is he keeps getting better. His playing is always great but his songcraft and singing keep getting better. I don't think I know anyone that works as hard as he does. His live stuff is still my favorite though.

Matthew Keyser > Chasaboo 04/05/2015 at 18:03

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Absolutely nothing.

Matthew Keyser > cornerslide 04/05/2015 at 18:04

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in Rock Candy Funk Party he does some of his more technical playing. Love Joe

TheHondaBro > Matthew Keyser 04/05/2015 at 19:58

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This.

claramag, Mustaco Master > Matthew Keyser 04/05/2015 at 20:04

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Once when I was a kid I saw this show, and one bit was where the protag had to steal a speed limit sign that wasn't divisible by 5. I thought it was just a stupid joke by the writers

JFChicken that's a stupid sign

claramag, Mustaco Master > Matthew Keyser 04/05/2015 at 20:05

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never, ever, ever get rid of this

Matthew Keyser > claramag, Mustaco Master 04/05/2015 at 20:17

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It's staying with me no matter what.

Cebu > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 04/05/2015 at 20:31

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"As 25mph has been determined to be the speed at which humans spontaneously combust, as happened to the dearly departed Ms. Merriweather last week, we have lowered the speed limit to 23.5 MPH, because 21 MPH is just too damn slow, so we had to pick a number between those two."?

Practical road testing with a 1975 Corolla? On ice? With drifting tires? And nitrous?

Unfortunate accident with somebody that wasn't following the speed limit anyways?

Hidden clue to the lost treasure of the Grand Canyon leading to the group of Astra communications satellites located above 23.5 degrees longitude?

Random Hetalia reference?

I don't even.

Steve in Manhattan > Matthew Keyser 04/05/2015 at 21:20

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Not exactly the same thing, but I had a set of Yokohamas on my '97 SHO in 2001 when I sold it. I thought they were the ideal compromise between ride and performance. Can't remember the damn model though ....

Matthew Keyser > Steve in Manhattan 04/05/2015 at 22:04

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I'll keep that in mind. The real decision I have to make is whether or not I want to stick with the 205 sections or to go back to the original 195. I like the look of the wider tires but they're considerably more expensive.

Steve in Manhattan > Matthew Keyser 04/05/2015 at 22:55

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I would say buy the tires that the car was designed to have ... especially if they're cheaper. That will also make the car handle like the engineers intended. Then you can modify, if you want to.

Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius > Matthew Keyser 04/05/2015 at 23:04

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so jelly.I need a fun car again. My FXT died a month ago and I'm dying inside.

Where did you get such clean headlight lenses?

Matthew Keyser > Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius 04/05/2015 at 23:09

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They're the glass headlights from the Sierra Cosworth. The headlights and hood vents are both genuine Euro Cossie parts. Car came with them when I got it, every picture I've seen from the cars past life it also has these lights and vents

Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius > Matthew Keyser 04/06/2015 at 08:19

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So envious

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > Matthew Keyser 04/06/2015 at 08:40

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Yay!! Needs a front mount intercooler though, or at least one from the Turbo Coupe. My friend and I picked up an 88 for $740 we are using in a Cheap Car Challenge. Front mount, built bottom end, side exit exhaust. We are in the process of swapping in a T5 trans because the stock T9 was missing third gear. Can't wait to get it done. I'll have a whole write up on Oppo when our fun is complete.

Matthew Keyser > StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 04/06/2015 at 12:00

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awesome! Good luck man! My dad has an '88 that has all the go fast stuff on it. Oversized valves, roller cam, intercooler, all that fun stuff. Need to make it run right before I make it any faster! Haha

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > Matthew Keyser 04/06/2015 at 12:22

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Yea that will help a ton. If you want more power, it seems like the T5 trans is the way to go. We only have the old T9 out so far, but that wasn't too bad. Upper bell housing hits the firewall, so it takes a ton of wiggling to get the trans free. I might put together an update once the new trans is in.