Got the Merkur....here's pics

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

I got my Merkur Friday....got plates today and took it out and washed the dirt off and threw some tire shine on it and here it is. It needs buffed and waxed and vacuumed out, but otherwise it's pretty clean. There's a good amount of chips and it's got a few dings but it's in fantastic shape for an '88. It's got 103,000 miles on it.

Anyone wanna guess what i paid for it?

Also it's pretty much rust free except for a couple tiny bubbles starting on the edge of one of the doors....that fender in the front looks rusted in the pic but that's just a refection.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Here's an engine bay pic....it's bone stock aside from that blue silicone hose. It needs the valve cover gasket done and needs some routine maintenance but it's otherwise a really solid car. I ran into a guy on the way home tonight in a Neon (i don't think it was an SRT-4 but it WAS turbo) and we were almost side by side but i was pulling on him reeeally slowly.

 

[grey5.0beast]

That is awesome lol

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

That is awesome lol

Ok seriously guess what i paid for it!

 

[grey5.0beast]

1000??

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

1000??

Lower

 

[5spd GT]

$100?

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

$100?

Damn i wish... lol

$550. Good deal? I gotta get some sleep....i'll have more pics tomorrow.

 

[poneypower89]

I have a black 4-door non-turbo murker in my junkyard right now... its got black leather interior... i sat in it.. was impressed. Didnt realize the murker was such a nice and comfortable car.

 

[grey5.0beast]

Damn i wish... lol

$550. Good deal? I gotta get some sleep....i'll have more pics tomorrow.

hell yess

 

[5spd GT]

Damn i wish... lol

$550. Good deal? I gotta get some sleep....i'll have more pics tomorrow.

Of course it is a good deal , but I was just going extreme...

 

[RsStanG1987]

Me and my friend bernie pushed one off a cliff at the junkyard 3 years ago we diddnt know it was rare at the time..

 

[bentley429]

Me and my friend bernie pushed one off a cliff at the junkyard 3 years ago we diddnt know it was rare at the time..

LOL thats great.

 

[carbed87]

i want to kill you man lol, thats exactly what i was looking for before i bought my 93 lx 2.3 DD

 

[Boss 351]

good find, lots can be done to that little engine. I wonder if people give strange looks, wondering what it is, when you drive around in that?

 

[QUICK91LX]

I love how goofy those things look, I'd take one in a heartbeat!! I came across a small used car lot not long ago that had 2 nearly identical 87's for sale. Neither were as nice as yours and he wanted $3500 apiece. I guess thats why they were still there two months later...Still, $550 for that is an absolute steal. Keep us posted as you improve on it!

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

good find, lots can be done to that little engine. I wonder if people give strange looks, wondering what it is, when you drive around in that?

Yeah....i took it up to the little cruise spot and every Honda guy who came over asked WTF is that? LOL then this one kid pulled up in an SRT4 and started asking how much boost i was running and this other kid goes "that THING is turbo?" I was getting a good laugh out of the whole thing. Then i met this guy driving his mint condition Regal GNX and we talked for a while. The reaction from people is pretty funny especially when you lift the hood and they realize it's turbo and rear wheel drive at that.


I'm going to a guy's house today who paints cars...i'm gonna see about having him do a good high speed buff job on it and he's going to give me a hand installing a manual boost controller. So, by the time i post in here again, it'll probably be on about 18psi I'd run more but it is my DD...lol

 

[NKau]

Me and my friend bernie pushed one off a cliff at the junkyard 3 years ago we diddnt know it was rare at the time..

 

[blackened88lx]

I might get flamed, but I don't really know what it is haha. Details? specs? I've got 4cyl, turbo and rwd for $550. Seems cool so far.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

I might get flamed, but I don't really know what it is haha. Details? specs? I've got 4cyl, turbo and rwd for $550. Seems cool so far.

They were originally a Ford Sierra Cosworth over in Europe, but in '85 (the same guy who designed and put together the first SVO, also the Turbo/Super Coupe Tbirds) brought them over here and marketed them under the name Merkur (German for Mercury). It's a Merkur XR4Ti, and basically the same engine as the SVO/Turbo Coupes, it has a T-9 5 speed (similar to the T5, only a little weaker, and reverse is up and to the left of 1st), and it's got an IRS/RWD car which really sets it apart from the SVO/SC. They were made from '85 through '89 here but i believe also a '90 was made in Europe. My car has a manual in the glove box that says it weights a tad over 2900lbs dry weight, so they're relatively light and with the IRS they handle like they're on rails. At their time of production they were in the same performance/quality class as the BMW 3 series and some other Volvos/Audis/Saabs and other German luxocoupes. The engine is rated at (if i remember right) 170hp, but i don't recall torque specs. The automatics were set at 10psi and the 5 speeds were set at 12psi after 4k RPM.