- 8,480
- P_Balance
The Budget Autocross Project: Potential Car
- Thread starter Joey D
- 92 comments
- 26,659 views
- Status
- 17,865
- 509
Not sure if it has been suggested, but the early 90's Ford Escort GTs are basically MX-3s with the BP series engine. Decent handling and broad power band ideal for Auto-X.
I use to auto-x my Tercel back in the day, and I would not really recommend it if you want to be semi serious. The stock tires are too narrow for you to get a decent fitment while remaining in a stock class, and the gearing and engine aren't up to par with Neon's and Escorts, or even the Civic models.
A CRX or old Civic EF Si would work quite well for a stock class car with a lot of options if you want to move to other classes. At least how I recall it.
I use to auto-x my Tercel back in the day, and I would not really recommend it if you want to be semi serious. The stock tires are too narrow for you to get a decent fitment while remaining in a stock class, and the gearing and engine aren't up to par with Neon's and Escorts, or even the Civic models.
A CRX or old Civic EF Si would work quite well for a stock class car with a lot of options if you want to move to other classes. At least how I recall it.
Joey D
Premium
- 47,361
- Lakes of the North, MI
- GTP_Joey
- GTP Joey
It looks like we may have found a car, you'll all hate it but whatever. It's a 1989 Merkur XR4Ti and it comes with a Merkur parts car with an engine and rolling chassis. It's all for a $1,000. Parts for the engine shouldn't be too hard to find as it's the same engine from the Mustang SVO and the T-bird turbo coupe.
I was pretty amazed that it didn't have a bunch of rust on it either, the guy that currently owns it really took excellent care of it and just looking to move on. He's out of town this week but said he'd be willing to meet with us next week. We are bring one of our buddy's who is a mechanic to take a look at it just to make sure.
Probably not the best thing, but we all agreed on it and we are going to go for it. None of us care about being outclassed or whatever. We are going to have fun with a car we all really like, myself especially.
I was pretty amazed that it didn't have a bunch of rust on it either, the guy that currently owns it really took excellent care of it and just looking to move on. He's out of town this week but said he'd be willing to meet with us next week. We are bring one of our buddy's who is a mechanic to take a look at it just to make sure.
Probably not the best thing, but we all agreed on it and we are going to go for it. None of us care about being outclassed or whatever. We are going to have fun with a car we all really like, myself especially.
Eric.
Premium
- 8,515
- GTP_Eric
- Ebiggs
Again, the Miata is the most-raced car in the world. There will probably be as many Miatas as EF Civics and CRXs. Next most popular in my experience is the Corvette.
Except when you count our chapter, and we end up with 80% of the field being 07-08 Civic Si sedans or S2000s...but we're weird.
- 6,769
- Little Elm, TX
- JCE3000GT
I approve of this purchase 100%. I love these and always wanted to get one and stuff the 302 in it. Please keep up dated with pics and such.
No rust means it was garaged and very well taken care of. That's a score!
That is a good plan indeed! I just hope it manages to survive long enough to get fixed back up for road use. <--- pipe dream
- 27,203
- United Kingdom
The latter more than the former.
As I remember it, Ford had a big stash of Cologne V6s lying about in the 1980s and they wanted to phase out the Capri by sticking them into RWD Sierras instead. Only the XR4i didn't sell very well and everyone bought the Capri still instead, so the Sierra variant only lasted a handful of years.
And then Ford brought out the Cosworth which made the XR4i a bit redundant anyway.
To be honest, the XR4i was quite a funky looking car. They only ever used that glass layout on the XR4i - the Cosworth just had normal A, B and C pillars with large rear passenger windows.
And for the record, the Capri 2.8. Still not surprised people went for this rather than the Sierra...
Edit:
What I didn't realise is that the Merkur didn't use a V6, but a 2.3 turbo instead. Think that engine was unique to the U.S. and unrelated to the Cosworth 2.0-litre we got over here.
- 86,654
- Rule 12
- GTP_Famine
Nopeish. The Merkur XR4Ti is the same car as the Sierra XR4i, but with a four pot SOHC turbo 2.3 instead of a 2.8 V6 - also sold in Setheffrica as the XR6 (3.0 V6) and XR8 (Windsor 302). The second-gen XR4i - sold alongside the XR4x4 - used a 2.0 DOHC turbo.
The Merkur was raced extensively - Andy Rouse won what is now the BTCC in one - and the RS Cosworth was developed from those racing experiences. There were 5,000 first gen RS Cosworths in the 3 door shell and 500 RS500s converted by Tickford, each running the Pinto-based, 2.0 four pot Cosworth YB engine. The second generations - RWD and 4WD versions - all used the Sierra Sapphire 4 door shell and sold 25,000 between them. In fact the 4WD floorpan and Cosworth YB went on to form the basis of the Escort RS Cosworth (which happens to look like an Escort but, in reality, isn't one in any way) in 1992.
So in effect, the RS Cosworth is a "better" version of the XR4Ti/XR4i/XR4x4, but as a result of 4 years of a bottomless pit of Ford Racing research money as they went after Group A touring car (and then rally car) titles. About the only common parts are the body shell (for the Mk1 Cosworth) and dashboard, so if you want to convert a Merkur XR4Ti into an RS Cosworth, step one is to find a crashed Cossie...
- 27,203
- United Kingdom
- 86,654
- Rule 12
- GTP_Famine
The Mk2 XR4i used the standard 3 door shell (as did the Mk1 RS Cosworth) with the large rear window and came with a 2.0 DOHC 4 pot and was sold alongside the XR4x4 which, yes, had a 2.9 EFi instead of the Cologne 2.8. The Mk1 and all the Merkurs used the divided rear window 3 door shell.
- 27,203
- United Kingdom
Joey D
Premium
- 47,361
- Lakes of the North, MI
- GTP_Joey
- GTP Joey
There are a fair number of Cosworth parts here in the states, so getting them wouldn't be all that hard. However, they cost a pretty penny and they just don't seem worth it since the ROI isn't great and other aftermarket parts are pretty decent.
I spoke with the seller last night to gather more information about the car, apparently the car has a new radiator, exhaust and "performance" struts...whatever that means. It also comes with an extra set of wheels with winter tires on them. The car does have an upgraded sound system (no subs) but does have halfway decent speakers and a headunit.
The car does have some minor damaged to the left front fender and the wing in the rear needs to be replaced (which I'd get the bi-wing for the car). The good news is while at the junkyard with a friend of mine over the weekend, they had two XR4ti's there. So I can easily pilfer parts off of them depending on what the parts car does or doesn't have.
One major problem is that the parts car doesn't have a title which would make scraping it impossible. We are currently looking on how to resolve this issue because once we strip it we want to scrap the rest of the car.
I spoke with the seller last night to gather more information about the car, apparently the car has a new radiator, exhaust and "performance" struts...whatever that means. It also comes with an extra set of wheels with winter tires on them. The car does have an upgraded sound system (no subs) but does have halfway decent speakers and a headunit.
The car does have some minor damaged to the left front fender and the wing in the rear needs to be replaced (which I'd get the bi-wing for the car). The good news is while at the junkyard with a friend of mine over the weekend, they had two XR4ti's there. So I can easily pilfer parts off of them depending on what the parts car does or doesn't have.
One major problem is that the parts car doesn't have a title which would make scraping it impossible. We are currently looking on how to resolve this issue because once we strip it we want to scrap the rest of the car.
CodeRedR51
Premium
- 55,274
- United States
Joey D
Premium
- 47,361
- Lakes of the North, MI
- GTP_Joey
- GTP Joey
Unfortunately in Michigan you can't scrap any auto parts without the title to the vehicle, nor would I really want to try. The good news is I talked to a police officer today that I know and I asked him what we can do. Apparently there is a form through the Secretary of State and all I have to do is get a police officer to run the VIN and certify the car isn't stolen.
CodeRedR51
Premium
- 55,274
- United States
Apply for a lost title?
Joey D
Premium
- 47,361
- Lakes of the North, MI
- GTP_Joey
- GTP Joey
The Merkur has fallen though I guess, I have left the seller numerous messages and sent many e-mails without avail. I even stumbled upon the house it's located at by complete accident with it being on the street over from a friend of my moms (at least I think it was it sitting in the driveway).
I put a bid in on an 86 Nissan 200sx but they guy wouldn't budge on his price even when I told him I'd bring cash. There was another Merkur with a bunch of Cossie stuff on it in Chicago but after a phone call it was clear the engine was in pieces and needed to be rebuilt...something none of us know.
I have been making calls here and there on a couple other cars over the past couple of weeks but now we are getting into colder weather. We want this car by months end so we can tear into it. Our best find is a 1995 Neon in nitro-yellow green which is an extremely rare colour. It's only a couple hundred bucks due to a blown engine, but a buddy of mine has a motor and 5 speed for a Neon in his garage (he has like 4 Neons). We are going to see if it's still around tomorrow and if it's good we will probably buy it.
Other contenders are an SVT Contour, Ford Escort GT, 91 Civic hatch, and a Saturn SC1. All of them currently have offers made on them and communications sent. It's really going to come down to who gets back to us first with the magic number.
I put a bid in on an 86 Nissan 200sx but they guy wouldn't budge on his price even when I told him I'd bring cash. There was another Merkur with a bunch of Cossie stuff on it in Chicago but after a phone call it was clear the engine was in pieces and needed to be rebuilt...something none of us know.
I have been making calls here and there on a couple other cars over the past couple of weeks but now we are getting into colder weather. We want this car by months end so we can tear into it. Our best find is a 1995 Neon in nitro-yellow green which is an extremely rare colour. It's only a couple hundred bucks due to a blown engine, but a buddy of mine has a motor and 5 speed for a Neon in his garage (he has like 4 Neons). We are going to see if it's still around tomorrow and if it's good we will probably buy it.
Other contenders are an SVT Contour, Ford Escort GT, 91 Civic hatch, and a Saturn SC1. All of them currently have offers made on them and communications sent. It's really going to come down to who gets back to us first with the magic number.
- 8,480
- P_Balance
I was going to say something about the 200sx as well. I looked into buying one briefly as a daily. Come to find out there's almost NO aftermarket for that car, and the only thing's really worth doing is getting all the suspension and brake bits off a 240sx and putting it all on, as well as the ka24de out of one. By then you will likely have a $3-4k 200sx that is worse than simply starting with a 240sx.
- 5,303
- Riverside, Ca
- GTP_Leonidae_MFT
BMW 318ti..? They can be had for pennies nowadays. And salvage yards have plenty of victims for performance parts..
Joey D
Premium
- 47,361
- Lakes of the North, MI
- GTP_Joey
- GTP Joey
BMW's aren't plentiful in Michigan at all and the ones that are available are either too expensive, an automatic or rusted to hell. Parts would also be expensive.
I got a phone call this morning, we might be getting a rolling Neon R/T chassis for a $100.
I got a phone call this morning, we might be getting a rolling Neon R/T chassis for a $100.
- Status
Similar threads
Latest Posts
-
-
Assetto Corsa 2 Will be Called "Assetto Corsa Evo", Coming 2024- Latest: donneratze
-
-
-