XR4Ti Build Progress - Updated 06-23-08 - Focaljet

**Ray** · 10-09-2004, 08:20 AM

Well, some of you know that i was getting this... soon to be hopefully rebuilt and running car. But for now, here are some pics. here is this past spring.

where she was

no that's not rust, just stuff that is built up on the paint.

this used to be my mom's car (well my father's but she drove it). in 10/95, the motor lost compression and had some electrical problems. almost 9 years to the day. they parked it, put it on blocks, and basically forgot about it.

so, i've been watching this car sit since i was 15, and i've wanted it since well before that.

so...

so we flatbed her to her new home, which will be under my deck until we get her running and such. but i couldn't let a car like this sit, that dirty.

surprisingly, most of the algal accumulation came off easy.

last night i checked the trunk and floors, and no water

vacuumed the car, cleaned out a bunch of garbage (for instance, coupons that expired in 93. seriously. 93.)

put coolant in the coolant reservoir, and checked to see if the motor was frozen.

nope. she moves pretty easy, and the coolant, when you are turning the motor by hand (with a wrench, silly) seems to circulate. nice. even the hoses seem in good shape.

WTF? how could this be? lol.

edit : title

**AtBlue5spZX3** · 10-09-2004, 08:25 AM

Cool project with lots of potential.....looks fun.

**Ray** · 10-09-2004, 08:27 AM

yeah, hopefully my wife doesn't mind my obsession with vehicles.

**bri** · 10-09-2004, 08:35 AM

I had an old Buick that hadn’t run in like 15years, we changed out the plugs some of the hoses, drained the gas changed the oil. Then added Marvin’s Mystery oil and sure enough it ran.

**EVIL_WICKED_ONE** · 10-09-2004, 08:38 AM

Glad to see that most of that algea was just washed away.

Please keep us posted of the work in progress.

**Gigaherz** · 10-09-2004, 09:13 AM

Car looks much better now.

Good luck with it.

**Ray** · 10-09-2004, 10:14 AM

just went and bought a can of PB blaster, and new battery terminals. I'm going to rebuild the car's grounding system as well.

(like there was any doubt)

checked for the headgasket (everyone recommends the FELPRO 1035, but they couldn't find that part number, the SVO Mustang part number is FELPRO 8993, Euro Ford Fan, is that the same one? Also listed for a cross for the 1035 is FELPRO 9063)

For the valve cover gasket, i've read: 2.3L Ranger, found one from a 1990, part number FELPRO 50043, will that work?

Thanks

**ZX3guy182** · 10-09-2004, 12:05 PM

looks abillion times better now, i cant wait to see the progress

**tesseract** · 10-09-2004, 01:07 PM

Quote:

checked for the headgasket (everyone recommends the FELPRO 1035, but they couldn't find that part number, the SVO Mustang part number is FELPRO 8993, Euro Ford Fan, is that the same one? Also listed for a cross for the 1035 is FELPRO 9063)

For the valve cover gasket, i've read: 2.3L Ranger, found one from a 1990, part number FELPRO 50043, will that work?

for any info you could ever want, go check with the guys at BAT Inc. They Luvzorz teh hot euroness.

**Majikal** · 10-09-2004, 01:13 PM

ohhhh yes Ray... we are gonna have some fun with this...

**UDonkey** · 10-09-2004, 01:18 PM

http://www.merkurowners.org/

The International Merkur Owners Network (IMON) mailing list...no better resource than that.

Also...

http://www.merkurclub.com/

Merkur Club of America (they run IMON)

**spinwax** · 10-09-2004, 01:26 PM

Hey, just a few bucks and you will have a motor like this...

This xr is pretty sweet..

**Ray** · 10-09-2004, 05:16 PM

yeah i know about merkurclub.com, haven't been to merkurowners.org yet.

Today i spent almost all day working on the car. First i just started cleaning (dont want to work on a dirty car).

Vacuumed the inside again, replaced some wiring for the dome lights (a mouse freaking chewed them. that scares me.)sprayed down under the hood with engine cleaner, then went to work on that stuff that looks like rust in the pics, which is actually some sort of waxy substance that is a bitch to get off.

Cleaned the door jams, started going thru vacuum lines, hoses, fuel lines, etc, looking for problems. found one. the fuel line coming in needs to be replaced. no biggie. the return fuel line seems okay but i'm going to replace it anyway. pulled the upper intake manifold off, polished it (heh, heh, why not, right?), and cleaned the inside of that.

Also made a new battery ground, and put new battery terminals on. Put a battery in, and just ran thru wiring that doesn't work. Such as the headlights for some reason, but they might just be blown. We'll see.

Tomorrow i'm going to go out and get plugs, wires, a cap and rotor, and the head gasket if the information leads me to believe that it's the right one (i'll check later)

then... gonna pull the head. but first, i'm going to wait for the shop CD.

Spinwax: Yes, i wish i could afford something like that. lol.
edit: here's the full sized pic of that middle one you posted

**blueovalbaboon** · 10-09-2004, 06:59 PM

sweet, kinda lucky there was so little damage on it.

My last project car had a tree fall on it.

I then sold it to pay for grad school...BEFORE repairing the tree damage, and got double what I payed

that car's gonna be sooo much fun when you're done with it. bulletproof engine.

**trakkstar** · 10-09-2004, 07:29 PM

Big nod for undertaking this project. The car was an odd jewel that slipped into america. Really sweet project car. Best of luck with her.

_michael

**MrPotatoes** · 10-10-2004, 01:08 AM

wow you have more patience than i do to undertake a project like that.

i also believe that beuty is in the eye of the beholder. enjoy it. lost loves are the greatest lol

**Ray** · 10-10-2004, 06:59 AM

Quote:

i also believe that beuty is in the eye of the beholder. enjoy it. lost loves are the greatest lol

So you think she's not that good looking?

It's okay, my wife thinks the XR "looks like a rat." I told the XR "Don't listen to her, she drives a corolla."

**dinoadventures** · 10-10-2004, 10:23 AM

Quote:

i also believe that beuty is in the eye of the beholder. enjoy it. lost loves are the greatest lol

So you think she's not that good looking?

It's okay, my wife thinks the XR "looks like a rat." I told the XR "Don't listen to her, she drives a corolla."

LAWLS!!

XR's are super-sweet! i love those so much! i think BAT still has those cossie hood vents on special for it. get you some!

**Ray** · 10-10-2004, 12:45 PM

Compression Check Results:

Cylinder 1 - 130 PSI
Cylinder 2 - 90 PSI
Cylinder 3 - 100 PSI
Cylinder 4 - 10 PSI

Yes, 10. Not 100.
Today Did that, replaced some fuel line that was shot, as well as some vacuum (boost?

) line, got new plugs, gapped them to 0.034", installed new cap and rotor.

Tomorrow gonna do the fuel filter (fun) and maybe start on pulling the head, but i think i'll save that till next weekend.

edit: time to give BAT a call. gonna order the competition head gasket, belt for the alternator / water pump, and a timing belt with tensioner.

**zxspeedfreq** · 10-10-2004, 01:07 PM

Mmmmm, I'm jealous. I love XR's. Good luck with the new project.

**D-Fi** · 10-10-2004, 01:16 PM

and i thought my focus was 4x4.lol cool project

**Ray** · 10-10-2004, 01:19 PM

the initial shots of the car (before i got it) was when it was actually up on blocks

**Motive** · 10-10-2004, 01:44 PM

I love those cars, always have. I friend of mine in college had a black one with a leather interior. Somehow the engine got thrashed. Looking back I probably could have offered him a modest sum for it. I really wish I had--looking back.

Good luck with the project!

**UltegraSTI** · 10-10-2004, 02:30 PM

eck, #4, check the rings as well and just slimmin it down 2 a gasket?. just a thought. good luck.

-Ult

**Focused** · 10-10-2004, 07:18 PM

10-09-2004, 08:20 AM	#1
Ray Driver > Car Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: CT Posts: 26,581	XR4Ti Build Progress - Updated 06-23-08 Well, some of you know that i was getting this... soon to be hopefully rebuilt and running car. But for now, here are some pics. here is this past spring. where she was no that's not rust, just stuff that is built up on the paint. this used to be my mom's car (well my father's but she drove it). in 10/95, the motor lost compression and had some electrical problems. almost 9 years to the day. they parked it, put it on blocks, and basically forgot about it. so, i've been watching this car sit since i was 15, and i've wanted it since well before that. so... so we flatbed her to her new home, which will be under my deck until we get her running and such. but i couldn't let a car like this sit, that dirty. surprisingly, most of the algal accumulation came off easy. last night i checked the trunk and floors, and no water vacuumed the car, cleaned out a bunch of garbage (for instance, coupons that expired in 93. seriously. 93.) put coolant in the coolant reservoir, and checked to see if the motor was frozen. nope. she moves pretty easy, and the coolant, when you are turning the motor by hand (with a wrench, silly) seems to circulate. nice. even the hoses seem in good shape. WTF? how could this be? lol. edit : title

10-09-2004, 08:25 AM	#2
AtBlue5spZX3 [FJ] Addict Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Western WA Posts: 11,533	Re: New Toy Cool project with lots of potential.....looks fun.

10-09-2004, 08:27 AM	#3
Ray Driver > Car Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: CT Posts: 26,581	Re: New Toy yeah, hopefully my wife doesn't mind my obsession with vehicles.

10-09-2004, 08:38 AM	#5
EVIL_WICKED_ONE Senior TEAM Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Santa Clara, CA Posts: 3,651	Re: New Toy Glad to see that most of that algea was just washed away. Please keep us posted of the work in progress.

10-09-2004, 09:13 AM	#6
Gigaherz [FJ] Specialist Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Earth Posts: 9,014	Re: New Toy Car looks much better now. Good luck with it.

10-09-2004, 08:35 AM	#4
bri Senior TEAM Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Maryland Posts: 3,181	Re: New Toy I had an old Buick that hadn’t run in like 15years, we changed out the plugs some of the hoses, drained the gas changed the oil. Then added Marvin’s Mystery oil and sure enough it ran.

10-09-2004, 10:14 AM	#7
Ray Driver > Car Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: CT Posts: 26,581	Re: New Toy just went and bought a can of PB blaster, and new battery terminals. I'm going to rebuild the car's grounding system as well. (like there was any doubt) checked for the headgasket (everyone recommends the FELPRO 1035, but they couldn't find that part number, the SVO Mustang part number is FELPRO 8993, Euro Ford Fan, is that the same one? Also listed for a cross for the 1035 is FELPRO 9063) For the valve cover gasket, i've read: 2.3L Ranger, found one from a 1990, part number FELPRO 50043, will that work? Thanks

10-09-2004, 12:05 PM	#8
ZX3guy182 [FJ] Specialist Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Bham, AL Posts: 5,229	Re: New Toy looks abillion times better now, i cant wait to see the progress

10-09-2004, 01:13 PM	#10
Majikal Moderator Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: West Hartford, CT Posts: 11,507	Re: New Toy ohhhh yes Ray... we are gonna have some fun with this...

10-09-2004, 01:18 PM	#11
UDonkey Senior TEAM Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 1,019	Re: New Toy http://www.merkurowners.org/ The International Merkur Owners Network (IMON) mailing list...no better resource than that. Also... http://www.merkurclub.com/ Merkur Club of America (they run IMON)

10-09-2004, 01:26 PM	#12
spinwax emo Queen Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 7,302	Re: New Toy Hey, just a few bucks and you will have a motor like this... This xr is pretty sweet..

10-09-2004, 05:16 PM	#13
Ray Driver > Car Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: CT Posts: 26,581	Re: New Toy yeah i know about merkurclub.com, haven't been to merkurowners.org yet. Today i spent almost all day working on the car. First i just started cleaning (dont want to work on a dirty car). Vacuumed the inside again, replaced some wiring for the dome lights (a mouse freaking chewed them. that scares me.)sprayed down under the hood with engine cleaner, then went to work on that stuff that looks like rust in the pics, which is actually some sort of waxy substance that is a bitch to get off. Cleaned the door jams, started going thru vacuum lines, hoses, fuel lines, etc, looking for problems. found one. the fuel line coming in needs to be replaced. no biggie. the return fuel line seems okay but i'm going to replace it anyway. pulled the upper intake manifold off, polished it (heh, heh, why not, right?), and cleaned the inside of that. Also made a new battery ground, and put new battery terminals on. Put a battery in, and just ran thru wiring that doesn't work. Such as the headlights for some reason, but they might just be blown. We'll see. Tomorrow i'm going to go out and get plugs, wires, a cap and rotor, and the head gasket if the information leads me to believe that it's the right one (i'll check later) then... gonna pull the head. but first, i'm going to wait for the shop CD. Spinwax: Yes, i wish i could afford something like that. lol. edit: here's the full sized pic of that middle one you posted

10-09-2004, 06:59 PM	#14
blueovalbaboon Moderator Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Lubbock, TX (my once and future--but not right now--home Posts: 16,116	Re: New Toy sweet, kinda lucky there was so little damage on it. My last project car had a tree fall on it. I then sold it to pay for grad school...BEFORE repairing the tree damage, and got double what I payed that car's gonna be sooo much fun when you're done with it. bulletproof engine.

10-09-2004, 07:29 PM	#15
trakkstar TEAM Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 828	Re: New Toy Big nod for undertaking this project. The car was an odd jewel that slipped into america. Really sweet project car. Best of luck with her. _michael

10-10-2004, 01:08 AM	#16
MrPotatoes Wanna touch my tots? Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: in your brain smoothing out the wrinkles Posts: 12,511	Re: New Toy wow you have more patience than i do to undertake a project like that. i also believe that beuty is in the eye of the beholder. enjoy it. lost loves are the greatest lol

10-10-2004, 12:45 PM	#19
Ray Driver > Car Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: CT Posts: 26,581	Re: New Toy Compression Check Results: Cylinder 1 - 130 PSI Cylinder 2 - 90 PSI Cylinder 3 - 100 PSI Cylinder 4 - 10 PSI Yes, 10. Not 100. Today Did that, replaced some fuel line that was shot, as well as some vacuum (boost? ) line, got new plugs, gapped them to 0.034", installed new cap and rotor. Tomorrow gonna do the fuel filter (fun) and maybe start on pulling the head, but i think i'll save that till next weekend. edit: time to give BAT a call. gonna order the competition head gasket, belt for the alternator / water pump, and a timing belt with tensioner.

10-10-2004, 01:07 PM	#20
zxspeedfreq TEAM Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Fort Collins, CO Posts: 321	Re: New Toy Mmmmm, I'm jealous. I love XR's. Good luck with the new project.

10-10-2004, 01:16 PM	#21
D-Fi Senior TEAM Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Las Vegas / Tucson Posts: 1,064	Re: New Toy and i thought my focus was 4x4.lol cool project

10-10-2004, 01:19 PM	#22
Ray Driver > Car Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: CT Posts: 26,581	Re: New Toy the initial shots of the car (before i got it) was when it was actually up on blocks

10-10-2004, 01:44 PM	#23
Motive TEAM Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: PSC Posts: 594	Re: New Toy I love those cars, always have. I friend of mine in college had a black one with a leather interior. Somehow the engine got thrashed. Looking back I probably could have offered him a modest sum for it. I really wish I had--looking back. Good luck with the project!

10-10-2004, 02:30 PM	#24
UltegraSTI [FJ] Specialist Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: ... Posts: 7,195	Re: New Toy eck, #4, check the rings as well and just slimmin it down 2 a gasket?. just a thought. good luck. -Ult

10-10-2004, 07:18 PM	#25
Focused Senior TEAM Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Yonkers Posts: 4,844	Re: New Toy

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