Found on Craigslist in Hawaii-86XR4Ti

[ckanani]

For the past 2 years I have been trying to find an XR here in the Islands with no luck until now.

http://honolulu.craigslist.org/mau/cto/1442896122.html

The car is located on Maui, while I reside on Oahu. Sent an email to the owner and I am currently waiting for a response. If all goes well, and I purchase the car, it will be my 3rd XR. Wish me luck, and I will let you all know how it goes.

[hEaT]

Wow, for $300 grab it. Looks like it has Cossie vents too.

[CV12Steve]

How much would it cost to ferry the car home?

[ckanani]

It would cost me about $220 to ship the car to Honolulu, although the owner has not yet contacted me. I am hoping that he/she is just busy this being Thanksgiving and all. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I haven't missed out on this one, since there seem to be very few of these in Hawaii. I saw one here on Oahu some time ago, and it wasn't the one in the ad. I have never come across that particular car since. It's kind of ironic in that I used to live in the same town (Kihei) on Maui before accepting a job offer, and relocating to Honolulu. I have considered buying one on the mainland, and having it shipped, but it's just too expensive. Happy Thanksgiving, and ALOHA from Hawaii!

[briankbot]

Sorry ckanani...
I bought this car a few weeks ago...halloween to be exact. The odd thing is, there was another one for sale through a personal connection I almost purchased a month or so before...
well OK I kept stopping by the house it was parked at for last couple years and asking is they wanted to sell it. Finally they called me to see what I would offer, but I had no cash at the time. I called back a week later w/ borrowed money and it was sold. Supposedly that one went to someone who's going to dirt track the car. A real shame actually...but it was an auto anyway. The sellers of that car also have another decked out w/ cossie parts though I have yet to see it...

So I've wanted one of these cars for over 11 years, and i'll say I was meant to buy this car. It is at a good home now, and will either be kept for a long time, or sold to a worthy owner when ready. I'm one of the two solo 1 course designers for Maui SCCA to give you an idea of what type of home this car ended up at. It could have easily ended up as a "maui cruiser" and that would have been very sad...
I hope to make an intro post soon, as the car has a ton of aftermarket parts, but also has some running problems. It didn't make it home the night I bought it under its own power. And the research has been intense since...

So do I need an intercooler to go with the SVO VAM and Superchip I discovered in the car? So may mods to sort through...I wish I had stock parts to get it running right first.

Aloha
Brian

[John Brennan]

Sorry ckanani...
So do I need an intercooler to go with the SVO VAM and Superchip I discovered in the car? So may mods to sort through...I wish I had stock parts to get it running right first.
Brian

Yes, you do. Is the Superchip the basic PE ('85.5-'86 SVO-- not aware of any others mass-produced) tables? That's a must to go with the Big VAM and so is the IC. Stock parts for a baseline would be nice, yes, but living where you are, may not be as easy to come by. It is quite possible that you can achieve a satisfactory and elevated state of tune with what you have. Talk to us about what those parts are and what problems you are experiencing.

[ckanani]

Aloha Brian! No need to apologize brah. Glad to hear that the car has found a good home. We need to try and save as many of these cars as possible, and I am sure that I'll have an opportunity in the future to find another one. My son, who lives in Wilmington, NC currently has my old Rosso Red '89, and maybe he will sell it back to me (I gave it to him), but it is just very expensive to bring anything from the Mainland here as you well know. So where in Maui are you located? I have family all over that Island.

[briankbot]

Sorry ckanani...
So do I need an intercooler to go with the SVO VAM and Superchip I discovered in the car? So may mods to sort through...I wish I had stock parts to get it running right first.
Brian

Yes, you do. Is the Superchip the basic PE ('85.5-'86 SVO-- not aware of any others mass-produced) tables? That's a must to go with the Big VAM and so is the IC.

The previous owner had no idea what he owned...
He stated it needed a new air filter, the old one was in the trunk. Its a K&N so I cleaned and oiled it.
The car runs way hot, the cooling fan doesnt come on unless you hit the AC. Even then the car gets real hot real fast. My next step is to get it cooling properly. It does appear to have a newer radiator also. The cooling hoses feel like they are filled w/ rust, but on removal only have a thin layer on the hose walls. All hoses were replaced about 8years/20k ago according to receipts provided w/ the car. I need to flush the system.

First thing I noticed was the Momo shift knob and leather boot, then the large mandrel bent exhaust system...
Then I found the boost controller.
And the Tomco Rotary injectors. Have to id these for flow rates still.
I pulled the plugs, their gaps were all over the place from .03 to .045. Put in new Autolites gapped to .030. Replaced plug wires w/ new ones that fit from the randoms box at work. Had magnecors on there, but just wanted to eliminate any wire problems temporarily as they were 8 years old. I will buy a set when money permits...this is a seriously low budget build for now.
Found a major intake leak coming off the TB to the generic PCV valve. I just plugged the leak temporarily, eliminating the PCV for now, but will put in a motorcraft PCV valve soon.
I took off and cleaned the VAM and all intake parts nearby. Running w/ no air filter made a mess. Thats when I noticed the VAM looked kinda huge and didn't have any mounting spots to bolt it down. PN E4zx-12b529-aa. SVO I believe. Then I check the ECM: PF3 w/ a superchip. That was yesterday.
The chip is a bit of a mystery. Its not labeled PE anywhere. After carefully peeling off the old double sided tape over the label it says: Rapido1 (handwritten) 15934 (printed) 10,556 (handwritten). Also there are 2 tiny terminal switches just next to where the chip plugs in. In an old Rapido catalog provided w/ the car they sold a product which was switchable for bigger injectors...maybe thats what I have?

So just after i found the VAM, and before I found the chip, I drove the car up the block and back to see how it would do. It had been running crazy rich before working on the ignition/vacuum leak. Car bogged and stumbled in the low end, but friggin flew when the boost came on. I heard the overboost buzzer once and backed off. Which way do I turn the boost controller to reduce boost? I dont want to turn it up accidentially...
previous owner told me the car really goes when the gauge hits 20 and the buzzer comes on...sigh glad he didnt blow it up.

There is a crack in the exhaust manifold, which I will just have welded(budget) to get this thing running right. I know it will probably crack again.
So for now it looks like I need to:
Fix the cooling system
weld the exhaust Manifold
replace PCV valve and double check for intake leaks
get an intercooler to accommodate the VAM/chip
find out what chip i have (help!)
id injectors
check for codes again...never got any after running in the driveway
Also I have a innovate wideband setup for my 84 2.0 16v rabbit i will borrow to tune w/.

The other good things about the car from the pile of receipts:
124k miles, 20k in the last 8-10 years
oil nice an clean changed every 2k it seems
In the last 10years/20k miles:
all new brakes, calipers, master cyl., aeroquip lines...
centerforce 2 clutch
all cooling hoses
some suspension bushings, maybe more but i have yet to jack up the car

ckanani: Im in Haiku, maybe ill see you sometime, and will certainly let you know if I ever sell the car. Maybe we could track down the silver auto one for you i just missed out on...

OK gotta go turkey awaits. I am giving much thanks today, especially on this great score! Please pardon spelling/grammar errors as I am rushing this post.

Brian

[ckanani]

ckanani: Im in Haiku, maybe ill see you sometime, and will certainly let you know if I ever sell the car. Maybe we could track down the silver auto one for you i just missed out on...

Haiku, beautiful country out there on the North Shore. Looks like you'll have a real screamer once you get everything sorted out. Congratulations on a great find. If you hear of another XR available let me know. For now I will continue to save my pennies so that once I do aquire one, there will be funds available for the purchase/resto of the car without emptying the bank account.

There are a lot good people here on the forums who are always eager to help in any way they can, and what a great resource to have available for Merkur owners (and those who want to be owners like me). Take advantage of it.

Lucky we live Hawaii Brian. Shakas brah.