Pacwest's Merkur v3.0
Pacwest's Merkur v3.0
I've owned this car for 16 years. Half of which it has been in my old garage or at Draken getting some stuff done to it.
Basically it was a daily driver that I took autocrossing and to the occasional car show. I was in the hospital for back surgery and some thievin' bastards broke in and messed it up (badly). Then it was to be towed to Draken for an insurance claim. Tow truck driver busted the wing off and wrecked the hatch. Nightmare.
Fast forward 8 years. Ugh. I've removed the suspension and lent to it a racer and can't get my suspension back. I also lent him 2 of my 17 inch compomotives for "wets" and they are on their way back to me. I'm planning on fitting Godfrey's front roll bar a strut setup but I'll have to modify the picture front bar mounts to fit them. the supplier of my suspension in the UK wont sell to US or CDN buyers due to possible litigation. Whatever.
Car has a rear beam, diff and brakes from a WRC recce Escort Cosworth. Nothing fancy. AVO coil overs all 'round. Front TCAs and uprights are from the same Escort. Brake calipers are as well but there are some mystery bell and discs that were fitted.
Engine has a lot of action going on, still only %90 assembled. Relocated alternator with new pulley setup. Would like to find a serpentine that would work with this getup though.
Interior is Sparco stuff. Wheel, pedals, seats, harnesses. Dash is going to get some gauges, servo operated brake bias on steering wheel, and some other toys - budget permitting.
Interior off to get painted/dyed black with a grey matching carpet/headliner/abcd pillars. That will make me happy.
So all this got moved to my new garage this week. Garage isn't fully setup. The lathe, welder, drill press, vises, polisher/grinder are all there now but not buttoned down. Storage is not sorted yet either.
The build is mostly done but I thought I'd add a build page here so document some of the finds/do and don't so that I can maybe help someone else out here. I'll try to update and include tutorials if I can. Or at least shots of what stuff looks like apart etc.
Why 3.0? 1.0 was stock plus my mods were a 500 wing, some urethane, springs, a boost knob, some other bits. Version 2.0 was the paint scheme you see here with no motor or suspension mods.
Version 3.0 is same paint (it will need some paint) plus all the suspension and motor mods. Rear brace etc. Needed a new front bumper as the old 500 one was getting long in the tooth. I'm not going to use the cage now and it is for sale.
Basically it was a daily driver that I took autocrossing and to the occasional car show. I was in the hospital for back surgery and some thievin' bastards broke in and messed it up (badly). Then it was to be towed to Draken for an insurance claim. Tow truck driver busted the wing off and wrecked the hatch. Nightmare.
Fast forward 8 years. Ugh. I've removed the suspension and lent to it a racer and can't get my suspension back. I also lent him 2 of my 17 inch compomotives for "wets" and they are on their way back to me. I'm planning on fitting Godfrey's front roll bar a strut setup but I'll have to modify the picture front bar mounts to fit them. the supplier of my suspension in the UK wont sell to US or CDN buyers due to possible litigation. Whatever.
Car has a rear beam, diff and brakes from a WRC recce Escort Cosworth. Nothing fancy. AVO coil overs all 'round. Front TCAs and uprights are from the same Escort. Brake calipers are as well but there are some mystery bell and discs that were fitted.
Engine has a lot of action going on, still only %90 assembled. Relocated alternator with new pulley setup. Would like to find a serpentine that would work with this getup though.
Interior is Sparco stuff. Wheel, pedals, seats, harnesses. Dash is going to get some gauges, servo operated brake bias on steering wheel, and some other toys - budget permitting.
Interior off to get painted/dyed black with a grey matching carpet/headliner/abcd pillars. That will make me happy.
So all this got moved to my new garage this week. Garage isn't fully setup. The lathe, welder, drill press, vises, polisher/grinder are all there now but not buttoned down. Storage is not sorted yet either.
The build is mostly done but I thought I'd add a build page here so document some of the finds/do and don't so that I can maybe help someone else out here. I'll try to update and include tutorials if I can. Or at least shots of what stuff looks like apart etc.
Why 3.0? 1.0 was stock plus my mods were a 500 wing, some urethane, springs, a boost knob, some other bits. Version 2.0 was the paint scheme you see here with no motor or suspension mods.
Version 3.0 is same paint (it will need some paint) plus all the suspension and motor mods. Rear brace etc. Needed a new front bumper as the old 500 one was getting long in the tooth. I'm not going to use the cage now and it is for sale.
- John Brennan
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- AnHonestCitizen
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- John Brennan
- Level 8
- Posts: 11630
- Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2003 4:19 pm
- Location: Scottsdale, AZ "Summer Is Coming"
Right, I have a 2WD Cossie IC right here, and am familiar with all its bits; just wondering about your rad/hose setup.
Last edited by John Brennan on Wed Nov 26, 2008 11:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
This is my car, and these are my people!
2015 Fiesta ST
2020 Edge 2.0 Ecoboost
2015 Fiesta ST
2020 Edge 2.0 Ecoboost
Today it was a productive day.
I removed the fender liners and in preparation for the rolling of fender lips so that I can fit 245/40 17s on Compomotive MOs. Sprayed the crap out of the fenders and chucked my ugly, cracked, half missing fender liners.
Looks good. If you want to fit some rubber in there do it!
Now to the body. Not so good news. I pulled the carpet and sent it off to the upholstery place for dye (the whole interior actually). And to my horror I saw a serious rust spot in both rear outboard seat mount points. Driver's ride was horrid. I poked and poked, hammered etc to clear the flaking. Two kit kat sized holes with garage floor showing. Ugh. So I got some decent gauge steel and fabbed up some fill plates. MIG welded them in, put out a couple undercoating fires and realized I hate using flux core. Gotta get a gas bottle again. Grinding, urethane, rust paint and a really smoky/stinky garage. Got the holes welded up on both sides. Luckily the passenger side was not through but needed a plate welded in and some undercoating as well.
Everyone should look under their carpet....
Removed the Cosworth radiator the intercooler. The Cosworth fans mounting tabs are seriously corroded. I'll have to weld one up and the other 3 are saveable with just paint. I'll be taking the rad to the local rad shop for a once over tomorrow. It leaks a bit and I want that fixed and it flushed. They have my gas tank right now so I'll swap 'em since it is apparently ready tomorrow. Got is flushed as well and I'll install it along with the Walbro tomorrow if I'm lucky.
The real target for the rad removal is to install a new 87 rack and some Esslinger pulleys. Looking at the power steering hose it appears I should install a proper cooler while I'm at it.
I removed the fender liners and in preparation for the rolling of fender lips so that I can fit 245/40 17s on Compomotive MOs. Sprayed the crap out of the fenders and chucked my ugly, cracked, half missing fender liners.
Looks good. If you want to fit some rubber in there do it!
Now to the body. Not so good news. I pulled the carpet and sent it off to the upholstery place for dye (the whole interior actually). And to my horror I saw a serious rust spot in both rear outboard seat mount points. Driver's ride was horrid. I poked and poked, hammered etc to clear the flaking. Two kit kat sized holes with garage floor showing. Ugh. So I got some decent gauge steel and fabbed up some fill plates. MIG welded them in, put out a couple undercoating fires and realized I hate using flux core. Gotta get a gas bottle again. Grinding, urethane, rust paint and a really smoky/stinky garage. Got the holes welded up on both sides. Luckily the passenger side was not through but needed a plate welded in and some undercoating as well.
Everyone should look under their carpet....
Removed the Cosworth radiator the intercooler. The Cosworth fans mounting tabs are seriously corroded. I'll have to weld one up and the other 3 are saveable with just paint. I'll be taking the rad to the local rad shop for a once over tomorrow. It leaks a bit and I want that fixed and it flushed. They have my gas tank right now so I'll swap 'em since it is apparently ready tomorrow. Got is flushed as well and I'll install it along with the Walbro tomorrow if I'm lucky.
The real target for the rad removal is to install a new 87 rack and some Esslinger pulleys. Looking at the power steering hose it appears I should install a proper cooler while I'm at it.
What offset and width wheels are you going to be using? I want to run a 17x8 with 245/40R17s or 235/40R17s on my XR. Fender lips are rolled flat up front, but I plan on getting a fender roller so i can flare out the fender a little more if I need to. Right now it's clearing my 205/50R16s on 16x7 et17 just fine.
1986 XR4Ti - 294rwhp/315ft-lbs
1992 Mustang 5.0 notch - 434rwhp/445ft-lbs
http://www.youtube.com/user/whitelx
1992 Mustang 5.0 notch - 434rwhp/445ft-lbs
http://www.youtube.com/user/whitelx
Its the magic "most room" combo of the cosworth 2wd TCA and uprights, with AVO coil overs. Then you add 17x8 with 32mm offset. With no rolled (or a little depending on the body) lips you get 235/40 17 under the front and rear.
I'd like 245/40. Have to see the rubbing issue with that size. I might have to make a steering stop and reduce my turning radius by just a little bit. Mocking up a bit today.
I'd like 245/40. Have to see the rubbing issue with that size. I might have to make a steering stop and reduce my turning radius by just a little bit. Mocking up a bit today.
do the cosworth uprights move the strut inboard any to increase tire/wheel clearance? I know the strut mount is up higher and the TCA mount is lower (changing the roll center).pacwest wrote:Its the magic "most room" combo of the cosworth 2wd TCA and uprights, with AVO coil overs. Then you add 17x8 with 32mm offset. With no rolled (or a little depending on the body) lips you get 235/40 17 under the front and rear.
I'd like 245/40. Have to see the rubbing issue with that size. I might have to make a steering stop and reduce my turning radius by just a little bit. Mocking up a bit today.
The Ford OEM 94-04 Mustang 17x8 wheels are 30mm offset and I was planning on using those with modified scorpio uprights.
1986 XR4Ti - 294rwhp/315ft-lbs
1992 Mustang 5.0 notch - 434rwhp/445ft-lbs
http://www.youtube.com/user/whitelx
1992 Mustang 5.0 notch - 434rwhp/445ft-lbs
http://www.youtube.com/user/whitelx
Sorry I didn't answer. The uprights affect the caster a bit and move it inboard a touch. It's mostly to allow for better fitment (and range) of coilovers.
I also planned to use the speed sensors for traction and launch control but I'm not sure I'll go down that route now. Maybe if I switch to megasquirt and find some decent code for launch control.
I also planned to use the speed sensors for traction and launch control but I'm not sure I'll go down that route now. Maybe if I switch to megasquirt and find some decent code for launch control.
That is a freakin awesome picture!
What did you use? Underbody coating?
What did you use? Underbody coating?
-Ray
1985 Ford F150 - Tow Missile
1985 Merkur XR4Ti -#141 CP "Miss Daisy"
2005 Subaru LGT
http://www.cartct.com
1985 Ford F150 - Tow Missile
1985 Merkur XR4Ti -#141 CP "Miss Daisy"
2005 Subaru LGT
http://www.cartct.com