Early 88 Merkur Scorpio Restoration Project

[FocusSVT]

I have a generator!

[FocusSVT]

Spent some time the past couple of days getting my Blaupunkt BMA 3550 5 channel amplifier installed. I purchased this a couple of years ago. Back in the day it was a very nice piece of equipment. My hope was that it still worked. I actually mounted it in the back of Scorpio at the beginning of the summer, but haven't had time to do anything else.





I got everything connected last night, please excuse the mess, definitely not the finished product. Anyway, it did power up, the sound was truly amazing. The only issues I need to resolve is a ground loop noise issue and it appears the subwoofer channel may have an issue. After the amp warmed up the subwoofer channel started to have an audible hiss.

In true Merkur fashion, when I purchased the amplifier, I scoured the internet for a week or so and found the wiring schematics for it. Since it was manufactured in 1988, working on it shouldn't be much of an issue.

I will take some pictures when I get it apart and diagnosed.

[FocusSVT]

On another front, I located and secured 4 sunroof gaskets. My plan is to install the one, and sell the other three. That was the plan, reality doesn't care about plans.

The details:

The sunroof gasket I got is the correct shape, it is a little long, but easily trimmed to size. It snaps right into the sunroof just like it should.

The issue: The gasket does not have the metal inner liner. It also has a soft rubber sealing surface. Doesn't seem like an issue until you try to close the sunroof. Instead of the seal keeping its shape and sealing, it deforms as the sunroof shuts and keeps the sunroof from sealing completely. You can work the seal and get it to seat into the roof, but it is best to keep it shut at this point. This might change with time as the seal conforms to the car. I am sure the wind noise will be gone, it seals very well.

New VS Old



New VS Old



New one going on



New seal going around the corner



Completely installed



On the car



3 others for sale



I have $290 in the seals. I was very confident that these were 100% the real deal. Unfortunately, they are about 90% the real deal. I will list them in the for sale section for $100 +$10 shipping to continental U.S. if you want a seal that is new, but isn't conducive to being opened and closed.

*** As an update, took the car for a test drive tonight and couldn't hear any noise from the sunroof. The car has never been that quite on the road. At least I can enjoy that ***

[FocusSVT]

I have been on vacation this week and had a lot to get done on the car, boat, house, etc. The Scorpio being the most important , I spent a couple of days working on it.

Task 1: Replace crappy exhaust with a Borla system I got from Scorpio Fanatic / John. Thanks John!





Took a couple of hours, but man it sounds so much better! No more rattling, no more hissing under acceleration. I even think it is getting better mileage, but that could be my imagination

In typical Merkur fashion, fix one thing, find two more things that need attention. I see fluid leaking out of the tail housing of the T9. There is also movement out of the driveshaft at the rear u-joint. I have been hearing a popping noise for awhile now, looks like a bad spot in the u-joint. The center support bearing rubber surround is also fairly mushy. Looks like some work will be needed on it soon. I hate those staked in u-joints. What a pain in the a** to change!

Task 2: Finally get the a/c running 100%. Not this work for a week, have to replace shaft seal, work for a week, discover Trinary switch is bad, work for a week, discover the condenser is leaking. Replace condenser with parts car unit, work for a week, and it starts to leak. You get the picture. I bought a new condenser, filter drier, and trinary switch as an assembly from rockauto.com for $232. It is a new Motorcraft part. I also got a new compressor and expansion valve. The hoses are already rebuilt, and I am praying the evaporator core is okay. It hasn't appeared to be the problem so far.



I got everything off of the car in about 1 1/2 hours this morning. I took the condenser fan apart and cleaned up the motor and lubed the bearings. I installed the fan onto the new condenser and installed the condenser in the car. I found an issue when I removed the clutch from the original compressor and observed a lot of dust residue when I removed it. I just had it removed it a couple of months ago when I discovered the clutch bearing had a bad spot on it. When I put the new bearing in, I realized there was a black plastic piece that I guess was a spacer of some sort. I couldn't figure out how it was installed, so I left it out. Apparently that was a mistake. I ordered a new clutch today and hope it will be here by early next week. I don't want to have to take this system apart again. The rest of the a/c project is on hold till the clutch shows up.

Task 3: I also planned on replacing the clutch fan with a 16" puller electric fan. I got a nice Hayden fan and wiring kit. Got the fan attached to the radiator, looked very pretty, started to install into the car and realize that I am short on clearance by about 1". There is about 5" of clearance from the condenser to the fan clutch pulley. The radiator and the electric fan are about 6" together I found another fan on summitracing.com that is a 14" fan, 2.75" thick, and with the radiator it should be about 4.75" so hopefully this will work. As soon as it shows up, I will post the wrap up of this project.



Looks pretty, but doesn't fit

[scorpioaddict]

re: Task 3: lose the stock shroud and move the fan wherever you want, to dodge the water pump, like this.

[FocusSVT]

If my 14" fan doesn't clear the water pump I will be doing exactly that! Thanks Ken for the idea

[FocusSVT]

Ok, the 14" fan fit. I have been driving the car for a couple of days and it seems up to the task. I will list part #'s and pictures of the install below. I also purchased a fan controller kit and it worked

Fan: Brand: Perma-cool / Part # 18124 / 14" fan / 1850 cfm fan / Summit Racing / $68.02

Fan Controller: Imperial Adjustable Thermostatic Fan Control / Part # 226204 / Advance Auto / $35.89

In addition, I got the a/c system put together and installed. I pulled a vacuum on it yesterday morning and it was still holding 30" of vacuum last night. I charged the system and so far so good. I hope this is the last time I have to mess with it for quit awhile











The temperature probe just mounted into the radiator close to the inlet from the engine. I was able to mount the controller by the cruise control pump. The only thing I really need to do is hook up the trigger for the a/c. This way the fan will come on when the a/c is turned on.

[$KRILLA]

Great progress !

[FocusSVT]

Great progress !

Thanks! The "punch list" is getting shorter

It still needs paint, repair rear window defrost grid, r & r the T-9, and probably r & r the driveshaft. Beyond that, just some minor work on the stereo and interior. Maybe replace heater core when I replace lower dash. What a different car it is now from where it started!

[Bob Weir]

You have to remove the lower dash to R&R the heater core. The manual says to remove the brackets for the shift lever. Removing the bracket makes R&R the lower dash much easier. Hint: remove the passenger seat.

[FocusSVT]

You have to remove the lower dash to R&R the heater core. The manual says to remove the brackets for the shift lever. Removing the bracket makes R&R the lower dash much easier. Hint: remove the passenger seat.

Thanks for that info Bob, I will do that for sure!

[FocusSVT]

Quick update on the electric fan. Apparently 1850 CFM in a 14" fan is enough to keep the engine cool, but not enough to keep the condenser cool. Even with the fan switching on as soon as the a/c is activated, and only 80 degree weather, I saw elevated Head pressures immediately. The front condenser fan was working constantly to keep pressures under 250 psi.

I switched back to the clutch fan yesterday morning and pressures are back to normal. The clutch fan just moves a lot more air. If I try to do a single electric fan again, I think I will need a 16" fan that can pull at least 2500 CFM and only be 2.75" thick. The thickness of the fan is the tricky part.

It may end up that I have to use a dual fan set up. The radiator usable cooling area is 23.5" wide and about 15.5" tall. I could fit a pair of 11" fans in there, just not sure I want to mess with it at this point.

I would prefer to keep the fan shroud in place for over all aesthetics, but if using an electric fan, that may not be possible.

[FocusSVT]

After a couple of weeks or trouble free operation, I am declaring victory over the A/C system. Nice cold air and no bubbles in the sight glass. One thing I did learn is that the A/C hoses I had rebuilt utilized larger diameter hoses and required more R 134A to fill. Going by the sight glass it took 3 1/3 cans of Freon to eliminate the bubbles. I look forward to a winter where I don't have to roast myself to get the defrost to work and hopefully a nice cool summer next year.

[Father Adam]

Nice one Darren!

[FocusSVT]

Unexpected project this morning. Some jerk broke into my car at work yesterday in broad daylight. Smashed the driver's side rear window, took a bag with a couple pairs of slacks I just bought, a small box with two webcams I had purchased for the business, the sub box out of the trunk and a little tool box. They didn't get the stereo out of the dash or the amplifier. There were a lot of cars in the parking lot so I assume they were interrupted or just did a quick smash and grab. Some damage was done to the window frame where they used a screw driver to break the window. I have a spare window from the parts car, but don't really have the time to mess with it. I guess I am going to have to make time