XRBrati Underway....

Frag · Post by **Frag** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 3:18 am

That XR looks too good to butcher. I would find a beater XR atleast.

Post by **John Brennan** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 4:48 am

Oh, knock off the sanctimonious breast-beating about cutting up the car! The man's going to ensure that not only does it live on, but that it becomes something truly unique and special! Go for it, man-- don't stop 'til you have it exactly the way you envision it! I'm interested not only in how it turns out, but how it goes along the way. Keep us posted!

Colin · Post by **Colin** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 12:16 am

Go for it! Git r done! No matter how it turns out, it'll still be eons ahead of that yellow roofless XR beast.

Colin

Post by **DPDISXR4Ti** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 1:51 pm

To some extent Martin Allaire's yellow XR convertible was an inspiration for this project. It's not something I would have done, but it got me thinking outside the box. I rescued the XR about a day before it was headed to the junkyard, with no particular plans for it until I came across a rusted out Brat at the junkyard. I took out my tape measure and wrote down a bunch of dimensions, comparing them to the XR when I got home. Quickly, I realized, THIS COULD WORK!

The biggest expense to date has been the shipping charges for the Brat, since I had to get it from Texas. You just don't find rust-free Brats in the northeast unless they've been preserved, and then they go for $3000 and up. Here's one that sold on eBay for $6900 just the other day:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... AMEWA%3AIT

It's been much easier now to figure everything out with the cars next to each other. The outer width difference between the two bodies at the waist line is 1.5" (Brat is smaller), so I don't think I'll have too much trouble making a .75" transition on each side there. The Brat has these big inspection plates that easily unscrew on the inner bed walls which will be a huge help in giving me access to the back side to complete this part of the project.

I figured out last night exactly where I need to place the bed front to back - the cabin/bed partion will be bonded right to the back of the major crossing beam that goes under the rear seats. I would have preferred to set the forward section of the bed on top of that beam, but that puts it too far forward. I need to raise the effective height of that beam any way (it's lower than the rear floor height), so I'll just build some brackets off the back of it for the bed to rest on.

Okay, back to my real job....

Post by **DPDISXR4Ti** » Tue Oct 05, 2004 12:23 am

MerkXRTurbo · Post by **MerkXRTurbo** » Tue Oct 05, 2004 8:35 am

There's quite a bit of rubber on the back of that XR. How wide are they?

Post by **DPDISXR4Ti** » Tue Oct 05, 2004 10:27 am

MerkXRTurbo wrote:There's quite a bit of rubber on the back of that XR. How wide are they?

Big. 245 maybe? Not sure off-hand, but the wheels are 16x8, 19mm offset; intended for a Fox body car. I've just got them on there as place-holders. With the car being a stripped roller, clearance isn't an issue.

Post by **DPDISXR4Ti** » Thu Oct 07, 2004 12:41 am

Maybe it would be easier to just import one of these and weld the VIN in from the Merkur...

Click here to take a look at all the cool Fords they get down under...

http://www.fpv.com.au

MerkXRTurbo · Post by **MerkXRTurbo** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 10:19 am

So, how's it coming?

rat_n_a_cage · Post by **rat_n_a_cage** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 10:25 am

DPDISXR4Ti wrote:Maybe it would be easier to just import one of these and weld the VIN in from the Merkur...

http://www.fpv.com.au

Oh, that's a Ford? At first I thought it was a Subaru.

Post by **DPDISXR4Ti** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 12:12 pm

MerkXRTurbo wrote:So, how's it coming?

I've been more focused on dismantling the front half of the Brat, just to be done with it and get it out of the way....

Post by **DPDISXR4Ti** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 12:14 pm

rat_n_a_cage wrote:
DPDISXR4Ti wrote:Maybe it would be easier to just import one of these and weld the VIN in from the Merkur...

http://www.fpv.com.au
Oh, that's a Ford? At first I thought it was a Subaru.

Yep, another cool Ford from down-under that we'll most likely never see.

rat_n_a_cage · Post by **rat_n_a_cage** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 2:44 pm

I was just thinking today, even if it was just an emissions issue, couldn't they just stick a different motor in it and bring it over? Any variation of the 4.6 V8 would be perfect - the KingDaddy being the SC DOHC like in the Cobra!!

...why do we get stuck with things like the Marauder and Five-Hundred?

Post by **John Brennan** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 2:45 pm

'Cause Mom and Pop buy 'em.

MerkXRTurbo · Post by **MerkXRTurbo** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 2:59 pm

And because the average American is lazy, and many of them don't want a car that you have to drive. They want a car that is lifeless, easy to control, and has an automatic. The only thing that people even do is steer and throttle control, and they wouldn't even do that if they had a choice.

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XRBrati Underway....

Lining up on the tarmac for take-off...

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