Cpt Tuttle Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 Got one of Tamiyas old Sierras, which I've been looking for very long....Black with deep dish BBS RS is hard to go wrong with, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsxse240 Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 I couldn't agree more! This is one of my FAVORITE cars of all time! I also have one and I am trying to track down a Revellogram Thunderbird Turbo Coupe to swap the drivetrain so as to make the U.S. model XR4TI. Since we all know the lump of plastic in the kit is a fair REPRESENTATION of a Ford V6, plus it was slow in comparison to the 2.3 Turbo. I can't wait to see what you do with this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt Tuttle Posted November 19, 2017 Author Share Posted November 19, 2017 I will be using the turbocharged BDA four from the Monogram GTP Mustang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 I have always thought this would be an interesting subject to build. Just a couple of weeks ago the TV program Wheeler Dealer redid one and added the third rear wing per the original designer of the body style. You might look for it on the Web if you feel you need any addition inspiration. I'll enjoy watching what all you do with this build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 I built the Texaco Touring Car, great kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt Tuttle Posted November 19, 2017 Author Share Posted November 19, 2017 By the way, I had a coupé with the regular body (the same one as the Cosworth above, not the XR4 with the dual pillars) in 1:1 when I was 20, but that one had just the 2 litre OHC that I believe you got in the early Pintos, so not quick....but a fun and good looking car IMO, not very good build quality though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dublin boy Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 Nice to see an XR4i being built. The injected Pinto 2 litre Sierras went very well back in the day for a family car. I remember driving them when my dad's Scorpio would be in for a service, same engine much less weight and no electric everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt Tuttle Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share Posted November 20, 2017 Yeah, but mine was a late one with the low compression and catalytic converter, I believe that the earlier injected 2 litres had more guts.But since they are quite lightweight you can still drive them sideways on the tarmac so enough power I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUSIONBOY Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 These cars, in the Mac Tools sponsor ship were my favorite. Man could they ring the power out of these 4 cylinder Beasts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Van Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 How about a Merkur version??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglia105E Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 I remember the Ford Sierra XR4i because at the time they were produced here in England I was working for a Ford dealer, both trucks and cars. As others have said here, it was possible to extract a significant amount of power from the Cosworth engine, especially with a turbo fitted.David W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 I always wanted one of the US XR4i's, but never found one at the right price / right time. Back in the day my sister's husband was a mechanic and I let him use my 2 car garage to work on side work customers cars. One of those was a Merkur. One day it was sitting there and he asked me to take it for a ride around the block to warm it up for an oil change. Man! That car had power and was fun to drive. That short test ride had me convinced I needed to have one.Something went wrong with the US sales of the Merkur and Scorpio. Marketed through Lincoln Mercury dealers, they just never caught on or sold well. Maybe it was American tastes of the times, or Ford just missed the target with their marketing. Ron Hamilton tells an interesting story about the last of the Scorpios... maybe we can nudge him to tell it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsxse240 Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 I got to drive one, once. It makes me so incredibly sad that I didn't buy it. Black 2.3l Turbo Merkur Xr4ti. GAHHH! I kick myself in the pants for that. Dave Van has pictured a resin body on a Mustang GTP, isn't it? I recall seeing someone on here having one for sale not incredibly long ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Van Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 I produced a resin trans kit to convert the Revell GTO Mustang into the Merkur. I sold a TON of those kits in a number of different detail and decal versions. The SCCA Trans Am Thunderbird was decals only. Thanks ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skid896 Posted November 24, 2017 Share Posted November 24, 2017 An iconic car of my youth in the UK I never realised they were sold in the USA. Be great if someone built the kit to US spec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt Tuttle Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share Posted December 4, 2017 Found some nice front seats...I think that they are from some cheap die cast, but they will look good anyway. Painted the rest of the interior black to match them... Maybe grey is more correct but on a car that you don't build factory stock, there is some artistic freedom IMO, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skid896 Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 Builders privilege, you get to choose the colours you think Ford should have produced it in. Looking good so far, I like these cars so looking forward to following this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belugawrx Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 (edited) Nice start Mattias There were a couple of those (Xr4Ti's) whipping around town back in the mid 80's.. North America got shafted with an inline 4cyl.,...but turbocharged they were pretty nimble. Cheers Edited December 4, 2017 by Belugawrx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 1 hour ago, Belugawrx said: North America got shafted with an inline 4cyl.,...but turbocharged they were pretty nimble. The 4 was a USA market engine, while the 6 used in Europe wasn't approved for use here and wouldn't have been worth the cost to Ford to "federalize it" for the limited quantities. Still that turbo was pretty quick. I was impressed. An aside about turbos... we had a consultant in for a week and he made a remark about my PT Cruiser, that he had one but got rid of it because it was pokey slow... so I put him behind the wheel of my Turbo convertible. Sitting still, I told him to nail it and the look on his face was priceless as he nearly put it sideways! PT is quick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt Tuttle Posted December 5, 2017 Author Share Posted December 5, 2017 I wonder if the I4 turbo really was a tradeoff compared to the ancient pushrod N/A six with its roots in the 1964 Ford Taunus 20M? However, from what I read, the european OHC engine (the same as the 2,0 in early Pintos, and because of that called the "Pinto" engine at least in Europe) was a better engine than the Lima.... can't say if that was true or false though. To be honest I think that the gem was the Pinto based "YB" engine in the Sierra Cosworths.... Later 4 cylinder Sierras got a DOHC engine without much character or soul that seems to eat headgaskets for breakfast and I don't know if any USDM model ever got that one.... As an european, I wonder if the big mistake was to target the Merkur XR4ti and Scorpio as some kind of BMW competitors? Because I have gotten the impression that was the case.... and just because it is german doesn't mean that it is exclusive in any way.... If someone here would compare a Sierra to a BMW he would be laughed at. The Sierra was not much more than an european equivalent to the Tempo, so was the Scorpio to the Taurus. Sure, loaded V6 Scorpios was in one kind of way competitors to the entry market Mercedes and BMWs of the same size (Audi still was something in-between back then, around the Volvo/Saab territory) because you got a larger engine and much more equipment for around the same money. But Sierras was not much more than economical and practical family cars...its main competitors among german cars was the Volkswagen Passat (Quantum in the US), and I have understood that USA mostly got 5 cylinder Quantums which were rare here, most of them was the 4 cylinder version with a quite spartan equipment, and the Opel Ascona which was nothing more than a german built Chevy Cavalier.... In Sweden, kind of a competitor to entry level Volvo 240s and Saab 900s (which were quite cheap compared to the cars size, but keep in mind that you still could get a 240 without power steering and a 4 speed stick shift in Sweden in the 90s!). And of all the cars I have mentioned, the build quality was worst in the european Fords.... Instead, on the Swedish market, the Granada station wagon (european Granada then!) had been a huge success, but the first years of the Scorpio production run, you could only get it as a hatchback. So Taurus wagons was imported to Sweden, and sold for about the same price as a Mercedes station wagon, and that also was a flop. Maybe if you see it that way? Would you pay Mercedes prices for a Taurus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 On 11/23/2017 at 10:50 AM, Dave Van said: I produced a resin trans kit to convert the Revell GTO Mustang into the Merkur. I sold a TON of those kits in a number of different detail and decal versions. The SCCA Trans Am Thunderbird was decals only. Thanks ] Are those Merkur trans kits still available? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Van Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Sorry no.......I sold a TON of them at one time. I scrounged together a kit not long ago but that was all I had left. thx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djflyer Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 1 hour ago, Dave Van said: Sorry no.......I sold a TON of them at one time. I scrounged together a kit not long ago but that was all I had left. thx You're an evil man Dave - showing a picture like that to us sports racing/ IMSA fans and have no way to feed the hunger. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Van Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 3 hours ago, djflyer said: You're an evil man Dave - showing a picture like that to us sports racing/ IMSA fans and have no way to feed the hunger. lol One of my customers asked if I cared that he modified the body, some small corrections, and re-cast.....but it never happened. Resin biz is tough!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brizio Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Nice car, bring back memories, a friend of mine had a Cosworth, ex rally car, with 500 horses... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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