61 replies to this topic

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Well, Paul "insisted" that I post some pics of my project, so I'll start with the Photoshop Mock-up of what the end result should look like:

http://img.photobuck...i/XR-br4ti2.jpg

If only it was that easy in "real life". Here's where the project stands at this early stage:

http://img.photobuck...i/XRBRATi-3.jpg

[ShawnW]

I think its kindof neat looking! Good luck!

[subeman90]

I'm honestly not sure which makes me more angry...the butchering of the XR or the butchering of the brat.

Gotta admit though...the "finished" pic does remind me of one of those aussie "utes" that they sell down there (ford falcon)

Matt <---former XR4Ti owner (god I miss that car....)

[DPDISXR4Ti]

I'm honestly not sure which makes me more angry...the butchering of the XR or the butchering of the brat.

Gotta admit though...the "finished" pic does remind me of one of those aussie "utes" that they sell down there (ford falcon)

Matt <---former XR4Ti owner (god I miss that car....)

Well, both cars were on the way to the junkyard until I stepped in. The Merkur was literally hours away from being sent to it's final resting place.

The Aussie Ford utes were very much the inspiration for this project - here's their most recent version - yet another cool car from down-under that we'll never see here:

http://img.photobuck...rdF6Tornado.jpg

The Baja was somewhat of an inspiration too, and it did make me consider using a Merkur Scorpio as the platform and go the 4-door route. But the dimensions just didn't work out right.

[bushbasher]

That is totally bitchin. I'm amazed at how factory it looks. Good work!

Im a moron, I just reread the photoshop bit. Nice photoshop work anyways.

[Turbone]

It looks alot like the Dodge Rampage from the mid 80's.

[SuperRallyRoo]

Call it an XR4Bratty? lol That is kind of cool. Better looking then that legacy truck that was shown a little while ago hehe.

[bajavwnsoobnut]

I'm honestly not sure which makes me more angry...the butchering of the XR or the butchering of the brat.

Gotta admit though...the "finished" pic does remind me of one of those aussie "utes" that they sell down there (ford falcon)

Matt <---former XR4Ti owner (god I miss that car....)

yeah they are cool cars and I wouldn't mind having a Cosworth Sierra 4x4

[subeman90]

Ok let me take it back what I said.....I just really hate to see XR's scrapped. It should make a cool ute though. Are the measurements close enough to make it work???

Matt

[bajavwnsoobnut]

sorry about that quote shoulda narrowed it down but the Sierra is what the XR4Ti is based on

[archemitis]

looks like the brat bed is gonna get chopped and sectioned to make it fit.

[elcaminokurt]

Very cool! I am a big fan of the "sedan pickup" idea, no matter who makes it. Although, I never quite got into the vw version! Is the Merkur awd? I sure would like to see your project in person sometime!

[coloradosubarules]

Everyone has strongbad avatars but me. I want a cheat avatar. It's a real labor dabor......

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Ok let me take it back what I said.....I just really hate to see XR's scrapped. It should make a cool ute though. Are the measurements close enough to make it work???

Matt

No problem - I'm with you. But short of buying up every Merkur about to get junked, and then finding an appropriately-zoned place to store them, well, you get the idea - the supply far exceeds the demand. It's the same story with most cars this age.

The measurements work out really well, which is what caused me to give myself the "green light" on this project. The XR has a nice horizontal ledge from the B pillar back, and the "reverse ledge" on the Brat in the same area will sit right on top of that (I'll cut the Brat body right under the reverse ledge).

I suspect that the B pillar will be the toughest part, as the angle to the roof line is steeper on the XR. The consistent theme will be to retain as much of the XR body as possible, to maintain the structural integrity.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Very cool! I am a big fan of the "sedan pickup" idea, no matter who makes it. Although, I never quite got into the vw version! Is the Merkur awd? I sure would like to see your project in person sometime!

No, only the Europeans got the 4x4 version of the Sierra. It would have been nice if I could have adapted the 4WD from the Brat, but that would have taken the project to a whole different level of complication and the parts just aren't strong enough. As it is, I'm going to be dropping in a custom-made Ford 8.8 rear-end assembly into this.

[subeman90]

In the end though....will it still be the 2.3 turbo in it or are you going to go up to a 5.0? You also said you are putting in an 8.8 so i assume you are scrapping the IRS setup of the Merkur? What tranny are you using....my Merkur was an automatic (not very well known for longevity) but was a blast to drive....it was kind of like a gun... point and shoot and off you go!!!!!!

Matt

[DPDISXR4Ti]

In the end though....will it still be the 2.3 turbo in it or are you going to go up to a 5.0? You also said you are putting in an 8.8 so i assume you are scrapping the IRS setup of the Merkur? What tranny are you using....my Merkur was an automatic (not very well known for longevity) but was a blast to drive....it was kind of like a gun... point and shoot and off you go!!!!!!

Matt

It'll still be the Turbo Lima motor, but stroked to 2.5L. Nope, still gonna have IRS; not all 8.8's were solid axle, so an IRS 8.8 Pumpkin is available. Of course, that doesn't mean it's at all "plug & play"!

Tranny will be a T5. The stock 5-speed T9 was probably more prone to failure than the C3 Automatic. It's too bad the bean counters had their way with the Merkur program. The car was castrated by the time it got over here.

[bajavwnsoobnut]

yeah but those turbo pinto motors are strong lil mofo's I have been thinking of gettin a pinto and puting one of those turbo 2.3's in it and make a sleeper out of it

[DPDISXR4Ti]

yeah but those turbo pinto motors are strong lil mofo's I have been thinking of gettin a pinto and puting one of those turbo 2.3's in it and make a sleeper out of it

Oh, no question. That motor was just totally over-engineered from a durability standpoint, but in doing so, it lacks refinement. My preference to the Pinto would be dropping one into a Capri II. Both projects have been done by others.

I might be inclined to go a different route on the motor for the XRBrati. I figure since it's a "truck", a Turbo Diesel might be a worthy choice. But that'll be for another day. For starters, I'll go with something that mostly resembles the stock 2.3T motor.

[Geoff4130]

Well, both cars were on the way to the junkyard until I stepped in. The Merkur was literally hours away from being sent to it's final resting place.

The Aussie Ford utes were very much the inspiration for this project - here's their most recent version - yet another cool car from down-under that we'll never see here:

http://img.photobuck...rdF6Tornado.jpg

The Baja was somewhat of an inspiration too, and it did make me consider using a Merkur Scorpio as the platform and go the 4-door route. But the dimensions just didn't work out right.

I don't have the url, but Holden also makes a cruck like that.

[elcaminokurt]

I LOVE crucks! 1 El Camino, 1 Brat, still looking for that right rampage and ranchero!

[bajavwnsoobnut]

Don't forget the Falcon too cause that's what the Ranchero started out life as being called

[daeron]

bump to an old thread, this is a REALLY neat fab project that this guy is doing..

I just read all about it and figured i would bump his original thread to show to any users who werent aware of the project already. its impressive, to say the least.

[keltik]

Its cool...but i see these driving around all day:



Now that Impreza/Brat conversion that Phizinza photochopped would be cool!

[DPDISXR4Ti]

I don't know why it is that "ute's" are so popular down-under, yet we get none of them in the States. Are we really that testosterone over-laden that we can only have a full-size truck, capable of pulling a locomotive out from under a bridge, to simply drive to work every day, and maybe bring home four 2x4's if we're feeling real frisky?

I realize we've had them here in the past (Brat, Ranchero, Rampage, El Camino), and they never met sales expectations. But it's time someone take a risk in Detroit and try again. In fact, there have been rumblings of Ford bringing the Falcon Ute over, but it remains to be seen if they actually step up.

In the mean time, I'm not waiting - I'm making my own.