my '89 Merkur Scorpio (Mk3 Granada)
31-05-2013, 07:35 PM
#1
Too Big To Fail
Thread Starter
my '89 Merkur Scorpio (Mk3 Granada)
I just meant to update my user garage, but the forum software isn't allowing me to add new images, so here's a thread instead.
I bought this car in November 2010 and it was bone stock, non-running, and had no title or keys. I jumped through a few hoops to get it registered and have a tibbe key cut, and swapped all the running gear from my '85 XR4Ti (Sierra) into this shell and improved or rebuilt many of the custom pieces I had made along the way.
These photos were taken in early April this year, at the monthly Cars & Coffee meet in Chanhassen, Minnesota, USA.
It has a Ford 2.3 (Lima) block with a Volvo B234 cylinder head, Megasquirt 2-Extra ECU, Holset turbo, T5 transmission, 8.8 IRS with an aluminum Lincoln housing and Eaton posi. I built everything in my home garage, including the harness bar and strut tower brace. My girlfriend helped me to reupholster the rear bench seat to match the Sparco buckets.
Future plans include a 2.5L bottom end, more tuning, and lots of boost.
I bought this car in November 2010 and it was bone stock, non-running, and had no title or keys. I jumped through a few hoops to get it registered and have a tibbe key cut, and swapped all the running gear from my '85 XR4Ti (Sierra) into this shell and improved or rebuilt many of the custom pieces I had made along the way.
These photos were taken in early April this year, at the monthly Cars & Coffee meet in Chanhassen, Minnesota, USA.
It has a Ford 2.3 (Lima) block with a Volvo B234 cylinder head, Megasquirt 2-Extra ECU, Holset turbo, T5 transmission, 8.8 IRS with an aluminum Lincoln housing and Eaton posi. I built everything in my home garage, including the harness bar and strut tower brace. My girlfriend helped me to reupholster the rear bench seat to match the Sparco buckets.
Future plans include a 2.5L bottom end, more tuning, and lots of boost.
31-05-2013, 10:20 PM
#4
Too Big To Fail
Thread Starter
Thanks, guys.
It's more than a cruiser - I'll be hitting some trackdays in this car. It's set up with Powerflex urethane throughout, with the exception of the urethane diff mount and nylon STA bushings from mc2racing. It has 750 lb/in Hyperco springs in the rear with stiff gas shocks (their original application was a Dodge Dakota pickup,) and built-to-order Gaz coilovers in the front, with 325 lb/in springs and a shorter overall length than standard (they're based on 4x4 cossie units.)
I'd like to build a compression strut setup with a front-mounted anti-roll bar.
It's more than a cruiser - I'll be hitting some trackdays in this car. It's set up with Powerflex urethane throughout, with the exception of the urethane diff mount and nylon STA bushings from mc2racing. It has 750 lb/in Hyperco springs in the rear with stiff gas shocks (their original application was a Dodge Dakota pickup,) and built-to-order Gaz coilovers in the front, with 325 lb/in springs and a shorter overall length than standard (they're based on 4x4 cossie units.)
I'd like to build a compression strut setup with a front-mounted anti-roll bar.
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01-06-2013, 11:47 AM
#13
Too Big To Fail
Thread Starter
I had to weld some material on the head in various places, reroute the oiling supply, modify a timing tensioner and shim the pulleys, and build manifolds. It's a pretty involved process, but I enjoy tinkering. The Volvo head flows huge CFMs compared to a 2.3's stock 8-valve iron head. The Ford head can be ported, of course, but so can the Volvo head. It transforms the engine's powerband.
Sure:
These welds are so ugly I'm embarrassed, but this was 2007 and all I had was a flux-core wirefeed welder.
(This is the underside of my old XR4Ti, the Scorpio is very similar.)
Sure:
These welds are so ugly I'm embarrassed, but this was 2007 and all I had was a flux-core wirefeed welder.
(This is the underside of my old XR4Ti, the Scorpio is very similar.)
02-06-2013, 07:08 PM
#23
Too Big To Fail
Thread Starter
Thanks guys.
I like the two-tone with stock cladding and USA "fat lip" bumpers. Totally blacked out Scorpio looks great with the RS trim, though.
I like the two-tone with stock cladding and USA "fat lip" bumpers. Totally blacked out Scorpio looks great with the RS trim, though.
03-06-2013, 01:42 AM
#25
Too Big To Fail
Thread Starter
Yours looks good all in blue. I think the facelifted front end and curvier mirrors, bumpers, etc. help to bring the styling into the 90s. Mine screams "1980s!" so the two-tone works.
Those wheels remind me of AMG monoblocks - did they come off an RS? I think they're the same ones as these:
(32-valve 4.6L proved too torquey for the driveshaft.)
I'm headed to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, for the All-Ford Nationals in my Scorpio on Wednesday. It's 1200 miles away.
Those wheels remind me of AMG monoblocks - did they come off an RS? I think they're the same ones as these:
(32-valve 4.6L proved too torquey for the driveshaft.)
I'm headed to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, for the All-Ford Nationals in my Scorpio on Wednesday. It's 1200 miles away.
03-06-2013, 09:14 AM
#27
Regular Contributor
Yours looks good all in blue. I think the facelifted front end and curvier mirrors, bumpers, etc. help to bring the styling into the 90s. Mine screams "1980s!" so the two-tone works.
Those wheels remind me of AMG monoblocks - did they come off an RS? I think they're the same ones as these:
(32-valve 4.6L proved too torquey for the driveshaft.)
I'm headed to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, for the All-Ford Nationals in my Scorpio on Wednesday. It's 1200 miles away.
Those wheels remind me of AMG monoblocks - did they come off an RS? I think they're the same ones as these:
(32-valve 4.6L proved too torquey for the driveshaft.)
I'm headed to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, for the All-Ford Nationals in my Scorpio on Wednesday. It's 1200 miles away.
03-06-2013, 09:50 AM
#29
Absolutely loving this car, it's a total one-off work of art!
What kind of inlet manifold is that, merkur? (It looks like a cossie, are they the same?)
You say it's a cruiser, but I bet it goes like fuck!
More pics please, especially of the rear seats, they look cool!
What kind of inlet manifold is that, merkur? (It looks like a cossie, are they the same?)
You say it's a cruiser, but I bet it goes like fuck!
More pics please, especially of the rear seats, they look cool!
04-06-2013, 12:54 PM
#30
Too Big To Fail
Thread Starter
Yeah, maybe just a little!
This country is vast - I'm pretty much directly in the middle, and driving 1200 miles in either direction won't get me to the coast.
It's a 4x4 cossie manifold with a Volvo flange welded to it. The runner spacing was very close, so I ported them to match.
Here are some more pics, as requested:
Found Sparco-matching cloth at the fabric/craft store. It's actually supposed to be headliner material, but it's very durable and has the same line pattern and fuzzy velcro-compatible texture as the Sparco seats.
My girlfriend, Carrie, seam-ripped the whole rear bench so we would have patterns to trace. It was pretty difficult, as the leather had dried out, cracked, and shrunk in places.
A lot of these photos were snapped with my beat-up iPhone... apologies for the quality.
This country is vast - I'm pretty much directly in the middle, and driving 1200 miles in either direction won't get me to the coast.
Here are some more pics, as requested:
Found Sparco-matching cloth at the fabric/craft store. It's actually supposed to be headliner material, but it's very durable and has the same line pattern and fuzzy velcro-compatible texture as the Sparco seats.
My girlfriend, Carrie, seam-ripped the whole rear bench so we would have patterns to trace. It was pretty difficult, as the leather had dried out, cracked, and shrunk in places.
A lot of these photos were snapped with my beat-up iPhone... apologies for the quality.
04-06-2013, 01:04 PM
#31
Too Big To Fail
Thread Starter
This was one of the car's first voyages out of the shop, December 31, 2012. Check out the disgusting plastic headlights Ford saw fit to install on the North America-market cars to appease our DOT (MOT) regulations. 
It was about 0°F (-17°C) that day, and the car has no heater. haha
It was about 0°F (-17°C) that day, and the car has no heater. haha
04-06-2013, 07:51 PM
#33
Too Big To Fail
Thread Starter
Yeah, man.. It's a haul. This might be my last year - I'd rather spend my vacation days hopping a plane for Honolulu instead of fret over driving a modded car thousands of miles. Plus there's a classic Dodge Powerwagon/pickup show that occurs in Iowa the same weekend as Carlisle, and I'm currently working on fitting a '48 Dodge body and a 3.9L common-rail Cummins ISB onto a Dakota frame. Shooting for next year... Beats driving to PA.
06-06-2013, 04:46 AM
#35
Too Big To Fail
Thread Starter
Thanks. No numbers - it's never seen the rollers. Honestly, the engine's output doesn't match its appearance at this time. It's got 10:1 static compression keeping the boost figures low and a drafty 250k-mile shortblock. A proper stroker bottom end with lower compression is in my short-term plans for the car.
15-06-2013, 09:14 PM
#39
Too Big To Fail
Thread Starter
Back from Pennsylvania! The car performed well, with only a couple hiccups. I left with 1900 miles on the odometer (mileage since I installed the Stack cluster, which was pretty much when I began driving the car,) and now it has more than 4500 miles on it.
On the way to the show, I was crossing Illinois and I burnt out two of the Toyota COP units. I had the car back on the road within a couple minutes each time, and adjusted the ignition dwell from 3.5 milliseconds down to 2.5 milliseconds. Haven't experienced any coil issues since that adjustment.
No other problems on the way to the show, so we detailed the car upon arrival and checked into the hotel for three nights (two days at the show and a third so the girlfriend and I could ride some rollercoasters at Hersheypark.)
Nobody else was in my class (88-89 Scorpio Modified,) so I was awarded the Carlisle Events 1st Place trophy by default. The Merkur Club of America saw fit to present me with a plaque for Merkur Innovation, and another called "Freundschaft entlang der strasse" (Friendship Along the Road.) The 'Friendship' award is typically presented to a club member who assists another member who is broken down and in need of repair. This year, a friend was driving his modified Scorpio from New York City when it flung a u-joint cap on the highway and his driveshaft dropped out of the car, so I left the show in the early afternoon on Saturday to assist him. We towed his car off the road with my Scorpio and made a trip to the parts store, then got it back on the road and made it to the Merkur Club of America banquet/award ceremony about four hours later with both cars. Additionally, I helped another club member correct his timing (tooth off on the cam belt) and helped diagnose his plugged catalytic converter.
On the way home, I blew the left-rear tire just after crossing the border from West Virginia into Ohio. The sidewall came off the tread entirely; thankfully, the wheel only sustained a couple minor abrasions which will sand out. After being towed to a tire shop, I also replaced the right-rear as a precaution (very low on tread on the inside.) I haven't measured, but I suspect the rear end has some toe-in, in addition to its camber. This was probably scrubbing off the tread. I'm running the unusual size of 225/45-16, so I ended up with a cheapo Maxxis tire on the left side and a BFGoodrich G-Force T/A on the right. Beggars can't be choosers! I'll sort it shortly, now that I'm home.
The final problem I encountered was a melted Powerflex beam bushing on the right side, due to my side-exit exhaust. We arrived home Wednesday after driving 700+ miles the day before, and my girlfriend said, "Look under the car... you're dragging a string or something." It ended up being a long string of urethane that had flowed out of the beam mount. Not something I would've encountered driving around locally for short bursts, but the side-exit exhaust was never intended to be permanent, anyway.
I registered my copy of EFI Analytics Tuner Studio before leaving on the trip which allowed me to run its automatic VE Analyzer as I drove. It's running a rich 13.5-14.0:1 air-fuel ratio at highway cruise, which resulted in 22-23 MPG the whole trip. I think it will be in the high 20s MPG after leaning it out. For now, off-boost driveability is very good; however, the car still needs quite a bit of tuning under boost.
I didn't snap any photos at the show, but here are a few from other people:
http://www.abodyjoe.com/2013/carlislefords/page1.htm
http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forum...ad.php?t=87658
http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forum...ad.php?t=87756
http://www.flickr.com/photos/79218577@N07/
http://forums.tccoa.com/showthread.php?p=1481544
Just a tiny fraction of the cars at the show:
Vaughn Gittin Jr. doing his thing in his drift car:
Brad Anesi's "XRBrati" XR4Ti/Brat hybrid:
On the way to the show, I was crossing Illinois and I burnt out two of the Toyota COP units. I had the car back on the road within a couple minutes each time, and adjusted the ignition dwell from 3.5 milliseconds down to 2.5 milliseconds. Haven't experienced any coil issues since that adjustment.
No other problems on the way to the show, so we detailed the car upon arrival and checked into the hotel for three nights (two days at the show and a third so the girlfriend and I could ride some rollercoasters at Hersheypark.)
Nobody else was in my class (88-89 Scorpio Modified,) so I was awarded the Carlisle Events 1st Place trophy by default. The Merkur Club of America saw fit to present me with a plaque for Merkur Innovation, and another called "Freundschaft entlang der strasse" (Friendship Along the Road.) The 'Friendship' award is typically presented to a club member who assists another member who is broken down and in need of repair. This year, a friend was driving his modified Scorpio from New York City when it flung a u-joint cap on the highway and his driveshaft dropped out of the car, so I left the show in the early afternoon on Saturday to assist him. We towed his car off the road with my Scorpio and made a trip to the parts store, then got it back on the road and made it to the Merkur Club of America banquet/award ceremony about four hours later with both cars. Additionally, I helped another club member correct his timing (tooth off on the cam belt) and helped diagnose his plugged catalytic converter.
On the way home, I blew the left-rear tire just after crossing the border from West Virginia into Ohio. The sidewall came off the tread entirely; thankfully, the wheel only sustained a couple minor abrasions which will sand out. After being towed to a tire shop, I also replaced the right-rear as a precaution (very low on tread on the inside.) I haven't measured, but I suspect the rear end has some toe-in, in addition to its camber. This was probably scrubbing off the tread. I'm running the unusual size of 225/45-16, so I ended up with a cheapo Maxxis tire on the left side and a BFGoodrich G-Force T/A on the right. Beggars can't be choosers! I'll sort it shortly, now that I'm home.
The final problem I encountered was a melted Powerflex beam bushing on the right side, due to my side-exit exhaust. We arrived home Wednesday after driving 700+ miles the day before, and my girlfriend said, "Look under the car... you're dragging a string or something." It ended up being a long string of urethane that had flowed out of the beam mount. Not something I would've encountered driving around locally for short bursts, but the side-exit exhaust was never intended to be permanent, anyway.
I registered my copy of EFI Analytics Tuner Studio before leaving on the trip which allowed me to run its automatic VE Analyzer as I drove. It's running a rich 13.5-14.0:1 air-fuel ratio at highway cruise, which resulted in 22-23 MPG the whole trip. I think it will be in the high 20s MPG after leaning it out. For now, off-boost driveability is very good; however, the car still needs quite a bit of tuning under boost.
I didn't snap any photos at the show, but here are a few from other people:
Facebook Post
Facebook Post
Facebook Post
http://www.abodyjoe.com/2013/carlislefords/page1.htm
http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forum...ad.php?t=87658
http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forum...ad.php?t=87756
http://www.flickr.com/photos/79218577@N07/
http://forums.tccoa.com/showthread.php?p=1481544
Just a tiny fraction of the cars at the show:
Vaughn Gittin Jr. doing his thing in his drift car:
Brad Anesi's "XRBrati" XR4Ti/Brat hybrid:
Last edited by Colin Doyle; 15-06-2013 at 09:24 PM.
