Last month, an old friend of mine was finally ready to sell his baby: a pampered, '89 XR4Ti 5 sp in Magenta Red w/Raven leather. Showing just 37K mi. it’s probably 96% original, & came with the original exhaust “on the side” (Rapido duals are on the car), original window sticker, a mountain of paperwork, etc. I’m thrilled to be the next caretaker of this fine ride, and plan to address a few issues (worn tires, bouncy idle, leaky PS, valve cover gasket) while keeping the car as “factory” as possible. If all goes well, I’ll have the car @ Carlisle for the All Ford Nats next summer, and begin taking it through the AACA judging process, with the goal of (eventually) earning its Senior Grand National Award.
Historical footnote: I’ve had a soft spot for these cars every since my dad bought one new in '85 (Nimbus Gray w/a 5 sp). I went with him to Lime Rock, CT for a press event, and drove the car on the track with a bunch of other XR4Ti’s while he snapped 35MM shots from the open sunroof. Another time, he & my older brother took it cross country to see family in SoCal. After the warranty expired, pops asked me & my buddies to help him wrench on it some & make it a quick “sleeper”. In went the requisite Rapido intercooler, springs/shocks/bars, '85 Mustang GT wheels w/50 series rubber, world class T5, SVO big valve head, MAF, Jacobs ignition, mandrel bent single exhaust in the stock location, etc. My buddies and I were heavily into muscle cars, but we had fun wrenching on the little German beastie & including my pops in our fledgling Mustang club’s outings (the GSRMC). Pops surprised a LOT of “muscle” cars with the XR4Ti, and had a $hit-eating grin every time he drove it. He won the respect of the muscle car guys at the drag strip & on the show field.
I got the '89 registered/insured/inspected today, and took it out for a nice blast on the local back roads. Sure is a different thing to drive a classic with more modern levels of comfort, safety, handling & braking. I had forgotten how these cars temp you into breaking the speed limit. So easy to hustle these cars down the road.
Beautiful Merkur Chris! I bought a 1985 when we lived in Pittsburgh in the early '90s as a winter car to keep my '89 LX 5.0/5 speed convertible off the street. Amazed at the differences when comparing the cars from the same company built at roughly the same time but at different global plants serving different customers.
I too bought a new 88 Xr4Ti in the fall of 88. I enjoyed the heck out of it. Few people knew what it was. It was great on icy roads with winter tires. The weight distribution was perfect. Down side was it couldn’t keep the interior warm in sub zero temps.
Loved that car!
These cars were sold as the Ford Sierra in Europe when they were new. I always liked the styling. Never thought Ford was smart selling them with a different badge here.
A friend bought one new. It fried the wiring harness and electronic dash when it was under warranty, had to be towed to the dealer because it wouldn’t run. About a month later it was fixed. When the warranty ran out a couple years later, as if by design there was a smoky event behind the dash again. Steve ended up selling the car rather than pay for another wiring harness and dash replacement.
Oh yes, the early nineties were a great time with all these XR4s, GSIs, GTIs, Quattros, GT-R, Skyliners, VR6… all my Friends drove one of those under cui-s 4-cylinders “circular saw” meanwhile i drove a real car. 400cui, V8, Bronco 79. nothing beats real american iron… Most of these Cars lost there life on trees, fences, in ditches, on Walls or the tailgate of someone else. The Bronco is still on the road…
