I've had an unhealthy fascination with XR4Tis and their Sierra cousins since I was a kid. At the age of 9, I accompanied my grandparents to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. There was a Matchbox Ford Sierra XR4i in the kids' play area. I must confess, I stole it. Pretty sure I still have it, boxed up somewhere. At 10, I decided to write a crime novel. I typed out something like 30 pages on a blue WordPerfect screen before getting bored and dropping the idea. The main character's car? XR4Ti.
Anyway, enough crime confessions. Almost a decade ago (2013), I came upon what seemed to be the perfect XR4Ti. I had an E30 M3 at the time, and thought it would make the perfect companion to it.
The M3, pic taken around the same time:
What I wanted to recreate in my garage:
I tried to buy it but someone ended up grabbing it before me. I made contact with the new owner's friend and discussed purchasing it off and on over the years until 2018 or so, when I was told the following:
So, just wondering where it is these days. Does anyone know if it’s still around? Hopefully it hasn't been destroyed or turned into a Lemons car… It was just too clean for that.He traded to someone for a Subaru a coupe of years ago. think they made a lemons car out of it.
This was the Craigslist ad back then:
And this is the car.Ford Merkur XR4Ti 1985 - $2900
Highly modified Merkur XR. Passed smog. Many extra parts and literature. CA car. Body in very good condition. Interior in very good condition, rear interior removed but in great condition and comes with car. Extra wheels. Car has Bondurant Work wheels. Engine mods include intake, exhaust, too many others to list. Suspension has Koni yellows, spax springs, braided brake lines, urethane bushings. Stock transmission w/short shift kit and Centerforce clutch. Big brakes in front w/ducting. Custom roll bar. Most all parts on car have been replaced at least once. I've owned the car for 26 years. Some maintenance records. Shop manual. Lots of parts.
Can drive the car home with no issues. Air conditioning is out of car but can be reinstalled easily enough. Has been garaged and covered for all of its life. List of mods available if your interested.