Merkur SHO transplant

[Petestuff]

has anyone heard of anyone fitting a SHO engine in a Merkur XR4i.
I have all the ingrediants I realy would like a lighter 4X4 SHO.

 

[TT SHO PROJECT]

has anyone heard of anyone fitting a SHO engine in a Merkur XR4i.
I have all the ingrediants I realy would like a lighter 4X4 SHO.

its been done before... but with a v6 sho motor and twin turbos... havent seen Any rwd v8 sho swaps before... dunno if theres any tranny that will bolt to it.... but im not a v8 sho expert at all.... and what do you mean "lighter 4X4 sho" ? xr4ti are rwd not 4wd...

 

[Petestuff]

I have a 3.2 V6

SHO engine spare and 3.0 V6 car as a doner.
The XR4it is 4x4 drive.
Know of any web sites with information?

 

[NebraskaSHO]

Um, are you wanting to put the V8 or V6 SHO motor in it.

If V6 then this should be moved. Cool idea nonetheless.

 

[Petestuff]

oops sorry guys,

last time I was here there was little or no V8 sections.

 

[Off Road SHO]

The XR4it is 4x4 drive.

Not here in the States it isn't. It's a rear wheel drive here. I have the shell to one here, that was going to get a turbo'd or supercharged SHO motor. You can have it cheap for your project. I've already got the old engine and tranny removed for you.

merkursport.com and http://forum.merkurclub.net/forum/index.php

are two good sources but not nearly as friendly as here.

Tom

 

[aarmel732]

Hate to play the devils side here, but you can make MUCH more power from the 2.3t that is in the xr4ti than you can from ANY Sho motor. Plus, the 4 is a lot lighter than the massive v6, and I would guess a lot lighter than the v8 too. Not to mention cheap to modify.
www.merkurtech.com
www.mc2racing.com
www.rbmotorsports.com
www.turboford.com

Plus in the states, it is RWD only in turbo form and independent rear as well.

 

[TT SHO PROJECT]

SHO engine spare and 3.0 V6 car as a doner.
The XR4it is 4x4 drive.
Know of any web sites with information?

ahhhh never heard of that... i read it wrong thought it was a typo... thought he said xr4ti
do you mean sierra xr4x4 ? http://www.fasterfords.com/brochures/sierra/sierra_xr4x4_2.jpg ?

 

[TT SHO PROJECT]

Hate to play the devils side here, but you can make MUCH more power from the 2.3t that is in the xr4ti than you can from ANY Sho motor.

since when can a ford 2.3 i4 make more power than a sho motor? id beg to differ young man.
i dont know of any 600-700hp 2.3's out there... show me one maybe ill believe that.

 

[SHO GoDz 89]

Hate to play the devils side here, but you can make MUCH more power from the 2.3t that is in the xr4ti than you can from ANY Sho motor. Plus, the 4 is a lot lighter than the massive v6, and I would guess a lot lighter than the v8 too. Not to mention cheap to modify.
www.merkurtech.com
www.mc2racing.com
www.rbmotorsports.com
www.turboford.com

Plus in the states, it is RWD only in turbo form and independent rear as well.

But that Lima engine won't last nearly as long as a SHO motor....believe me, I know. I used to have an SVO Fox body mustang (good bye headgaskets!)

 

[aarmel732]

TT Sho, I never make a statement without fact to back it up. So here you go, I will show you two. Also, I am far from young, so check your condescending tone before you assume I am a know nothing noob.

Jon Huber of Huber performance.
http://www.gatewayraceway.com/track/news/article.php?dir=200704&id=1021
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBNCT4AvzMc

Joe Morgan, or "turbo Joe"
http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/75638_2000_drag_ford_focus_wagon/index.html

Sho Go
Sure the stock head gaskets fail regularly. The take an hour to change (does a sho's if you can find them?) and a cometic fixes the problem forever. I push 25 psi through my SVO with a holset he351 and a cometic and have never had a failure. Plus, several people in the turbo-ford community have tested a bone stock short block to over 500whp @ 30 psi before a failure, and that was generated at the rod bolts. It is a tough motor, that is why mini stock racers country-wide still use them.

I certainly am not saying it is the best engine out there, it doesn't look or sound as good as a sho, the electronics aren't even top notch by russian standards, it has its quirks (like sho rod bearings) like the headgasket, but give the little 2.3 its due. It can be made very fast for a lot less money than a sho motor can.

 

[TT SHO PROJECT]

lol ok man... i know theres plenty of high hp turbo 2.3's out there... but from what iv seen the sho motors just built tougher... sure u mayyyyyy spend a lil more money modding a sho but that added money goes to more power... ok so a svo you only have to buy 4 injectors... where as the sho you need 6 plus an adjustable fpr (in high hp shos)... but thats about it cost wise. you only pay more since you gotta buy 2 more injectors...

 

[aarmel732]

Well, we can agree that the sho motors are tough, and we can agree that the sho motor is WAY more technologically advanced, and the basic design is substantially better, however I will hold to my opinion (and my wallet) because I know making a turbo 2.3 fast is a much cheaper prospect than an sho.

Example:
1986 SVO: $2400
NPR front mount: $75
BOV: $125
Injectors: $240
Header: $150
Exhaust, no muffler 3 inch out the back: $250
Assorted materials: $250
Manual boost control: $50
Bits for port and polish of intake and heads: $150
Machine work for head: $250
Cam: $150
Valves, ti retainers, beehive springs: $200
Holset he351: $500
Megasquirt: $250

Best run to date 11.87

Now show me a sho that for $5500 including the cost of the car, that can run low 12, high 11 with a bone stock non rebuilt 123K mile bottom end, get 28mpg on the highway, and has forged internals to handle the high boost.

Don't get me wrong, I have owned a sho from each of the generations, and I have loved them all. The yamahammer is a GREAT engine, but the chassis it was saddled with doesn't do the engine any favors. If a sho engine swap is done for a dare to be different thing, then great, I am all for it, but if economic speed is important, there are better choices.

However, the sho motors, both the 6 and the 8, are orphans, as well as my 2.3, so no matter which car I turn to, parts and support are withering away.

 

[TT SHO PROJECT]

i'll agree with you that you can get a SVO going faster than a sho.. no doubt... its got the benifit of rwd and a very light chassis, where as shos are lard a$$ cars and fwd to boot. now lets try a sho motor in a foxbody stang vs a svo both gutted and modded to sh!# who would win? i got my money on the sho powered stang.... but then again your talking how much money each car would have invested.... im guessing the sho swaped stang would have more money invested.... hmm guess i cant win here lol

 

[93rev2sev]

Those 2.3 Turbos can be made VERY fast for a lot less than a SHO motor. Dollar for Dollar, I'd hafta give the win to the 2.3.

If money is no object, the extra displacement of the SHO motor will obviously allow for more power.

But then again...if it's a foxbody were talking about(xr4ti is fox, right?) why not just use a small block?

 

[rbtlen]

I have to agree from personal experiance the 2.3 T is an all around better motor for the money. I have seen several 10 second 2.3 Turbo's and even a 9 second ride once or twice. Without a Rocket attached to the back of the taurus you will hardly ever see those times, Unless you sell your house and spend every last dime on your taurus.

 

[JEM]

The 2.3 can make tons of power, given enough boost and a long enough list of parts thrown at it - but in day-to-day use it's an unpleasant engine, shaky and rough. They shake themselves apart. Every stock 2.3 I've ever worked on I've been able to remove a significant number of bolts - accessory mounts, turbo, exhaust manifold - by hand. It was designed to be an ultra-cheap 90HP Pinto motor.

I see people talking about 650HP SHO motors and maybe it's possible but not without a whole lot of work and a big fat wallet.

IIRC the 302 V8 fits very nicely in the Merkur engine compartment (and no, 93rev2sev, the Merkur is not a Fox, it's a Euro Ford Sierra.)

 

[rbtlen]

The 2.3 can make tons of power, given enough boost and a long enough list of parts thrown at it - but in day-to-day use it's an unpleasant engine, shaky and rough. They shake themselves apart. Every stock 2.3 I've ever worked on I've been able to remove a significant number of bolts - accessory mounts, turbo, exhaust manifold - by hand. It was designed to be an ultra-cheap 90HP Pinto motor.

I see people talking about 650HP SHO motors and maybe it's possible but not without a whole lot of work and a big fat wallet.

IIRC the 302 V8 fits very nicely in the Merkur engine compartment (and no, 93rev2sev, the Merkur is not a Fox, it's a Euro Ford Sierra.)

I do agree that a 302 would be the easiest v8 transplant. The ford sierra in africa had a low powered windsor v8 from the factory. As far as the coolness factor the sho v8 would be different and I am all for that also. But when it comes to money and fabricating alot of parts it can be a long hard project that most might loose interest in. I know I have lots of oddball projects that I need to finish.

 

[UnderPSI]

The 2.3 block is stronger than a 5.0 block. SHO swap would be cooler, 2.3 is cheaper, and I don't think it's worth swapping a 5.0 into.

 

[FlaSho]

Have you ever seen the main caps on a 2.3?? Much larger than a 5.0...

Very tough engine...tons of parts.

(former 22 psi SVO owner)