Autoblog

Merkurs are some of our favorite cars. Flickr pool member sncollins has a nice '88 XR4Ti he's been wheeling around for the last 20,000 miles or so. Powered by the tough-as-nails 2.3 liter turbocharged four that also saw service under the hood of SVO Mustangs and other Fox-platform cars, even a stock XR4Ti is a hoot. Of course, with the owner being an engineering student and car guy, this XR4Ti didn't stay stock for long. The nice thing about the Merkurs is their chassis was far more modern than anything else Ford was offering at the time. The aforementioned Fox-based cars were live-axle deals that would get all crossed up trying to claw out of a bumpy corner. The XR4Ti would spank BMW E30s hard, and with a Garrett T3 bolted to the side of the engine, a quick trip underhood with an open-end wrench would turn up the wick that much more. Sncollins's car is currently huffing out 23 psi from a modified turbo (the stock T3 would be in serious surge territory at 23 psi). The pressurized charge courses through a SAAB intercooler and tweaked intake manifold. The Civics are wary of this car now, due to the past smartings it's dished out. The rorty custom 3" exhaust doesn't help you fly under the radar, either.

More info, pics and a short mod list can be found after the jump, as well as instructions on how to submit your own ride for our RR of the Day.

We admit it's a little unfair to feature a car as RR of the Day that's owned and was built by a tuning shop, but frankly we were so impressed with this 1995 Volvo 855 T5R built by RKAutotechnik in California that we just had to show you. The car you see here is one of only 180 yellow sedans imported into the U.S. that 1994, but believe us, that's not what makes it special. For us, the fact that this Swedish super sedan generates over 400 wheel horsepower is a much more significant stat than its color. The inline five-cylinder motor features mods too numerous to mention, but at the heart of it all is a Garrett GT3071R turbo pressurized to 18 psi and running on pump gas. Living in the strict state of Cali, the folks at RKAutotechnik even made sure the motor would pass emmissions, which means leaving the catalytic converter in place. In fact, the one princiiple guiding the build was that the car remain a daily driver, although from the videos included after the jump it's clear that you'll hear this daily driver coming from a mile away. In addition to the monster motor, upgrades were also made to Brembo brakes, a fully adjustable suspension, 18-inch Volvo Pegasus wheels, and some more impressive audio pieces from Kenwood and JL Audio.

You can check out the Volvo's full list of mods here, photo galleries here, and be sure to follow the jump to find videos of the car being driven, on the dyno and out having fun doing burnouts.

The Corvair was GM's Porsche 911, but better, at least in some ways.. Debuting in 1960, the Corvair seemed totally out of left field from GM. It featured an air-cooled, horizontally-opposed powerplant mounted in the rear and a notorious swing-axle suspension (it was no more dangerous than its contemporaries). It was almost an entire line of vehicles, sorta like a subset of GM proper. There were trucks, vans, station wagons, sedans and coupes. Flickr member corsa180 sent in a really pretty 1965 Corvair Corsa turbo convertible. That's right, a turbo from 1965. Who says the American companies weren't/aren't innovative? He's had the car since just after high school and while it looks great in pictures, corsa180 says it's awaiting restoration. He's already been through the engine, and plans to tackle body restoration soon.

More after the jump...