First Mod(s) for my Marauder

[supa_carrot]

Well, I just purchased two Super 40's for my Marauder. These are the first real modifications I have made with the other being tinting my windows and adding the factory spoiler. They will be in within the next 1-6 days I can't wait. With that being said I would really like to get some opinions on other modifications short of a supercharger for my car. I'm 16 years old so funds for upgrades aren't really that healthy. I don't plan on drag racing the car but using it as a daily driver and the occasional red light race. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Marauder.45]

First it to describe "not that healthy".

For less than 2K, do a torque converter, gears, and a tune.

Then supa_carrot will be supa_fast:banana:

[Bradley G]

welcome & good luck on the mods!

[RedMerc04]

I was in your exact position a year and a half ago. 16 and a bone stock MM. I would recomend that you get a tune from Lidio at alternative auto for your next mod. Gives you some more power and corrects the crappy stock tranny program. It makes the car shift with much more authority and the car feels like its in the right gear at all times. Im pretty sure its in the neighborhood of 400 bucks. After that save about 500 bucks and do the 4.10 gears. You will have a totally different animal.:beer: My mods for this summer are going to be the 3000 Rpm Stall Stallion converter, pullies and the magnaflow X pipe... I will also see about getting rid of the last 2 cats which happen to be unmonitored by the computer. :rolleyes:

[MarauderMarc]

Definately a tune first. An intake, Underdrive pullies, and 4.10 gears should follow. It will wake that car up beyond belief. Night and day. Also, you might like the added sound of the res-delete ehaust tips with your mufflers. Look 100% stock and add a nice grumble. Youre looking at @ 800-1000 for parts tops. You could get lucky and buy some lightly used parts from our classified section and save some cash. Stick around and you learn a lot. Not even 10 months ago I was in your same place. The people here are great. You wont find a better board. Welcome.:welcome1:

P.S. Theres alot of members in your area. They should chime in sometime very soon.

[O's Fan Rich]

Well, I just purchased two Super 40's for my Marauder. These are the first real modifications I have made with the other being tinting my windows and adding the factory spoiler. They will be in within the next 1-6 days I can't wait. With that being said I would really like to get some opinions on other modifications short of a supercharger for my car. I'm 16 years old so funds for upgrades aren't really that healthy. I don't plan on drag racing the car but using it as a daily driver and the occasional red light race. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Well, first welcome.
Second, as a guy who at 16 bought a 75 Pinto Wagon as his first car, I'm envious!
Third, with a name like supa-carrot you had better watch out for "The Bunny ".:D

[sfsv]

Don't delete the cats. The cats are very efficient and you would not see any gains. The MM engine was well engineered base upon the parameters that the Ford engineers had to work with. The horsepower/performance is locked up in the engine tune and the gearing (trans and rear axle). Follow the advice of the members of the board and you will not go wrong. Lidio and Carfixer would probably echo my thoughts on the cat retention.
I was in your exact position a year and a half ago. 16 and a bone stock MM. I would recomend that you get a tune from Lidio at alternative auto for your next mod. Gives you some more power and corrects the crappy stock tranny program. It makes the car shift with much more authority and the car feels like its in the right gear at all times. Im pretty sure its in the neighborhood of 400 bucks. After that save about 500 bucks and do the 4.10 gears. You will have a totally different animal.:beer: My mods for this summer are going to be the 3000 Rpm Stall Stallion converter, pullies and the magnaflow X pipe... I will also see about getting rid of the last 2 cats which happen to be unmonitored by the computer. :rolleyes:

[Dan]

And remember, if anyone from the MM board offers you Kool-Aid, accept it!

(That was a bit of an inside joke. You'll understand it after a bit.) :)

Welcome aboard, Kid. My first car was worse than the Pinto. I had an AMC Hornet. If anyone can be jealous of you, it's me. :up:

Best,

Dan

[ckadiddle]

Geeze, my first car at 16 was a 6 cyl Mercury Monarch. Didn't get a Marauder till I was past 40. Lucky kid! I have a Dennis Reinhart tune and Magnaflows on an otherwise stock MM. The tune makes a world of difference.

[O's Fan Rich]

Geeze, my first car at 16 was a 6 cyl Mercury Monarch. Didn't get a Marauder till I was past 40. Lucky kid! I have a Dennis Reinhart tune and Magnaflows on an otherwise stock MM. The tune makes a world of difference.
Hey we should compare notes! I totaled my Dad's 76 Monarch! That's why I had to buy the Pinto (which I loved and would like another one).

[jgc61sr2002]

Welcome to the MM site.:D

[RF Overlord]

Hey, carrot...put your location in your profile. There may be some members in your area who would be willing to show you their cars and mods in person...

...and Welcome!

[Marauder.45]

I totally skipped the part about this kids first car. Lucky kid has good taste. My first POS was an 89 Dodge Aries wagon, powder blue.:puke:
Seems we all agree on the tune at least;)

Can't go wrong with any of our suggestions, I just wish I had done the TC earlier. Although that mod REALLY changes the characteristics of the beast, would anyone else consider that a more advanced mod?

Keep us in the loop with your progress supa-carrot. Beware "The Bunny"

[rayjay]

Welcome aboard. Chip/tuner would be most bang for the buck for you. My 1st car was a 64 Falcon convertable, straight 6 with 3 spd mtx on the column.

[Blackened300a]

Wow you guys didnt read that he was 16 and his budget is tight!

While a T/C, gears, intake, exhaust are all good ideas, I however suggest getting a tune,
You'll pull out over 20 RWHP from a tune and it changes the overall drivability of the car to where it should have been from the factory.
You'll also have plenty of power for the occasional stop light action for less then $400.
Mufflers are more of a sound mod then a performance one so dont be disappointed if you dont feel such a difference after the install.

Finally, WELCOME TO THE SITE!!

[supa_carrot]

Thanks guys for the help. Blackened, I wasn't really expecting a lot of power to come from the mufflers but a deeper throaty sound, but thanks anyhow. Since most of you all are suggesting a tuner/chip what kind would you all recommend?? Thanks.

[Blackened300a]

I reccomend Lidio at Alternative automotive. The link for his site is in the Vendor list

[RF Overlord]

Dennis Reinhart is also a vendor here and he was one of the first anywhere to offer mods for the Marauder.

If you're expecting a deep, throaty sound from a muffler change, you may be disappointed. The characteristic exhaust sound of small DOHC engines is much higher-pitched than that of pushrod motors. In other words, it ain't gonna sound like a 5.0 Mustang...

[Marauder.45]

+1 for Reinhart. But both Lidio and Dennis are the top of the game. Flip a coin, you'll be happy either way.

How tight can this kids budget be if his first car is a MM?

[supa_carrot]

+1 for Reinhart. But both Lidio and Dennis are the top of the game. Flip a coin, you'll be happy either way.

How tight can this kids budget be if his first car is a MM?
Well, my father bought the car for me, under the condition that I insure , pay for gas, and then pay for performance parts. So for a 16 year old kid insurance and gas isn't cheap by any means. Besides we got a SUPERB deal on the car.

[RoNiN77]

Look up ronin77 under search and take a gander at the responses I received to your same question. There are some really good ones. Oh yeah, when I was 16 I inherited my parents 1981 2-door Crown Vic with a 302 under the hood...hehehehe. Anyway, welcome and good luck!!

[Commodore Crap]

I got my first car 2 years ago. the 92 grand marquis. it was beautiful. mint condition. climate- control garage kept by grandma in tuscon,az. 51k on a 12 yr old car. then DC happened. f*@k. im kinda in the same boat. but my baby is 500 miles away and i have to wait to got get it. :-( i'll be on here alot.
from noob to noob, welcome!
-ryan

[Paul T. Casey]

Don't know how tight your budget is, but tune, pulleys, and gears should get you pretty stout for your peers. Next, exhaust. This is about the extent of cheap big gains. After that, well that's where the money starts to add up. For me, tune and pulleys got about a half second in the 1/4 (i didn't do the gears). The exhaust upgrade bought another half second. Still ironong out the bugs on my latest mod.

[MarauderMarc]

Thanks guys for the help. Blackened, I wasn't really expecting a lot of power to come from the mufflers but a deeper throaty sound, but thanks anyhow. Since most of you all are suggesting a tuner/chip what kind would you all recommend?? Thanks.

In my opinion, get a Diablo tuber. I feel that they surpass the competition, but thats my opinion.

[RoyLPita]

Welcome aboard. Enjoy the site and your new ride. My 1st car was a 66 Skylark with bucket seats and a/c.

Never buy a car that had a carb fire.

It spent more time in my mechanic's garage than I did behind the wheel.

[wchain]

I've driven both Tunes, and IMO, the Alternative tune is better, which is also why I sell it myself.

[1 Bad Merc]

Well I guess you will have to add me to the Monarch list. My dad bought me my first car and it was a 75 Mercury Monarch 4 door. It did have bucket seats, the fancy Ghia interior option and a 302 with the fmx tranny. Ran good for 3 months until I blew it up taking my girlfriend out to the movies. I had to walk for six months until I saved up enough money to rebuild it as dad refused to pay the repair costs. I guess it was pretty evident that your not supposed to down shift into first gear at 60! It was also another one of Ford's rust originals and I ended up totaling it about a year later.

Welcome to the site and enjoy your Marauder. :beer:

[Rider90]

Thanks guys for the help. Blackened, I wasn't really expecting a lot of power to come from the mufflers but a deeper throaty sound, but thanks anyhow. Since most of you all are suggesting a tuner/chip what kind would you all recommend?? Thanks.
I purchased a Diablosport tuner because everyone and their grandmother has an SCT tuner of some old-school kind. Keep the protective film on the screen, take care of it, and you'll get back 1/2 to 3/4 $$$ if you decide to sell it to someone. Gears and a tuner will get your most bang for the buck if you want to spend what is considered small in this game, and if you get a blower you'll probably keep the 4.10 gears anyways.

Good luck

[David Morton]

1st mod? Brakes.

After I got them I realized how inadequate the stock brakes are for this platform. As Fordnut once said, "I only thought I had good brakes."

Dennis Reinhart did me a great deal on what I think is the best street setup, the KVR 4wh package. But many swear that the TCE fixed caliper setup Todd is offering is better. Not having driven a car with one I can't say but I can tell you there's all the stopping power you need and more available with what I'm driving now. The 14" rotors stop on a dime and give me change.

There's been many threads here about brakes. Read up and make your own judgement.