New member from Maryland

[AGrayson84]

Good morning folks! I'm contemplating purchasing a 2004 Marauder to share daily driving responsibilities with my '98 Contour SVT. I noticed the Marauder several years ago and always thought they were fun vehicles. Personally, at 30-years-old, I've never really been interested in anything too flashy as far as vehicles go. I've always preferred "sleepers".

A little history on vehicles I've owned since I was 16 (in order):

-'87 El Camino w/383 Stroker
-'93 F-150 Lightning (stock)
-'92 Taurus SHO (did a pile of upgrades to the engine, suspension, and transmission)
-'96 Taurus SHO (stock)
-'04 Pontiac GTO w/full bolt-ons
-'05 Pontiac GTO w/62mm twin turbos and many other upgrades (I still own this)
-'98 Contour SVT w/3.0 swap, transmission upgrades, and several suspension upgrades (I still own this too)

You might be able to see where a Marauder would fit in with the past "specialty" Ford vehicles I've owned :)

So with the recent research I've done over the weekend, I've decided if I do pull the trigger on one of these I'm going to look for an '04 with the "upgraded" 4R75W trans, and options for heated seats, traction control, and sunroof. Would be great to find a 2004 black-on-black with all 3 of those options, under 120k miles, and for less than $11k.... but I'm starting to see how rare the 2004 models are to find used.

Well I look forward to chatting with you all, and maybe I'll have one of these within several weeks!

-Andrew

[whitey]

Welcome and good luck with your search. Get one already boosted and understand that the 04's all have traction control, which may be an issue if you buy different sized tires.

[HammerDown]

:welcome1: Fellow Marylander!!!


Good luck with the search!!!!

[AGrayson84]

Thanks Gentlemen! Thanks for the tip Whitey, was just looking at the tire issue on traction control last night. I hear from a buddy finding matching tires of the correct size is an issue for these cars. Not sure how true that is, but I can always disable the TC if I decide to go with same-height tires in the future. Thanks for the warning on that! :)

Thank you hammer! You don't by any chance frequent St. Mary's County, do you???

[AGrayson84]

I totally forgot to mention that sometime in 2008 when my '05 GTO was still supercharged (before I went the twin turbo route) a black Marauder toyed with me on Great Mills Rd in Great Mills / Lexington Park. I was running 10.90s at the time, so I figured I'd eat the car up. He was ahead of me and plated the throttle down, and I immediately followed suit. Took me some time to start closing in on him!!

He pulled into a liquor and I followed him in. I asked him (in amazement, lol) what the hell he had done to his Marauder. He had a twin screw on it. Was a damn-fast car. All I remember was it was black with a chrome SCT badge on the trunk. Anyone have any idea if that's a member on here?

[RubberCtyRauder]

there is no trouble finding the proper sized front and rear tires. Only inthe BFG KDWS that came factory are hard to find and those tires are not that good and are expensive. Better choices are the Cooper Zeon RS3A, NItto Motivo, Firestone Wide Oval, and other NIttos based on your use,,summer only or year round in cold, lots of rain,and snow.

[ctrlraven]

Welcome to the site!

Having an 04 the only real issue with tires is not really being able to rotate them because of the traction control needing to see the 3% rotational difference between front and rear. There are several different tire size combos you can go with so that's not an issue. I personally run for warm weather 255/45-18 on the front and 265/50-18 on the rear, winter is 235/50-18 on the front and 255/55-18 on the rear.

If you think you might want to toy around with the car down the road with adding more power, it would be a wise idea to look for an already boosted one.

[Bluerauder]

I totally forgot to mention that sometime in 2008 when my '05 GTO was still supercharged (before I went the twin turbo route) a black Marauder toyed with me on Great Mills Rd in Great Mills / Lexington Park. I was running 10.90s at the time, so I figured I'd eat the car up. He was ahead of me and plated the throttle down, and I immediately followed suit. Took me some time to start closing in on him!!

He pulled into a liquor and I followed him in. I asked him (in amazement, lol) what the hell he had done to his Marauder. He had a twin screw on it. Was a damn-fast car. All I remember was it was black with a chrome SCT badge on the trunk. Anyone have any idea if that's a member on here?

Might be "joemama". He has a twin screw and is located near that area of Maryland. He runs 519 RWHP and shows a 11.81 @ 117. There is one over in Virginia that does 10.15 @ 131 who runs at Budd's Creek.

[AGrayson84]

Thanks for the great info Rubber and Raven! Great to know you can run 265/50's in the rear and 255/45's up front with no problem.

I definitely do think I'd like to add some power later. One that is already boosted would be nice if I can find one within my price range, but I'm thinking I might like to do a turbo setup later down the road since superchargers are often not as affordable. My GTO was lots of fun when it had a Magnacharger, but was lacking top-end grunt with the automatic transmission. After later going the turbo route on that car I'm not sure I'd do S/C again unless I get a good deal on one. All comes down to initial cost of the car I guess.

[AGrayson84]

Might be "joemama". He has a twin screw and is located near that area of Maryland. He runs 519 RWHP and shows a 11.81 @ 117. There is one over in Virginia that does 10.15 @ 131 who runs at Budd's Creek.

Yeah I think he said he ran high 11's when I talked to him briefly years ago. I was surprised because my car being almost 1 second faster took some time to start reeling him in. I'll have to see if I can track him down on here. :)

[RubberCtyRauder]

Forgot to mention..Welcome!!!

In terms of Supercharger or turbo, you'll have to piece it together yourself as there are no off the shelf kits for these cars anymore. A popular option is the eaton swap and member Zack Turboed his blue one and another member or two did..I think one is for sale??? a turbo one..not Zack's but another,so plenty of info here when you decide to go that route. I don;t mean to rain on your parade, just want you to be aware up front as to what you can get into.

[AGrayson84]

Thanks Rubber! Yeah I've briefly read of a couple of guys doing the Cobra 4.6 swap (or at least using the Cobra short block?), and saw that at least one person was attempting to use the Eaton on the 2003-2004 Cobra motor. I've never really been much of a Mustang fan so learning about these 4.6's would be something new to me. I'm thinking something along the lines of a turbo with a forged 4.6 later, all depends on what funds look like after doing a bunch more work to the GTO this Winter.

Thanks for the clarification on the off-the-shelf kits though... I had only looked at the Trilogy setup so far and saw that it was discontinued. Turbo is looking to be a good option considering all of this, but I better not get ahead of myself with the other work that needs done to the other cars haha.

I see you're running coated Kooks. Great choice! I used to work for MarylandSpeed at one time, biggest Kooks distributor here on the East Coast. I ran Jet-Hot coated Kooks on my GTO when I was still supercharged... what a difference in temps that coating makes!!!

[RubberCtyRauder]

You don't necessarily need to swap blocks or motors. Factory marauder motor is good to up go 450 Rwhp based on consensus here. Forged internals etc is never a bad thing , depends in your needs in a marauder

[AGrayson84]

Thanks for the insight on the factory block. I see I have a lot of research to do if I pull the trigger. 450 RWHP is fun, but too tempting to turn up the boost with a turbo and electronic boost controller. We'll just have to see how it goes.

Talking to a dealership in Illinois right now about a black '04 they have with 113k miles. Interior needs some work (replace the seats and center console at the very least, probably carpet and parts of the dash too), and the paint has been detailed but needs some work. If I can get a fair enough price I might go for it and hopefully find some replacement seats and console. Is this forum the best place to find replacement parts like that, or do you guys find that Ebay or Craigslist offers more replacement parts like that? I've seen a set of black seats on here, but not seeing much anywhere else.

[slickster]

With around 120,000 miles you can find them for around 8000 all day

[AGrayson84]

With around 120,000 miles you can find them for around 8000 all day

Wish I could find those! Checked out this forum, and been looking on AutoTrader.com, Cars.com, Cargurus.com, and Craigslist and have only found 1 black-on-black '04 under 10k that had less than 120k on the clock... and it's not even in good condition. Needs paint and the interior parts I mentioned above. I talked the dealer down to a good price, just have to decide if the price is worth the effort required to get it back to like-new condition. If you happen to see anything else that meets my requirements please let me know! :bows:

[AGrayson84]

Well, consider me a new Marauder owner! Just pulled the trigger on this:

http://windy-city-motorsports.ebizautos.com/detail-2004-mercury-marauder-used-12324978.html

It needs a bit of interior work (replacement seats, center console, carpet, and probably other various trim), and possibly new paint, but the rest of the car looks pretty solid. I talked the dealership down to $6,200 for the car (before tax, tags, title) to allow for the money that will need to be invested to bring it back to great condition. It has 113k on the clock (verified this is accurate on CarFax) and everything else looks to be in good shape. The dealer claims no mechanical issues, and they seem to have a very good reputation, so I'm crossing my fingers that all checks out. Either going to have to drive to Illinois to pick it up, or have it shipped to me. :)

[ctrlraven]

Well, consider me a new Marauder owner! Just pulled the trigger on this:

http://windy-city-motorsports.ebizautos.com/detail-2004-mercury-marauder-used-12324978.html

It needs a bit of interior work (replacement seats, center console, carpet, and probably other various trim), and possibly new paint, but the rest of the car looks pretty solid. I talked the dealership down to $6,200 for the car (before tax, tags, title) to allow for the money that will need to be invested to bring it back to great condition. It has 113k on the clock (verified this is accurate on CarFax) and everything else looks to be in good shape. The dealer claims no mechanical issues, and they seem to have a very good reputation, so I'm crossing my fingers that all checks out. Either going to have to drive to Illinois to pick it up, or have it shipped to me. :)
I like how they said "Black Over Black Hard To Find", black exterior is the most common color and so is the dark charcoal interior.

[AGrayson84]

I like how they said "Black Over Black Hard To Find", black exterior is the most common color and so is the dark charcoal interior.

Haha yeah, they just don't expect their customers to know that.

Well so much for this dealer's good reputation. I did some more digging and there is quite a list of people complaining about this dealership selling them something with a bunch of undisclosed problems. Going to ask them to take a video of the gauge cluster when starting up the car (make sure the CEL comes on and goes off), and give it a couple revs to make sure it sounds clean. If that checks out I might take the risk.

Looks like it's going to need a spare tire. Any idea where I can find a full-size spare for this car? I'm not sure what type of wheel is used for the spare on the 2003's, I just know that the 2003's came with a full-size one. Thanks everyone!

[martyo]

Welcome aboard!

[AGrayson84]

Thank you!!!!!!!

[Bluerauder]

Looks like it's going to need a spare tire. Any idea where I can find a full-size spare for this car? I'm not sure what type of wheel is used for the spare on the 2003's, I just know that the 2003's came with a full-size one. Thanks everyone!

Only the 2003 300As came with the full sized spare. When the line started to produce the 300Bs in October 2002, they substituted the doughnut spare to partially offset the cost of Traction Control. So, if the '03 MM has TC, it should have the doughnut spare and it is a 300B model.

[ctrlraven]

Haha yeah, they just don't expect their customers to know that.

Well so much for this dealer's good reputation. I did some more digging and there is quite a list of people complaining about this dealership selling them something with a bunch of undisclosed problems. Going to ask them to take a video of the gauge cluster when starting up the car (make sure the CEL comes on and goes off), and give it a couple revs to make sure it sounds clean. If that checks out I might take the risk.

Looks like it's going to need a spare tire. Any idea where I can find a full-size spare for this car? I'm not sure what type of wheel is used for the spare on the 2003's, I just know that the 2003's came with a full-size one. Thanks everyone!
Honestly your best bet to find a nice solid car is from on here. Some may only need minor work or may not need any work.

The factory 03 spare is a unpolished aluminum wheel of same design as the polished, some have popped up on the site for $100-150. I picked one up for a local member for $75 6-7 years ago.
For a spare tire you can use any 2005-2014 Mustang 18x8 wheel with an offset of +44 to +50. Then it depends on if you want to put a front or rear size tire on it. lol

I have a set of 2010 Mustang GT 18x8 wheels I use for winter wheels, bought them from AmericanMuscle.com, cheap and free shipping!

[2,4shofast]

Welcome to the Site, I see you have also owned a few SHO's. There are quite a few of us on here that have done the same. Good luck finding a Marauder, there are plentiful on the East Coast so you should have to look very hard!:beer:

[AGrayson84]

Only the 2003 300As came with the full sized spare. When the line started to produce the 300Bs in October 2002, they substituted the doughnut spare to partially offset the cost of Traction Control. So, if the '03 MM has TC, it should have the doughnut spare and it is a 300B model.

Thanks for the info!! I didn't realize the later 2003 models got traction control and dropped the spare... I thought that didn't take place until the 2004 model years. Can only rely on the Interwebz for so much I guess, until you talk to actual owners :)



Honestly your best bet to find a nice solid car is from on here. Some may only need minor work or may not need any work.

The factory 03 spare is a unpolished aluminum wheel of same design as the polished, some have popped up on the site for $100-150. I picked one up for a local member for $75 6-7 years ago.
For a spare tire you can use any 2005-2014 Mustang 18x8 wheel with an offset of +44 to +50. Then it depends on if you want to put a front or rear size tire on it. lol

I have a set of 2010 Mustang GT 18x8 wheels I use for winter wheels, bought them from AmericanMuscle.com, cheap and free shipping!

Thanks for the help! I would love to find a nicer car on here, and would be willing to pay more... but I don't see any recent activity of a 2004 black/black that is for sale on here or was for sale on here recently. As common of a combination as it may be, it seems like the '03 models are the ones that are much more plentiful. Same thing with all the used car websites I've been digging through... a bunch of '03s but only a very small handful of '04s.

Sounds like finding a factory spare is pretty rare. I might just try to find a Crown Vic wheel/tire of a similar height for now if I don't back out on getting this car. A spare is only temporary, so if the size triggers the traction control light I'll just turn off TC until I get the tire replaced :)

Glad to know this '10 Mustang wheels will work, but at least for the spare tire I think I'd be better off not paying the Mustang "premium" and find some other spare that fits until I locate a factory full-size spare.

[AGrayson84]

Welcome to the Site, I see you have also owned a few SHO's. There are quite a few of us on here that have done the same. Good luck finding a Marauder, there are plentiful on the East Coast so you should have to look very hard!:beer:

Thanks shofast! Yeah the SHO's are fun cars. Maybe one day I'll break down my full mod list on my '92 for you. I had the same as you... literally EVERYTHING except forced induction or nitrous. Well, cams were still factory.... but everything else was not.

I'm keeping my eyes open as I wait to decide if I'm going to back out of this deal on the one I found in Illinois that's going to need paint and interior parts replaced. If you happen to see a clean, black/black '04 for under $11k in the next few days please let me know!!! :beer:

[RichardP]

Good to have you on the site! Let me know when your in E Baltimore. We can go for a cruise.

[fastblackmerc]

Welcome and good luck in your search!

[ctrlraven]

Good to have you on the site! Let me know when your in E Baltimore. We can go for a cruise.
AGrayson, watch out for this one... he is known to be a cuddler.

[RichardP]

AGrayson, watch out for this one... he is known to be a cuddler. I just like to be kissed first.

[71cyclone]

Welcome -- Check' Duval Baller' in Florida ' Boosted Black clean MM for sale .