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View Full Version : 2004 Mercury Marauder - Luxury Land Missile



Invective
02-14-2019, 12:16 PM
Story behind my new avatar.

"When it came time to retune the car, Tom brought in Scott Beer of Pompono Beach, Florida, to reprogram the ECM. At the end of the day, the Marauder spun the rollers to an earth-shaking 772 rwhp and 643 lb-ft of torque sans nitrous. With a tune for race fuel, it was time to head back down the quarter-mile. After heating up the Nittos, Tom dropped the hammer when the light turned green and blasted down the strip to an 11.32 at 129 mph.

Although happy with his Marauder's newfound legs, there was more left to be uncovered. To get this 4,500-pound monster out of the gate, a 100-shot wet-system from Zex was added for the launch. With the car retuned for an initial hit of giggle gas, Tom headed back to the track. With the tires hot and the converter torqued, Tom let his Marauder fly to the tune of a sick 10.90 at 132 mph. The much-improved 60-foot time of 1.77 was exactly what he was looking for.

In November of 2008, Tom loaded up his Marauder and headed to Commerce, Georgia, for the Southern Super Heavyweight Shootout at Atlanta Dragway. Now with full slicks, he was able to soar down the track to an incredible 10.40 at 135 mph.

"Of all the cars I've had, the Marauder has been the most fun, and the best daily driver of them all," Tom tells us. "The amount of power it puts to the wheels is astounding, yet it maintains its civil driving nature on the street. It's a beautiful, luxury-based ride. I can take the wife to a fine restaurant, or haul the grandkids to various events and yet blast down the quarter-mile in 10 seconds. It doesn't get any better than that." We couldn't agree more.”


http://image.mustangandfords.com/f/17025778+w620+re0/mmfp_0904_05_z%2b2004_mercury_ marauder%2bbackview.jpg

http://www.mustangandfords.com/featured-vehicles/mmfp-0904-2004-mercury-marauder/

RubberCtyRauder
02-14-2019, 02:18 PM
Jerry Irwin - member lji_372 owns that car now..Tom sold it to finance a business project

Invective
02-14-2019, 02:40 PM
Jerry Irwin - member lji_372 owns that car now..Tom sold it to finance a business project

Interesting bit of trivia for sure. Same guy who makes stainless COTs and dead pedals….

RubberCtyRauder
02-14-2019, 02:56 PM
Jerry has 4-5 Marauders, most supercharged

Comin' in Hot
02-14-2019, 03:14 PM
Interesting bit of trivia for sure. Same guy who makes stainless COTs and dead pedals….

They are all supercharged, but the real number that he owns is classified.

Spectragod
02-14-2019, 03:37 PM
They are all supercharged, but the real number that he owns is classified.



This is true, even his wife doesn’t have a total count, which was probably intentional.... just sayin’

Tom’s old car has been retuned with “enhancements “, we generally tape a “taxi” sign to the moonroof and prowl for victims at Woodward, I mean, it’s just a cab, how fast could it be? Here kitty kitty kitty, gotta love the taste of hellcats on cool Michigan evenings.....


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03Merc
02-14-2019, 04:09 PM
Seen it in My city one day! https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190214/b22de3a0014bba19888a460c05ffd0 50.jpg


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Marauderman
02-14-2019, 05:05 PM
Jerry Irwin - member lji_372 owns that car now..Tom sold it to finance a business project


Interesting bit of trivia for sure. Same guy who makes stainless COTs and dead pedals….

Know the original owner and been with and seen that car several time and especially when he did the 10 sec run--was a great view and feat at the time. Tom is a great man and supported us all well .. Wear his shirt with pride when worn....always loved his gray painted flag scheme on rear panels---

1Marauder
02-14-2019, 09:48 PM
This is true, even his wife doesn’t have a total count, which was probably intentional.... just sayin’

Tom’s old car has been retuned with “enhancements “, we generally tape a “taxi” sign to the moonroof and prowl for victims at Woodward, I mean, it’s just a cab, how fast could it be? Here kitty kitty kitty, gotta love the taste of hellcats on cool Michigan evenings.....


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I've secretly lusted after this SB, and remember when it was sold.

I am now ready to call it mine! $8.01

crownvic97
02-14-2019, 09:55 PM
I’ve read that article a few times over the years, I had no idea it was now part of Jerry’s collection!

offroadkarter
02-14-2019, 10:41 PM
Anyone talk to Tom these days? I met him in person like 9 or 10 years ago when he was in NJ for his job, can't remember the last time I've spoken with him.

Cobra25
02-15-2019, 05:11 AM
Anyone talk to Tom these days? I met him in person like 9 or 10 years ago when he was in NJ for his job, can't remember the last time I've spoken with him.I talk to him now & then . He still lives in florida but moved from Coral Springs to central Florida. He & his wife are doing well. Great Guy !!!!

MMBLUE
02-15-2019, 02:22 PM
I’ve read that article a few times over the years, I had no idea it was now part of Jerry’s collection!

He's only had it for 6-7 years or so.:D

offroadkarter
02-17-2019, 09:02 PM
I talk to him now & then . He still lives in florida but moved from Coral Springs to central Florida. He & his wife are doing well. Great Guy !!!!

Good to hear they're doing well, it was great having him out to a local mini meet at a local small town car show oh so many years ago.

crownvic97
02-18-2019, 08:44 AM
He's only had it for 6-7 years or so.:D

I guess I don’t pay close enough attention!

BAD MERC
02-19-2019, 04:40 PM
Tom is living off the grid. Last time I spoke to him he was in a cabin enjoying the serenity. Little side note: Tom's Marauder was the first one I ever saw. Until then I knew of no such vehicle. I was manager in a high end stereo shop in Fort Myers, Fl and Tom was already one of my customers. I had done work on his Cosworth Focus, His Jeep and a Mustang.

I was the owner of a silver 1995 Taurus SHO that was getting tired and I was looking for something else silver and fast. That was 2004 and I drove a Caddy STS, Altima SE-R, and a Maxima. I didn't want another FWD car.

Then Tom rolls in for an alarm on this silver Marauder. It was huge, loud, menacing, and REAR WHEEL DRIVE. We spoke at length during the install and Tom was a happy customer once again. I could not let him leave without saying "Hey, if you ever sell it, let me know first". It was a hollow intention as I knew I was not in the market for a $36K car.

Carfixer was the service tech/manager at our local Lincoln/Mercury dealer and of course I said the same thing to him, and discovered he was the owner of a DTR. Claude was the real deal. He knows EVERYTHING about everything and he remembered our conversation it would seem.

Eleven months later I get an email from Claude; Still looking for a silver/sunroof Marauder? ***link included***


I went and bought it. That was October 2005 and this community has become my closest friends, family, and even some unfortunate loss.

Thank you Tom. Thank you Claude.

sailsmen
02-19-2019, 09:43 PM
Tom came in town for work.

Barry, Tom and I went to dinner.

It was a good time.:D