Purchased a 2003 Kenny Brown Marauder

[gamercfan]

Hi fellas; I am a new member but not new to Marauders. I have a 1969 X100 with 429 4V, buckets and console.

I am now the "proud" new owner of the following:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=4640701768&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT

So, what have I done? I am hoping the 'charger and drivetrain are worth what I paid for the car...

Anyone have or know of a body with a bad drivetrain or donor body to fix this one?

My wife does not know about the purchase yet....help me out...
"It's a steal Robb", etc.

Thanks
Robb Kiker

[jdando]

It's a steal Robb!!!!!!!








Welcome to the collective. I think the fix is more than the 3-5k in the auction listing, but it is a sweet car. I think there are a few fixer-uppers around so you should be able to get parts.

jeremy

[Zack]

If you end up parting it out, please let me know.

[mclemore102]

Well the front not bad at all. Looks like it only needs a radiator support and right fender,hood,and front parts. But the back is a different story! It will have to be back halved meaning it will have to be cut about the rear seat and replaced from there. It would make a great prorauder project like one of our members has done on this site.

[FiveO]

Even if you sink $15K into it replacing the damage its still a good deal considering there are not many of those cars in production.

Congrats on the deal!

[Rider90]

It's a steal Robb!

Now we know you have the Kenny Brown, how about some pictures of that 1969?

[69marquis conv]

It's a STEAL Robb!

Yes, pics of the '69. Would you happen to have a spare set of '69 buckets and /or console? My old Marquis would love to have a set!

[Haggis]

Congrats on your purchase. I am also the owner of a Kenny Brown Marauder, #8...Is the one you bought a 'Singnature Edition'? If so what number?

Welcome to the Collective, resistance to moding is futile. You have already been assimilated.

[jimlam56]

It's a steal Robb!
Welcome, and keep us posted with your plans for it.

[RoyLPita]

Welcome aboard. Congrats on getting a rare one. Enjoy the site.

[SergntMac]

That MM ran high 11s before the crash, congrats!

[KillJoy]

Great buy! There is actually another thread running around here on this specific auction!

The hop-up parts that come on that car is whorth what you paid alone!

KillJoy

[STLR FN]

Great buy on the car Robb, It's A Steal!!!. But I wouldn't part it out. Go find yourself a theft recovery vehicle and transfer the parts and all from the KB Marauder to it.

[Rider90]

Or buy another classic Marauder and swap the drivetrain...Some expensive fabrication, but that would be one sweet lookin' Marauder - and it would haul azz.

[KillJoy]

Or buy another classic Marauder and swap the drivetrain...Some expensive fabrication, but that would be one sweet lookin' Marauder - and it would haul azz.

Along the same lines, you could get a Crown Vic or Grand Marquis and do a driveline swap.

THAT would be a sleeper :D

KillJoy

[gamercfan]

You fella's have made me (and my wife!) feel much better.

So many responses: Please don't be offended if I don't respond to each one.

I will post pic's of the '69 as soon as the digital camera is returned by my son;
Don't have any spare buckets or console, but will keep you in mind if I see any;
Don't know if it is a signature edition. It has plaque on the console which can't be read on the net, but maybe you would recognize it;
SergntMac, You knew this car before? Would love any info on history...
I have thought about "transferring" it to a Grand Marquis and making a sleeper....What do you fellas think?

You have certainly made me feel welcome :) thanks for the responses...

[magindat]

My vote is sleeper. Buy a GM with a few miles on it for under 10K. Swap it all out for about 3-5K. Sell the GM driveline parts and motor will pretty much pay for the labor of the swap. Put some fatty rims/rubber on it and nitey nite...

[gamercfan]

Would it have to be a 2003 or newer? Thought I read somewhere the frame, etc was updated in '03..
Thanks

[Rider90]

You fella's have made me (and my wife!) feel much better.

So many responses: Please don't be offended if I don't respond to each one.

I will post pic's of the '69 as soon as the digital camera is returned by my son;
Don't have any spare buckets or console, but will keep you in mind if I see any;
Don't know if it is a signature edition. It has plaque on the console which can't be read on the net, but maybe you would recognize it;
SergntMac, You knew this car before? Would love any info on history...
I have thought about "transferring" it to a Grand Marquis and making a sleeper....What do you fellas think?

You have certainly made me feel welcome :) thanks for the responses...
Your car has quite the history my friend. It was owned by a member here and there may even be pictures of it just after the accident roaming around as well as some performance numbers.

Who kept track of it? Speak up

[Rider90]

Would it have to be a 2003 or newer? Thought I read somewhere the frame, etc was updated in '03..
Thanks
In 2003 the front clip was changed into an all alumnium unit. Whatever you purchase make sure it had air suspension in the rear, so the brackets and lines and what not are there.

[gpfarrell]

The 2003's and newer have rack and pinion steering. I don't really have any experience with the earlier models, but I know that reports at the time were that Mercury delayed introducing the Marauder until the 2003 improvements could be incorporated.

The car mags also reported that the changes to the Lincoln Town Car made it a much nicer driver in 2003, so I'd think you'd want to stick with a newer one to take full advantage of the drivetrain.

Can't wait to see pics of the '69!

[jgc61sr2002]

Congrats and welcome aboard.:D

[Tallboy]

I'll tell you what I think you should do in a minute.

First, let me relate a story...

I was about 18 years old and my brother had just rolled his 74 SS Nova. Dad, feeling bad for him, bought him an orange 73 6-cylinder Nova. He told us to swap the drive train, and we'd be good-to-go. Mom and Dad left the next morning for a weekend in Vermont. Now, Dad was the Fire Chief of Stepney [one-horse podunk town] at the time, so we hauled both cars down to Stepney Station 1, and backed two fire trucks outside. We spent the next 48 hours swapping the body parts that were destroyed, and using the port-a-power and Hurst Jaws of Life to fix/replace the crumpled roof on the passenger side. The orange 73 Nova was backed out and the fire trucks put back inside.

By the time they got home Sunday night, the 74 SS was fixed, cleaned, and primered [thanks to Mike Nash at Town Line Auto Body], and sitting in it's usual spot. Mom and Dad got out of the car, Mom walked into the house not noticing a thing. Dad, on the other hand, was standing in the driveway in his best WTF? pose. We just shrugged our shoulders and smiled. Dad shook his head and walked into the house.

Moral of the story? Buy a parts car and fix the Kenny Brown Car. She's worth it, and you'll have one hell of a story to tell.

[gamercfan]

Thanks for the posts. If I fix the Marauder, are there any aftermarket body kits? Since the front and rear need replacing...may as well consider all options...Any personal suggestions? Color?
I am enjoying looking at the photo gallery for ideas...

Anyone recall the member who owned this car and it's history yet?

[MM03MOK]

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=20293

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=16885

[gamercfan]

Thanks....good info. Noticed the post about composite frame can't be straightened...Might need to look into this item some more..

[Donny Carlson]

I bought a Kenny Brown S Marauder off of eBay myself, though I don't think it will ever run in the 11's again...


http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40804000/jpg/_40804642_car2_bbc_203.jpg

[DEFYANT]

Welcome to the Machine.

I remember this car. Hope you can get'r straightend out.

[Haggis]

I bought a Kenny Brown S Marauder off of eBay myself, though I don't think it will ever run in the 11's again...


http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40804000/jpg/_40804642_car2_bbc_203.jpg
Funny Donny...very funny. :rolleyes:

[StevenJ]

Just find the most abused non-crashed 03+ Crown Victoria police interceptor. You want an 03 or newer because it's a direct bolt on. 02s and older will require significant fabrication. 03s won't need any. You should be able to get one from auction for $5,000.

[SergntMac]

SergntMac, You knew this car before? Would love any info on history... My pleasure, I'll try to keep it brief. But, you know I wont...

Before I start on that history, be advised that Bill Hall did come to race his Marauder S at a full 1/4 mile track, and his ET was 11.8x. It's posted somewhere here by his friend 89LXBill.

Bill Hall didn't own a computer and was not a member here. I met Bill through Kenny Brown Performance, and talked with him often, hearing his first hand racing accounts. The car won a number of local championships before it's sudden demise.

The history of the Kenny Brown Marauder S cars begins with my "#1x", an experimental Marauder. Our friend (and member here) Bill Karrow (MENSREA) delivered an early 300A Marauder to Kenny Brown Performance, with instructions to duplicate the success of the KB Crown Vic based "Lounge Lizzard" of Car and Driver fame. The "Lounge Lizzard CV has a SOHC 2v engine, and Kenny had been building them with Eaton superchargers for years.

With the release of the Marauder with a DOHC 4V engine, things looked promising for a fresh high watermark of "Lounge Lizzards", but sadly, the Roots/Eaton blower would not fit under the Marauder hood, and Kenny turned to experimenting with a Vortech V-2 in S trim.

The "1x" was finished 11/04/02 and entered long term testing. Before retirement in May of '03, the "1x" appeared in Car and Driver, AutoWeek, and it was featured on SpeedChannel, with Top Fuel Driver Brandon Bernstein at the wheel. I don't have these timeslips, just a pic of them, but Brandon pushed the "1x" to run back to back 11.76 and 11.83 ETs in the 1320.

The "1x" was about exploring possibilities. It is the first MM to be supercharged, first to be tuned by SCT, and first to be "flashed tuned" by Jerry Wrobleski, a Ford engineer working at Roush Engineering. It's also the test bed for the first of PI's "Stallion" torque converters in triple plate design, 4:10 gears, Baer "BaerClaw" brakes, Addco sway bars, Vortech superchargers, Walbro fuel systems, and so on. But, this isn't about the "1x", not directly anyway.

Jerry Wrobleski and Kenny Brown felt the tune was too aggressive for overall driving performance and longevity, and it was pulled. Best ET after that decision, a safe 12.79 on a safe "real world" tune. This slip I have in my scrap book.

After learning what was possible with the Marauder from the "1x" experiment, Kenny Brown retired the "1x" and went on to build 50 Marauders in S trim, and some continue to serve in government and LEO service. MMs 2 through 10 are "signature" cars, with Kenny's personal signature on a carbon fiber plate mounted on the Vortech intercooler. Look here, lower right in the pic...

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/showcase/showimage.php?i=440&c=3&userid=392

Kenny Brown did not sell his wares, or, technology in "kit" form. The Marauder S package is a whole car treatment, and I believe Bill Hall's Marauder S is up in the teens, #18? I'm not sure on this, please check for Kenny's signature under your hood? The number is also on the plaque Kenny installs on the radiator cover, and on the center console.

Even if Kenny's signature is not present, you won a Marauder with an important legacy, and several important mods, which appear intact after this disappointing collision. Here's a short list of the Marauder S production car mods, available way back in 2002, and before others copied it.

Vortech V2-S trim supercharger with 3.64 pulley, produces 8 pounds of boost on stock OEM engine.
Vortech "air to water" intercooler, with SPC water reservoir, and FRP circulation pump and heat exchanger.
Walbro 255 liter "in tank" fuel pump with 42 lb. fuel injectors.
TurboXS blow off valve, which vents to atmosphere in Kenny Brown's blow-through design.
Custom crafted true carbon fiber bellows.
Baer "BaerClaw" big brake kit with PBR "2 piston" calipers, 14' vented rotors and Corvette "C-5" ceramic pads. Rear rotors are vented, and all four are zinc treated as well.
Kenny Brown SS braided brake lines.
Auxillary stacked plate transmission cooler.
Pirelli P-Zero Assymetrico tires, 255/45-18 front, 255/50-18 rear, 255/45-18 spare (optional).
Addco sway bars, polyurethane bushings.
Billstein performance shocks (optional).
Hooker mid-length headers, 1 and 3/4" primaries, 2 and 1/2" collectors (optional, and later changed to Kook's).
Borla "cat back" exhaust system (optional).
Improved rear upper and lower control arms (later changed to Z&M control arms).
PI "Stallion" torque converter, single plate, 3000 stall (triple plate, 3500 stall optional).
SCT "flash" tuning for a Kenny's "blow through" supercharged design.
DynoTech high speed driveshaft.
Ford Racing 8.8" 4:10 gears (later added Ford Racing girdle and Dana 60 stud kit).
AutoMeter UltraLite boost gauge in custom crafted true carbon fiber "A" pillar mount.
OEM front springs cut 3/4 coil, rear air suspension lowered to OEM stops.
PIAA "bright white" headlight package (optional).
Kenny Brown logo floormats.

All in all, at 25K over the sticker, this package seems expensive, even back in 2002 when the Marauder had a 35K window sticker. But, for the true performance enthuiast, it was one way to go faster in a Marauder. Bill did that, he went faster than us.

I hope this essay length post helps you Game, you have bought one special Marauder S. My suggestion would be to seek out and buy the cheapest OEM Marauder you can find anywhere, and bring this Marauder S history over to another Marauder platform.

By the looks of things in the e-bay pics, all the Kenny Brown mods are available to you, best wishes in your decision to preserve some of our history.

Sorry for the long post, folks, but it's been a long four years too.

[FiveO]

Great read Mac....

Thanks for the info!

[gamercfan]

Been out of touch this weekend and read the post this morning...

Thanks for the great info and taking the time for such an informative post!

I look forward to bringing this special car back to life and will certainly look to you fellas for continued advice and counsel...