Hey Everyone, just sharing this recent build and race we did.
I hadn't originally been looking for a Crossfire, but had heard the Lemons Judges pleading for one for years, so when one came up for sale somewhat locally for Lemons money, I had to do it. These things were outdated, overpriced, and under-performing the day they left the factory, so depreciation has hit hard. They're also super funky and have virtually no racing support, so they're basically destined for Lemons racing...
I guess the story with the car that I found is that the guy bought it as a parts car a few years ago, didn't use much from it, then sold his other crossfires and had no need for it. It had most of the interior stripped out, but it was all stored nicely and in good shape (that helps offset the Lemons budget), and needed some front end work from the crash. It was also missing the front fenders and bumper cover, but everything else was there. It even started and drove onto the trailer!
It would have been ideal to find another scrap yard crossfire to get a front end from, but all the crossfires that popped up lately have also had front end damage, so we ended up fabbing an upper radiator mount and hood support, and sourcing some fenders from another scrap yard crossfire. The radiator was a giant 3-row aftermarket $100 Chinese radiator meant for a turbo supra (we run one in our other car and it cools a v8 just fine, and it was much cheaper than a Crossfire radiator)
I then built a roll cage for it. It was pretty tough to get the seat mounted low enough to give good head clearance with the cage, but eventually I managed to make it work. I had to cut a lot of the transmission tunnel out and remove the rear catalytic convertors to get the Sparco seat centered on the wheel. I also kept the doors intact so the power windows would still work, makes it nice for hauling to events in weather and outdoor storage.
This was the first cage I'd built and it turned out great, got compliments from the tech inspector. I also HAD to run the "Crossfire" sill plates, just to keep it classy.
My kid, future race car driver!
In a cost savings move for the first race, I re-machined the hubs for a 5x114 pattern with lug studs instead of bolts so we could run some of the many sets of 17x9 Mustang wheels and used race tires we had laying around from our other car. It worked great, so its tempting to keep running these wheels. I'll be sticking with 17's regardless just due to tire price, 18's are much more expensive.
John is going to love you.
Today I learned that there is actually 1 cool thing about the Chrysler Crossfire- it can be a lemons car.
Nice work.
Stampie said:
John is going to love you.
I do!
I have long stated that a manual trans Crossfire "with the right damage" could be a great Challenge car. The headlamps are crazy expensive so I always figured they would be a place for recoupe. Some smoked lexan in their place would then cover the gapping hole where the lamps should be.
Ebay listing of one headlamp sold for $455. Another for sold $499. Another with one of four mounting tabs broken for $388.50
The wheels can be swapped with other Benz wheels. 17" all around is the way to go. The car comes with 17's front and 18's rear. But, the rears are more tire than the car needs.
Love this!
My mom owns a 2005 Crossfire roadster (6-speed manual) and I have become intimately familiar with the cars as we've owned ours since new and no shops are knowledgeable about them by now. Happy to try and help answer questions if you have 'em. The engine is generally bulletproof. The immobilizer/key and your relay control module will both be eventual downfalls. The manual transmission is shared with a 2004-2006 Jeep Wrangler which is why first gear is so short.
They are tremendously terrible autocross cars but I can see where they'd be much more fine on a road course. Keep going!
Such an unloved vehicle. The Chrysler dealers doesn't know how to work on it and the Benz dealership wont touch it. Uniquely, about 45 minutes from my house, in small Tiffin, OH is what could quite possible be the only single building dealership that just happens to be Chrysler and Mercedes Benz in the same building. Not a popular combination and probably the best place to get a Crossfire worked on.
In reply to John Welsh :
I had no idea headlights for these were so pricey. Unfortunately ours were long gone and probably crunched in the accident years ago. The biggest sale item we've had off of this were the 4 catalytic converters, each worth $150. That almost paid for the car alone. The only other thing that sold quickly was the vacuum lock pump/assembly, because of course these had vacuum operated locks. I guess in the convertible cars these vacuum pumps get water damaged often. The interior stuff hasn't moved at all, and little interest in much else.
They actually came with 18's front and 19's rear. And yea, there are lots of 17" wheel choices, but re-machining for a different pattern was free, and we already had piles of wheels and tires in the other size. Lug studs are real nice too as opposed to lug bolts.
There was a Crossfire entered in the 2021 Challenge. I was not there and I heard reports that the car broke giving it a poor finish.
For non-believers, it only took me seconds to find this running $2k Crossfire (with $1k worth of headlamps and $600 worth of cat converters.)
Of course, there are others who are delusional... 131k asking $12.5k (listed 11 weeks ago!)
Love this. The nameplate will lend itself to all sorts of flammable themes as well.
I think a John Stewart theme would bring the house down. He famously had a large part in killing the tv show crossfire.
Hi from the Gunbarrel Cobras GRM Forum liaison!
Really sad my stints on track this weekend never crossed paths with the majestic Crossfire.
