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Make/Model:
1997 Eagle Talon TSi AWD
Engine:
NPR pistons
Stock rods
ACL bearings
BSE
ARP head studs
EVO VIII valve springs and retainers
3G lifters
14B turbo
Extreme PSI 14B/16G install kit
3" cat eliminating downpipe
Thermal R&D exhaust
Hard intercooler piping
1G BOV,
Emissions removed
Exterior:
Custom painted front emblem
Red rear bumper emblems from a 1995 Talon
Carbon fiber hood
2GA Talon sideskirts to be installed.
Suspension/Brakes/Drivetrain:
Tokico Illumina struts
Ground Control springs
ractive strut tower bars
Powerslot brake rotors
EBC Redstuff brake pads
Russell SS brake lines
Engine Management:
Boost gauge
Dashcomm Torque for logging (both temporary until I can get wideband and Link)
Wheels:
18x8 Motegi DP10's in glossy black
Toyo Proxes 4 225/40/ZR18 tires
Explain the very first time in your life you knew you had to get a DSM, like a moment that you'll always remember? I remember it like it was yesterday. April 2, 2005. I was a senior in high school. My car had just crapped out on me. My parents and I were looking for a car for me to drive as I was about a month from graduating high school and had a job lined up. We had been searching for a few weeks and had found one my parents thought would be a good car for me and I didn't mind. A 1996ish Chevy Monte Carlo.
The morning of the day we were going to go buy this Monte Carlo I was looking through the cars by owner in the local classified ads and came across a 1995 Eagle Talon ESi. I honestly had no idea what it was but it sounded cool so I called them up. No answer... damn guess I'm getting the Monte Carlo. A few hours later we were heading out the door to go pick up this Monte Carlo, and I decided to try and contact the owner of the Talon again. They answered! I asked a few questions and the answers he provided was just enough to convince my parents to take a look at it first, although they were asking a bit more than my parents wanted to spend ($3,900).
So we pull up to the place and I see this red Talon sitting on the street and fall completely in love with it on the spot. There is a guy in his mid 30's looking at it. We start walking towards the car as he starts away from it. As he passes he says "Are you here to look at the Talon?", I say "yeah", and he says "Buy it." So we talk with the owner a bit, he gives me the keys for a test drive. I sit in the drivers seat and said, "This is it. This is my car... I have to have it!" to my parents. So we drove it, offered him $3,600 to which he accepted, and I was the proud new owner of a 1995 Talon ESi, and officially hooked on DSM's for life.
Is it hard to keep it maintained living in a much colder climate for the most part of the year? Not for me. I store it in the winter. So all I have to do is put it up on jacks, cover it, and go out and start it once a month. I do all maintenance in the spring and she is good to go for the summer.
Do you have a lot of following in your area, or do you represent all DSM communities in North Dakota? Not really. LOL There aren't many DSMers in the area. Also, I don't drive mine enough to get much following for it. I see a few here and there, And we will wave or talk a bit. But there are a few guys I met on DSM forums that I help out with issues they are having with their DSM from time to time. Turns out I have been working with one for about a year now and had no idea.
How long have you owned this DSM? Almost 2 years. I bought this one in July 2010. Here is a pic the previous owner sent me when I was looking into purchasing the car...
Here is when I first got it...
Here it is with the parts donor...
What do you like about it the most? I really like that it has all available options. Including Homelink and the 10-disc CD changer in the trunk.
How did you find your Talon with such low mileage? I found her in a part-out ad unfortunately. They were going to haul it off to scrap if I hadn't come along. It starts with me discovering the 95 TSi AWD, I had just bought was very rusty. I got such a good deal on it I figured I could find a clean shell, swap over what I needed, and part out the rest, and maybe come out ahead. One day snooping through the classifieds on Tuners, I saw my car being sold as a whole. It was WAY out of my price range so I kept looking. He had it for sale as a whole for $10k. About a month later I saw it up again being parted since it didn't sell whole. The guy I bought it from, was one of those people who buys DSM's and either fixes them and resells them or parts them to make money. I messaged him about the shell and he said he was planning to scrap it. I told him not to do that, I would take it, and work out everything to get it here. He said ok, and a few days later it was on a truck from Pennsylvania to my place here in North Dakota.
Here she is when I first pulled her into my shop next to the engine I got out of the donor car. I ended up rebuilding a different block though...
Seeing the generations of your dad's and grandfather's classic cars, how do you explain to them when they ask why you have a DSM over what they would call an "American Car"? I usually just say it's because I couldn't afford a classic. If they start talking negatively about it, (and we all do give each other crap back and forth) I tell them to put their money where their mouth is and prove their car is better on the strip. They have yet to find a good comeback to that. LOL
Do you often have to explain that the car was manufactured in Normal, IL? Very often. I'm still having trouble getting it through my dad's head that it was made right here in the US, and not in Japan. Even with a Chrysler name on it, he still refuses to believe.
What or who was/were the inspirations on building your DSM? This is a tough question for me. A lot of the people I looked up to when I first got into DSM’s or first got my current Talon have since left the scene. One person I have always looked up to was my friend from Tuners, 95talongirl. She got her Kona Blue Talon (one of my favorite colors on a DSM) around the same time as me, and had many of the same problems with hers as I had with mine. She was always a few steps ahead of me in her build, but every time I started getting negative thoughts about my build, I would look at what hers was or how hers turned out and it would always inspire me to keep at it. I knew mine had the potential to be as nice as hers, I just had to make it happen. And I finally have.
What has been the biggest struggle with your DSM? The biggest struggle by far was fixing all of the previous owners screw ups and cut corners. I spent over a week just cleaning it. It took me months to find all of the interior pieces he had slobbered JB Weld all over or just pieces that were just missing completely. Finding beige interior parts is no easy task, especially the oddball little pieces it was missing. Another hard thing to do was fix the wiring mess he had left me with. Soldering wires way up under the dash is no fun. Also the engine harness was so cut up I had to replace it completely.
What goals do you have with your DSM and how close are you to achieving those goals? Short term goals are to get my all of the bugs worked out of it and projects I have had planned for it since I first got it done. I am very close to meeting those goals. The only bugs I have left to fix are a boost creep issue, a leaking transfer case, and the horn doesn't always want to work. The only mods I need to be happy with it for now is a few more gauges, 2GA side skirts installed, Orange peel fixed on the spoiler, ECMLink, and some engine bay dress up.
If someone offered you a super clean Kalapana Black GSX with the same mileage you have on the Black Widow, would you trade for it? Absolutely not. I have way to much blood, sweat, and tears into this to ever consider trading it. It just has way too much sentimental value to me. Aside from that I'm a Talon guy through and through. I have owned 5 DSM's and they have all been Talons. Also, there was 508,069 2GB Eclipse’s produced, and 14,095 2GB Talons produced, so the Widow is much less common.
If your DSM was a musician in another life, what rock star would it be and why? I think it would be Darrell Abbott because it knows it's given purpose is to shred (the streets), and because it almost died far too young as well.
What one word best describes your car? Perseverance - Because after the tough life it had before I got it and near death, it is still going strong and is a much better car now than it has ever been before.
. Possibly the worst demise of a beautiful 1G AWD Chassis ever.
