Drag Race Build: 93 Eagle Talon TSi AWD Auto

[J_HEATH]

Where to begin......

Before I do I'd like to say thanks to my Buddy Chuck for selling me the car and all of his help with the build, using his shop, and hours upon hours of his free time helping me. Also I'd like to thank Lucas English, Jeff Bush, Kevin Kwiatkowski (Kiggly Racing), and John at IPT for all the help and answering our countless questions.

I'd also like to thank Jesse Abele and his brothers for posting their video of "Cdubs fastest Street Cars" a few years ago which got us convinced to find an automatic AWD in the first place as well as Darren Thomas who also races an Auto DSM who we met at Import Face Off in Montgomery, AL a few years ago.

My Buddy Chuck and me got this car almost 2 years ago. We drove from Mobile,AL to just south of Cincinnati,OH somewhere in KY to get the car. A 26 hour nonstop round trip. He Origionally traded a 92 TSi FWD Talon for this car but then decided he wanted to finish his 5-speed Talon so he sold me the Auto.

When we got the car it was completely stock and only had 61k miles on it, but the talon was in rough shape and it looked like no maintance was ever done on it. It had a bad tapping noise which we thought was just gunked up lifters but later found out it was a spun bearing on the number 3 cylinder and the 7-bolt block was trash. This was after we had replaced everything on the front cover and rebuilt the head.

After getting the Talon back home




Origionally we planned on doing a budget build and make it a quick street car for as cheap as possible. Of course not too long into it that went out the window and the build got serious.

After first pulling the valve cover off. Oil was burnt onto the valve cover, we had to repleadly soak it in simple green, and degreaser and scrap all the caked up burnt crud off.



Step 1: remove unwanted crap for weight reduction. Two 55gal toutes full of stuff.



Step 2: Rebuild head and general maintenance.



For a Turbo we got a hold of a Buschur 20G that has been around the since 97. It was purchased off NABR by Chucks cousin Jeremy then and a few years ago he finally sold his 91 GSX to our buddy Dan who upgraded the turbo setup so I got the 20G setup for a steal of a deal. THANKS Dan!

Buschur 20G compared to the stock 13G and a Percision 6262BB


Buschur 20G, old school Buschur ported 2G manifold and O2 housing with 38mm Tial wastegate welded on.

Turbo mounted with ARP bolts (turbo and manifold)


Misc pics during origional startup




Cometic HG and ARP headstuds


Walbro 255 and rewire


Battery relocated to trunk

[leepen]

Looks like fun, good luck with the build

[J_HEATH]

First Intercooler was a small Ebay core as well as started with a 2G maf with Tuner pro and an SAFC




Relocated the trans cooler to the factory side mount location


Catch can mounted


Every gasket, hose, and seal has been replaced on the motor


IPT line pressure controller (later got sold when I decided to delete the TCU and do the Kiggly rewire mod and put in a ratcheting shifter)


When we found out the block was bad we got a motor Chuck had built some years ago for someone locally (again from Dan) as well as found out BC cams, springs and retainers weren't the greatest so we decided to upgrade everything while the motor was out and apart.

The Short block consists of Ross 8.8.1 pistons, Eagle Rods, all ARP hardware, we had the cylinders ball honed and the whole block torn down and inspected as well as had the crank repolished and all the bearings replaced. ACL bearings, balanced and blueprinted everything.

Comp 272's another Cometic HG, another set of ARP headstuds, Evo 8 valve springs, retainers, all new lifters, and rollers, JMF FIACV block off plate




Chuck working on the cylinder head, also origionally had FIC 750's


Assembling the block

[buhay6]

Nice man, but I dont see how your talons in bad shape...... you should check my shell I'm building its in bad shape!! Keep the good stuff coming, maybe take more pics on the interior and body?

[J_HEATH]

The runners in the cylinder head had a lot of scratches so I polished all them out

Before


After



Pulling the busted 7 bolt and trans out





Fighting with the transfer case can cause injury.

[J_HEATH]

New Crank bushing, Kiggly flexplate, Translab shift kit, new trans filter, Amsoil fluid, Taylor spiro pro plug wires, NGK plugs (7's).







valvebody out. (I ended up putting a spring and ball in backwards and once we got the car back together it wouldn't do anything in any gear. I sent the valvebody to English Racing and the went through it and found out what was wrong as well and did a little extra work to it that they do)


trans acid washed


Trans and transfer case cleaned and repainted



Chuck installing the rear main seal housing, crank bushing and flexplate


The Kiggly flexplate is A LOT beefier than the factory, we had to trip the rear main seal housing and bend the brand new OEM oil pan so it would clear.


^we ended up taking the trans back off and taking more off the rear main seal housing than shown in the picture.




Our buddy Mohammed over helping and learning

[J_HEATH]

You'll have to forgive me, I work swing shift at a steel mill (we swap days and nights every 2 weeks) and I'm going back on night shift this week so I have to stay up all night to get my body used to it. So what better way than to do a build thread. I have one going on our local forum and I had one going on dsmpurity until it crashed.

ARP crank and cam bolts


Vassil front crossmember It got powdercoated gloss black


everything back in the car


I purchased this one off manifold off a guy on our local forum but then decided it was way overkill for my setup and flipped it for a profit. Size comparable to a JMF drag manifold, it was flanged for a Q45 tb and powder coated smoked chrome.





old school R&R FMIC was installed 28x10.5x3.5


broke the trans pump installing the trans. English Racing and Metro Trans helped me out and got me a reman one.


Out with the old



In with the new


Also since the trans was out I drecided to upgrade the torque converter with an IPT high stall converter


Bought some FD RX7 wheels and had them powdercoated black the same time I had the crossmember bar done.

[J_HEATH]

Installed an AEM boost gauge, trans temp gauge, and wide band


The SAFC was removed when I swapped to DSMlink V3 with SD. The wideband and boost gauge is mounted on the pillar and the trans temp gauge is in the vent pod.



Good, but expensive fluids

AMsoil in the trans and motor, redline in the diff, transfer case and radiator, willwood brake fluid.




trans temp sensor (home depot racing special)


decided to ditch the leaking origional oil filter housing and swapped to a foward facing unit. So I purchased a new 90 cross over pipe and thermostat housing from mitsubishi.


Also got a Seibon CF hood


Got a coolant tank from 92awdgsx on here. Top knotch product!



Swapped to speed density V3 full with the easy connect harness




Got a set of Kosei K1 Racing wheels 17x7.5 in new condition from my buddy Eric Arnold. Running Kumho Ecsta XS 245/45 tires for the street





Adjustable rear camber arms


Added a DEI turbo blanket I got while at last years DSM shootout

[J_HEATH]

B&M Stealth Pro Ratchet Shifter





Zex Blackout wet nitrous kit with 75, 100, & 150 shot pills and purge kit



Removed all the sound deadening material in the car






Also removed the rear crash beam bar (after we did this I seen where Buschur made and released his parachute bar)


Also removed all the motorized seatbelt crap and installed a set of 2G seatbelts while still maintaining all of the interior panals.


Test fitting

[J_HEATH]

KYB AGX struts, Suspension technique springs, steel braided brake lines, Hawk HPS plus pads in the front and Porterfield Racing pads in the rear.




Completely rebuilt manual rack & pinion


Magnus Fuel Rail, FIC 1650cc low Z injectors (I run VP Q16), Full Blown dual pump hanger with 2 Walbro 255's, and -8 feed & -6 return, Kiggly Front clutches and HLA, IPT End Clutch kit, all Earls fittings and hoses.





Hoosier Quick Time Pro's 26x9.5x16 mounted on the FD wheels



I've only ran the 1/8th mile so far and that was with the single walbro, stock fuel lines, FIC 750's, 28psi of boost, street tires, No Nitrous and running VP Q16 I ran a 7.0@89mph with a 1.6 60ft.

I also didn't have the rear brakes installed or the brake lines. I was basically doing a burnout at the line while trying to stall it up.

I tried spraying the car but it was blowing the spark out and busting up as well as running 104-108% duty cycle on the injectors. Also I didn't have a lot of the weight reduction done shown above.

I've got the Sparktech COP CDI pro setup coming tomorrow, as well as the dual pumps, new lines, and 1650's in now plus the hoosiers.

I'm shooting for a 10 second pass in the quarter which if eveything comes in on time and I can get the car retuned I'll be going to the track this wednesday to give it my best.

I've been modifying and racing Turbo Imports since 1999. I started out with Nissans (300zx twin turbos (3), one SR20DET 240sx) plus I've worked on DSM's before back when I was in the Army.

My personal best ever was a 11.2@128mph at the Southeast Z Shootout in Reynolds Georgia back in 2004. I'd love to squeeze a 10 second pass out of the 20G before it gets retired and I move on to a bigger turbo and shoot for 9's, then maybe 8's. (baby steps folks)

Originally Posted by buhay6

Nice man, but I dont see how your talons in bad shape...... you should check my shell I'm building its in bad shape!! Keep the good stuff coming, maybe take more pics on the interior and body?

By bad shape I ment that it wasn't taken care of. For the car having such low miles it was in rough shape mechanically speaking. We got it from a kid who bought the car from his auto repair school. The car was owned origiionally by the cliche "older lady" who sold it to the school. The school never did anything with the car and the kid bought it from them. He spray painted the wheels, headlights and taillights. I had to spend countless hours sanding and polishing them back to origional factory condition. Plus being a northern car it has/had alot of surface rust on the suspension components and other undercarage parts exposed to the weather. Everything we have taken off the car has been beadblasted and powdercoated/painted or replaced.

The interior is in super mint shape, 9-9.5 out of 10.

It has some scuffs on the rear bumper and the front facia as well as the typical flaking clear coat found on most 1G's and Dodge/Chryslers.

[J_HEATH]

[cpoindexter]

lovin it! you should run at ifo @ gainesville fl here in oct. I would love to see this car in person. What tracks are you planning on running at? I'm building my 91 and would like to meet you and your crew and ask some questions and share some ideas if thats cool.

[Mobile_DSM]

Someone was up late last night making a build thread. . The shop looks pro in the pics. Hey, poindexter, arent you the guy Ive been talking to about buying parts? I dont think we"ll be going to Gator Park. We run in Montgomery at IFO.

[J_HEATH]

Originally Posted by cpoindexter

lovin it! you should run at ifo @ gainesville fl here in oct. I would love to see this car in person. What tracks are you planning on running at? I'm building my 91 and would like to meet you and your crew and ask some questions and share some ideas if thats cool.

Thanks

Unfortunatley Gainsville Raceway is a little too far to go for us. IFO at Montgomery and Bella Rose are the closest tracks that the circuit runs at. Gainsville's track is by far superior in every aspect but just too far to run in a series that we aren't exactly competting in.

The current setup on the car is nothings serious right now, hoping to get a mid-high 10 second pass out of it as it is. Then move onto a bigger turbo setup like I stated earlier like a FP3794HTA with a Shearer manifold and other supporting parts needed to get the most out of it. Thats when I'll probably gut the car out and put a cage in it. As of now I'm trying to keep the car stock apearing so I can run in that class and maybe be competative in any event I run in.

We're not really a crew, just some friends who have been messing with Turbocharged Imports for 10+ years and enjoy building clean & fast cars. I'd be more than happy to share any info about the setup or try and answer any other questions you have.

Like I stated in the beginning of the thread we really didn't have any idea of what to do with the auto trans so we talked to others that have already been there and done that as well as countless hours searching the internet.

[danielsl1999gsx]

That intake manifold looked amazing!

[J_HEATH]

Originally Posted by danielsl1999gsx

That intake manifold looked amazing!

I thought so too, but looks can be deceiving. It has a stock intake manifold flange welded to it. Plus being a one off design there are no numbers on it to prove what kind of gains were to be had from it and I didn't want to be the guinea pig. Also it didn't have a bracket on it anywhere to attach the throttle body cable. I plan on running a cast Magnus manifold with the S90 TB.

[96awd]

Love it. Good job so far.

[J_HEATH]

Originally Posted by 96awd

Love it. Good job so far.

Appreciate it

[96awd]

Originally Posted by J_HEATH

Appreciate it

No problem guy! I actually just sold my Kosei also to bastarddsm on here... I miss them. Lol if you wanna get rid of yours, unless I misread somewhere that you got rid of them, let me know. Would love another set.

[manny402]

Why do so many dsmers go with the fd rx7 wheels i always wondered i see it everywhere?

[cpoindexter]

People with all different types of cars try to get fd wheels. I have a set on my protege5. They are extra light and 16x8 on size.

[1TUFFDSM]

great build....i just picked my 2nd dsm this one is a 91 auto awd talon

[J_HEATH]

Finally got my ignition system in from Sparktech!

Originally Posted by 96awd

No problem guy! I actually just sold my Kosei also to bastarddsm on here... I miss them. Lol if you wanna get rid of yours, unless I misread somewhere that you got rid of them, let me know. Would love another set.

No plans yet to sell them. I use them to drive the car on the street, street tuning is how I tune the car since there is no AWD dyno around where I live anymore. I planned on getting them powdercoated gloss black and I have some decals in Red to replace the blue ones on the spokes. But the wheels are in new condition and I can't seem to make myself to take them to get stripped of the clear coat and all to get powdercoated.

So maybe one day when I'm done with everything else on the car I'll do that or sell them and buy some TE37's if I can find some 17x8's or 17x7.5's with the correct offset. I'd love to find some Time Attacks but thats like finding a needle in a haystack.

[96awd]

Originally Posted by J_HEATH

Finally got my ignition system in from Sparktech!




No plans yet to sell them. I use them to drive the car on the street, street tuning is how I tune the car since there is no AWD dyno around where I live anymore. I planned on getting them powdercoated gloss black and I have some decals in Red to replace the blue ones on the spokes. But the wheels are in new condition and I can't seem to make myself to take them to get stripped of the clear coat and all to get powdercoated.

So maybe one day when I'm done with everything else on the car I'll do that or sell them and buy some TE37's if I can find some 17x8's or 17x7.5's with the correct offset. I'd love to find some Time Attacks but thats like finding a needle in a haystack.

Awesome choice in ignition. Also have ST ignition for my 90!

My opinion, get the TE-37's, sell me the Kosei's. Lol I would love a set of TE-37's for drag, sticking with the typical Slip/Hoosier combo.

[kp116]

Awesome build thread and very clean car! Got to love red 1gb talons!

[J_HEATH]

HELP!

trouple with sparktech COP CDI

Okay we got the ignition issue resolved. Now we just need to figure out why the injectors aren't spraying. Both pumps are working and the car has the correct fuel pressure.

[J_HEATH]

Still having injector issues. I've tried a different MPI relay, I've measured voltage on everything as well as tested the injectors. I get fuel pressure in the system, and I've applied 9v to the injectors and they spray fuel. I pulled the CAS out and spun it and I don't think I heard the injectors click (1,2,3,4) I'm going to try another CAS and then if that does nothing I'm going to try another ECU.

Damn, I was wanting to get this thing retuned and hit the track this friday.

[J_HEATH]

Injectors were clogged and one was stuck. I'm going to be sending them to FIC to get cleaned and tested. Also found out that my sparktech COP was wired wrong from sparktech.

two wires (1black & 1Grey) were crossed from sparktech.

The directions said that that the grey wire went to pin 54 (coils1&4) and that the black wire went to pin 55 (coils 3&2).

The CAS is/was not 180 degrees out just incase anyone is wondering if maybe that is why. I pulled it and checked.

[Whitecat90]

Hope all ## problems get worked out

[J_HEATH]

Small update.

I'll be sending the injectors out this week to FIC.

Ordered some avid motor mounts and a CNC staging brake.

Pics after getting the talon home and an engine shot