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Is this the one that was for sale in Oregon?

Yes it was bosses talon that he purcahsed.

I was gonna fly out to buy that one but was too slow.

Twenty-five years ago, I saw my first Jade Pearl Talon in person. Ever since then, I've kept an eye out for one.

Over the years, I only had one real opportunity to buy a genuine Jade Pearl AWD, but it slipped away. Eventually, I started to believe owning one just wasn't in the cards. I had considered painting my black '98 TSi my sought-after color of Jade Pearl, but I knew it would never have been the same as owning a factory-produced Jade Pearl Talon.

Then late last year, I saw that my friend Jared (@jersygsx) had purchased a Jade Pearl that had actually been listed for sale here on DSMtuners out of Oregon—an ad I didn't come across until after the car had already sold. Jared cleaned the car up and shared it in a Facebook group. I reached out to talk with him about it and even inquired about buying it, but his plan was to list it on Bring a Trailer.

Months went by as I kept an eye on Bring a Trailer, waiting to see if the Jade Pearl Talon would ever appear. I wasn't sure if it actually would. Then in April, it finally happened.

The timing wasn't ideal. I had recently undergone shoulder surgery and was in the middle of handling other priorities, but I knew I couldn't let this opportunity pass. So I settled in and watched the auction unfold, patiently waiting until the final day before placing my bids.

When that day finally arrived, it quickly became apparent that the battle was between me and one other bidder. We went back and forth, each waiting until the last possible seconds before bidding again. Eventually, the clock hit zero, and the car was mine.

It was a surreal moment. Decades of waiting had finally come to an end.

I immediately called Jared and began working through the logistics of getting the car home from New Jersey to Washington. It was somewhat fitting that a car which had started its journey in Oregon made its way across the country to New Jersey, only to return home to the Northwest.

My goal with this Jade Pearl is simple: preserve what makes this car special.

While it remains one of the most original examples I've come across, there is still work to be done. Careful maintenance, thoughtful corrections, and continued attention to detail will help retain the factory look, feel, and character while addressing the imperfections that come with nearly three decades on the road. Most importantly, I plan to enjoy the car and share an example of what these cars were like when they left the factory.

Pictures

After purchase and delivery:











Around town:



Videos

Instagram:

DreamChaser7 said:

Is this the one that was for sale in Oregon?

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Yes, it was.

92AWDHX40 said:

Yes it was bosses talon that he purcahsed.

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Correct! It was definitely was worth the wait and an exciting way to finally acquire an original Jade Pearl Talon.

DreamChaser7 said:

I was gonna fly out to buy that one but was too slow.

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I didn't even see the for sale post until it was already gone.

Love the car man! I think I talked with you a bit about it on the Facebook group. Great car, I’m glad it’s in the hands of someone who knows what it is and really appreciates it.

2GbTalonGuy said:

Love the car man! I think I talked with you a bit about it on the Facebook group. Great car, I’m glad it’s in the hands of someone who knows what it is and really appreciates it.

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Yes, I remember! And thank you.

I see you're in North Dakota. I actually spent some time there and it's in ND where I saw my first and only Jade Pearl.

Kid4g63 said:

Yes, I remember! And thank you.

I see you're in North Dakota. I actually spent some time there and it's in ND where I saw my first and only Jade Pearl.

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Really?? That’s wild! I’ve never seen or known of any Jade Pearl Talons to exist in ND. What part of ND were you in?

2GbTalonGuy said:

Really?? That’s wild! I’ve never seen or known of any Jade Pearl Talons to exist in ND. What part of ND were you in?

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I was in Minot for about a year. The guy who owned it moved to Fargo and then relocated to Florida.

Kid4g63 said:

I was in Minot for about a year. The guy who owned it moved to Fargo and then relocated to Florida.

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I’m in the Fargo area as well, I was never lucky enough to see it unfortunately.

Last month I had an opportunity to take the Jade Pearl Talon TSi out to a local car show. It was the first time I had a chance to really go over the car and give it a good drive. Being all stock, I entered the JP into the Stock / Mostly OEM class.



The day before the show, I took the car out for its first real drive. I had been so busy that I had only driven it around the block before parking it in the garage after it was unloaded from the trailer. I took it around town, grabbed some pictures and videos, and everything went great. A couple of those pictures and Instagram videos ended up in my first post.

Feeling good about the car, I decided to stop for gas, pick up some last-minute cleaning supplies from Lowe's, and head home for a final wash before show day.

After filling up the car, I was hit with a strong fuel smell after driving down the street and coming to a stoplight. At first I didn't think it was me because I had just driven the car with no issues, but sure enough, the smell got stronger. I was just down the street from Lowe's, so I pulled into the parking lot to have a look.

I got out of the car, and sure enough, the smell was coming from the Jade Pearl. I looked underneath and found I was leaking a good amount of fuel. Seeing that the leak was coming from somewhere above the tank, I pulled the rear seat and saw fuel pushing its way out past the locking ring for the secondary fuel sending unit and float.





I wasn't sure if maybe it was missing a gasket, so I grabbed the only tools I had—a stubby Phillips screwdriver and a rock—and cavemanned the locking ring loose to see what was going on. Upon loosening it, it came off pretty easily, so my hunch was that it just wasn't tight enough. After verifying that the gasket was indeed there, I went ahead and tightened the ring back down with my trusty screwdriver and rock.

I cleaned up all the spilled fuel with a shirt I had in the car and drove it home. Once I got back, I checked everything over again and found no more leak. I went ahead and threw the rear seat back in and finished getting the car cleaned up for the next day's event.

The next morning, I drove the car about an hour to the show without any issues and got staged for the day.





It turned out to be a great day. I had a lot of people stop by the Jade Pearl Talon to tell me how much they appreciated the car. Many shared stories about ones they used to own years ago, while others said they wished they could still buy one today. I also had a chance to chat with a couple DSM owners who didn't have their cars at the show but were in the middle of building them.



Overall, it was just a good day relaxing and enjoying time with other car enthusiasts. It had been a while since I'd been out to a car event, so it definitely took a little adjusting to get used to being on my feet all day. Next time I won't forget to bring a chair.

Glad it wasn’t a bigger issue with the fuel. I’m drooling with envy every time I see this car man. Take good care of her so when u sell it to me she’s still a happy girl.

DreamChaser7 said:

Glad it wasn’t a bigger issue with the fuel. I’m drooling with envy every time I see this car man. Take good care of her so when u sell it to me she’s still a happy girl.

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Yeah, I'm glad it wasn't a bigger issue as well. Do have a little oil leak that was left on the floor tho, so will need to track that down–looking like a possible turbo oil return leak.

Yes, I'm most definitely taking care of the car and making sure to take it out from time to time. I did take the Jade Pearl Talon out over the weekend to the NW DSM Centralia Meet. Was a good time with good people.