1993 Eagle Talon TSi AWD: Prototype

[MorrisonFab]

MorrisonFab submitted a new DSM Profile :

1993 Eagle Talon TSi AWD: Prototype


Read more about this vehicle here...

 

[MorrisonFab]

Here's the "story" behind the car and how it came to be where it is today.
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May 17, 2017. It was a Wednesday. My family had just sat down for dinner and I can distinctly remember looking outside of the window and seeing how strange the sky looked. I had been through a tornado before and there was a similar feeling in the way the air felt but I tried not to think about it – we lived in the city, after all… storms don’t come to the city, right?

We cleaned up and the sky continued to look worse. My husband, Matt (Mr Peepers), and I decided we should get the cars covered up – the weather app on my phone said hail was on the way. We had just gotten the fixtures from Ron Shearer (of Shearer Fabrications) for the DSM/Evo platforms and we had scattered them all over the garage so there was no room for our talons… We were in the middle of covering the cars with blankets, tarps, covers, and I said to Matt, “I’m going to go in and check on the girls quick,” since they were watching The Magic School Bus on Netflix. I heard a strange crack but thought it was nothing more than a goofy bit of lightning and was going to get a drink of water before checking on the status of the car covering party. Not seconds later, Matt was running into the house and looked petrified.

I remember asking, “What’s wrong?!?!” and he just looked at me. It was almost like he was at a loss of words and I sort of thought perhaps the lightning strike was just too close for comfort. Then he said it. Three words I’ll never forget:
“The tree fell.”

^you can barely tell, but the garage is destroyed and there are two talons in that photo – mine was just heavily covered with branches and hard to see (left under car cover, Matt's is on the right)

I remember asking if the cars were okay even though I knew they wouldn’t be. The only tree that would’ve fallen was old and massive. Falling to the ground and sobbing, the initial feelings of loss took mere seconds to kick in. However, the loss of the cars was nothing in comparison to how close I was to losing my husband – it sounds tacky but he legitimately did have to run for his life while the tree came crashing down at him. Our garage was destroyed and there was also damage to our home. The whole devastating ordeal felt like losing a member of our immediate family.

^If I had to pick a 2017 recap photo, it would be this one. Months of cleaning up and trying to rebuild our lives; throughout the entire devastating ordeal, we smiled because we had each other and our family was safe.

On July 8, 2015, I had made a Facebook post asking the universe to find me a clean red 1ga because I had been missing my first DSM (owned it from like 2002/03ish to 2012). It was almost mockery because I knew how difficult it would be to find one in a similar condition as my first but a friend of mine, Cong (fenixtx717), tagged Matt in the post saying if I was lucky, Matt might sell me his extra shell.
Matt.
*THE* MR PEEPERS(!!!).
The guy I had crushed on throughout the years.
I can remember seeing him for the first time in 2009 at MOD in Normal, IL and knowing there was something about him, but it just wasn’t our time. But over the next few years, my interest in him would grow and succeed (he was totally out of my league and there was no way I could stand a chance with that guy). After Cong tagged him, Matt replied with, “…If I'm going to sell it, it would be to you!” I immediately sent him a message saying, “Hey, you!” (and threw my phone down out of panic because ** I just PM’d this guy I had been crushing on and holy bananas, I’m totally a girl)...
And it all became history from there...

Losing that car broke me – it was what brought me to my husband. There was a lot of sentimental value attached to it. Shortly after we got treed (the only time this has happened to Matt!), I made another post on Facebook asking for help on finding replacement ones – 1 auto, 1 manual. The community completely blew our minds with their support and help. It was overwhelming and we, to this day, have wonderful folks we don’t even know messaging us with leads. We’ve been in the DSM world for a combined 25+ years and in that time, I haven’t seen anything like the kind of support we received. Matt had decided to keep his and fix it but mine was a total loss. I tried to part it out but that was emotionally wearing and so I stopped doing that. I still can’t bring myself to get rid of the remains.

^We even took it on a road trip to Utah, where we got engaged, in 2016 (2800 miles round-trip).

A wonderful friend messaged me and said a friend of his (Colt Boostin) was selling Ron Shearer’s old 1gb talon – the one he did all the testing for his manifolds on. Interestingly, we had taken over making the Shearer Fabrications manifolds for the DSM and Evo platforms in February so it felt natural to have this car in our possession again doing what it did many, many years ago. I also owned the last Shearer-made manifold ever made for the 4g63 platform. I contacted JP and we scheduled a time to come out and pick it up (took an entire month to get our calendars to coordinate and it felt like lifetimes!).

^Photos JP had sent to me while we were awaiting our schedules to align

After driving for what felt like decades (even if it was only like 9 hours), we arrived to JP’s beautiful home in Ohio. He was legitimately one of the nicest sellers we had ever dealt with. We loaded up the car – with our Hoosiers and all – and were ready to head on out. We bought the custom intercooler setup that Ron had made for it too: A super great inclusion! We even got Ron’s original license plate from when he named the car Prototype (we since sent it back to him).

After chatting for a while, we decided it was getting late and we needed to hit the road. A police officer stopped us before we could get into the truck and asked us what was under the car cover. So we told him and it turned out he was an avid DSM enthusiast who used to run them streets at one time too. It was a pretty neat chat!

We knew we needed to get a car running and ready to get fitment and testing done. The plans that I had for the 5-speed turned into plans for Prototype. I had the turbo, Shep trans, intercooler setup, intake and exhaust manifolds, cams (and quite a bit of everything else, ha!) and we were ready to get this thing back on the road.

My goal for the car was to be able to get down on the street and the track, yet also something capable of daily driving. It was a tough decision between finally going auto or staying a stick car. Ultimately, I’m the kind of person who really loves – yet hate with a strong passion at the same time – the inconsistencies so I kept the car as a manual (and continuing to have both an auto and a 5-speed sounded nice to my husband). Still, some days, I contemplate converting...but I know I won’t.

Two weeks after purchase, a pretty badass car was running. This car had turned into everything I had ever wanted it to be (well, outside of the shell not being my now wrecked 1ga). All fabrication was done in-house –outside of the exhaust manifold – with my and my husband’s business, Morrison Fabrications. I wanted to avoid a side/hood exit at all costs and that took a bit of magic but that goal was accomplished. Overall, everything went [fairly] smoothly without many hiccups. There were some small things that didn’t get done right away but because it was just super exciting to get it running so the whole, “it’ll get done later” mentality kicked in (we all do this…right?).

In October of 2017, I took the car to a friend’s dyno event at Endless Autosport in Milwaukee. The car still wasn’t 100% complete – it was missing the secondary injectors and dynatek, and only on a 3-bar map. Knowing that it wasn’t 100% done, I couldn’t turn it up beyond 30psi but it did everything I hoped it would: 640awhp (647 corrected)/407tq on a mustang dyno. The power curve was healthy and right where I wanted it. And my friends laughed at me for wearing pink earmuffs at the event (pfft, we will see who is laughin’ when I can hear at 60 years old and they can’t though - that car is just...loud).
Video:

A trip to the track in mid to late October with good friends was also very telling of the health levels of the setup. No launching because, well, the clutch stuff still hadn’t been addressed and it was still on a 3-bar map so a decision to not turn it up and roll off the line was made; a decent timeslip accompanied the trip back home that really gave an overall picture of where the car was and where it was headed. Good places. The car is headed for good, good places. Please note, the video makes it sound like the shifting was…weird but according to the logs, real decent – that iPhone 5 video quality is apparently not as advanced as it was 5 years ago
Video:

Plans for the 2018 season are pretty much the same as they were when drawing up build plans: have fun on the street, do work at the track, daily drive it, enjoy the heck out of it, and see how far it can be pushed. Still need to do a bit of clutch upgrades; have TMZ build me another trans for when I blow this one up, and; install the dynatek, secondary injectors, and cruise control (and A/C if I can make it work – I’m getting old, y’all).

I’d like to think that at some point I’ll turn it up beyond 30psi but even throughout the months it was running in 2017, I never got used to the feel of it. Each time felt like the first time and, if I’m honest, the strength of each pull left me trying to catch my breath and a bit terrified. Really looking forward to this year’s local track events and hoping to be able to partake in some of them – if my confidence is back up there again. Really excited to take it to a dynojet once everything is sorted and really see where it stands, as well.

There was a time when I would’ve agreed that a setup like this doesn’t seem like it would do very well daily driving it; however, it has proved me (and my husband) wrong. It keeps up with traffic just fine (better than my “actual” daily driver, in fact!), and the clutch and trans just work together nicely. It is kind of fun to say I daily drive a 600+ car in the summer and have full confidence in the reliability of it, too. Some of my favorite things I do with the car are just…going for pointless drives to nowhere with Matt, picking up groceries, and getting together with good friends (and letting them take it out - or taking them out if they don't feel comfortable behind the wheel - for a rip, of course!).

Overall, I’m happy with it. There are still days it’s hard to look at it; knowing the only reason I have it is because I lost “the one” to something out of my control can be hard but having my husband safe is worth more than the loss of a car. And in the end, I have a pretty gosh dang-o neat car

Cheers!
-Samantha

 

[b00stedtalon2]

Can't wait to see more updates!!!! Subscribed.

 

[MorrisonFab]

Can't wait to see more updates!!!! Subscribed.

Thank you, my friend! We are looking forward to seeing you this season - maybe Prototype will be cool enough to be able to park next to your beauty again

 

[92AWDHX40]

Looking for more inspiring story, following you everywhere.

 

[MorrisonFab]

Looking for more inspiring story, following you everywhere.

Thank you! It's been a journey but a good one

 

[Vegas Smith]

That's a fun story. I didn't realize the tree took out both your cars. What bad luck.

You'll get the car to where it looks better. It just takes time and it's all apart of the journey with these things. They're never done. Here is a picture of mine how I bought it as opposed to my profile pic:

BTW, tell Slanted J I said hi.

 

[DSM's 4 life]

I love how the car sits.

what tires are you running? and whats your suspension setup?

 

[BoostedTalonTS]

What a cool story! The cars can be replaced, the people, not so much

 

[TsiTom]

Very cool story! Subscribed

 

[MorrisonFab]

That's a fun story. I didn't realize the tree took out both your cars. What bad luck.

You'll get the car to where it looks better. It just takes time and it's all apart of the journey with these things. They're never done. Here is a picture of mine how I bought it as opposed to my profile pic:

BTW, tell Slanted J I said hi.
View attachment 531557

Noticed that (them never being done), as well, throughout the years! It’s always a process and even when the car is “done,” there’s still a next chapter in the story. On the several I’ve owned throughout the years, this one is the only one that I’m content with staying in the current pages of its book

Funny story on the terrible fenders – Ron was snow drifting and crashed which is how these black ones came to be. They help my hustle so they’ll probably stay; nobody expects a car that is two different colors to do anything cool around here. I enjoy the way they underestimate it

Yours looks incredible, holy moly! It looks completely different – well done! We are seeing him next weekend so we will do that!

I love how the car sits.
what tires are you running? and whats your suspension setup?

Thank you! Pretty happy with it, as well
KYB AGX
Eibach Prokit
Rota Slipstream Wheels 15X8 with M/T ET Streets

What a cool story! The cars can be replaced, the people, not so much

Thank you for taking the time to read it! Very true. A whirlwind of emotions hitting all at once was a strange experience – the realization of just how close I was to losing my person to feeling grateful as hell he saw the tree coming down at him and being able to escape, mixed with the feelings of loss. Weird, weird day but despite the devastation, it happened in a way I’m grateful for. Cheers!

Very cool story! Subscribed

Thank you for reading it! Didn't realize it would be a freakin' novel but there it is, ha!

 

[DSM's 4 life]

what tire size on the et streets?

 

[92AWDHX40]

Subscribed

 

[802gst]

Remarkable and truly an inspiration. So happy for you and your husband, and many thanks for sharing.

 

[MorrisonFab]

what tire size on the et streets?

235/60/15

Remarkable and truly an inspiration. So happy for you and your husband, and many thanks for sharing.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read it!!

 

[MorrisonFab]

Got the DSM Consolidated Runner Twin Scroll T4 mocked up on my car with the GTX4202. Looks pretty dang-o good! Love this piece and my manifold (Top Mount Twin Scroll T4) - it's going to be hard putting mine back on! Just need another car so we can have one of each (ha!).

Prototype's 6 month dyno check-up is on February 27 - hoping to have most of the little things that were neglected to be done (because o m g it's running!). We decided not to rush it and put the secondary injectors on and tune the car all over again for just this appointment so we plan to max out what's on there.

Looking forward to seeing another healthy power curve (just with higher numbers than previously as it's gonna get turned up just a bit more ).
Cheers!

 

[red96eclipseRS]

I love build threads with a back story. I can sit here all day reading these. Looking forward to updates!

 

[MorrisonFab]

Two weeks and two days to go until the dyno. I’ve never wanted more days added in February until right now. There’s a list that seems to continuously get longer (why is that?!). Progress is progress though!

More photos on Facebook: www.facebook.com/MorrisonFab1

 

[Vegas Smith]

Setup is too simple for my tastes...

 

[MorrisonFab]

Setup is too simple for my tastes...

Should probably scrap and start over, to be honest

 

[Dsm panda]

Looks amazing!

 

[b00stedtalon2]

Fancy

 

[brian9397gsx]

I like the fab work but it seems a little much for such a small turbo.

 

[lasershark]

Cool story, well kind of, the tree part was not that great. Looks fun

 

[MorrisonFab]

Monday afternoon was wild and busy. Similar to the final prep before a track event, it entailed late nights and a never ending checklist of "To-Do" items, AND finding time to pick up the truck and trailer two incredibly wonderful friends of ours let us borrow for the big day.

We got everything loaded on Monday - the car, the next setup, and all the tools/spare parts - and, of course, barely got any sleep (a bit of excitement, anticipation, and just being busy may have all played a role in that).

The appointment was for 9:30 a.m. at Late Model Throttle in Waukesha, WI. They let us take over the dyno for the day and gave us free reign to do what we had to do. It was pretty incredible. We did a few pulls with the Consolidated Runner first, then tore it apart for the standard setup, and then did some more pulls.

We are currently doing a massive write-up on the whole endeavor and sharing out the results from both. We were incredibly pleased with what we gathered and cannot wait to share it with you within the next few days! The HP numbers were interesting, of course - but much of the other data collected was vastly more intriguing. "Best" numbers: 860whp @38psi (the only graph I snapped a photo of is the 850 pull though - but we will share all graphs in the full novel - ha!).

Here's a quick video from the day, in advance of the full story: