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Street Build 1997 Talon TSi OEM+

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Well here we go, I am going to try and keep this build thread somewhat light and simple. I have a track record for starting build treads and then selling the car...I think this time though I found a keeper. So figured Id try and keep somewhat of a log of updates. Lets get to it!

DETAILS!
1997 Eagle Talon TSi AWD with 110k miles, clean title and completely bone stock. After many years of dealing with these cars I've never come across a DSM so whole and complete as well untouched. What I paid for the car is crazy (1400$) and I don't think I could ever again find a deal like it again. I consider myself very very lucky to have found this one. Car popped up in my local FB feed and was listed as running and driving with a bad transmission that slipped and wouldn't stay in gear. After being ghosted for a whole day from the seller (even though I saw that he was reading my inquiries...jerk!) I finally just said Id buy the car sight unseen. He responded shortly after and a bit of back and forth and the car was mine. I was leaving for Florida on Friday, this all transpired on Monday and by Thursday that car was dropped off in my driveway. Ill do a run down of issues in a later post but long story short car was in great condition and I have since driven it around town multiple times with no issues. Its nice to ACTUALLY own a DSM that runs and drives!!!

Okay Okay Okay you all want pictures or it didn't happen...
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Quick update...I've done a handful of things so far that I didn't capture photos off. Ill go back and take some pictures but Ill also list some of the stuff out just so I keep track.

-Brakes were complete crap so I installed a full brake kit from Power Stop I had sitting around. Painted the new calipers black, new pads, Russel stainless brake lines and drilled and slotted rotors on all four corners. Just need to finish bleeding them.
-Started cleaning up and treating any rust that was there. Even small areas turn into decent areas so Ill need to go back in the future and repair some sections but its treated and ground out for now. Should stop the spread. Ill fully recondition the wells in the future.
-Changed the oil with Rotella T6...the car had twice the amount of oil needed in the car. The entire dip stick was coated when pulled. Also did a new filter
-Did a compression test. Cylinders #1, #3, and #4 were 165 but cylinder #2 blew 90, 115, 125, then finally 140. I have no clue what that even means, if anyone has suggestions I'm all ears. Bad head gasket? Ring? Valve?
-Pulled the wiper cowl and wiper assembly and cleaned everything out and re greased the wiper balls. It was disgusting in the cowl area and it was just easier to pull it and really clean it out.
-Pulled apart the entire front, head lights, front bumper etc. and polished the head lights and installed a front bumper quick release kit. Cleaned up nicely and I think it turned out good.
-Pulled the entire rear apart, interior, spare area, rear tails etc. to really clean and repair anything that needed attention. Currently still in progress on this job.

Lastly, I washed the car twice, clay bared the entire car, buffed and polished the entire car and topped it off with a nice coat of wax. This I DO have pictures of so enjoy!
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This duplicate image will not remove itself from this post...oh well enjoy another shot of pure eye candy 😍
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Gorgeous! More process pics!
Looking closer I finally realized you are the same person that makes the Velocity Labs videos (not as of late slacker...I am kidding I have four kids so I understand). A couple years ago I was laying in bed watching you make the road trip to pick up your 97 Talon thinking to myself "Man I hate this guy....why can't I find good deal like that...I'm so jealous". Only took me two years of searching to find my good deal :cool: But now we are brothers! Nice to meet you Erik, names Gregory.

Wow. That’s an incredible deal and cleaned up nicely.
Thanks! I am still a bit in awe that I actually picked this thing up. It has its flaws but man I am lucky. Appreciate the kind words.
 
UPDATE:

Picked up a set of Evo VIII Enkeis for 200$ locally. Not sure if it's a good deal or not but I think Evos look good on the 2G so I went for it. They were painted white many moons ago and started to look like a person that hasn't brushed their teeth in awhile, plus I am wanted to redo them in a metallic silver or gun metal, not sure yet. I took them to a powder coater near me and he quoted me 175$ PER WHEEL. Wasn't to happy with that price so I decided to refinish them myself. Stripping paint is fun...:notgood:

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This after two coats of a citrus paint stripper I picked up from Home Depot. Worked well even though I was hoping to preserve the silver underneath. Next step is to pull the tires and scrub these guys super clean and get them ready for paint. That will come in a later update.
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August 8th 2021:

So first off just want to say, please don't judge me to harshly for this update, I am doing my best with the tools and methods I have at my disposal. But anyway...I know we all know that rust is a killer of these cars and despite my first impressions of this car and stating that it was fairly clean it did have its dark corners. Its really insane to see an area that looks to be fairly rust free or minimal and then once you get to grinding and removing the rust just how far this crap can eat away under the surface. Sadly I don't have any before shots of any of this stuff but Ill say from the first impressions I wasn't expecting it to go this far in some areas. Its still a work in progress but wanted to give an update anyway. So here we go...

Started tearing into the rear. The hatch area, seal and rear section was dirty as hell and I wanted to go through it. Pulled the seal off and soaked it in a bucket over night and then cleaned it with a toothbrush...yeah I'm THAT guy. Replaced the hatch struts and all the hardware related to the struts and stops. There are a few known/unknown rust prone areas in these hatch areas that I wanted to check/address. RABIT HOLE!

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The drains for the hatch usually clog up which in turn overflow and end up leaking right onto this thin cheap one layer of metal in the rear sections with cutouts in them. This one wasn't horrible but after some grinding and cleaning it was ready for repair. Now I have NEVER done any metal work in my life nor have I ever repaired rust holes before. After some research it turns out JB Weld sticks and cures exceptionally well to freshly ground metal. So I picked up a sheet of 18 gauged steal and after a bit of CAD work this is what I ended up with. This is all Stage 1 and I will eventually do a bit of grinding/sanding on these areas, prep it with primer/POR 15 (both top and bottom) and will be undercoating both sides to completely seal it up. Is this the right way? I have no clue but its the best way I have at my disposal.
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Driver side...yeah through into the well. Still fixable though IMO.
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Driver side wheel well side repaired. Haven't done the inside yet.
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This was a complete wheel well with what looked like flaking rust on the edges. This is what I got it down to after cutting out all the rust. So scary to cut holes in this car like this but I know it will continue to spread if I don't get it out.
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Again I have never done anything like this before so be kind LOL. This piece took a good bit of time but I think it fits nicely.
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Did all of this with an angle grinder, Dremel and a small hammer. Gotta be better ways to shave and mold thin sheet metal. Oh well.
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Final thing for this update is the Evo 8 wheels...got the tires pulled off of them and Ill be bringing them to get blasted. Was going to clean them myself but at 20$ a wheel to blast its just a massive time save to spend the 80$ and get them blasted. Not sure what color I am going to paint them yet.
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August 10th, 2021:

Continuing work on the rear wheel wells. Keeping this update simple so lets get to the photos.

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This is mostly good to go and ready for primer and coatings.
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Driver side wheel well is cleaned, certain areas primered and mostly taped off and good to go.
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Still a bit glossy since I peeled the tape pretty much directly after spraying two coats. Honestly not sure how I feel about this lower section.
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Overall I think the wheel well is 8/10...the lower section that I repaired is 6/10 IMO although I am not sure what Id do to make it better.
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Thought about rolling the quarter lip but decided not to. I don't plan to go THAT low. Who knows I may roll them in the future if need be.
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Car actually rode fairly decent but pulling the strut/springs off the car they were in definite need of attention. I had no intention of putting my Feal coilovers on the car but I think its time. I intended to do the coilovers along with pulling the rear subframe, along with doing full bushings, getting the arms/subframe coated and new hardware but I decided to move up the coilover timeline. Ill do the other stuff in a future project.

Beat up suspension...
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Ready for it...
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I'm happy overall but it's bittersweet for me as I am a person that likes to do all or nothing so I am bummed that the subframe, arms, bushing, and hardware aren't all as fresh and restored as Id like them to be. Dumb I know but it's just how I like to do things. But I am glad one side is mostly done aside from few small things. Passenger side here I come :cool:
 
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September 14th 2021:

After wrapping up the rear, which was the more time consuming parts I moved on to the front. The driver side had the worst rust spot and after grinding and removing the seam sealer around the area this is what I ended up with. In efforts of keeping things moving I did not go to the level I would have desired on all of these wells but I know that projects like these can drag on for a long time so I treated what needed to be treated and tried to keep progress moving. In the far future I plan to do some sort of media blast these wells again and do a complete restoration but for now the bad parts needed attention to prevent further spread.
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Spent a decent amount of time shaping and forming the sheet metal and then JB welded and treated followed up with the undercoating. In the future Ill be going with a more durable less rubberized coating.
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Finished product. I didn't take pictures of the passenger side as there was nothing but scrubbing and the coating to be applied to the wheel well, plus I needed to get the car on the ground and moving since my STI was heading into the dealership for a headlight issue so I needed the Talon drivable for a few days.
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Ended up doing a light fender roll in the rear. This isn't the final height but it was on the ground and drivable at least. Looks really good IMO.
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Decided it was also time to do some interior cleaning so I snapped a few pictures cause I was just amazed at how clean and untouched this car was. Ill take a few better interior shots and add them to the next update but this is what I got. I'm still just so amazed at how crisp and clean the interior was/is.
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Finally, did its maiden voyage which was driving my daughter to volleyball practice and snapped this shot. Its personally my favorite shot of the car so far. These cars are just so damn beautiful. I hope I am doing this car justice in its repairs and restoration.
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Loving this! Looks like that ol bird is gettin' the proper attention and care it deserves! Definitely good inspiration here on tackling rust. Mine's got similar rust issues and since I can't weld I've been putting it off. Tell you hwat, you come on over for summer vacation here in the very cheap and beautiful Bulgarian seaside; you can sleep in our spare room for free. All I ask is you help me cancel the rust :pray:
 
Loving this! Looks like that ol bird is gettin' the proper attention and care it deserves! Definitely good inspiration here on tackling rust. Mine's got similar rust issues and since I can't weld I've been putting it off. Tell you hwat, you come on over for summer vacation here in the very cheap and beautiful Bulgarian seaside; you can sleep in our spare room for free. All I ask is you help me cancel the rust :pray:
Deal! One condition…that your cool with me bringing my four kids and wife 😁 Jokes aside thanks for the kind words, I’ve always wanted to learn to weld (and I probably will in the future) but I wanted a way to at least prevent any spread and this seemed like a good middle ground.
 
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