Weekend Warrior - 1997 Talon TSi AWD

[MindBlowin03]

MindBlowin03 submitted a new DSM Profile :

Weekend Warrior


Read more about this vehicle here...

 

[ethancemer]

SICK BUILD BRO HOLYYYY

 

[92AWDHX40]

Nice build list love that erl manifold.

 

[miliman13]

Love that body with that color !!!!!!!!
Gorgeous!

 

[MindBlowin03]

Love that body with that color !!!!!!!!
Gorgeous!

Thank you. It's definitely a favorite of mine as well.

 

[diambo4life]

So damn clean bro. Love it.

 

[Ludachris]

Thank you. It's definitely a favorite of mine as well.

Any updates on the build? Or maybe some updates on what you've been doing with it?

 

[MindBlowin03]

Any updates on the build? Or maybe some updates on what you've been doing with it?

Man, I've done sooo much in the last 10 years. Unfortunately there's not a ton of documentation. When I get minute I'll update with a synopsis of things.

 

[Ludachris]

Man, I've done sooo much in the last 10 years. Unfortunately there's not a ton of documentation. When I get minute I'll update with a synopsis of things.

I’ve always been terrible at documenting and taking photos.

 

[Tiki2777]

I’ve always been terrible at documenting and taking photos.

I went ham on my teardown of my blue Talon and the numerous garage sessions with my green 2G, but holy heck it's just photo bomb city. I'll try and get those kicked into a build thread at some point . The photos are there, even if they're somewhat dull or surrounded by a mega messy garage.........

 

[diambo4life]

I’ve always been terrible at documenting and taking photos.

It's easy with phones. With me I take phone photos (not the best quality) but they get automatically synced and postmarked to my Google Photos and I can pull up a photo from 5 years ago for a specific date if I needed to to update a thread. I love it.

 

[Ludachris]

It's easy with phones. With me I take phone photos (not the best quality) but they get automatically synced and postmarked to my Google Photos and I can pull up a photo from 5 years ago for a specific date if I needed to to update a thread. I love it.

Oh I have my phone with me all the time, synced to Google Photos too. My brain just always forgets to take photos as I'm doing something worth documenting. I'm the worst content generator there is, and that's sort of what I do for a living (website and marketing operations).

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

That is one awesome looking DSM.
Chris, ya gotta start snappin pics. You can't get it back but you can always delete it.

 

[diambo4life]

Man, I've done sooo much in the last 10 years. Unfortunately there's not a ton of documentation. When I get minute I'll update with a synopsis of things.

Get on with it brother.

 

[MindBlowin03]

Get on with it brother.

It's coming I swear. I really want to sit at my desktop(yes, I still have one) and do the story justice. I also have to go through the photos on my phone, and they are a ton. I'll get everything squared away this weekend...

 

[CrackedDSM]

It's coming I swear. I really want to sit at my desktop(yes, I still have one) and do the story justice. I also have to go through the photos on my phone, and they are a ton. I'll get everything squared away this weekend...

Don't forget your reading glasses so you can see the screen.

Also, there's a sale on metamucil this weekend.

 

[Ludachris]

Don't forget your reading glasses so you can see the screen.

Also, there's a sale on metamucil this weekend.

That should have been directed at me

 

[SixBolt_16G]

It's coming I swear. I really want to sit at my desktop(yes, I still have one) and do the story justice. I also have to go through the photos on my phone, and they are a ton. I'll get everything squared away this weekend...

Patiently waiting....


...silently judging...

 

[CrackedDSM]

That should have been directed at me

To be fair, it was directed at all of us. Even the young guys here who use forums at all are seen as "old guys" by the younger/social media generations.


Love my forums though. Proud spiritual old guy.

 

[MindBlowin03]

Ok, nearly 12 years without a single update is a bit crazy so I guess it's time. I will try to give a decent story behind the car and I guess I will upload some random photos from over the years and hope for the best. Enjoy...

In late 2008 I had been into DSMs about 9 years and owned several 1Gs. At this point I wanted to change it up a bit. I was gonna look for either a Galant VR-4 or a 2G, specifically a 97/98 Talon AWD, so my quest started. I am very picky about what I like and I really really wanted a Paprika Red with black/tan interior. After many months of searching I couldn't find one and basically gave up on the 2G idea. I did however find a Galant VR-4 a couple hours from me that was very clean so I was planning to pull the trigger on that car. I spoke with the guy several times and I gave a small non-refundable deposit and made plans to pick the car up the following week.

Within days of that deal I find a 97 Talon AWD in the Paprika/tan combo that I really wanted. It was super clean, had a fresh paint job, rebuilt motor(6 bolt), and some decent mods. It was two states away from me and about 5 hours but that wasn't enough look away. I contacted the owner right away. After many conversations/phone calls we agreed to make a deal. My best buddy(also a DSMer) and myself rent a trailer and take the ride. We met in the middle from both of us, about 2.5 hours. I took the car for a short test drive and everything was as stated so the deal was made. I contacted the owner of the Galant VR-4 and told him the situation. He was cool with it and we moved on.

I enjoyed the car a short while in 2008 and over the winter I wanted to do a few things so it was parked. Early into 2009 and while going over things closely I noticed the engine had crankwalked. A 6 bolt with only a few thousand miles on it and it was shot. That was when the first tear down happened. This first round included a rebuilt motor(which is still in the car today, Mahle/Eagle combo, lightly ported head and HKS 272 cams), some suspension mods, brake kit, Cyclone intake, 1150s, water/meth, battery relocation, alt. relocation, light rewire, 56mm HX40, ACT 2600 with street disk, etc. All this was nearly 1 year of total time, from early 2009 to early 2010. At this point the car was very clean and ran really well.

2010 was a great year. Took nearly all summer to get it running great and just enjoying it. Late 2010 we got wind of some no-prep airport drags held by a local Corvette club. My DSM buddy and I headed up to that and had a great time. This was honestly the first time I thought the car was pretty fast as I was beating cars that were ~500 hp pretty easily. The very next weekend there was a dyno a couple hours from us so we went with a bunch of friends. My car did about 525/510 off the street and ended up 565/524 after dialing in. To say I was stoked would be an understatement. I had hoped to see 500awhp when all was said and done but mid 500s was insane to me - especially in 2010.

Over the next 10 years(2010-2019) I just enjoyed the car. We did the airport drags for a few years and my car did amazing every year. Almost every year I did something over the winter to just keep tweaking to my liking. I really wanted to do a wire tuck at some point but didn't want to be down an extended period of time so I always put it off. In 2016 and 2017 I got into some street 'list' racing. This was all no prep 1/4 mile with a bunch of rules to keep it real to street cars(full interior, DOT tire, inspection, etc). I did pretty well in that and made it up to the #3 spot, not being able to get over the hump with two CTS-V cars. Both were very low 10 second cars so no shame there. I had an absolute blast with everyone involved in that and really earned some more street cred. At the end of 2019 I wanted to dyno the car again because I was going to switch up the setup a bit and wanted to see the differences. We had a local AWD dyno at this point so of course I went there by myself just to play a bit. Ended up making 608/510 on e60 and 60mm HX40/Cyclone combo. I was super happy with that and the car always ran and it ran great.

In very early 2020 I was gonna pull the trigger on the wire tuck. My options were to either purchase all the tooling and do it myself or talk to Ohm racing. After much debating I decided on the Ohm Racing purchase. I was in talks with them for probably a month to make sure I get everything just as I wanted. Literally as this is happening COVID shuts everything down. I immediately decided that 2020 is a wash and I'm going all out on the car. So not only a setup change and wire tuck but I'm pulling everything and shaving the bay. I had been a hoarder of NOS parts for years so I decided it was time to put them to use before I die and my wifes dumps everything. At this time I also have the motor freshened up(new bearings, clean up, etc), suspension upgrade, alum. driveshaft, another clutch swap(my 5th and FINAL setup), wheels, every fuel related item, and a TON of powdercoating. I also replaced every OEM nut and bolt with brand new OEM hardware. Literally everything that can be seen was replaced. The list was huge and I wouldn't be able to put everything on here, just trust me on this .

In 2021 the car is back, after just over a year. From 2021-2025 I really enjoyed it and started taking it to car shows much more often than I used to. The attention it has gotten in the last 5 or 6 years has been amazing. I even took it to a MOPAR show in 2025 and won a trophy . I actually stopped racing it 'officially' as I just lost interest in it to be honest. I take it out, do a pull here and there, and go home happy. The local dyno closed shop so I was never able to re-test the car but that's ok. I went from 64 lbs/min @ 38psi on the old setup to 74 lbs/min @ 40psi on the new setup. It's amazing what cams, intake manifold and some fueling can do.

Overall, I can't enjoy this car more than I do. It's still very street-able and performs perfectly. It's not a daily driver but it's not supposed to be. But I can get in it and take it anywhere without worry. I've driven it 1-2 hours away on several occasions and there's never been an issue. I really have always tried to keep it OEM+ as much as possible and it's just what I like. The only thing it's missing is A/C and cruise, and that doesn't bother me a bit. Everyone that takes a ride with me just can't believe how it rides like stock but pulls to the moon. The goal is to take it to a handful of shows this year, scare myself once in a while, and be happy.

If interested in my videos, my Youtube channel is @MindBlowin03.

 

[92AWDHX40]

Damn this thing looks great thanks for the update on this build its really inspring. Following on the ig, same erl manifold on my dsm hx40 too. Im running the same radium afpr in the same spot how do you like it. I have yet to drive this thing plan is to get it running and dynoed this summer and make it look nicer in the following montsh before the shootout. IF not then winter months she comes apart for more of the restoration process. Oem and new tech with haltech , dbw, and ic7 digital dash. Love the engine bay.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Jesus Christ, 2009?! Was it really that long ago? I remember it like it was maybe 5+ years. This car has always been and will always be one of my absolute favorites. That interior shot is so clean it almost looks AI generated. Spectacular.

 

[diambo4life]

Just amazing. I wish I could get a car clean but I live in Oklahoma which is very dusty and very windy all year around. Even garaged, a car here accumulates layers of dust in just a few days. It's such a shame but I live vicariously through some of you guys who have the patience and skill to keep your rides spotless. Good job Nick!

 

[pauleyman]

Just amazing. I wish I could get a car clean but I live in Oklahoma which is very dusty and very windy all year around. Even garaged, a car here accumulates layers of dust in just a few days. It's such a shame but I live vicariously through some of you guys who have the patience and skill to keep your rides spotless. Good job Nick!

Im gonna catch crap from the Detailer guys but I'm in oklahoma also. On a well waxed car I used a California car duster and I was always happy with the results. The car was black also.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Just amazing. I wish I could get a car clean but I live in Oklahoma which is very dusty and very windy all year around. Even garaged, a car here accumulates layers of dust in just a few days. It's such a shame but I live vicariously through some of you guys who have the patience and skill to keep your rides spotless. Good job Nick!

I not only see your dust and wind, but raise you the Florida pollen. Which every year gets worse because they keep cutting trees down, and the remaining trees are trying to repopulate desperately.

Nothing more infuriating than cleaning your car, or even your windshield and (not an exaggeration) 5 minutes later its covered with semi-sticky yellow powder that not only won't wipe off with your windshield wipers, but God forbid you use washer fluid. Now there's a yellow mess dripping down....anyway.

I feel your pain. TL;DR