The Story Of A Very Awesome Ebay Built 1g DSM

by "Powershiftmedia-ResidentDSMGuru" (matt-powershiftmedia)
Published 11/18/2017 at 23:25

Tags: DSM ; Budget builds
STARS: 4

Regardless of what some people may think, the DSM community is alive and kicking. Here in Ohio, there’s still many of us, and the originals like myself tend to band together with some of the other OG DSM members. One of those members is a good friend by the name of Andrew, and he owns a very rowdy 1GB Talon all wheel drive.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

A while back, Andrew owned a 1GA Plymouth Laser, and like ALL 1GA Lasers, it was front wheel drive. That didn’t deter him from building a rowdy setup, and much of my inspiration is taken from that very car. The Laser I speak of was daily driven, and ran a hood exit exhaust, because that’s just how we do things around here.

With a larger turbocharger and proper supporting modifications, his car quickly garnered a nasty reputation for hurting feelings. Back then, I didn’t even know him on a personal level, however, I had known about this Laser. This was a front wheel drive DSM that was picking on some pretty nasty cars and hurting feelings with excellent regularity.

A very hilarious story he had actually shared with me was of an LS powered firebird that was pulling the front wheels. It had been proven to make deep 11 second passes, and after sizing it up, he was able to take it down. Very impressive for a front wheel drive that wasn’t rocking a $10,000 build by any stretch.

Unfortunately, rust had set in and he decided to pull the motor and utilize it elsewhere.

Enter The 1g AWD

Now I don’t have many pictures of this particular car on hand, just a few I snapped the other day and a very bad ass video of it idling. With that out of the way, this car is very much a sleeper. This is the quintessential DSM you’ve been warned about over the years.

It doesn’t have coilovers, it’s on stock suspension. It’s not wearing fancy wheels, it’s on Evolution 8 wheels to be exact. It’s mostly stock appearing.

This is a daily driven Talon running a bumper exit exhaust, aside from that and the front mounted intercooler, you’d have no idea that this car is likely pushing over 400 all wheel horsepower. Except the idle perhaps.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

The idle tells a sinister story. Rocking the BC272 cams that everyone says not to run, she sounds absolutely sinister. The alternator has been rear mounted to allow the side exhaust exhaust to pass through where it used to reside.

If I’m not mistaken, the fuel pressure regulator and many of the parts are eBay sourced. Tuning is provided by DSMlink and Andrew does all of his tuning himself. He’s very old school and no matter how much I run him shit about still utilizing a mass air sensor, the setup works and it’s clear that my new age mindset is more stubborn than successful.

The turbocharger is an eBay unit, a few weeks ago the turbo he had been running for quite some time decided to puke up an exhaust wheel. Undeterred, he grabbed a similar unit on Craigslist for just $70 and started to send it. I won’t disclose boost pressure, but it’s fairly high and I can confirm the setup is very wicked after what I heard and witnessed the other day.

The exhaust manifold is also a knock off and is working exceptionally well, again this is a car that sees miles. He’s actually driven to my place over 30 miles away on multiple occasions and hasn’t had any real issues aside from the suicidal turbocharger a few weeks ago. The transmission is also OEM and seems to be taking the heat as well.

Doing What DSMs Do Best

It doesn’t take much cash to make one of these cars hurt feelings, many people associate “budget builds” with unreliability, and that’s not always the case. Maintenance and knowledge keep these cars on the road, big money parts don’t. This is truly a setup that could run some nasty times, and be driven home. I can’t guess what’s invested in it, but I’d venture to say that it isn’t a great deal. What I can say is this however; this Talon does work on the daily and sounds absolutely incredible while doing it.

Thanks for taking time to read a quick shout out to a local car. If you’d like to see more of these, let me know, as there’s no shortage of sick rides in my area.

Replies (15)

"Dannyrampage" (dannyrampage1)
11/19/2017 at 12:20, STARS: 1

I have a 1990 eagle talon tsi awd turbo model is being park for about 5 years now but everythingworks on in I been collecting parts for yesrs for my 1g once I get it on the road I’m shooting for 600 awdhp but I take 500hp I pretty much good everythingI need ecmlink 272 kelford cams 9:0.1 JE pistons precision turbo 82.AR just to name a few

"Powershiftmedia-ResidentDSMGuru" (matt-powershiftmedia)
11/19/2017 at 12:52, STARS: 0

Have some pictures?

"winterlegacy, here 'till the end" (winterlegacy)
11/19/2017 at 14:01, STARS: 1

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

This engine is now a flash drive in my head. I can’t un-think it. Send help.

"Powershiftmedia-ResidentDSMGuru" (matt-powershiftmedia)
11/19/2017 at 14:04, STARS: 0

Haha I should clarify, and I do love the pun.

1GA denotes cars with pop up headlights, 1990-1991 models.

1GB denotes face lifted cars with fixed headlights, 1992-1994.

"Topper" (vegasdsm)
11/19/2017 at 17:25, STARS: 2

Glad to see this story. Gotta keep em running. I’ve been working on mine for the past 19 years and as long as I had a screw driver and some pliers, have never been stranded. For whatever reason, I enjoy working on this car more than any other that I’ve had. It’s been sitting since I picked up a Focus RS last year, but my Laser will always be my 1st child

"Powershiftmedia-ResidentDSMGuru" (matt-powershiftmedia)
11/19/2017 at 17:53, STARS: 0

Wow that’s a beautiful and clean Laser! 19 years??? That’s absolutely awesome, I love hearing from someone that’s been in it so long. Never let her go. Also, the Focus RS is one of my favorite cars I’ve ever driven. You have a nice fleet going there.

"That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms" (thatbastardkurtis5)
11/19/2017 at 21:15, STARS: 0

This is probably my top ‘wish I didn’t sell that’ car, a 91 Talon TSI AWD.

I’m absolutely sure the kid I sold it to totaled it within months.

"Camchoevo" (camachoevo)
11/19/2017 at 21:17, STARS: 0

nice ride

"BeaterGT" (beatergt)
11/19/2017 at 21:28, STARS: 1

Too funny, my buddy just sold his Talon. Less than four grand too; all the nostalgia in the world couldn’t make him keep it.

"Powershiftmedia-ResidentDSMGuru" (matt-powershiftmedia)
11/20/2017 at 00:49, STARS: 0

They’re certainly not for everyone, but for those of us that get it, we get it haha.

"Nick fore" (seattleseahawker)
11/20/2017 at 05:19, STARS: 1

Love my dsm it’s broken some many time but I keep fixing her I’m on the point to were if she goes again I can’t but i love it

"Powershiftmedia-ResidentDSMGuru" (matt-powershiftmedia)
11/20/2017 at 10:06, STARS: 0

Just keep up with it, it’ll be worth it in the end. That looks a lot like a 1990 Talon I had roughly 12-13 years ago. Looks so clean!

"BeaterGT" (beatergt)
11/20/2017 at 13:22, STARS: 1

Unfortunately, I never got the bug and I tried quite a few (GST, GSX, Talon, and Galant VR-4). I can see the appeal though!

"Powershiftmedia-ResidentDSMGuru" (matt-powershiftmedia)
11/20/2017 at 13:42, STARS: 1

Atleast you tried them with an open mind. They’re definitely not for everyone and they’re certainly not without flaw haha.

"BoostHappyDSMer" (boosthappydsmer)
11/21/2017 at 14:26, STARS: 0

Nice laser! I still have my 1990 laser. It lives in a storage unit now.