Delta's Talon "Restoration" Thread

Joined
Apr 20, 2014
Messages
2,979
Location
Franklin County, PA
I've seen some interest in the progress of the ol' Talon, so this thread is it.

So here we are, winter time is here and outside work is all done. This year I have an old beater to fix up and try to keep on the road for a couple more years. Some of the work will be or look crude, but the fact of the matter is over the years and sitting for a while did a number on this car. This car was part of my teenage years as it was my best friends mothers car. We even put a junkyard engine in it when I was 16 when the original was sabotaged.

We'll start off right before I bought it. Dirty, faded, and needed help.

XFSrQUk.jpg


lIjwcEO.jpg


I'll spare all the pictures and details, but this is what it looked like before going in the garage for the winter.

Q1Ztf1R.jpg


jmog9a8.jpg


tga7jFq.jpg


Looks can be deceiving though; it has some pretty bad rear rocker rot that is going to take some work.

BdmywS9.jpg


FiJ21ZY.jpg


So nothing left but to do it!

pRrio3P.jpg


CaIeZKv.jpg


ux6N2DC.jpg


So, I thought that was it, yea, should known it wasn't...

fluGDxC.jpg


Ok, well it's just metal. Time to jack it up for some more room and get to cutting!

EDazbK8.jpg


5wQt4w8.jpg


So, the inner rocker had some bad parts that were cut out. The two patches look rough, I agree, but I was trying different methods. However despite how rough it looks, it's strong.

uqnwPug.jpg


Patches inside and everything else was coated with a high zinc weld-through primer. It's not pretty, and I might get some "hate" but it is what it is. The outside will be alot better.

QsYi2sa.jpg


Next was a more difficult piece, the lower arch piece. I started off with the inner to get the feel for the bend and curve. There will be an outer piece that wraps around it.

gixTjDQ.jpg


IDM9KPA.jpg



That's all for now. Some more trickier pieces are coming up next so that should be interesting to fabricate.

Please note this is no Concours restoration, this a keep it on the road for a few more years.
 
It's gotta get alot uglier before it gets better. Got the inside of the wheel area closed in today. Still need to grind everything down smooth, seam seal, prime, and undercoat. Most of the panels are spot welded in this area so it's "factory" :LOL:

My poster board templates have been crucial in this one!

M50UFZC.jpg


IfbbK8O.jpg


Xyr62Vi.jpg


Should it have been one continuous piece? Probably, but this is a difficult area with many bends I was doing. Tack a corner and beat it with a hammer to bend it in shape. I don't have a metal stretcher or metal wheel, so I'm making due. A little bench vice and some "crafting" is getting it done. Better than rust holes. All the silver overspray you see is the weld-though primer again. This is the "easy" side so I'm sure on the drivers side it'll come out better. Better to start out on a beater car than something "nice".
 
Evening Blake!

All work is being done inside the garage. I have a 140K BTU forced air heater to keep me warm.

hgRaLpG.jpg
Now that is a heater there won’t have to worry about being cold haha. Man the times I wish I had a garage. A carport will have to do for me I guess. I did put a few blocks around it to help somewhat but not enough.
 
Now that is a heater there won’t have to worry about being cold haha. Man the times I wish I had a garage. A carport will have to do for me I guess. I did put a few blocks around it to help somewhat but not enough.

I use it to knock off the chill, but don't make it too warm. Also since diesel is $4 a gallon I don't wanna go broke just heating the place. This garage is super old and drafty so I won't be able to keep it warm enough to paint the car, so it'll have to look primer spotted till mid Spring or early Summer. I want to keep it mobile in case I find a house, so no tearing it down completely yet. Pretty sure showing up with a torn apart spotted primered car on a trailer won't look good in a new neighborhood :ROFLMAO:
 
Nice! I had a '95 TSi and a '97 TSi AWD. They were great fun back in the day.

I wish this thing was a turbo! But alas, it's the old Chrysler 420A. Some homemade CAI and EBAY special stainless header that is meant for a Neon so the O2 sensor don't sit exactly right.

KAkxQKf.jpg


There's alot of wiring to go over. Apparently they swapped a different harness into it a while back. So, that might explain why I have no speedometer. I'll get into all that later as the car runs fine now. Gotta fix that rust first! I did start it up for the first time in almost a month and took it around the block. Thing started and ran just fine, albeit a little smoky at first due to the aging valve stem seals.
 
I wish this thing was a turbo! But alas, it's the old Chrysler 420A. Some homemade CAI and EBAY special stainless header that is meant for a Neon so the O2 sensor don't sit exactly right.

KAkxQKf.jpg


There's alot of wiring to go over. Apparently they swapped a different harness into it a while back. So, that might explain why I have no speedometer. I'll get into all that later as the car runs fine now. Gotta fix that rust first! I did start it up for the first time in almost a month and took it around the block. Thing started and ran just fine, albeit a little smoky at first due to the aging valve stem seals.
Looks like a nice engine with that header 🍺🍺👍👍😎
 
Not a whole lot done this "weekend," was kinda in a brain funk Sunday and Monday, but today I got to do a little bit. Did the outer arch part. Came out better than I expected, a little more shaping with the flap disk and it will suffice.

yb1u5Hr.jpg


4E75tRT.jpg
 
So, somewhat wrapping up the passenger side.

xXXzISc.jpg


Need to grind down and seam seal the other parts in the wheel area. However, this project is likely going on the backburner. Put a contract on a house last week so that will take my time for a while. But, I'll continue in the Spring. I don't want the rust to spread further on the other side. Possible new house only has a carport currently that will need to be closed in. So, the car will unfortunately have to sit in there for a little bit.

Kinda knew this was gonna happen right at Winter. Been looking for a house closer to work and more room/land. Pending septic inspection goes ok and the appraisal goes ok it'll be the first of the year for move in.
 
Somewhat wrapping the passenger side up. Got the wheel area primed, seam sealed, and undercoated.

nfqxryt.jpg


pyVqCSq.jpg


Also the outer patch is "done" for now. I applied some etching primer to protect it for a little bit.

7fuZRHa.jpg


Yes, you can see the area I patched, but there was no actual bodywork done here. Grind down the welds and prime for now. This home buying and moving stuff is gonna take most of my time for several months. Did get get take it for a 30 minute run today; started and ran like it never sat. Pulled it back in the garage and back on the battery tender.

4HOcefn.jpg


So, this probably won't get updated for a while. Have to close in the carport on the new house right after closing and moving. Then I can proceed to the other side, which is in pretty rough shape.
 
I've seen some interest in the progress of the ol' Talon, so this thread is it.

So here we are, winter time is here and outside work is all done. This year I have an old beater to fix up and try to keep on the road for a couple more years. Some of the work will be or look crude, but the fact of the matter is over the years and sitting for a while did a number on this car. This car was part of my teenage years as it was my best friends mothers car. We even put a junkyard engine in it when I was 16 when the original was sabotaged.

We'll start off right before I bought it. Dirty, faded, and needed help.

XFSrQUk.jpg


lIjwcEO.jpg


I'll spare all the pictures and details, but this is what it looked like before going in the garage for the winter.

Q1Ztf1R.jpg


jmog9a8.jpg


tga7jFq.jpg


Looks can be deceiving though; it has some pretty bad rear rocker rot that is going to take some work.

BdmywS9.jpg


FiJ21ZY.jpg


So nothing left but to do it!

pRrio3P.jpg


CaIeZKv.jpg


ux6N2DC.jpg


So, I thought that was it, yea, should known it wasn't...

fluGDxC.jpg


Ok, well it's just metal. Time to jack it up for some more room and get to cutting!

EDazbK8.jpg


5wQt4w8.jpg


So, the inner rocker had some bad parts that were cut out. The two patches look rough, I agree, but I was trying different methods. However despite how rough it looks, it's strong.

uqnwPug.jpg


Patches inside and everything else was coated with a high zinc weld-through primer. It's not pretty, and I might get some "hate" but it is what it is. The outside will be alot better.

QsYi2sa.jpg


Next was a more difficult piece, the lower arch piece. I started off with the inner to get the feel for the bend and curve. There will be an outer piece that wraps around it.

gixTjDQ.jpg


IDM9KPA.jpg



That's all for now. Some more trickier pieces are coming up next so that should be interesting to fabricate.

Please note this is no Concours restoration, this a keep it on the road for a few more years.
I love that car.
 
Back
Top