The venerable 4G63 engine wasn’t named Global Engine of the Year for nothing. Through various trials and tribulations across multiple racing disciplines, the turbocharged, 4-cylinder powerplant motivated enough chassis firsts across the finish line to earn itself a permanent and revered place in history. On the Pacific side of the globe, the powerplant found itself in numerous Mitsubishi platforms, mated to all manner of either front-wheel or, the preferred, all-wheel-drive transmissions.
DSPORT Issue #268
Text by APEworks // Photos by Marc Seery
Thanks to the Diamond-Star joint manufacturing agreement between Chrysler Corp. and Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America, Inc. the Evolution motivator found itself in a trio of platforms Stateside: the Mitsubishi Eclipse, Plymouth Laser and Eagle Talon. It’s the Talon, with its American marque and two-tone factory paint scheme, that caught the attention of Lavale, Maryland, resident Brad Gary. Gary had purchased a ‘95 vintage Talon TSi–the front-wheel drive turbocharged version of the car–that was soon sent to scrap after an encounter with a deer. Making lemonade from the lemons, Gary said goodbye to the buyer’s remorse and picked up the platform he always wanted, the same vintage all-wheel drive Talon TSi variant. “I loved the timeless look of the platform,” Gary stated. “Being an all-wheel-drive turbo, I knew this platform had so much potential.”
From Holy Stock To Solid Rock
Over the course of the next two-and-a-half decades, Brad evolved the Talon from a stock daily-driven gear crasher into the 7-second-capable dedicated track car that you see here, enjoying every iteration of the progress. “The original goal was to daily drive it with occasional track visits and local car meets,” he explained, “but the more mods we did and the more power it would make, we kept changing the goals. First it was 11-seconds in the quarter-mile, then tens, and on and on.”
Brad turned to the expertise of TPG Tuning to handle some of the finer details of the build. The current configuration saw the 4G63 powerplant with stock bore and stroke measurements, but almost everything else was upgraded, including the block itself. For strength and endurance under duress, the water passages of the engine were first completely filled with block filler. P&R Engine Builders then installed a set of Wiseco 9.5-to-1 pistons, R&R Racing aluminum solid beam connecting rods on an OEM crankshaft. ACL engine bearings provided an optimized surface to handle the extreme loads placed on the rotating assembly.
In the hands of TPG Tuning, the cylinder head has been custom ported and “dry decked,” meaning the corresponding water passages have also been filled in for strength. A set of Kelford camshafts actuates Ferrea valves on Kiggly Racing valve springs to complete the valvetrain, while the head and block mate via a set of Boostin Performance head studs squeezing a copper head gasket.
Method Man
The fuel portion of the air-fuel stoichiometric equation is provided by an octet of Injector Dynamics 2,600 cc/min fuel injectors, distributing a diet of M1 methanol from the Aeromotive mechanical fuel pump–each fed from the 3-gallon fuel reservoir. The air side is provided primarily from the Precision Turbo and Engine 83/85 Next Gen turbocharger. Attached to a Fathouse long-runner exhaust manifold, this T4-framed boost unit features an 83mm compressor wheel and 85mm exducer with a 1.12 AR. Air is fed directly into the compressor, where the output passes through custom 3.5-inch plumbing anda5-inch ETS front-mounted intercooler before entering the Magnus cast aluminum V3 intake manifold through the 90mm K-Tuned throttle body. Spent gases exit through both the TiAL 44mm wastegate and a side-exit exhaust fore of the front wheels. This combination is said to be good for 1,500 wheel-horsepower and 900 ft.-lbs. of torque at 11,000 rpm, as well as being the configuration that allowed Gary to turn a 7.60-second quarter-mile time with a 198.96 mph trap speed at the 31st Annual The Shootout at Summit Motorsports Park in 2024. “That has to be one of my greatest achievements,” Gary noted, “to finally get a consistent 7-second stick-shift car with a best of 7.60-seconds at 198 mph.”
Forward Motion
The Talon’s transmission needed to withstand the rigors of hard launches on the dragstrip. Internally, the transmission houses a set of PPG dog box gears as well as a Boostin Performance 300M transmission output shaft. A stage-four transfer case from TMZ Performance employs B.P.’s billet aluminum housing to resist flexing and keep the gears in alignment. To initiate the transfer of power, a Quarter Master triple-disc clutch and flywheel combination was selected for its high torque capacity. Brad turned to the Driveshaft Shop to provide the carbon fiber shaft and axles that replaced the factory system. The stock rear differential was upgraded with a unit from a Mitsubishi 3000GT.
Turning that rotational energy into forward motion is the job of the Volk TE37 15-by-8-inch wheels wrapped with Mickey Thompson 26-inch drag slicks. These hang off a set of KW V3 adjustable coilovers at all four corners. A set of TBM ultra-lightweight 4-piston drag calipers provide the frictional slowing post-1320, while the Simpson parachute handles the air-resistance part of the speed-scrubbing components.
Race-Show Car
“I’m proud of the fact of how clean everything is,” Gary relates. “A race car takes a lot of abuse, but the Talon still looks like a show car.” Adding to that perception is the car-show minimalist engine bay that still somehow houses the go-fast parts while remaining ever-ready clean for the requisite hood-popped beauty shots. Inside, the Talon is strictly business. The no-frills, race-only interior is outfitted with Kirkey seats in front of a Sparco three-spoke Lap 5 steering wheel and a Haltech iC-7 dash. Recently, Brad had Cage Rage Fabrication build a 25.1 S.F.I. certified cage for added safety. Given the course-changing history of having the car go into the wall once before, we’d say that’s definitely understandable.
The exterior, having run both sides of the color spectrum as white and black, now settles slightly left of the middle of the color spectrum, sprayed a Chrysler/Plymouth throwback hue called F8 Mean Green. True to the original two-toned nature of the Talon variant of the Diamond Star platform, exterior panels are either covered in F8 Mean Green or remain exposed as “raw Carbonetics carbon fiber” black. Installation of the Carbonetics headlight deletes, the Angry Aero mirror deletes and the rest of the drag aero bodywork were completed by Dave Clark Custom.
Consistently, Reliably Fast
“I’d like to have the car at more race events,” Gary summarized. “Surrounding myself with good people and succeeding. I’ve enjoyed the ride. With a consistent car and maybe a little luck, you can go a long way in racing and in life.” In essence, you don’t have to keep changing; you just have to keep evolving.
