Epiphany (i-pi-f -ne) 1 (n): A sudden understanding of truth, often leading to a rebirth or change in direction. Syn: revelation, disclosure, moment of clarity.
We've all had them, that instant when true understanding takes place-when the proverbial light bulb in our minds is flicked on, and we truly grasp the mechanics of something for the first time. It's the realization we encounter when we're learning something new, or when we realize that we've been wrong about something all along. And it's the same feeling Terry Kalosky met when he drove his brand-new Blue Mica '02 WRX for the first time.
But, before we get ahead of ourselves, let's back up about eight years, to when the story of Terry Kalosky as an import enthusiast begins. The year was 1994, and Terry had purchased his first import, a '91 Nissan 240SX, with the sole purpose of building it to compete in IASCA custom car audio competitions. If you were into modifying a compact car back then, chances are you were building it for sound competitions. One could build a winner by loading enough audio equipment into just about any car, "but the styling and clean lines of the imports made it all easier," said Terry, "so I liked them better from the beginning. Plus, no one knew how to make them fast back then, so making them look and sound better was what we focused on." Within three years, his 240 was finished and regularly cleaned up at any event it entered, for one glorious month, until it was stolen.
Beaten, but not broken, Terry returned a year later with a new machine: a '95 Accord. It, too, was built for dominating the show circuit, and would earn Terry over nine consecutive wins over the following three years, before eventually claiming the IASCA World Championship title in 1999. Terry had accomplished his goals; he'd learned what it took to be a champ, but he was eager to take it to another level. The import scene was growing exponentially during those years and going fast soon became every bit as important as looking good. Over the years, more and more points were being awarded for performance mods, "...So the new guys who were winning the shows also had fast cars that they could clean up with at the track or on the street," recalled Terry, "and as much as I loved my Accord," he laughed, "there was just no hope for making it fast."
Terry needed a new car, so he did what any prominent industry figurehead in his '01 Air Jordan's would have done. "The WRX was predicted to be the best tuner car on the market," he recalled, "so I parted with my Accord, and ordered one with the intent of building it into the best IASCA car ever seen."-Here's where our star meets his epiphany-"But, when I actually got behind the wheel for the first time, I knew it was meant for something more."
Terry had his new WRX modded with every bolt-on part on the market within his first month of owning it; an intake, FMIC, turbo-back exhaust, and full coilover suspension, not to mention an impressive grip of exterior mods and ICE. After three months of owning the car, he added a nitrous oxide setup. After six, he was pulling out his first blown engine. "I was racing the car," Terry confessed, "running the nitrous a bit harder than I should've." Five more blown engines would follow, before Terry found Chicago tuning gurus P&L Motorsports and decided to get serious. With the car down, he sourced an EJ25 swap from a 2.5 RS, and parted it out for rebuilding. The bottom end went to Jim Elkins of Elkins Engines for retrofitting with 100mm Darton sleeves and cryogenically treated 99.5mm Wiseco pistons and Oliver rods, while P&L Motorsports owner Paul Szuba undertook the headwork himself, reshaping each intake and exhaust port to flow bench-tested spec, machining for 1mm-oversized valves, and reassembling each head once everything was done. After some testing with various turbo combinations, Terry was given the green light to hit the road with his newly enhanced ride.