Forget the all trac, they are less reliable than a DSM.
DSM AWD turbo 5sp cars haul ass, with pennies invested. I was running 13.80s in mine with intake, cat back exhaust and raised boost. It was a fun as hell car to drive too, you can pull holeshots so hard on people they have no idea of what just happened. Handled good too. Just get a front strut bar, they really help.
engine-bulletproof and can make an easy and surprisingly reliable 400++ hp. Buschur racing has one going 174mph in the quarter mile, so its making in excess of 1300 hp. Not bad for a 4cyl
build quality-if you get a stock one with low miles that wasnt beaten (good luck) it should stay together pretty well. The body cladding was kinda ghetto. I bought a '92 garage queen that was really really stock and clean. Paid 7k, sold it for 10k btw
http://www.celicasupra.com/talon/92tsi.htm
trans-the weak link. New they would crunch 2nd gear. With 100+ miles, they really suck ass, if they hadnt already went south. Good thing is, you can pay $1800 and have it rebuilt 1 time by John Sheperd (8sec AWD drag radial race car) and it will be plenty beefy for the weekend racer.
shifter- biggest POS to ever be installed in a car. Nothing could really make it feel good. I hated it, and that made me want to sell the car.
axles-another weak point, but when replaced with bigger units they are fine and will last.
99% of these cars are beat to shit hoopties that you should stay away from. Also, there was a high lemon ratio...