96 Viper GTS Venom 550 - making more mods

[GTSjbud]

Hi All!

I purchased this 1996 Viper GTS Venom 550 Hennessey a couple years ago and am now in the process of "tweaking" the car...for both power and looks. This Viper only has 1800 miles and hasn't even reached it's first oil change!! I can not own a vehicle and not "tweak" it regardless of its age and/or value. So let the wrenchin' begin!!!

Here are the stats before the "tweaking" began.

Engine

• V10 8.0 L - 488 cubic inch

• 10.0:1 compression (increased due to the Hennessey mods)

• Hennessey Venom cylinder heads

• Hennessey roller camshaft

• Hennessey intake manifold

• Hennessey Venom 550 valve covers

• 514 HP and 543 TQ (at wheels)

Exhaust

• Hennessey 1 3/4" stainless steel long tube headers

• Hennessey 3" stainless steel tubes

Brakes

• Brembo 13" racing calipers - front/rear

• Mov'It 13" cross drilled rotors - front/rear

Suspension

• Koni coil over shocks with Eibach springs - 2" lowered

Wheels

• 18"x10" HRE - front

• 18"x13" HRE - rear

Tires

• 285/35 18 Michelin - front

• 335/30 18 Michelin - rear

These pics are what the car looked like when I purchased it.

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[GTSjbud]

Here is a list of modifications that I am planning to do. I am also working with one of the best Viper tuners, Joe Donovan - Performance By Joe - PBJ (www.performancebyjoe.com) to see how much more juice I can squeeze out of the engine.

Engine

PBJ Air Intake System
PBJ camshaft (to increase HP) - to be determined
9.0 L racing oil pan with windage tray & ACR adapter - to be determined
VEC 3 controller (to enable more precise engine control)
CNC machined power steering bracket (OEM unit has the tendency to break)
Gen. III Viper valve covers
Powdercoat valve covers and intake (darker Red)

Transmission

skip shift module
B&M Ripper Shifter

Exhaust

ceramic coat headers and tubes
Borla XR-1 Racing mufflers
Random Technology catalytic convertors

Cooling

Ron Davis aluminum racing radiator

Wheels

Forgeline SP3P wheels (gunmetal centers)
19" x 10" - front
19" x 13" - rear

Tires

Pirelli PZERRO ROSSO
285/30 19 - front
355/25 19 - rear

Exterior

upgraded Viper GTS emblems
upgraded Venom 550 Hennessey emblems
MGW Viper emblem pop open gas cap
U.S. Exotics Diamondback hood

Interior

Venom 550 Hennessey floor mats
Venom 550 Hennessey seat emblems
Venom 550 Hennessey dash plaque
MGW first strike race shifter knob
Viper GTS side sill covers
Viper GTS door pull surrounds
Aluminum control knobs - all
Aluminum dash console
Aluminum racing pedals
Push button start
Dynamat sound deadener
Stereo system - to be determined
I will be posting pics as I work through the modifications.
Cheers
Jason

 

[GTSjbud]

Here are some pics of the Viper in my shop just before I started the modifications.

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[GTSjbud]

Here are some pics of disassembling the interior. I removed the carpet and original sound deadener so that new Dynamat could be installed.

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[GTSjbud]

Here are some pics with the intake manifold and valve covers removed. I removed them so I can have them powdercoated with a much more vibrant Red. I am removing the original wiring harness tape and convulted tubing because it is old and dried out. I will be rewrapping the wiring with new tape and installing high-temp convulted tubing.

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[GTSjbud]

When I removed the intake manifold I used a Dremmel to grind off the casting ridges where the two halves were fused together during the manufacturing process. I wanted the manifold to look smooth without the rides. Next step is to remove the original paint.

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[GTSjbud]

Here is a picture of the stainless steel exhaust headers before they were ceramic coated.

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[GTSjbud]

Here are the brakes before I detailed them. Will be polishing the center of the front rotors and painting the center of the rear rotors. Front rotors are two piece and the rears are one piece.

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[GTSjbud]

This is the differential before and after. The diff. had many leaks as it was not properly sealed after the gear ratios were changed by the previous owner. I disassembled the diff and cleaned the housing surfaces to provide a better seal. I also installed a drain valve in the bottom of the case. Added some paint to the u-joints to give them some spice. Bolted the case up with stainless steel allen wrench fasteners...bling bling.

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[99 R/T 10]

Nice looking B/W you have there!

 

[Big Medicine]

I am speechless. That's a lot of stuff to piece back together. If I was independently wealthy, single, and basically had nothing else to do, I'd be coming over to put mine on blocks beside yours and take it all apart.

Do you drink? I hope so, you're going to need one before you finish all that. Maybe a cigar too.

 

[Ron]

Thanks for the pix. Will be interesting to see it evolve......

What's your HP target?

 

[GTSjbud]

I am speechless. That's a lot of stuff to piece back together. If I was independently wealthy, single, and basically had nothing else to do, I'd be coming over to put mine on blocks beside yours and take it all apart.

Do you drink? I hope so, you're going to need one before you finish all that. Maybe a cigar too.

LOL...that cracks me up

Guess what, I'm not wealthy, I'm not single and I have many others things to do. So having said that, you can do it too! Put er' up on blocks and just giver'!!
I would be open to assisting you wrench on your Viper if you want. Let me know and I'll guide you through it.

Cheers
Jason

 

[GTSjbud]

Thanks for the pix. Will be interesting to see it evolve......

What's your HP target?

I'm hoping that Joe Donovan can help me max out the engine (normally aspirated). I honestly don't know what might be the maximum HP/TQ that can be squeezed out of a Gen. II. But I'm sure Joe will know and help me there. Joe had mentioned that I could possibly get an additional 20 HP with one of his cams. He also suggested a VEC 3 controller.

I remember an article written in one of the Viper quarterly's where Team Viper had squeezed 700 HP (at flywheel) out of their Gen. II race engine. That would be nice

 

[SSSSE YA]

Nice looking B/W you have there!

B/W are the fastest..

 

[DSG2003SVT]

That's quite a project, and a very nice Viper, but it looks like you have a good list of mods ready. Good luck with everything...keep us posted on the progress!


sub'ing

 

[GTSjbud]

These are the brakes after I detailed them. I polished the center of the front rotors and painted the center of the rear rotors. I also installed high temp Venom 550 decals on the calipers.

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[GTSjbud]

These show the intake manifold during and after powdercoat stripping. The powdercoat was extremely difficult to remove even with industrial air craft paint stripper.

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[GTSjbud]

I purchased Gen. III Viper valve covers to install on my Gen. II engine. I'm going to change the valve cover color to match the intake manifold. These show the valve covers before, during and after powdercoat stripping.

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[GTSjbud]

In front of the engine is a cross brace that spans the width of the engine compartment to provide support to the upper frame. This support is aluminum and I decided to detail it. The pics show the brace before and after polishing.

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[GTSjbud]

I am a stickler for consistency and therefore decided to paint the half shafts silver in color to look somewhat similar to the drive shaft which is aluminum. I also polished the aluminum drive shaft to clean it up. Pics are before and after painting and polishing.

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[MAVPR]

Dam if you ever decide to sell you make sure and give me a call!!! I have never seen attention to detail like this!

I cant wait to see the end product!

Oh and B/W's are the fastest

 

[GTSjbud]

Dam if you ever decide to sell you make sure and give me a call!!! I have never seen attention to detail like this!

I cant wait to see the end product!

Thanks for the compliment! I am a perfectionist and beleive that the details make all the difference. Some people may ask, "Who will see the driveshafts, etc?" Probably very few but if someone does take a look they will see the consistency. I really enjoy "tweaking" the look of a car...including performance.

Stay tuned.
Cheers
Jason

 

[Simms]

Man that is a lot of work. Looks GREAT though!

 

[GTSjbud]

More pics of drive shaft and half shaft.

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[GTSjbud]

Stainless Steel headers complete with high-temp ceramic coating.

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[GTSjbud]

These pics are of the transmission cover plate. Black plate is OEM. I had a new aluminum plate fabricated to add some bling.

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[v10kingsnake]

you are crazy man. looks good but man are you going nuts with that car. What did you decide to do with the rims you bought the car with. hre?

 

[GTSjbud]

you are crazy man. looks good but man are you going nuts with that car. What did you decide to do with the rims you bought the car with. hre?

Stay tuned there V10kingsnake...I'll be posting pics of the wheels ASAP

 

[GTSjbud]

Pics of OEM gas cap (without Sneaky Pete logo) and new gas cap with logo.

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