Basic & Brutal = Viper

[BolsOut]

Thought I'd start a thread and ask the question:
Whats the most Purely Basic & Purpose Built High Performance Car you've ever driven?

For me, the Viper is it. I'm a new owner, and am just beginning to feel the car out. I was originally in the market for a high-end A/C Cobra replica but that fell through. The only other car I've ever lusted after was a Viper, so I ended up getting an '05 Copperhead.

What attracted me to both cars was their very basic & purposeful design. BIG engines, Lotsa "GoFast". Noise, Heat & Vibration. Minimal concessions to the occupants. Kill you quick if you let 'em. Pure American Driving Machines

So whats your story? what stood out about the car & the trip. Subtle details & near-death experiences carry equal weight.

Bring it!

 

[OzeViper]

my brother had a 1970 Camaro SS, dyno'd around 400hp, would do 110mph in the 1/8th drag. No air, had a kenwood tapedeck and 2 nine inch jvc speakers in the rear window. I only got to drive it once, through our town in first gear.(i was 15) it's that car that turned me onto performance cars

 

[plumcrazy]

if you think your Gen3 is basic and raw, try a Gen2 and then get a Gen1.....

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

This is funny for me. I built a replica Cobra, did lots of autocross, so it was light, quick, darty- a big kart. I used my old Duster for parts- 340, A-833 four speed, 8.75 rear. I was the EMod winner for several years. It had no radio, no heat (?!), no A/C, no windows, no roof... but a nice car.
Pix here: About Us

So after 11 years of having it, I sold it and bought a Dodge kit car, called a Gen 1 Viper. For all the current owners of Gen 2,3, or 4 that think the Gen 1 is raw, crude, etc I can tell you it has a top, windows, radio, heat, A/C, doesn't leak too bad, and is a luxury car compared to the Cobra. And it's 1500 lbs heavier... but I still AX and do fairly well.

Now have ~95,000 miles on it and it's still a luxury car.

 

[Ulysses]

When I was younger, my buddy let me drive his 69' GTO Judge. I was hooked on muscle cars forever.

 

[HOLLYWOOD1]

I didn't drive it but as an aside when I was 14 years old I went for a ride in a 70 vette LT1, scared the crap out of me and I never forgot that ride. The memories still remind me of just how quick this car was......in its time, wicked at least to a 14 year old who had never been in a vette....I also went for a ride in a 340 6 pack 70 Cuda and wow this thing moved...

 

[RichieSRT10]

My 69 Camaro SS Convertible fits the bill perfectly. Late model small block 427 pumping out 565rwhp. It is loud and crude and painted Viper GTS blue. Jumping into a stock 09 Viper after taking a ride in this musclecar makes the Viper seem well mannered and civilized. Not sure if it qualifies as a musclecar since it has power steering

FGT is not a musclecar. It is truely an American exotic that will not only hold its value it will appreciate in leaps and bounds when the economy turns around.

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[Red Snake]

My Viper is it for me, easily.

This is my first Viper. I bought it sight unseen from BJMotors with the Roe already installed and pushing 8 pounds of boost. My first few times out driving it (mid winter to boot) were very tense.

 

[RichieSRT10]

Tim I have a feeling once you tame your snake it will feel more civilized. Have you taken your car to the track yet?




Bernie sells many cars sight unseen since he has great reputation and he is also blast to hang out with.

 

[Hamrhead]

Thought I'd start a thread and ask the question:
Whats the most Purely Basic & Purpose Built High Performance Car you've ever driven?


Bring it!

Not nearly as fast as the Viper, but I owned a 1995 SVT Mustang Cobra R for ~8 years. Never raced it, just bought it for fun.

From the Factory - No A/C. No Stereo. No back seat. Sound deadening material removed. Manual windows/locks. Rousch built 5.8 liter (351 Windsor) rated at 300hp/365tq. 5 speed Tremec. Adjustable Koni shocks/struts.

I put off-road pipes on it and it really woke-up. Kinda like driving around in an empty beer can w/ a loud exhaust! Damn that was a cool car!

 

[ViperGeorge]

My first car was a 71 Torino with a 302. Not fast but with the addition of a 4bbl and dual exhaust with glass packs it sounded mean. Years later in 98 I went to look at a Ferrari but couldn't justify the cost, I tried to look at a new 98 Viper but the car was locked up in a separate building and no one had the key. I ended up leasing a Jaguar XK8, a beautiful car, white, chrome wheels, and tan interior and top. I also hung a poster of a 98 RT 10 in my office. I would stare at that poster every day until I regretted the Jag. I gave the Jag back to the dealer three months after starting the lease. Lost my shirt but I finally got the Viper, an RT 10 in Red. Loved that car but I traded it for an 03 in Silver. Now I have a supercharged first edition 06 and an 08 roadster in Bright Blue with silver stripes. LONG LIVE VIPER!!!!!!!!!

 

[jdeft1]

My gen 1, easy! ....I don't care if it's not as powerful as a modern viper. I don't care that it leaks. I don't care that it's loud and I can't hear the radio!! It came, standard, with everything I desire in a car.... Also, it's my third one!! Yeah, I love these raw cars!

 

[Chrissss]

As much as I love the Viper, my friends Ferrari Scuderia is just plain awesome. He is a real Ferrari enthusiast and fortunately for him, he has the means to feed that passion. He had the 599 and it was great, but his scud is just plain incredible. I have never driven anything like it. I have driven a Enzo for a short bit but certainly didn't get on it. The owner was right next to me and would have had a cow. I have yet to drive a Veyron and probably never will. I imagine it ups it to the limit.

 

[Red Snake]

Tim I have a feeling once you tame your snake it will feel more civilized. Have you taken your car to the track yet?




Bernie sells many cars sight unseen since he has great reputation and he is also blast to hang out with.

Hey Richie,

I have not taken it to the track. Maybe this fall, if I can get a couple of kinks worked out of it. I upped the boost to 10 pounds a few months ago. Car runs great but I'm having some issues with throwing a MAP sensor code.

 

[Martin]

My '71 Firebird with the (heavily built, 550 HP) 455SD is an absolute beast. I built it for road racing, but kept it street legal - so it's stripped down to the bare basics. No A/C, no heat (or any other climate control for that matter), manual steering box, no power assist on the brakes, poly bushings everywhere, 600 lb/in springs, lowered, etc. That car was pure fear on wheels everytime I drove it. Now, it's up on blocks waiting for a restoration...

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

My '71 Firebird with the (heavily built, 550 HP) 455SD is an absolute beast. I built it for road racing, but kept it street legal - so it's stripped down to the bare basics. No A/C, no heat (or any other climate control for that matter), manual steering box, no power assist on the brakes, poly bushings everywhere, 600 lb/in springs, lowered, etc. That car was pure fear on wheels everytime I drove it. Now, it's up on blocks waiting for a restoration...

Got pics? My first real car was a 71 Formula. I loved that car. Bought as much Herb Adams performance stuff I could get my hands on.

 

[NukedGTS]

My gen 1, easy! ....I don't care if it's not as powerful as a modern viper. I don't care that it leaks. I don't care that it's loud and I can't hear the radio!! It came, standard, with everything I desire in a car.... Also, it's my third one!! Yeah, I love these raw cars!

Good point. If Bolsout wants to really see raw, let him take out a Gen1, with the top off, then as it starts to rain, watch the fun as the top gets put on . . . . . slowly!!

 

[BolsOut]

My gen 1, easy! It came, standard, with everything I desire in a car. Yeah, I love these raw cars!

Perfect.

 

[Ken Lally]

'68 Vette (w/sidepipes) > Viper SRT = easy transition for me

 

[Abe Froman]

1972 Corvette, 454, M-22… Just Brutal… Fast as Hell in a straight line, even faster sideways. To this day I’m still pulling pieces of the driver seat out of my butt.

 

[V10 PWRD]

I drove a 57 Chevy with an old 392 Hemi in it that I punched out to a 404 with a crossram manifold with 2 4's on it with a roller cam and a 4:88 rear ....to highschool. Needless to say the car was quick. Sold that and got a 62 Nova that I dropped a 427 in. The old muscle cars of the 60's and 70's were truly "muscle cars". Too bad there were no Vipers back then cuz I'd have given one a run for his money. If these guys in their rice burners that think they're fast ever once rode in one of the old muscle cars of yesteryear they would have either had the $%#! scared out of them or would have cried like babies to be let out.
Had a buddy with a new 440 6 Pak Challenger that I made look like a slant 6 after we ran. ahhhhhh.....for the good old days.
My Gen 1 is fast but I still long for the street racing we did back then. The beltway around DC was 2 lanes on both sides then if you can imagine that. We would get on the beltway at Rte 7 from the old Tops drive-in and block both lanes of 495, flag a couple of drags, let traffic go and then let a couple more go. This was done after 11:00 PM when traffic at that time was very light.
Crazy car nuts....u gotta luv 'em! My old buddies that knew me back then still won't ride with me.

 

[BlknBlu]

I owned a 1969 1/2 Superbee with a 440 6 pack and lift off hood with 4:10 gears and a 4 spd. That car was meant to go a 1/4 mile at a time. As far as modern technology though the viper wins hands down.

Bruce

 

[Nine Ball]

My supercharged Viper is still a cream puff compared to another car I built. It took me a year, and I built this car in my 1-car townhome garage. It was on the cover of Popular Hotrodding magazine.

1969 Camaro SS
No A/C
No radio
6-point rollbar with 5-point harnesses
big brakes
supercharged 347ci LS6 with T56 6-speed manual
Mid-10s in the quarter-mile
solid heim joint suspension points
dual 3" exhaust with no cats

...and I drove it 3,500 miles in one week for the Hotrod Power Tour.

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[RoadiJeff]

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How did you get out of the car after driving it inside the trailer?

 

[01ACR/VIPER]

My other play toy.69 bird with a 461ci bbc.

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