Big Dude in Viper Gen II

[diegoted]

Ok, I will admit I was not the best at planning this out? I am damn glad I gave up on the foolish idea of driving the car home to San Diego from Seattle!! I thought I had done my due diligence by researching who could fit in a Gen II RT, I figured I was one of them, although it would be a tight fit. I am only 6'1/2 inch but I weigh about 385. I am a pretty limber guy for my size, I guess I can attribute that to my martial arts training but I am still a buck over fat!! LOL Anyways I get the car home, never having been in a viper and low and behold I am a tuna in a sardine can. I read about
all the possible mods and decided to attack the car myself. First I removed the seat and got rid of the bunn support under the seat. I then hacked off about 7/8 of an inch off the rear seat track, I
then wallowed out the 4 mounting holes to give me maximum rear movement of the seat track. This gained me about the 7/8 inch I hacked off the back. I removed the insulation from the panel
behind the seat this allowed about 1/2 more of reclining. All this gave me the much needed room to comfortably and safely operate the car. Once I complete the Roe Clutch mod I think I will be
good to go. I will not hack on the seat track until I lose 50 pounds and re-access.

All in all I am feeling pretty damn good about my new car and my ability to make things happen. Thanks to everyone on the sight who have lent advice, I look forward to much more participation on the board as I move forward with this Viper adventure.

Diego

 

[BlackSnake99]

You know they make a seat lowering kit, don't you?

 

[diegoted]

Snake yes I do, but I don't think I need it at least not right now. I will drop a little weight and see how she rolls. I should also say, I removed the sun visor and adjusted the pedels all the way forward.

Diego

 

[Dirk Pitt]

Snake yes I do, but I don't think I need it at least not right now. I will drop a little weight and see how she rolls. I should also say, I removed the sun visor and adjusted the pedels all the way forward.

Diego

I'm a tad over 6' 4" and the sun visors were the first thing to go. I think the interior looks cleaner without them. I find getting in/out of the car is a bit uncomfortable but other than that, it's a pleasure to drive. The only complaint I really ever had was the lack of a dead pedal in the Gen II's. That is what makes the longer trips such an unpleasant experience.

 

[REDSLED]

Diego,
The pedals are also adjustable as well.

 

[diegoted]

RSled, do you mean the pedals individually are adjustable independent of the knob under the dash? Please explain. Dirk, Mine has the hard top and with it on it is slightly hard to get in and out. If I take the hard top
off getting in and out is a breeze.

Thx Ted

 

[Indy]

Lowering the seats made a huge difference for me...

 

[REDSLED]

Knob under the dash.

RSled, do you mean the pedals individually are adjustable independent of the knob under the dash? Please explain. Dirk, Mine has the hard top and with it on it is slightly hard to get in and out. If I take the hard top
off getting in and out is a breeze.

Thx Ted

 

[plumcrazy]

yes, seat lowering kit is mandatory IMO but you will fit.

 

[Twinturbostang]

I'm a big dude 6-3 and just about 300pounds of man. I took the visors right off and now I'm lowering the seat. Making my own kit so I don't spend $260 on spacers welded to plate.

What clutch mod are you doing? Moving the pedal? Dont see how that helps

 

[plumcrazy]

you can move all the pedals further down, giving more leg room or at least less reaching up to the pedals

 

[AZTVR]

. First I removed the seat and got rid of the bunn support under the seat. I then hacked off about 7/8 of an inch off the rear seat track, I
then wallowed out the 4 mounting holes to give me maximum rear movement of the seat track. This gained me about the 7/8 inch I hacked off the back. I removed the insulation from the panel behind the seat this allowed about 1/2 more of reclining. All this gave me the much needed room to comfortably and safely operate the car. Once I complete the Roe Clutch mod I think

Wow, this is a guy who REALLY wants to drive/enjoy a Viper ! You can't have more enthusiasm than that ! If our mods still don't do it for you, you probably could find someone that could build a custom aluminum seat shell and then line it with a thin layer of foam and cover it. Probably expensive; but maybe not so much if it could be mad a few miles south of you ?

_________________________________________________
Jim - 2002 GTS ACR - former owner - 8 years

 

[Twinturbostang]

you can move all the pedals further down, giving more leg room or at least less reaching up to the pedals

How do you do that?

 

[diegoted]

I'm a big dude 6-3 and just about 300pounds of man. I took the visors right off and now I'm lowering the seat. Making my own kit so I don't spend $260 on spacers welded to plate.

What clutch mod are you doing? Moving the pedal? Dont see how that helps

The Roe clutch mod, Moves the clutch peddle in line with the brake pedal, gaining about 2.5" of leg room on that side. That way my knee will not have to be cocked while driving. With the mods so far I can see pretty much about midline of the windshield. The reason I have not lowered my seat bracket yet is because with the slant of the panel behind the seat you will lose leg room due to the seat having to move forward due to the slant.

 

[Twinturbostang]

I'm into that. I'll have to see if I can get one for my 95. Says 96-02 on the site

 

[Paul Hawker]

Since you are in San Diego, you might want to contact Randy Begin, one of our go to guys for local Viper Maintenance. He is a pretty tall guy, and you can often see him driving his green Gen 2 with his head level with the windshield surround. He can probably give you all the options, as well.

Randy owns Mission Automotive on West Washington. 619-299-9367

This is not a Viper only facility, but Randy has owned Vipers for years, and knows all the helpful hints to keep your car running like a top.

He would also be a good guy to take a look underneath your new Viper, and make sure everything is as it should be.

 

[diegoted]

Paul, I think Randy is out of commish. I called over there and he has a torn Achilles and will be gone for a few months.

Diego

 

[mtmclaughlin]

Slightly off-topic here, but are Gen I pedals adjustable too? From the factory, that is. Just curious.

Good for you making the car work for you!

 

[diegoted]

thanks Mt, my clutch rod is in from Roe, so I will be putting that in on Friday. After that I think I will be good to go with the exception of a seatbelt extension.

Diego