Hey all,
I haven't posted on here in a while. I've been too busy with life AND I have been without my old pal Sneaky Pete since June!
Fred Beans Dodge in Doylestown, PA *****!
I always brought my 96' GTS to the local viper tech, a big mistake (if anyone is near Doylestown, PA then stay away from Fred Beans Dodge). I had a problem with an oil pump, which they claimed was the gauge, not the pump. After several hundred miles of low oil pressure, the engine was pretty beat up (even though it only had 11K on the clock). In addition, they ripped a gasket and decided to caulk it rather than replace it. It was around June when I was driving and the caulked gasket gave way, oil blasted all over road, leaving my engine bone dry.
Flemington Dodge in NJ *****!
At that point, I decided to bring the car to the 2nd closest viper tech, Flemington Dodge in NJ. They did some investigatory work and told me what I stated above. They told me I pretty much needed a complete rebuild. Right when I heard that, I knew I would be shipping it to the wizard!
Tator's Dodge Rules!
Let me start off by saying Chuck has been excellent to work with! He is professional, honest, and fair. Qualities that any mechanic with true morals should strive for. I was even more comforted by knowing that no one knows every part of a GTS better than Chuck. This goes a long way for me, as I have a great love for my viper, but do not have the knowledge to work on it for the life of me (Tator DVD on order!).
Chuck agreed the car needed a lot of work and said he never saw an engine disassembled as much as mine. All parts were not labeled and pretty much just thrown together. In other words, Flemington Dodge's techs either didn't know what they hell they were doing OR were trying to run up the hours for their unnecessary disassembly work. So this was a true challenge of build, testing how well they knew every part of the engine.
Chuck not only offered me the option to go back to stock, but also gave me options to go supercharged or with higher compression. I decided to go with the latter:
-C.P. pistons
-Vec2
-Port
-1,7 rockers
I still have yet to have the pleasure of meeting Chuck, but have talked to him on the phone several times. Over the years of visiting the VCA, I have read about how great he is to work with. Let me say, he has exceeded my high expectations.
I'll have the pleasure of meeting Chuck sometime this week when I pick up Pete (weather permitting).
Let this be a reminder/warning that many viper techs aren't worth a grain of salt. Let this also be another one of many endorsements of the great Chuck Tator!
I haven't posted on here in a while. I've been too busy with life AND I have been without my old pal Sneaky Pete since June!
Fred Beans Dodge in Doylestown, PA *****!
I always brought my 96' GTS to the local viper tech, a big mistake (if anyone is near Doylestown, PA then stay away from Fred Beans Dodge). I had a problem with an oil pump, which they claimed was the gauge, not the pump. After several hundred miles of low oil pressure, the engine was pretty beat up (even though it only had 11K on the clock). In addition, they ripped a gasket and decided to caulk it rather than replace it. It was around June when I was driving and the caulked gasket gave way, oil blasted all over road, leaving my engine bone dry.
Flemington Dodge in NJ *****!
At that point, I decided to bring the car to the 2nd closest viper tech, Flemington Dodge in NJ. They did some investigatory work and told me what I stated above. They told me I pretty much needed a complete rebuild. Right when I heard that, I knew I would be shipping it to the wizard!
Tator's Dodge Rules!
Let me start off by saying Chuck has been excellent to work with! He is professional, honest, and fair. Qualities that any mechanic with true morals should strive for. I was even more comforted by knowing that no one knows every part of a GTS better than Chuck. This goes a long way for me, as I have a great love for my viper, but do not have the knowledge to work on it for the life of me (Tator DVD on order!).
Chuck agreed the car needed a lot of work and said he never saw an engine disassembled as much as mine. All parts were not labeled and pretty much just thrown together. In other words, Flemington Dodge's techs either didn't know what they hell they were doing OR were trying to run up the hours for their unnecessary disassembly work. So this was a true challenge of build, testing how well they knew every part of the engine.
Chuck not only offered me the option to go back to stock, but also gave me options to go supercharged or with higher compression. I decided to go with the latter:
-C.P. pistons
-Vec2
-Port
-1,7 rockers
I still have yet to have the pleasure of meeting Chuck, but have talked to him on the phone several times. Over the years of visiting the VCA, I have read about how great he is to work with. Let me say, he has exceeded my high expectations.
I'll have the pleasure of meeting Chuck sometime this week when I pick up Pete (weather permitting).
Let this be a reminder/warning that many viper techs aren't worth a grain of salt. Let this also be another one of many endorsements of the great Chuck Tator!
When jw called me and told me the story about Pete, I said get it out of there! I sent my transport guy to go get him and when he got there he called me to say, you would not believe how many pieces this Viper is in! It took him almost four hours to load Pete! Took us an hour to unload him here and when I say he is apart...HOLYS**T! I have never seen an engine compartment dismantled to this point just to remove the motor!! It was gutted right down to the frame rails.....engine out and half taken apart. trans out and no kidding ten boxes of parts!! 
When we re-assembling him a handful of modded parts did not seem to match this Viper? I called jw and quizzed him about his Viper and still had no answers to these parts? Got him back together and he runs great now! 
I'm thinking about doing similar mods except I'll be changing out the cam as well. Regarding the porting work by J&B Performance, what are the flow numbers from their head work? Did you guys also port match the intake? Anxiously awaiting your results here. 
