Finally Own V10 Muscle

ghengishahn

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A posting like this would likely get jeers on Viper Alley and I hope not here. And why is it so wrong to express the euphoric feeling of a dream come true with a group focused on one really sweet vehicle.

You have to first understand that my passion for cars starts way back in 1970 (yep I am an old guy), with my first new purchase as 19 year old.....A 1970 Dodge Challenger 426 Hemi Dual Quad, 4 Speed, 4.10 Diff Super Track Pack. It was Hemi Orange with a white top and longitudinal stripes. (Got the picture in your mind?) To me this for its day was the equivalent owning a Viper. It was an undisputed street racer. Faces blushed at the site of the hood emblem 426 Hemi. Need it say more! Most succumbed to defeat at the stop light at the mere reading of those numbers and letters. Others had to test their metal to their shame. In today's world when the word HEMI is plastered on every Dodge vehicle, a youthful reader will not grasp the magnitude of importance or respect those 4 letters commanded in the 70's.

So when you fast forward to 1992, Dodge had one upped my youth vehicle and I had found my new love. There was no need to announce the value of the engine under the hood though I loved the idea of V10 with raw power. The lines clearly communicated striated muscle on every inch of its physical body. The styling put lump in throat.

But my kids and their upbringing kept me on the sidelines. In 2002, I toured the Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS) and there was the 2003 Viper Gen II in Red. My twin sons and I slobbered over the car. I must have taken a hundred pictures through the throngs' people around it. But ownership was still not to be.

Now the kids are gone and I am thinking what am I waiting for…. arthritis? The adventure of seriously looking for my own Snake kept me awake at night. I had been bitten and was running a fever. There was no antidote.

Surprisingly, in only a month of looking I found my love and it was a copy of the Detroit auto show car, 2003 Red with only 4312 miles without wrinkle or blemish. She will not be my garage Queen. She deserves seeing the open road, the beaming sun and at times breath heavy and fast as she was so ably designed to do.

Words barely express my exhilaration of driving and ownership. It can even make an old guy semi cool. By reading this, I hope you too are reignited to appreciate your Viper as one of the truly iconic and original sports cars ever built. :usa:
 

Bill Pemberton Woodhouse

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Dear Ghenghis,

Now that you have your warrior steed, it is time to go out and pillage the neighborhood of Chebbies and Furrareees, ha!
 
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SilveRT8

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Welcome to the Club, enjoy the car and drive it as often as you can.
I can share your experience as I too fell in love with the new Gen3 2003 Red Viper at a car show, plastered a picture of it on my work desk untill I bought a new one in 08.
As far as your experience of owning the KING 426 HEMI at 19, I was the guy getting in your way on my used 150cc Lambretta '65 Scooter at that time, untill I could finally afford my first used car, a '70 Toyota Corolla Sprinter 1100cc....... in '76.
Hey,just noticed, you got my 426 th post on here.
 
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ghengishahn

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Welcome to the Club, enjoy the car and drive it as often as you can.
I can share your experience as I too fell in love with the new Gen3 2003 Red Viper at a car show, plastered a picture of it on my work desk untill I bought a new one in 08.
As far as your experience of owning the KING 426 HEMI at 19, I was the guy getting in your way on my used 150cc Lambretta '65 Scooter at that time, untill I could finally afford my first used car, a '70 Toyota Corolla Sprinter 1100cc....... in '76.
Hey,just noticed, you got my 426 th post on here.


Thanks Claude. I think I do remember you on that scooter. :)

Your black Viper is really good looking. Another favorite color on this car.
 

kcobean

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Awesome write-up!

Now about that 2003 Gen II. ;)

(Hey somebody had to do it!)

Welcome to the Viper Nation.
 

Viper ACR

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Some days words can't describe my passion for Vipers . You did a great job summing up how I feel daily about my car and Vipers . Its my stress relief , my motivation , my enjoyment , my addiction . Congrats on the new car !!!
 

AFL in NJ

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Congratulations!! Glad you're fulfilling your dream! Now that you're infected....we'll see how long it takes for the sickness to set in.....MODS!

Regards,
Aaron
 

RTTTTed

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6,000 miles means that the tires probably havn't been upgraded? Tires are only good for 6 years MAX. On a vette you might get away with old "runflat" (called runcraps here) tires, but on a Viper those tires will probably cause your accident. BUY NEW TIRES NOW. partsrack can sell them to you at the best price and explain a few of the accidents caused by runcrap tires on these amazing machines. Surpirsed I'm the first to post this. Original Cats are bad as well. Now ...

Enjoy the car. It's a keeper!

Ted
 

ViperGTS

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Ted beat me - usually I am the one complaining about the OLD tires on the cars...:D

Did a quick look through the 2002 Detroit NAIAS pics I took and did not find a single one of the 2003 on display! Go figure.

But I share one from CAAP in JAN 2002...:2tu: my first visit to CAAP. Prowlers still built parallel to the Vipers - I learned later that they ended production of the Prowlers in Feb 2002...
020111-036small1.jpg
 

HSSSSSS

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Welcome aboard. To me there is nothing like the Viper. I still start to vibrate when I get into my GTS after not driving it for awhile. I love the sound, the looks, the feel, the power, and everything else about a Viper. :2tu: For me it is the ultimate ride.:drive:
And this coming from an older guy who had a "poor boy" Hemi, a '70 Road Runner with a 440 six pack and 4spd. I have regained some of my younger years by aquiring 2 '70 Road Runners in the last few years as well as my newer dream machine, the Viper GTS.

I am sure you will find a lot of enjoyment with your new ride. If you join the VCA you will be able to enjoy cruising with other Viper owners and come to Salt Lake City to VOI XI.:headbang:
 
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ghengishahn

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Ted beat me - usually I am the one complaining about the OLD tires on the cars...:D

Did a quick look through the 2002 Detroit NAIAS pics I took and did not find a single one of the 2003 on display! Go figure.

You know at my age all the years run together. Maybe it was 2001 but that seems a bit early for Chrysler to intro the 2003 model but maybe not. I do know it was a Gen II, because the big steam was around 500HP and 500 ft-lbs of torque min.
 

kcobean

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You know at my age all the years run together. Maybe it was 2001 but that seems a bit early for Chrysler to intro the 2003 model but maybe not. I do know it was a Gen II, because the big steam was around 500HP and 500 ft-lbs of torque min.

Well.....that would make it a Gen 3, not a Gen 2. Peak power on the Gen 2 was 460 in the ACR. 500 didn't come along until the displacement increase of the 3rd Gen 8.3L. :)
 
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ghengishahn

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Yep, I just replaced the runflat ZPs with new PS2s, and it is an amazing difference.

6,000 miles means that the tires probably havn't been upgraded? Tires are only good for 6 years MAX. On a vette you might get away with old "runflat" (called runcraps here) tires, but on a Viper those tires will probably cause your accident. BUY NEW TIRES NOW. partsrack can sell them to you at the best price and explain a few of the accidents caused by runcrap tires on these amazing machines. Surpirsed I'm the first to post this. Original Cats are bad as well. Now ...

Enjoy the car. It's a keeper!

Ted

Thanks for the tip. I have read many posts talking about going to the PS2's. I also read they are not run flats asked what you do if you do have a flat. The answer was use 'Fix a Flat'. That didn't sound too cool to me since FAF pours some sort of goo all over the inside of the wheel as well as the tire.

It that seriously what the majority do?

Tom
 

RTTTTed

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Gen 1 and 2s came with a $28,000 (cdn) clamshell hood. Gen 3s got a $1300 hood and 10 spoke wheels. Also the "Targa top" with "sports bar" got replaced with an ordinary convertible folding roof. Easiest ways to tell.

The Michelin zp tires were obsoleted and no longer available. The Pilot Sports 2 are even better tires than the Pilot Sports 1s! I'v got 19,000 miles on my PS2s whereas my PS1s only lasted 9,000 miles.

Ted
 
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ghengishahn

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It's all good...I'm just havin' a little fun with you. The Gen2 production ended in 2002. If it was a 2003 convertible you saw, that's the Gen3.


:headbang: Thanks for being polite to someone who is ignorant. I am an old dog still learning. But if you would like for me quote every engine available in the 70 Challenger, I am your man. ;)
 

kcobean

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Thanks for the tip. I have read many posts talking about going to the PS2's. I also read they are not run flats asked what you do if you do have a flat. The answer was use 'Fix a Flat'. That didn't sound too cool to me since FAF pours some sort of goo all over the inside of the wheel as well as the tire.

It that seriously what the majority do?

Tom

That's actually the factory option for the SRT8's (like the Charger). No spare, just a can of FAF and a small compressor. Gen-IV is the same way. No place to put a spare, and nobody likes the ZP's anyway.
 

kcobean

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:headbang: Thanks for being polite to someone who is ignorant. I am an old dog still learning. But if you would like for me quote every engine available in the 70 Challenger, I am your man.

LOL. It all comes with time. If you spend as much time thinking about these cars as so many of us do, you'll get to know 'em as well as the 70 Challenger in no time.

So just for clarification....

Gen 1 - 1992 through 1995
Gen 2 - 1996 (intro of the GTS - Blue/White stripe coupe) through 2002
Gen 3 - 2003 through 2006 (coupe available only in 2006)
Gen 4 - 2008 through 2010 (there was no 2007)
Gen 5 - Chapter yet to be written.

:2tu:
 

ViperGTS

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Nothing to worry...I think we were one of the first to see the SRT-10 in Jan-2002...:2tu:
020111-064.jpg
 

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