Hello from New Owner! - 1997 B/W Viper

[SnakeBitten2k14]

Hello All,

I wanted to introduce myself to this forum. Some of you may have seen from the "other forum" but I'd like to share my excitement to all

I just took ownership of a beautiful Blue/White 1997 Viper GTS on May 2. This car has been fully documented since late 1997 when it was purchased and I have documentation of all mods including a Hennessey Venom 500 package (I believe this is just Hennessey exhaust system). The car has a dyno chart of 430rwhp/460rwtq.

I've only driven the car for about 20 miles to my house due to needing to wait for the title to come from the credit union to properly register the car, but within that short drive, I've had multiple thumbs up and looking over one time with a camera phone pointed straight at me recording the car. Needless to say this car is a timeless piece of history and I cannot wait to make memories with it.

I had a few questions that I initially posted on the other forum but have modified this post to address some of the responses I've heard. Any further insight from you all is much appreciated.

Passenger Rattle
I took the car for a drive and at idle there seemed to be a rattle on the passenger side. When I drove the car back there was no rattle. Thought the door was loose, but it seemed to be closed solid. Previous owner believes that it is due to an old clamp that he replaced in the exhaust and it may be loose. I plan to address this based upon my comments in the "Hot Sills" section.

Lowering and Scrapes
Although not advertised, I believe the car has been lowered. The front looks lowered but the rear still seems high. I have a documented receipt where the shop installed suspension parts (lists "Suspension, bushings, sway bars) but doesn't list the details of the parts. Sadly, I have a steep incline into my complex and even going slow at a angle, I heard a scrape. I've owned a lot of low cars (Miata on coilovers, two FD RX7s, etc.) but the Viper seems inclined to scrape a lot more.

I also noticed some kind of tape (seems like electrical tape) on the sides of the bumper to help protect it. In addition, there are 3 metal-like brackets that are duck taped to the underside of the bumper.

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Hot Sills
Side sills are getting hot as I expected. The exhaust consist of headers to cats to resonator to muffler delete. I want to avoid any potential discoloration to the sills and will plan to bring the car catless and running just the resonator. I'm going to talk to a shop where I can get the side pipes to have a section where I can just clamp in the straight pipe or cats for when I need to go smog the car. If any of you have a similar setup, pictures of the setup would be appreciated.

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Brake Rotors
The car has 14" brembo kit up front and the brakes squeal when braking. Brake pads are still good just looking if there is any way to quiet them down? I'll also need to clean the rotors as it looks as though the brake dust has clogged the drilled out parts.

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Future Plans
- Full Viper tech inspection
- Full detail/claybar
- 5% Window Tint all around
- Easy to change cat/catless exhaust section
- Any other recommended mods for reliability?

 

[Indy]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the beauty! Lots of questions, most of which you will find answers for here. Lots of great and knowledgeable owners here

For the exhaust, you can also opt for a high flow cat setup with resonators or straight pipes....the high flow cats offer very little restriction, an awesome sound and are still emission legal in most places...

Many brake pads contain metal, so they will squeal a bit under light pressure - most Vipers have this.

There will always be a few rattles, since there is a lot of plastic, but if you can pinpoint the location, you might be able to get rid of it.

There suspension is definitely lowered...could be Eibach springs or caps...or both, by the looks of it. It will scrape steep driveways unless taken at an angle, even at stock height. Those metal brackets taped to the front lower bumper look like they will be ripped off soon

Horsepower rating is close to stock...most GEn2 Vipers develop around 420 rwhp or so, with a muffler system a bit more, so that number you posted seems correct.

Now have some fun with it and expect a LOT of attention when you drive it Instant celebrity status....

 

[Free2go]

Welcome to the radical world of the Viper. Ain't no car like it....that I've ever driven. That car looks like its taken some abuse by the looks of the front fascia and rear bumper. Your Michelins have a tread pattern that I believe is not made any more. How old are they I wonder? You live in a "complex"? I hope you don't have some ass hat or a jealous ex key your baby. Need to take those wheels off and clean them with degreaser, then some wheel polish, and buff em out good with a drill and Power Ball. Clay barring is good, but don't forget to polish afterwards....then wax. Also, as soon as you can, replace the power steering bracket and pulley with the billet cut stuff. Supercharge it as soon as possible. Heavily research a vendor before you throw money at them.

 

[Indy]

Need to take those wheels off and clean them with degreaser, then some wheel polish, and buff em out good with a drill and Power Ball.

...watch out if they are clearcoated....don't use anything too aggressive to clean them - just some regular paint polish will work best once they are clean of brake dust. I always wax my wheels along with the rest of the car - that way the dirt doesn't stick.

 

[AZTVR]

Brake Rotors
The car has 14" brembo kit up front and the brakes squeal when braking. Brake pads are still good just looking if there is any way to quiet them down? I'll also need to clean the rotors as it looks as though the brake dust has clogged the drilled out parts.

With some brake pad types (especially race type pads), there must be a layer of pad material on the rotor. The pads and rotors must be "bedded in" properly. Even if they were at one time, depending on the pad material, just regular casual driving may remove the material from the rotor and the pad will then squeal. That means they need to be bedded again. This is just one reason brakes will squeal. Just some light reading: http://www.zeckhausen.com/bedding_in_brakes.htm Someone put "race" brake calipers and rotors on there, they may have also used "race" pads.


_________________________________________
Jim - '02 GTS ACR w/Stoptech brakes -- sold --

 

[Viper98912]

Welcome, beautiful car. That electrical looking tape is most likely there just to hide scrapes from the next buyer (you). I've never seen those brackets before, probably custom to avoid previously mentioned scraping points in the previous owners driveway

 

[SnakeBitten2k14]

I'm going to give the car a good wash and see how she looks. If the wheels look dull, I'm going to look into ways to clean/polish them up.

When I was doing my research on Vipers, the Roe Racing Power Steering vent tube was one mod that everyone said needs to be done ASAP so I will likely be ordering within the week.

Next I'll address the side sills/exhaust

The previous owner sent me pictures he had on his phone when he took a look at the exhaust.

Current Setup
Header turn out - welded into a straight pipe - clamped into the cat - welded into resonator - clamped into muffler delete to rear exit

My Plan
Header turn out - welded into a straight pipe - clamped into the cat - CLAMPED into resonator - WELDED into muffler delete to rear exit

With this setup, I'm then able to clamp in and out a cat or a straight pipe to change my exhaust for the needs of smog.

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After that, I'm just going to get used to the car and really enjoy it. In the long run, I have a lot of "dreams/plans" but one step at a time.

 

[Bonkers]

When I was doing my research on Vipers, the Roe Racing Power Steering vent tube was
one mod that everyone said needs to be done ASAP so I will likely be ordering within t
he week.

If youre comfortable with a wrench (and have the proper pullers) I would also advise
replacing the steering pump pulley as well. I recently replaced my H2O pump and
decided on a whim to swap out the pulley since I had everything apart anyway - it
crumbled in my hand. The vent tube is a 5min job - (very easy) and the pulley took
less than 30 once I had the puller set.

As mentioned the only other real issue would be the tires - if theyre still young then no
worries, but if they are old then they are dangerious regardless of how much tread is
left.

It may sound like a backhanded compliment but I sincerely love to see a viper with a
few blemishes here and there - it means its been driven, and driven always trumps
polished in my book.

Welcome to the club!

 

[GoCanes1]

Congrats!! I just got mine, also a 97 b/w about a month ago. This is my 3rd Viper and my 2nd 97 b/w. Mine also has to the Venom 500 package along with a Roe supercharger and some other mods. Mine was well documented and I have a copy of the original invoice of the dealer charge for the Venom package. If you want a copy I can email to you.

Enjoy the ride and drive careful!!

Mike

 

[Sybil TF]

Congrats! B/W is the best....

 

[Paul Hawker]

Congratulations on your new Viper. For many it was the most beautiful and desirable Viper ever made.

The prongs underneath the front facia are aluminum, and were a popular aftermarket design to reduce scratches from driving such a low car. As you can see, they did not protect as well as hoped, and you can easily take them off. They are taped on the front of the prongs, and bolted on in the rear. Sometimes they would get hooked by scraping against a curb or something, and if bent can be easily bent back.

Your front brakes are aftermarket. Stock rotors were not drilled. Squeeking is not unusual, as well as dusting. Aftermarket brake pads are available that dust and squeek less.

The rattle you might have been hearing often comes from the transmission. It is called neutral gear rattle, and is caused by the uneven firing of the V-10 engine. If the sound changes when you push in the clutch, you have found your rattle. Many just leave it alone or try different fluids.

Please let us know where you live. We could recommend an experienced ViperTech in your area. Always good to have a professional check over a new to you Viper to make sure everything is good to go. They can also advise you on possible upgrades.

Hope you enjoy your new Viper. They are fantastic.

 

[Texas1]

Welcome aboard!!!

 

[SnakeBitten2k14]

Thanks all for the feedback and kind words. I am lost for words every time I go into my garage and see my dream car sitting there.

I had a quick question for California personnel. The DMV states that you must register the car within 10 days of the date of sale. We completed the sale on May 2 and the credit union didn't clear his payment balance until Tuesday (May 6). The title is not on-site so they have to retrieve it from their vault and they said that is a 5 day process. Once they get it, they then have to send it to the old owner, I believe he has to sign it and then I can take the title and register at the DMV. Today is the 9th and I likely won't get the title before that 10 day deadline

#1: Should I contact the DMV to let them know or what have others done in this situation?
#2: Am I able to drive the car at all on public roads? I have all paperwork, notarized document that the old owner sold it to me and basically I'm just waiting for the title.

 

[SnakeBitten2k14]

I was out of town from Tuesday-Friday and just got back. Couldn't resist and had to take her out for a quick drive down the street.

There are a few items I'm going to need to fix that I identified today:

1. The driver side door is sagging and is lightly rubbing right before I close the door. You can start to see the effects of the rubbing so I'm limiting the opening and closing of the door. I know that there is a thread on here in how to adjust the doors to fix it, but I'm going to schedule an appointment next weekend to bring it in and get adjusted by the local Viper tech. You can see the gap comparison between the driver and passenger side. Don't mind how dusty the car is, it's getting washed/waxed tomorrow.

2. I figured out what the rattle was. I got out of the car and looked under the car and noticed the side sill was vibrating with the car where the other side was solid. I haven't taken a detailed look but I'm assuming it's a little loose or there is a missing nut which is allowing it to vibrate.

Regardless, the car is still beautiful to me!

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[AZTVR]

1. The driver side door is sagging and is lightly rubbing right before I close the door. You can start to see the effects of the rubbing so I'm limiting the opening and closing of the door. I know that there is a thread on here in how to adjust the doors to fix it, but I'm going to schedule an appointment next weekend to bring it in and get adjusted by the local Viper tech.

1. Could be just the small panel just in front of the door that needs moving, if the gap between the door and the hood and at the rear of the door are good.

2. It's pretty common to lose side sill mounting screws that hold it in place on the underside.

It will be good though to have the pro look it over in general, any way.

_________________________________________________
Jim – ‘02 GTS ACR gray/silver -- sold – ( enthusiastic custodian for 8 years )

 

[SnakeBitten2k14]

Amazing how much better this car looks when washed!

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[denniskgb]

Do you realize that you have been BITTEN

 

[Matt Houston]

It's amazing how much the gen 2 cars retain their appeal. Its styling is classic and timeless.