History and Viper Ownership

[Brilly]

I wanted to share this with you.
My parents are moving and I picked up some of my childhood belongings I had been saving.
As I collected my things I came across the first poster I ever bought (Image attached). In 1997 a 10 year old me came home from school one day and asked if I could buy a poster instead of a book at the school book sale. My parents gave me permission and money. This is what I bought. Over 2 decades later I got the real thing.

What are some of your earliest memories of when you knew you wanted a Viper?

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[Brilly]

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[MoparMap]

Not quite my own, but it's a fun story to share nonetheless. My mom had a picture of a red 94 RT/10 she cut out of a magazine on the side of the fridge since pretty much 1994. It had started turning pink from being faded in the sun it had been up so long. She had always kept her eye out for them, but they were never quite realistic to buy. I went and looked at one with her at a used car dealership, but it was in pretty rough shape. I offered to sell the 71 Vette I had if she really wanted it, but I think we all agreed it would make more sense to wait for something in better condition. Don't recall how long it was after that (though it was maybe something like 10 years ago) and she finally found the one, a red 94 to boot. Owner was a neat guy and I stood around and talked with him while my parents test drove it. They got back and he asked me if I wanted to take it for a spin. I politely declined as I was maybe in my early 20s and didn't want him to think I was just in it for a joyride, but he insisted and asked "how many chances will you get to drive a Viper?". Took it out with him and had a nice little cruise talking car stuff along the way. Got back and my parents sealed the deal, so I was going to get many more chances to drive a Viper, lol. I think that's pretty much the reason I ended up with my 04. I really enjoyed driving the 94, but needed a roof and windows that sealed well since it was going to be my daily driver. And it all started with a picture on the fridge that she still has.

 

[Brilly]

What! That’s awesome your mom loves Viper too. She got you hooked.

 

[HVIPER]

My story is a little different. It did not involve a poster that sparked my interest in the Viper but each of us had a moment when we decided we have to have a Viper. Here is mine.

I was a Senior at New Rochelle High School in New Rochelle, New York. I did not live in New Rochelle but on a small island ( 88 acres) just off of New Rochelle. At that time the island was called Fort Slocum and was a military base where my father was stationed. We had to catch a ferry boat to get on and off the island. Living on the island was a story in itself.

Anyway, I was headed back to Fort Slocum after football practice in my red and white 1956 Chey Bel Air convertible with the top down. My parents had bought the Chevy new in 1956 and when I turned 16 it became my first car ( I still have the 56).

I pulled up to a stop light and a few seconds later I heard this rumbling pull up next to me. I turn my head to the left, there was an older man ( 50 ish) in a sports car. He nods his head and I give him a thumbs up. The light turns green, he gives his car a little gas and was gone in a flash. I immediately fell in love and said one of these days I am going to have a car like that. It turns out that the car was a Shelby Cobra. We all know the story of the Cobra.

Fast forward to the early 1990’s. When I heard that Dodge was going to build the Viper, I told myself I was going to get one. Of course, trying to get a 1992 Viper was impossible, but in 1993, I was able to locate a new 1993 antenna Viper ( VIN # last 6 digits 200153 ). I purchased it in April 1993 from a dealer in New York and had it shipped to my current home in Wisconsin.

I still have the 1993 Viper, it is all original, except for the tires. It has 8900 miles on it. It is stored in a heated garage, never driven in rain or on wet roads, I take it out on nice sunny days. When I pull up to a stop light and there is a young person in a vehicle, I know what they are thinking, the same thing I thought 59 years when the Cobra pulled along side of me. Why does an old man get to have a car like that? The answer is still the same. Because old men have the money.

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[Greg114]

Wow, what a fun topic, so far these are great stories and Id love to hear more, I hope mine doesn't sound dumb....back in 95 I got out of the USAF at Whiteman AFB and stayed in the local area of Warrensburg, a college town. I was in college there and I had a towny roommate that was friends with two Saudi princes, brothers, who lived in the town going to school, for whatever reason, and one drove a red Viper with yellow wheels and his brother drove a yellow Viper with red wheels, just cool as hell. I was in awe every time I would see these cars and they often followed each other through town, but my "buddy" could never get me a ride...dangit! To this day I've never been so stoked on a style of car. Fast forward 30 years and I'm doing well, I'm looking at late model Lambos, Ferrari, Lexus LC500 (leaning toward the LC cause i have 2 Lexus SUVs and dang what a car that LC is) and R8s and just can't decide what I want. Although im a patient guy and was taking my time shopping, then it happened, a perfect condition all black low miles droptop 06 SRT10 showed up in Joplin, it came out of Tulsa, only one owner, and i did my best to ignore it the first time around when i saw it as I was passing through town on business...3 weeks later I was back in town again and snapped a pic of it, I couldn't take it anymore, the wife asked me what I wanted for my 50th bday and I jokingly showed her the pic I took and without hesitation she said GET IT, and 2 weeks after that I was on my way to pick up my Viper! I love hp but I'm not a hp ****** and don't care about turbos etc, I've got the car I always dreamed of and I cherish every second i ride in that stupid fast but more importantly fun to drive haywagon! Ever since I first saw those two back in 95 I have always made it my goal to own one and I have obsessed over every Viper I've ever seen. I'm still going to get my LC500...and maybe an R8, but that's all...I swear..! Maybe a gen 5 Viper too.....don't tell the wife, I gotta catch her in just the right mood!
Can't wait to hear more of yuns stories!

 

[Brilly]

@HVIPER what an awesome story. Love that you still have that 93 Viper! Would love to see it, bet it’s in amazing condition with those kind of miles and only ever being owned by you.

 

[Brilly]

@Greg114 Love that SRT10! Similar thing w me, wife gave approval and I couldn’t have moved faster to secure my Viper. R8 gated manual is also on my list as well.

 

[BoremViper97]

All right all right I'll ruin the mood here; I fell in love with Lamborghini Countach, and then the Diablo; back in the 80's and 90's.
Here I am now with a small business that's growing and doing well, also had some blessing on two real estate deals, and I bought a 2008 Corvette (base model). It was a great car, but then one day I learned that I could get a Viper for barely $10k more. So my search began.
I found my 97 red RT/10 with 39,000 miles and traded the Corvette and here I am now; loving Viper and wondering if I'll ever care to upgrade to a Lambo. or not.

 

[MoparMap]

... and here I am now; loving Viper and wondering if I'll ever care to upgrade to a Lambo. or not.

Why not get both? Lol. That's my problem, I like cars just a little too much, so I can never bring myself to sell them. I wish I cared just a little less so I could buy one, enjoy it for a while, then sell it and get the next one to try out. Instead I buy one, do a lot of work, get attached, then see something else I want and figure out a way to have both. Need more garage space before I can have any more cars though. I wish I had the stable of my dreams, but at the moment it's just my very first car, a 71 Vette, my fun project/experiment car (a 5.7 Hemi swapped 67 Dart), my Viper, and a motorcycle. I sometimes joke about selling them all to buy a single ACR or something like that, but I like having a little variety and they are all fun in their own ways.

 

[Brilly]

All right all right I'll ruin the mood here; I fell in love with Lamborghini Countach, and then the Diablo; back in the 80's and 90's.
Here I am now with a small business that's growing and doing well, also had some blessing on two real estate deals, and I bought a 2008 Corvette (base model). It was a great car, but then one day I learned that I could get a Viper for barely $10k more. So my search began.
I found my 97 red RT/10 with 39,000 miles and traded the Corvette and here I am now; loving Viper and wondering if I'll ever care to upgrade to a Lambo. or not.

Not ruining the mood at all, actually fits in perfect. My top 3 cars to own are Viper, Countach, and McLaren F1. I never plan on selling my Viper, adding on is a must!!!