Re: Looking to buy in Virginia...can someone take a quick look for a fellow Viper own
Inspection Report
Black 1995 Dodge Viper RT/10
1B3BR65EXSV200185
Exterior
General Exterior Comments: Normal minor swirl marks are evident in the paint throughout the exterior. Although body fitting is not the greatest on most Vipers, the panel gaps seemed to be worse than normal. There are some major scratches all over, especially under the front fascia, on top of the sports bar and under the driver’s side sill. There is also one significantly sized dent just in front of the driver’s side exhaust outlet. I suspect this Viper spent a significant amount of time outdoors. The exhaust tips on both sides are pretty rusted, as are the calipers on both rear wheels. The engine bay is pretty dirty and has leaves and other “outdoor” debris tucked pretty deeply in some crevices. Additionally the wheels and tires need replaced.
Front: The front fascia is in fairly good condition where you can see it. The primary exception to this statement is a front license plate holder that is bolted to the front of the car via drilled holes. The underside of the front lip is, however, severely scratched.
Drivers Side Front: The front driver side shows some significant scratches just below the badge. Body panel alignment between the fascia and the hood behind the driver’s side headlight is abnormally bad. The front driver’s side wheel is missing its center cap. There is slight rash around the outer lip of the wheel but the rotor and brake pad both look good.
Drivers Side: The side sill on the driver’s side has significant scratches under the car. There is a silver dollar sized dent just in front of the driver’s side exhaust outlet. The side sill seems to show minor discoloring and scuffs but not significantly more than would be expected with a 15 year old stock RT/10. The exhaust appears to be pretty rusted but one should remove the sill for further inspection. It may just be the tip. The rear view mirror has major paint damage and needs to be sanded and repainted correctly. The locking aftermarket windows don’t fit very well and stick out pretty badly. I failed to check their operation. The door appears to be in pretty good working order. It opens and shuts just fine but “creaks” a tiny little bit when it is fully open. I did not notice any major scratches on the door itself.
Drivers Side Rear: The rear driver’s side wheel is significantly older and “duller” than the front wheel. It also shows minor curb rash on the outer lip. I don’t know if it’s repairable or not but new wheels all around would be suggested. The driver’s side rear rotor is pretty worn but it is worn evenly. The rear caliper is pretty rusted and the brake pad is pretty low. The rear quarter panel seems to be in order and I did not notice any major scratches or paint problems.
Rear: The underside of the back bumper looks good. Looking under the car from the rear added to my suspicion of outdoor storage. The beginnings of rust could be seen on the underside of the car. There was not an available lift but I would highly suggest putting it up on one prior to purchasing. This car also looks like it spent significant time on ill placed jack stands or was improperly jacked more than once. Impressions on the frame just inside the rear wheel on both sides were evident. I could not get a decent picture of this. The undercarriage looked otherwise okay and the frame was strait from what I could see but again, a through underside inspection while on a lift is highly suggested. The rear emblem is scuffed and it looks like it was removed and replaced by a third grader. I failed to take a close up picture but the paint around the emblem for about 1mm has cottage cheese envy.
Trunk: I can’t remember if a Gen 1 trunk has any carpeting or padding but if it does, it’s missing on this car. The trunk is pretty scratched up on the inside. It’s possible the previous owner of this car additionally owned a pet raccoon and took it for a few wild rides. In the trunk I found the stock roof, windows, spare tire, brake pads (I think rear) a shoe string and a few other goodies. The stock stereo amp was left in place during the aftermarket stereo install. The wires were snipped off but left there. An aftermarket amp was installed on the driver’s side of the trunk. The factory hole for the trunk prop rod was filled in with something. Someone “repaired” that hole not knowing what it was for. The rear bumper had some “wrinkles” in the paint. I had difficulty getting a good picture but they should be repaired. The sports bar on top of the car has major scuff marks from the aftermarket roof. I did not take a close look at the aftermarket roof. I was going to when I came back from the test drive but after driving it, I didn’t even bother.
Passenger Side Rear: The rear passenger’s side wheel was also faded and dull matching the rear driver’s side wheel. The caliper was also rusted and the brake pad pretty low. The rotor on the rear passenger’s side was significantly warn and had some pretty deep groves. A new owner would want to replace the rotor when new brakes go in.
Passenger Side: The passenger’s side sill had the normal, but not significant, scratches under it. The passenger’s side did, however, have some significant scratches and scuff marks at the front where the “ribbed” exhaust cover begins. The exhaust tip was also rusted pretty badly. No major paint issues or scratches were found on the passenger’s door. The review mirror seemed to be in normal shape as well. The driver’s side door had a tiny creek when fully opened but the passenger’s side door emits a hair-raising screech when closing the fully opened door. This would prove detrimental to any perspective dates. There is abnormally large panel gap at the hinge of the passenger’s door. Matching the driver’s side, the passenger’s side window sticks out of the side of the car.
Passenger Side Front: More panel gaps and funny alignments were in abundance but overall the front quarter panel area looked pretty good. No major paint issues were found here. The front passenger wheel is in the best condition of the four. It looks shiny and new but the center cap is dull like the rear wheels. The front rotor, brake pad and caliper appear to be in relatively good condition.
Hood: Over all, the most expensive piece of the car’s exterior is in good condition. There are no paint chips or issues to report. I see no evidence of hood fractures from improper closing. The hood pad is showing major damage just above the AC box. I looked at it for awhile but I could not determine what would cause it.
Engine Bay: The engine bay appeared to be in pretty good order for the most part although it was dirty and had a lot of outdoor material such as leaves settled into many deep crevices. I saw no evidence of leaks or other issues and the motor started and sounded normal. The belts appeared to be in good condition and were not unevenly worn. There is some paint damage on the driver’s side valve cover. The AC box seemed to have been crushed or something heavy was set on it. The front of it is cracked and it’s caved in a little in the middle.
Tires: The tires are all Kumho Ecsta XS and have good tread but they should be replaced. The date codes are:
Driver Front: DOT H2MW YA9D 4108
Driver Rear: DOT H2B5 YA9D 2209
Passenger Front: DOT H2MW YA2F 2910
Passenger Rear: DOT H2B5 YA9D 2209
Interior
General Interior Comments: The interior of the car was in pretty nice shape. It was clean comfortable and had far fewer issues than I expected. The normal driver’s side bolster cracks were there and the entire dash had been either replaced with the aftermarket high-gloss dash or repainted gloss black. I didn’t bother to check the aftermarket stereo system as I spent my time in the cockpit listening for any funny noises.
Driver’s Side Door: The inside of the door itself was in pretty good condition. Two exceptions to this were the area around the door handle and the speaker. The door handle area was pretty beat up, but had been repainted. The speaker was both caved in and had a rusted screen cover. The rubber seal around the inner door frame that is against the door when it’s closed was ripped and missing in multiple places. Many starving mice are now well fed.
Drivers Side Interior: Overall the driver’s side area was also in pretty good condition. The left bolster is ripped in the normal place and there are no mats. The seat adjusts fine and the seat belt works fine. The carpet is worn and dirty but there are no holes and has not worn through anywhere.
Dash and Center Console: The dash is new and is painted an aftermarket high gloss black. It is in good condition. I believe the Gen 1 usually sports a dash pad but it was missing. The heater and air con appear to work fine but it was a cold day so my ability to test the air con was limited. The gear shifter is in fine shape and the emergency brake feels new and operates correctly. The flip cover to the ash tray is missing. The center speakers are in good condition but I did not turn on the radio. There is one small hole about an inch away from the 10’oclock position of the bottom center speaker.
Passenger Side Interior: The passenger side is in good shape. The seat feels new and snug but some of the seat stuffing is beginning to come out of the outside bolster. There is also a very small hole in the seat bottom. There is no mat on the passenger’s side but the carpet, although dirty, is not overly worn.
Passenger Side Door: The area around the passenger side door handle area shimmers in the sunlight because of all the waves in the paint. The plastic insert in the door just behind the “acceleration grip” is cracked around the two rusted screws that hold it in place.
Driving
Driving Comments: The car started, accelerated, turned, and stopped nicely. The suspension was also in fine working order and I didn’t notice any issues with it. The engine made the normal wonderful noise that a stock Gen 1 makes. The transmission, however, had major issues.
Suspension: The suspension seemed to work fine. I didn’t notice anything worth commenting on. It was a nice, firm, normal Viper ride.
Steering: The power steering seemed to work fine. I didn’t feel or hear any abnormalities with it. The bearings or something in the wheel popped once on a low speed turn and again when I blipped the throttle at low speed. I’m not sure what it was, but it didn’t sound normal or confidence inspiring.
Acceleration: The car accelerated and ran like normal. The engine was good and strong and I didn’t see or hear anything unusual with it. I didn’t notice any leaks around the engine bay and it ran smooth at idle and under both normal and full throttle.
Braking: The cars brakes also seemed to work fine. There were no major squeals or scraping when applied gently or aggressively.
Shifting: In the first four gears under fast acceleration I had trouble getting the car to go in gear. I know the Gen 1 is a more aggressive shift than the Gen 2 but it seemed really bad. Furthermore, the gears would sometimes grind slightly when going into gear. This happened in second, third and fourth during both smooth and aggressive gear changes. More troublesome was three times when in third gear the transmission emitted a brief grind and leaver popped out of gear and into neutral. But worst of all I could never get the car to go in sixth while on the highway. I tried five or six times but gave up finding sixth. I mashed the clutch to the floor and yanked on the leaver. It felt like it was sliding into sixth but when I would let out the clutch and hit the gas it would rev as if out of gear. If I pulled the leaver far down into the slot I could hear some slight grinding. This car appears to have major transmission issues and I would stay away from it for this reason alone. Some one really yanked on that transmission and it’s in pretty rough shape.
). And we found this one in Virginia. 
