Well I've had my 2001 viper now for five days. I got it with 15, 200 miles, and now have 15,246 miles. First obvious thing, it's very fast. Second I get a lot of stares. Third it's a blast to drive! I did get the hard top off, wasn't real easy but not real hard either. I was able to put the soft top together and on the car, the soft top had never been put together (still had the caps on the front posts). Took a while to get the fabric to stretch enough to put it together but it went on flawlessly and works great! I know that first gear is strong but it really moves from first to second gear.