chenner
Viper Owner
With a slow afternoon at work on this Friday I thought I would post an introductory thread and tell my Viper pick up story. Since I enjoyed reading other people's post about their drives back home I thought it would only be fair if I shared mine.
I flew down to Atlanta and picked up a mint blue and white '96 GTS with only 12K miles earlier this month and drove it 1,100 miles back to Toronto. What an adventure!
Rather than just doing a boring drive on the interstate I thought I would stick to the backroads and turn this into a 3-day road trip.
Arriving to see the car
I picked up the car and hit the road around 3:30pm. My first stop was to meet up with an old friend in Alabama. What a drive! My initial thoughts on the car was that the ride was much smoother than what I had read about! I would realize the next day that it was because of the smooth roads in the south! lol. The AC wasn't blowing cold air so it was windows down drive down country roads to Scottsboro Alabama. Oh, the cigar lighter didn't work either so it was no GPS for me which just added to the adventure (good thing I printed out Google Map directions!). I drove through some very cool towns along the way. Love the south!
I stopped somewhere just in Alabama to snap a couple of pics of the new ride:
First night was spent in Monteagle, TN. I arrived late but man did the car look great under the lights of the motel.
The next day was quite the adventure. The first half of the day was awesome. Weather was perfect. I stopped by Auto Source in a small town and refilled the freon. AC was blowing perfect and the drive was much improved! The roads in Tennessee and south Kentucky were a perfect combination of curvy country roads mixed with some parts where I can cruise in 6th. For the life of me I can't remember where it was but there were some of the best driving roads I have ever encountered that snaked around a state park. Super curvy roads with some elevation changes that lead me out to this long bridge:
If anybody knows where this was please let me know!
It was a good thing I packed very light. The trunk was occupied with a car cover and original parts (car has smooth tubes and Eradispeed rotors).
It wasn't until I neared I64 that the real adventure began. First it started raining. That's when I discovered that the windshield wipers did not work! (slow motor on one arm and they would run into each other). It got so dark and poured so bad that I could barely see. And that's when the hail started! Luckily, I had just arrived at a gas station that had one bottle of Rain X left! I got back on the road 20 minutes later and the rain stopped. However, once on the Interstate the radio was interrupted with Tornado warnings in North Kentucky and South Ohio - exactly where I was at!!!
Probably the last thing you want to hear when you don't know where you're at and you're driving your new car home!
Got stuck in traffic on I75 when there was a "High-Water Alert" on the freeway where cars can only get by in the left lane.
I have never heard of a warning like this before so in an effort to avoid hydro-locking the motor I spent the next 45 minutes driving through some brutal roads through the ghetto of Cincinatti until I was able to get back on the freeway. Ate dinner at ******* Barrel (love the catfish dinner there!) while more heavy rain pounded the area and briefly knocked out power. I debated staying there for the night but decided to push forth to Lima, OH.
What a drive to Lima! Dark clouds threatening rain the whole way. Even saw a double rainbow!
Quite the drive as dark looming clouds sat on one side while the sun set on the other. With all the deer in Ohio I was hoping to get to my destination quick!
Somebody upstairs must have been looking out for me as the rain held off until after I made it to Lima! It poured with thunderstorms that night as my poor GTS sat by itself in the parking lot.
Here's the car the next morning:
The last day was uneventful. Cloudy the rest of the drive home.
Some observations:
- the car drove perfectly in the rain as long as speed and acceleration were respected
- Michigan has some of the worst interstate roads - just brutal!
- must move a southern state in the future! Great people, food, and scenery
- driving the GTS is much like riding a motorcycle. Loud, very raw, and must stop frequently to stretch the old bones!
That was definitely a road trip that I will remember!
I flew down to Atlanta and picked up a mint blue and white '96 GTS with only 12K miles earlier this month and drove it 1,100 miles back to Toronto. What an adventure!
Rather than just doing a boring drive on the interstate I thought I would stick to the backroads and turn this into a 3-day road trip.
Arriving to see the car
You must be registered for see images attach
I picked up the car and hit the road around 3:30pm. My first stop was to meet up with an old friend in Alabama. What a drive! My initial thoughts on the car was that the ride was much smoother than what I had read about! I would realize the next day that it was because of the smooth roads in the south! lol. The AC wasn't blowing cold air so it was windows down drive down country roads to Scottsboro Alabama. Oh, the cigar lighter didn't work either so it was no GPS for me which just added to the adventure (good thing I printed out Google Map directions!). I drove through some very cool towns along the way. Love the south!
You must be registered for see images attach
I stopped somewhere just in Alabama to snap a couple of pics of the new ride:
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
First night was spent in Monteagle, TN. I arrived late but man did the car look great under the lights of the motel.
You must be registered for see images attach
The next day was quite the adventure. The first half of the day was awesome. Weather was perfect. I stopped by Auto Source in a small town and refilled the freon. AC was blowing perfect and the drive was much improved! The roads in Tennessee and south Kentucky were a perfect combination of curvy country roads mixed with some parts where I can cruise in 6th. For the life of me I can't remember where it was but there were some of the best driving roads I have ever encountered that snaked around a state park. Super curvy roads with some elevation changes that lead me out to this long bridge:
You must be registered for see images attach
If anybody knows where this was please let me know!
It was a good thing I packed very light. The trunk was occupied with a car cover and original parts (car has smooth tubes and Eradispeed rotors).
You must be registered for see images attach
It wasn't until I neared I64 that the real adventure began. First it started raining. That's when I discovered that the windshield wipers did not work! (slow motor on one arm and they would run into each other). It got so dark and poured so bad that I could barely see. And that's when the hail started! Luckily, I had just arrived at a gas station that had one bottle of Rain X left! I got back on the road 20 minutes later and the rain stopped. However, once on the Interstate the radio was interrupted with Tornado warnings in North Kentucky and South Ohio - exactly where I was at!!!
Probably the last thing you want to hear when you don't know where you're at and you're driving your new car home!Got stuck in traffic on I75 when there was a "High-Water Alert" on the freeway where cars can only get by in the left lane.
I have never heard of a warning like this before so in an effort to avoid hydro-locking the motor I spent the next 45 minutes driving through some brutal roads through the ghetto of Cincinatti until I was able to get back on the freeway. Ate dinner at ******* Barrel (love the catfish dinner there!) while more heavy rain pounded the area and briefly knocked out power. I debated staying there for the night but decided to push forth to Lima, OH.What a drive to Lima! Dark clouds threatening rain the whole way. Even saw a double rainbow!
You must be registered for see images attach
Quite the drive as dark looming clouds sat on one side while the sun set on the other. With all the deer in Ohio I was hoping to get to my destination quick!
Somebody upstairs must have been looking out for me as the rain held off until after I made it to Lima! It poured with thunderstorms that night as my poor GTS sat by itself in the parking lot.
Here's the car the next morning:
You must be registered for see images attach
The last day was uneventful. Cloudy the rest of the drive home.
Some observations:
- the car drove perfectly in the rain as long as speed and acceleration were respected
- Michigan has some of the worst interstate roads - just brutal!
- must move a southern state in the future! Great people, food, and scenery
- driving the GTS is much like riding a motorcycle. Loud, very raw, and must stop frequently to stretch the old bones!
That was definitely a road trip that I will remember!
