New Viper owner

[lane_viper]

So... first time Viper owner. Picked up a 96 GTS this past weekend in Virginia Beach VA. Car was a 1 owner clean carfax example with a little higher miles at 85K. Almost 700 miles home was a first time introduction to the new ride.

Car is not perfect, but it's perfect for me as I am not afraid to do a little wrenching. Seems to be mechanically solid, but it has some of the viper annoyances that I'm reading about.

Been dreaming of a Viper since before I could drive, and having one now is a dream come true.

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Already fixed the center caps as I couldn't stand them. My daily is a C5Z

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[ViperJeff]

Very nice!!!!

 

[GTSnake]

Looks very clean. Welcome to the club.

 

[Bonkers]

Still classic! Welcome to the club!

 

[Burt G]

Congrats! Interestingly, I too own the same exact combo "96 GTS & C5Z06

 

[wolowski]

Congrats, I just got my '96 GTS a few weeks ago.

 

[Shaggy]

So... first time Viper owner. Picked up a 96 GTS this past weekend in Virginia Beach VA. Car was a 1 owner clean carfax example with a little higher miles at 85K. Almost 700 miles home was a first time introduction to the new ride.

Car is not perfect, but it's perfect for me as I am not afraid to do a little wrenching. Seems to be mechanically solid, but it has some of the viper annoyances that I'm reading about.

Been dreaming of a Viper since before I could drive, and having one now is a dream come true.

You must be registered for see images attach

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Already fixed the center caps as I couldn't stand them. My daily is a C5Z

You must be registered for see images attach

Nice looking garage! Welcome to ViperClub. Any major plans with it, or just fixing the little things you aren't liking so far?

 

[fildrill]

Hi Lane, congrats on the Viper (you should have bought mine!!!). Get used to a lot of people rubber necking!! Also, enjoy wrenching on it; as I have with mine. Think you still have my contact, so don't hesitate if you have any questions, as I know mine pretty much inside and out.
See ya, Phil from Charlotte

 

[ViperJohn]

The B/W Viper and Red Corvette pair nicely together. Enjoy!

 

[c6matt]

Congrats! Interestingly, I too own the same exact combo "96 GTS & C5Z06

Is yours a 2003 like his?

 

[Burt G]

2001 Z06 Millenium Yellow

 

[lane_viper]

Hi Lane, congrats on the Viper (you should have bought mine!!!). Get used to a lot of people rubber necking!! Also, enjoy wrenching on it; as I have with mine. Think you still have my contact, so don't hesitate if you have any questions, as I know mine pretty much inside and out.
See ya, Phil from Charlotte

Thanks Phil for the offer, I will prob take you up on in at some point. Any luck with selling your yet. It looks like a really sweet example!

 

[lane_viper]

Nice looking garage! Welcome to ViperClub. Any major plans with it, or just fixing the little things you aren't liking so far?

Just going to fix it up for now. Lots of little things. Under the front bumper is scratched up pretty bad, so I'm going to fix that. The Valve covers have lost almost all of their red paint, so going to paint them too. Going to do tranny fluid, coolant, and diff fluid changes too.

Between that, and the clutch replacement on the Z06, I'll be pretty busy.

Thanks.

 

[John333]

Super nice looking color combo. How is the paint? I'm guessing it should be nice if it was garaged. Congrats!

 

[matt dillon]

Congrats & WELCOME!

 

[Jim Cameron]

Congrats!

 

[GRANGER73]

For you Pace car owners $395 and it’s yours. Size large.

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[GRANGER73]

Shoes are not included.

 

[lane_viper]

Well I guess the honeymoon is over cause I've got some more work to do.

Car is now popping out of 5th and won't go into 6th, so I'm guessing a tranny rebuild is in store.

I've done this on the Vette already, so should be no problem on the Viper. Looks like the parts to fix are even cheaper than they were for the vette.

Also, the radiator seems to be leaking around the drain plug. Is this common, and what have you guys done to fix?

Thanks in advance

 

[Bonkers]

Its been a while since I priced them, but I know back
in the day a new T56 wasnt that hard to come by. JonB
was selling them for like $1800 - might want to look
into that first. They are not difficult to swap out.

Ive not heard of leaky drain valves before, but it doesnt
surprise me. I know guys have had luck re-coring their
old radiators - but there are now plenty of aftermarket
options if you want to upgrade. When you do it though,
id advise flushing the entire THOUROUGHLY to get the
green stuff out and replace with Mopar Pink.

 

[lane_viper]

Its been a while since I priced them, but I know back
in the day a new T56 wasnt that hard to come by. JonB
was selling them for like $1800 - might want to look
into that first. They are not difficult to swap out.

Ive not heard of leaky drain valves before, but it doesnt
surprise me. I know guys have had luck re-coring their
old radiators - but there are now plenty of aftermarket
options if you want to upgrade. When you do it though,
id advise flushing the entire THOUROUGHLY to get the
green stuff out and replace with Mopar Pink.

I did a complete rebuild on my 03 Z06 myself, so doing the Viper T56 rebuild doesn't worry me in the least. Going to do the clutch and motor mounts while I'm at it.

I found out the fitting for the drain plug is a plumbers threaded plug, so I'm going to see if I can get something with a head and use a O-ring to seal.

Thanks.

 

[Skolnick89]

Congrats. I also recently bought GTS. 1998 with 38,000 miles

If you don’t mind, how much did you pay?

 

[fildrill]

Hey Lane, yes, mine (after 9 years) will be heading down 85 to South Carolina next week. (I'll she'd a tear or two when the time actually comes). On a side note, my rad started leaking (not from hoses, etc but the body itself). Decided to take care of cooling issues also and had it completely rebuilt while adding another row of cooling. Good luck with yranny rebuild. Sounds like a fun little project. I will have another Gen II sometime in the future!! Cheers, Phil

 

[lane_viper]

Congrats. I also recently bought GTS. 1998 with 38,000 miles

If you don’t mind, how much did you pay?

$29,900

 

[lane_viper]

Hey Lane, yes, mine (after 9 years) will be heading down 85 to South Carolina next week. (I'll she'd a tear or two when the time actually comes). On a side note, my rad started leaking (not from hoses, etc but the body itself). Decided to take care of cooling issues also and had it completely rebuilt while adding another row of cooling. Good luck with yranny rebuild. Sounds like a fun little project. I will have another Gen II sometime in the future!! Cheers, Phil

Glad to hear the sale went through, I know the new owner will love it, as it looked like a great example.

Got the transmission out on Sat in about 2 hours. Went way smoother than I thought.

After cracking open the case, looks like it ate the 6th gear thrust bearing. The tranny fluid was grey with metal, and 6th gear had dropped and that caused the shift collar not be able to lock 6th gear.

The added space cause the springs and keys to come apart so that was the reason for no 5th or 6th gear.

Ended up ordering a new 6th gear as there were remanent of the old washer welded to the edge of the old 6th gear. Don't want that to grind on the new $4 washer.

 

[matt dillon]

Lane, are you anywhere close to Memphis? I'm in La. & have a lot of relatives in Memphis & come up there quite often!

 

[lane_viper]

Lane, are you anywhere close to Memphis? I'm in La. & have a lot of relatives in Memphis & come up there quite often!

I'm in Nashville unfortunately, but the wife and I love Memphis. Next time we head that way I will let you know.

 

[lane_viper]

Car is back together, and running like tops. Not sure I will rebuild another T56 myself. Just a big inconvenience. If I do, it will be a long time from now.

 

[steve e]

Good job, you did that fast.

 

[white out]

Congrats on the new car and getting the trans rebuilt.

At one point I had a B/W and daily C5 FRC (lots of bolt ons) seems to be a common combo here. lol