Potential Viper owner....

[shifty556]

I cut my teeth on a 1992 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4. I installed a new motor, trans, transfercase, alcohol injection, tons of apex'i electronics, injectors, turbo's, exhaust, tuned myself... Not trying to brag, just saying I'd be somewhere near comfortable trying to fix a Viper when I break it.

It's running about 15 psi, probably like 365 or 370 AWHP. I know you guys can do it...convince me to leave the V6 for a V10...please! I can justify spending $25,000 on a Viper, so if that isn't enough to get me started right just tell me I need more moolah.

Thanks guys, I look forward to some responses.

 

[Frankster]

The 3000 is a way cool car. The Viper is a totally different aminal, though.

How can I describe it to you in a visceral way?

OK, here goes.......

I'm at a stoplight. One of those superbikes (GSX 1000 or something like that) pulls up next to me, looks over and guns his engine a few times.

OK, I think, this will be interesting. I've never raced a bike. He will probly beat me but what the hell! It should be fun!

Light turns green and we go for it. He couldn't keep up. He had all the power he could have used at his disposal. He wound up doing wheelies trying to catch me. Heeeeeee!

AHHHH, nothing like the Viper. You have to see to beleive

 

[plumcrazy]

you will get a lot of attention in a viper. there ya go. go buy it !

 

[shifty556]

Out of curiousity, has anyone had a good experience buying a Viper on cars.com or autotrader.com? I had always envisioned any used sports cars posted on that site as ones that have been driven hard and put away wet.

There are a few 94/95's on there right now hovering around 20k with decent mileage. Ideally, and this is how I got my 3000 and most of the parts, I'd like to buy from a forum member. At least I know I took the car from an enthusiast and not a ******** that's squeezed all the fun out of it, leaving me with a time bomb.

I have plenty of vacation time at work, so making it 500 miles to test drive on a long weekend would be ok. I just don't want to be flying around the country. I'll lurk on this forum some more, but just a quick estimate, how much do you guys end up spending on non-routine maintenance per year on your first/early-second gen cars? How's the insurance? My credit is perfect. Also, if anyone wants to do a trade+cash I would do that. My 3000 would come with spare engine and trans, and it's pretty damn zippy.

 

[AZTVR]

just saying I'd be somewhere near comfortable trying to fix a Viper when I break it.

...please! I can justify spending $25,000 on a Viper, so if that isn't enough to get me started right just tell me I need more moolah.

If you get the car checked out by a respected Viper tech or someone who has experience with the cars, it doesn't matter about history. I prefer to buy from someone who has owned the car at least a couple of years.

The cars are EASY and simple to work on. Do some searches; but early models need to have had headgaskets replaced, and there is also a frame recall to check out to see that it was done right on some years. Those are the only two big issues.

The drivetrain is pretty bullet proof. Quite a few get forced induction or nitrous. Like any car, that takes the components to the limits, so, you have to very careful buying one of those cars.

Insurance isn't considerably different from other high performance cars. It all depends on your age, record, and location.

Out of curiousity, has anyone had a good experience buying a Viper on cars.com or autotrader.com? I had always envisioned any used sports cars posted on that site as ones that have been driven hard and put away wet.

Real, normal people sell their cars through eBay, autotrader, and craigslist. The problem is that there are scammers out there. Just buy something local enough that you can check it out in person. Never trust an ad or a picture except for deciding on whether to invest time to check it out personally.

 

[RobZilla]

Viper > 3000GT

 

[malcoll]

Where are you located..... I know of a couple for sale in the range you mention...... but don't know where you are. And it shouldn't take much to convince anyone on the merits of V10 vs. V6.......it's just better.....

 

[Chinook47]

Viper > 3000GT

They at least have the same side mirrors...

I had a 3000gt when i was in high school, great car, but is no where near viper level.

But if you don't like getting your picture taken, don't buy one..

 

[markus]

They at least have the same side mirrors...

I had a 3000gt when i was in high school, great car, but is no where near viper level.

But if you don't like getting your picture taken, don't buy one..

or videotaped....
or harassed at gas stations....
or harassed while driving....
or offered certain favors by morally questionable women.....
or offered certain favors by men in drag......
and DEFINITELY don't take it to the beach if you don't like that kind of attention

 

[shifty556]

I am in northern Illinois. It'd probably be a 6 month car here. v10 > v6, but remember the vr4 is a twin-turbo, allwheel drive, all wheel steering, electronic suspension....gah I'll stop.

I don't have any delusions that my 3000 is better than a Viper, but it's a great car.

 

[JonB]

I cut my teeth on a 1992 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4. I installed a new motor, trans, transfercase, alcohol injection, tons of apex'i electronics, injectors, turbo's, exhaust, tuned myself... Not trying to brag, just saying I'd be somewhere near comfortable trying to fix a Viper when I break it......I know you guys can do it...convince me to leave the V6 for a V10...please! I can justify spending $25,000 on a Viper, so if that isn't enough to get me started right just tell me I need more moolah. Thanks guys, I look forward to some responses.

I have had 3 of the StealthTT variant...one was featured in MoPar Performace News, (Sept 2001) The best drive of my LIFE was 1699 miles from Portland to Anchorage, in 36hrs, 45-minutes driving time, in WINTER....... for a Car @ Driver Iditarod project.
350HP....still have it, Blue/GTS Stripes.

My Stealth is now my winter car....once you have a Viper, your TT will be parked til you need AWD......but you will only get a Gen 1 for $25k..... try for a Gen 2.....

 

[shifty556]

Well I don't want to take out a huge loan. $25k would be my absolute spending limit. Or are you saying a 2gen would be less than 25k? I dont follow.

 

[Venomiss]

Contact these guys.

Home Page - Viper Club of America - Illinois Region

See if you can attend a meeting and put some feelers out for a Viper.

Meet the owner, get the background, and be part of one of the best clubs in the country.

You might want to spend a bit more to get windows and other goodies that came with the Gen 2's if you can.

 

[otterbeinjumper]

Out of curiousity, has anyone had a good experience buying a Viper on cars.com or autotrader.com? I had always envisioned any used sports cars posted on that site as ones that have been driven hard and put away wet.

There are a few 94/95's on there right now hovering around 20k with decent mileage. Ideally, and this is how I got my 3000 and most of the parts, I'd like to buy from a forum member. At least I know I took the car from an enthusiast and not a ******** that's squeezed all the fun out of it, leaving me with a time bomb.

I have plenty of vacation time at work, so making it 500 miles to test drive on a long weekend would be ok. I just don't want to be flying around the country. I'll lurk on this forum some more, but just a quick estimate, how much do you guys end up spending on non-routine maintenance per year on your first/early-second gen cars? How's the insurance? My credit is perfect. Also, if anyone wants to do a trade+cash I would do that. My 3000 would come with spare engine and trans, and it's pretty damn zippy.

Found my 94' on Cars.com in February. Private party sale. Needed new tires and fluids. Condition was a solid 8/10 with no body damage but some road wear. Had hard top, but no AC. 21k miles for 23 grand, bone stock. Very happy with my deal. AC would have been nice to throw the top on and keep it cool inside the car.


** head gaskets were done too, had a PPI and never looked back **

 

[viper67wife]

AC would have been nice to throw the top on and keep it cool inside the car.

Once the hard tops go on, there's no keeping a 94 cool. Ours has AC and we still sweat with the roof on. The things I sacrifice for trunk space for my shoes....

 

[speedracervr4]

I have a 560awhp 95 3000gt VR4 as my daily driver and it just doesn't compare to my supercharged 99 GTS!!! You gotta wait for the little 3.0 litter to build boost before it gets fun..The Viper not so much. I've seen people put alot of money into the 3000gt's/stealths just to run 11s maybe high 10s (I'm one of them). The Viper in stock form is pretty fun,great looking, and doesn't brake near as much as the 3000gt's/stealth do!!! The exhaust sounds soooo much cooler as well!!!!! Good luck, it's a GREAT time to buy one!!!!