The Interior is finished :)

[Jay M]

I took a few teaser pics and posted them in this thread http://forums.viperclub.org/threads...ew-interior?p=2989498&mode=linear#post2989498
Thank you all for the kind words!

The work was completed a couple weeks ago and I finally had some time to take some pictures. These were taken in Monterey during the big car week. I'm pleased to say that amongst 100 Ferraris, a dozen Aston Martins, dozens of Rolls and Bentlys, my interior was not lacking. I think the best comment I got was overheard from some cynical guy who doesn't really care for Vipers, said "they do have good interiors" At that particular event, nobody even noticed the interior. I guess that means I achieved my goal of having it look stock.

Most importantly, the seats now fit me, and I like how it looks, feels, and even smells.

So here are a few more pictures:

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The controls for the seat ventilation, kept me cool and dry on the 7 hour drive.

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I also had a Stereo and Cruise control added:

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Back-up camera:

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Mic for hands free... worked well with the top down at 70mph

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Cruise Control:

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If I didn't love the Viper enough already, these creature comforts make it a real joy to drive, even on long trips. I just got back for about a 7 hour drive and loved every minutes of it... well, except for the hour of stop and go traffic

Again, credit goes to Galpin Auto Sports for the stereo, Cruise control and directing me to a great interior shop. The interior shop is Chatsworth Auto Upholstery. Tony is the guy who did the meticulous work. All I did was choose the colors and instruct them to make it look as if Dodge made it.

~Jay

 

[Sonoman]

Do the words "spoiled brat" mean anything to you??

It does look like it could be factory original, but it's probably a lot more fun having a one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted interior. Reminds me of a certain red-on-tan Ferrari 355 Spyder a friend had years ago.

 

[AbsolutHank]

Yup, looks amazing. Congrats!

 

[Atppilot]

That my friend is "off the hook" beautiful!!!!!!!! I am sure it smells as heavenly!!!!

 

[cfiiman]

Wow, beautiful, I'd love to do something like that to my Gen 1, can you give me an idea of cost on this, if that is too personal don't worry about it I'm just seeing where it would fall into place if I wanted to follow in your footsteps, amazing!

 

[FrgMstr]

Beatutiful! Congrats and kudos to the installer. Wish I had me some AC seats down here in Texas the last couple months.

 

[Bobpantax]

Very nicely done. Enjoy.

 

[Mopar Steve]

It's amazing what can be done with a few cans of vinyl dye!.... Just kidding that looks awesome. Congratulations.

 

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

I will be surprised if there are not quite a few SoCal VCA members frequenting the upholsterer in Chatsworth in the near future. Absolutely an artistic job, and what a classy look to the Snake. Seen alot of custom interiors on Vipers and this has to rank as one of the best -- congrats!!!

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

Simply AMAZING!

 

[Ripper]

Awesome ! Congrats on the finished product. As the others have stated it looks amazing!

 

[bluesrt]

very nice work!!!!!!!

 

[97snk]

Wow that turned out great. What's the cost of something like that?

 

[BigDawg]

Top notch work!

Kudos for doing the seat warmers/cooler and cruise control yourself instead of being selfish and pushing the factory to do it.

 

[Austin]

Im in the minority when it comes to the Viper interior, as I like it the way it is. With that said, I can appreciate a nicely done aftermarket interior when its done tastefully and doesnt look cheesy. Your new interior looks amazing and, IMO, fits the Viper VERY well. The only thing I would do to add just that very little last touch, would be to add some satin gauge rings from MGW.

 

[PDCjonny]

Isn't the interior now worth more than the car?

 

[M_viper]

Beatutiful!

 

[1buddyc]

Absolutely Beautiful, 2 Thumbs Up!!

 

[georgethedog]

How did you attach the cruise control? Also, I hope you changed those terrible sounding door speakers during the project. Anyway, looks great. Is the leather as soft as it looks?

 

[Jay M]

Thanks for all the kind words. Normally people don't like to talk about money, but the interior was about $11,000. It's a lot to spend, but as the third owner I got the car pretty cheaply so the grand total isn't bad. It's nice to have the elegance of an Aston Martin and the raw power of a Viper all in one affordable car.

How did you attach the cruise control? Also, I hope you changed those terrible sounding door speakers during the project. Anyway, looks great. Is the leather as soft as it looks?

The remote for the cruise control is screwed to the steering wheel. I figure a 3rd gen red convertible wont be all that collectable anyway, so I might as well put a few holes in it here and there.

The stereo sounds really good. I have 6" JL components in the door. I tried a 6" JL sub to replace the stock sub, but it didn't sound any better and it was too deep to sit flush so I had them put the stock sub back in. I think the only way to make real bass is to put an 8 or 10 inch sub in the passenger foot well. The design criteria was that looking factory original was more important than sound quality.

I also have a 125.4 ARC mini amp under the passenger seat, and an Alpine EQ/processor under the driver seat. I think it's a little under powered so I might have them install an additional amp for the sub.

The leather is very soft and smooth. They did have a grade of leather that was even better that was as soft as an expensive leather jacket, but it didn't come in a color I liked. So I had to settle for the Aston Martin / Bentley leather.

The main reason I took on this project is because the seats in their stock configuration were killing mine, and my wife's backs. For a little extra money the Upholsterer worked with me over the course of several days to shape the foam to fit me perfectly.

The cruise control was really nice to have. There was CHP every 50 miles! It's nearly impossible to keep in under 80mph with out cruise control.

I'm really going to enjoy the SoCal VCA Sedona trip now We also plan to drive to Utah in the near future. The seats, stereo and cruise control make the drive a real joy. With the 500HP V10 heater, we can keep the top down in the winter too!

~Jay

 

[Pappa Prich]

Not saying $11,000 isn't a lot of money, but for quality of the work that seems like one AMAZING deal!!!! ... honestly, I would've thought that it was more than double that. Congrats man, it's the best interior on a viper I've ever seen.

 

[georgethedog]

Jay, glad to hear you made the speaker change. Good selection on the door speakers. Funny thing about the sub... When I bought my Hertz for the door speakers and tweeters the guy who owns the stereo shop said he knew that he could get a JL sub to fit but he bet me that it would probably be too deep with the setup and your story confirms what he said. He basically said he did not want to sell them to me because they wouldn't really help. Nice to know an honest person. Everything looks great. What is that JVC headunit model and approximate price? How hard was that installation? Does the mic hook into the JVC so you have handsfree phone? Thanks for answering my questions. I love what you have done! Looks great! Enjoy!

 

[mattdillon]

That my friend is "off the hook" beautiful!!!!!!!! I am sure it smells as heavenly!!!!

+1, Very Professional Looking Jay!

 

[Jay M]

Jay, glad to hear you made the speaker change. Good selection on the door speakers. Funny thing about the sub... When I bought my Hertz for the door speakers and tweeters the guy who owns the stereo shop said he knew that he could get a JL sub to fit but he bet me that it would probably be too deep with the setup and your story confirms what he said. He basically said he did not want to sell them to me because they wouldn't really help. Nice to know an honest person. Everything looks great. What is that JVC headunit model and approximate price? How hard was that installation? Does the mic hook into the JVC so you have handsfree phone? Thanks for answering my questions. I love what you have done! Looks great! Enjoy!

The JVC model NT3HDT has been discontinued, but was about $800. It's really good. Very fast and the navigation is great. The mic came with the JVC unit and yes, it's for hands free. I assume that the newer JVC models work as well. There are tons of reviews for this unit online. My iPhone always syncs up perfectly every time and very quickly.

The installation wasn't easy. Inside the dash you need to cut a metal brace. I asked them to reinforce it. They also had to cut, fill, and finish the dash faceplate. They spent a lot of time with it to try to get it just right. One thing that made the JVC a bit more difficult than other NAV units is that fact that the faceplate is removable. Because of that they had to leave just enough gap around it, but not too much or it would look sloppy.

~Jay

 

[DodgeViper01]

The interior looks amazing. Truly a first class job!

 

[Viper Specialty]

And here ladies and gentlemen, is what the Viper interior SHOULD have been! SRT Engineers and bean counters take note!

Next time someone gets the urge to say something along the lines of "Well, The Dodge Engineers did it that way, so it must be the best way of doing it", refer to this thread.

 

[PDCjonny]

And here ladies and gentlemen, is what the Viper interior SHOULD have been! SRT Engineers and bean counters take note!

Next time someone gets the urge to say something along the lines of "Well, The Dodge Engineers did it that way, so it must be the best way of doing it", refer to this thread.

And add 15K to the MSRP.
Or more.

 

[Pythonpete]

I stare at those interior pics every day. Can you post more pics?

 

[Matt162]

Makes me wish my viper was red so i could have an identical interior! Very Jealous, everything looks great!

 

[ViperTony]

Very beautiful interior, congrats!