The VIPAIR - Nick Giggey Viper Build

[GTS-R 001]

Most of you already know about the car that I have been rebuilding (converting from a convertible to a coupe) for 2 time Purple Heart recipient Nick Giggey.

Nick is one of the best people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and he deserves everything that I have been trying to do for him and more. We all owe him a huge thanks for his sacrifices for this country as we do for all those who have fought for our freedoms we take for granted.

I will be updating this thread daily (hopefully) as I build Nicks Viper.

The VCA members have donated funds and parts which as I go along I will try to give credit where credit is due for each part as I log the install of it, if I make any mistakes, sorry in advance, feel free to correct any omissions or errors.

I have personally donated a lot of parts and there is no labor being charged for the build.

Here we go

Dis assembly for paint was handled by some experience Viper Techs, these two viper techs have done more to Vipers at their age than most of the posters on this board combined so do not let their age fool you, they are extremely experienced and diligent in their work.

 

[GTS-R 001]

The assembly

Bolting the Tub to the frame, this is a new tub, the old convert one would have needed to be cut up as the coupe tubs, though they start off the same, get modified to become coupe compatible



Tub installed , needing to be trimmed, nasty stuff, carbon fiber dust, had to send teh kids running and use a shop vac as teh sawsall did its job

the tub trimmed

 

[GTS-R 001]

The window frame needs to be altered to convert the car from a convert to a coupe, the convert hard ware bolts on from the top, the coupe roof bolts on from the bottom,

luckily I have my own coupe here that is getting dis-assembled as needed so I can get this right the first time for Nick

Rivnuts in frame drilled out



Lower holes for fastener install being drilled out with a hole saw and a shop vac, once again super toxic cancer causing carbon dust produced so if you ever try this, use a mask and vacuum up as you go



the final holes, these will be covered with the headliner when installed

 

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Roll bar installed

 

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the parts ready to install

rear Bumper, freshly painted compliments of many VCA members

Doors , freshly pained compliments of many a VCA member

The roof, again painted compliments of many a VCA member

and again, painted Compliments of VCA member donations

the entire front half of an SRT10

 

[GTS-R 001]

Test fit newly painted rear quarters

test fit front bumper and Vipair large center Hood

 

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test fit of the roof

Another cool looking view

 

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A little something special happening in the engine bay

 

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Another cool Go Kart view

Just finished refinishing and polishing the headlights, these babies has 62K miles of road rash and wear so now they look like new

 

[SNIPERDOG]

Very cool build!!!!
and I concur on the salute to Nick
looking forward to following build

 

[GTS-R 001]

Very cool build!!!!
and I concur on the salute to Nick
looking forward to following build

Thanks!

Without guys like Nick, we would all be speaking German, or Russian or worse

 

[GTS-R 001]

Here is the like new Coupe waterfall installed - Thanks Tim F8LSNK



Seat Belts brackets bolted to Roll bar and seat belts reinstalled

 

[Supratt6s]

Steve informed me today that progress pics were being posted so I jumped on here to see how my car is developing after the great contributions from the VCA and Steve. Seeing what the VCA and Steve has done for me has really shown what car communities are all about. I don't think I could thank everyone enough for their contributions towards my build after my injury but THANK YOU! I think Steve deserves special recognition for his efforts and exceptional skill he has demonstarted on my car. His family also deserves a huge thank you from me for their extra hands and emotional support allowing my car to steal a spot in their garage for over a year lol and for them supporting Steve working on my car through many nights he should have spent with them. Once again, THANK YOU everyone and I cannot wait to be behind the steering wheel again!

 

[Fatboy 18]

Its looking great

 

[Matt162]

It looks AWESOME good job guys

 

[ViperCobra]

Wow... Great Build Steve will be looking forward the finish product

 

[FLATOUT]

So happy to see it getting to this point. Once the paint work gets done its back to bolting stuff together. Looks awesome!

 

[nspec]

so why did u repaint the whole car? or changed the color entirely?

looking great so far

 

[GTS-R 001]

so why did u repaint the whole car? or changed the color entirely?

looking great so far

#1, Viper red is very difficult to get a perfect match on and
#2, even when it looks great in the light it is hard to get a perfect match in other lights
#3, the car was a 62K mile car, so she had a few imperfections all around

I and Nick both wanted the car to look as close to prefect as we could get it.

 

[Supratt6s]

#1, Viper red is very difficult to get a perfect match on and
#2, even when it looks great in the light it is hard to get a perfect match in other lights
#3, the car was a 62K mile car, so she had a few imperfections all around

I and Nick both wanted the car to look as close to prefect as we could get it.

All is very true! The paint on the car was pretty beat up to start with

 

[SSGSRT476]

Looking good!! Keep up the excellent work!

 

[bmw2nv2000]

Cool seeing the kids help out. I cant wait till my little man is big enough to help me mod my cars.

 

[Fatboy 18]

Cool seeing the kids help out. I cant wait till my little man is big enough to help me mod my cars.

That's what I thought about my son, (he's 16) turns out he is more interested in PS3 and Computer games than helping me wrench on the cars or Motorcycles

 

[SRT8&10]

That's what I thought about my son, (he's 16) turns out he is more interested in PS3 and Computer games than helping me wrench on the cars or Motorcycles

This is my fear, my kids are all under 3, I hope we can bond with cars. We shall see.

 

[GTS-R 001]

This is my fear, my kids are all under 3, I hope we can bond with cars. We shall see.

My oldest's first word wasn't "MOM" it was CAR, LOL

 

[Supratt6s]

My oldest's first word wasn't "MOM" it was CAR, LOL

That's how it should be LOL!!

 

[GTS-R 001]

Here is a bit of an update on Nicks car,

The roof and rear quarters and rear bumper are now in place and being secured as more panels and fittings get attached to the car




Next is to replace his broken headlight support with one of my dry carbon fiber ones

 

[Slithr]

Steve, looking good .... thanks for your time and efforts I for one (and am sure many others) appreciate you stepping up to the plate for our American Hero Nick

PS. I dig the Viper Tech farm camp you got working there, they'll remember that for a Lifetime!

 

[GTS-R 001]

another update,

here is a pic of the broken headlight support, please pay attention , this is the one piece that every fender bender with a G3 or G4 breaks so it comes in handy to be able to fix these



These babies are bolted and bonded in place, remove the headlight, then remove all bolts , then you have to break the bond between the 2 composite panels,



Now you need to remove all the old epoxy , grind and chisel away



Remove all epoxy from the metal support as well



next test fit the new replacement panel, router out all the attachment points and holes if needed



Next grab your mother of all epoxies, panel bonding material in the twin tube special gun, great tool, not cheap but works great and mixes perfectly



Next get an expert to add the panel bonding cement to all required glue attach points



attach bolts and clamps and let set for a good 24 hours for a rock solid bond

 

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Carpet installed, Hinges and struts to hold the hatch up attached



Hatch lifted and placed into position



Hatch lifted up and bolted to hinges and struts attached



Hatch closed, now the fun job of shimming and panel fitting in the rear begins, these are all factory panels but they all need to be adjusted back and forth till they all fit and line up (should only take 3-8 hours)