Canadian Viper

[gfviperman]

Looking at buying a 1998 Canadian Viper.

Are there any issues bringing it into the USA?

Does the speedometer may need replaced??

Thankx!

[JonSav]

You will pay 2.8% tax .. speedo needs to be in mph and a letter from manufacturer stating car complies with us regulations

Someone might be able to confirm this, Ive never exported to USA but this is what Ive been told

[Tom, F&L GoR]

I imported a 94 RT/10 and the company simply put a sticker on the speedo warning me it read out in kph, not mph. I replaced the speedo, temp gauge and oil pressure gauge anyway because I found a good deal; they are all plug and play. The bigger deal was in '94 the US version had the roll-up seat belts in the door and the Canadian version had the seat belts coming from over the transmission tunnel. Assuming your 98 already has airbags and seat belts from the middle, that should be same as that year US model. Emissions was a non-issue. Coincidentally I now have a 98, so if you need to know what the US version has in any detail, let me know.

[RTTTTed]

Canadian Vipers (and all other cars since 1974 or so?) have Kph outside and mph on the inside of the mph. No issue. I have had 4 Vipers from US and 2 Stealth TTs.

Vipers are build in Detroit (US) and conform the US emssions, unless someone modified the car. If they did fill out the forms as "stock" They don't care - it's a Gov form.

Several Cdn Vipers are being purchased because the dollar difference means you can buy a 750whp,big braked and well modified 2001 RT10 for $50,000Cdn OR $35,000US ...

Easy to do. Shop for a decent US border broker (paper pusher) because most of them will try and charge you about $600 to $1100 for just over an hours paperwork.

Word of warning; The Gen 1s did NOT conform to Canadian safety standards as to the seat belts in the doors and the front bumpers. Tom said he had no problem, but it us a different safety issue with the Gen 1 which are not allowed to be imported to Canada. All Viper after that US versions were the same as the Canadian versions. No seat belts in doors. Not saying it's an issue if you're taking the car south. From what Tom said above I would guess the Gen 2 Vipers and newer were upgraded to Canadian standards and Cdn Gen 1s safer than US?

[BFoster]

I purchased a 2002 ACR Canadian car and had it shipped to me in Iowa last fall. Pretty straight forward process for me, I bought the car private party, but we used an exotics dealership to complete sales paperwork. They used a broker and shipper, and I wasn't required to do anything other than sign a couple of documents, and send a check! I also worked with our local DOT and DOT mve investigators to ensure there were no surprises... perks of the job!

[Tom, F&L GoR]

Canadian Vipers (and all other cars since 1974 or so?) have Kph outside and mph on the inside of the mph. No issue. I have had 4 Vipers from US and 2 Stealth TTs.

Vipers are build in Detroit (US) and conform the US emssions, unless someone modified the car. If they did fill out the forms as "stock" They don't care - it's a Gov form.

Several Cdn Vipers are being purchased because the dollar difference means you can buy a 750whp,big braked and well modified 2001 RT10 for $50,000Cdn OR $35,000US ...

Easy to do. Shop for a decent US border broker (paper pusher) because most of them will try and charge you about $600 to $1100 for just over an hours paperwork.

Word of warning; The Gen 1s did NOT conform to Canadian safety standards as to the seat belts in the doors and the front bumpers. Tom said he had no problem, but it us a different safety issue with the Gen 1 which are not allowed to be imported to Canada. All Viper after that US versions were the same as the Canadian versions. No seat belts in doors. Not saying it's an issue if you're taking the car south. From what Tom said above I would guess the Gen 2 Vipers and newer were upgraded to Canadian standards and Cdn Gen 1s safer than US?

I did have to have the door/seatbelts changed from mounted on the floor (Canadian) to mounted in the door (US) to import the car. I liked the floor mount and immediately put it back. I did not have any issues or comments about the bumper - that's new to me. And having had the front fascia off, don't recall anything different. Canadian cars also need DRL module, which plugs into the harness (connector is there.)