Rare Snake
02-12-2014, 01:18 PM
Hi everyone!
I just want to share a story. I figured if anyone would find this as crazy as I do, it would be the Viper community.
In November of 2010 I bought the most exciting car I'll ever own, an Emerald Pearl Green 1995 RT/10. It was tucked in the corner of a small used car dealership in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I knew just by looking at it, it had some unique stuff done to it, the dead giveaway being the 18" CCW Classic Wheels, with 345's on the rear. The trunk was full of amps, there was a subwoofer on the passenger's side floor, and two more in the center between the seats. It was a very clean custom install, all Alpine, and probably quite expensive to do. When I looked closer, I found nitrous lines which ran to a hidden compartment in the trunk for the huge bottle.
Being my first experience with a Viper, it felt incredibly powerful for a 400hp car, and I assumed the lumpy cam lope and aggressive exhaust were factory. Once I started driving it and going to local shows, my wife and I realized it was a bit unusual. Many people came up to me asking where I had found it, and that they hadn't seen it for many years. There were lots of stories of a big "drug bust" and lots of guys remembered going for rides, and how "spirited" the owner was, for lack of a better word. It was kind of weird, people were very curious about it. The only thing I knew for sure was that the Winnipeg dealership had bought the car from a police auction, and that it was seized in a raid around 2004.
So of course, I was a bit curious, and I started digging around not long after I got it. I found the car was sold new in Nova Scotia, Canada, and made it's way over the years to Montreal, Quebec, where it was sold to the Manitoba owner who passed away in 2005. That was about all I knew, and that there was in fact a rather large drug bust.
Fast forward a few years, and through volunteering for another local car club, I had the chance to get it on a dyno at a local speed shop. Needless to say, we were all a bit surprised (except the shop owner) when the car threw down 450hp and 486tq, even though it sputtered a bit. I had never driven it hard, and it blew lots of carbon out of the exhaust. Now it runs great! As it turns out, the shop owner had seen the car AND worked on the nitrous system in the early 2000's. All he knew was that the car was sent somewhere to get the engine professionally built, and the 150 shot was added after. He never knew where or what was done, and that is still unknown today. But it was cool that another person actually knew the car well enough to recognize it.
So back to present time, just yesterday I came across a massive article online about the investigation of a "crystal meth kingpin", which described the entire ordeal in vivid detail, calling it "possibly the biggest bust of its kind in North America". A "green 1995 sports car" was mentioned a couple of times too, and another nearby article (a court document) actually had the VIN...the very same VIN as my car!
Needless to say, I was pretty floored to find proof and lay rest to all the rumors surrounding my awesome car. It still doesn't bother me. I kind of knew it had a story when I bought it, but I just had no idea how deep it went. In just a few years, this car has become a big part of my life, and I would be lost without it. I'll never forget the day bought it and signed my name on that bill of sale. I could barely stop my hands from shaking, I couldn't believe I was actually buying a Viper!
If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I know I can be a bit long winded lol! Here's a video of the car, from a cruise night a couple of summers ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpvtSmj0RBg
Dason
I just want to share a story. I figured if anyone would find this as crazy as I do, it would be the Viper community.
In November of 2010 I bought the most exciting car I'll ever own, an Emerald Pearl Green 1995 RT/10. It was tucked in the corner of a small used car dealership in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I knew just by looking at it, it had some unique stuff done to it, the dead giveaway being the 18" CCW Classic Wheels, with 345's on the rear. The trunk was full of amps, there was a subwoofer on the passenger's side floor, and two more in the center between the seats. It was a very clean custom install, all Alpine, and probably quite expensive to do. When I looked closer, I found nitrous lines which ran to a hidden compartment in the trunk for the huge bottle.
Being my first experience with a Viper, it felt incredibly powerful for a 400hp car, and I assumed the lumpy cam lope and aggressive exhaust were factory. Once I started driving it and going to local shows, my wife and I realized it was a bit unusual. Many people came up to me asking where I had found it, and that they hadn't seen it for many years. There were lots of stories of a big "drug bust" and lots of guys remembered going for rides, and how "spirited" the owner was, for lack of a better word. It was kind of weird, people were very curious about it. The only thing I knew for sure was that the Winnipeg dealership had bought the car from a police auction, and that it was seized in a raid around 2004.
So of course, I was a bit curious, and I started digging around not long after I got it. I found the car was sold new in Nova Scotia, Canada, and made it's way over the years to Montreal, Quebec, where it was sold to the Manitoba owner who passed away in 2005. That was about all I knew, and that there was in fact a rather large drug bust.
Fast forward a few years, and through volunteering for another local car club, I had the chance to get it on a dyno at a local speed shop. Needless to say, we were all a bit surprised (except the shop owner) when the car threw down 450hp and 486tq, even though it sputtered a bit. I had never driven it hard, and it blew lots of carbon out of the exhaust. Now it runs great! As it turns out, the shop owner had seen the car AND worked on the nitrous system in the early 2000's. All he knew was that the car was sent somewhere to get the engine professionally built, and the 150 shot was added after. He never knew where or what was done, and that is still unknown today. But it was cool that another person actually knew the car well enough to recognize it.
So back to present time, just yesterday I came across a massive article online about the investigation of a "crystal meth kingpin", which described the entire ordeal in vivid detail, calling it "possibly the biggest bust of its kind in North America". A "green 1995 sports car" was mentioned a couple of times too, and another nearby article (a court document) actually had the VIN...the very same VIN as my car!
Needless to say, I was pretty floored to find proof and lay rest to all the rumors surrounding my awesome car. It still doesn't bother me. I kind of knew it had a story when I bought it, but I just had no idea how deep it went. In just a few years, this car has become a big part of my life, and I would be lost without it. I'll never forget the day bought it and signed my name on that bill of sale. I could barely stop my hands from shaking, I couldn't believe I was actually buying a Viper!
If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I know I can be a bit long winded lol! Here's a video of the car, from a cruise night a couple of summers ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpvtSmj0RBg
Dason