1996 2002 Dodge Viper Buyer s Guide Video

[Cuda Cody]

Are you thinking of buying a used Viper and want to know what year Viper is best for you? Or are you a current Viper owner and curious about some of the options and running changes from year to year? This is a 1996 to 2002 Gen 2 Dodge Viper Buyer's Guide video I made to help answer some of those questions and give you everything you need to know before purchasing a used Gen II Viper.

I tried to cover items I felt are important for first time Vipers buyers to know. Of course I cover some of the basics, but I also go in to the finer details, differences and running changes from year to year plus I share some rare and not often seen items. Hope it helps anyone that is thinking of buying a Gen II Viper. Feel free to add anything that I might have missed or you feel is important in the comments.

https://youtu.be/HIrJfwS-JDQ

Thank you.

~Cody

[J TNT]

Great Post Cuda Cody , thanks for sharing !

[BlknBlu]

Outstanding Video and great information, but how can one check the paperwork if people like you kept it and did not pass it on to the next owner.

Bruce

[99RT10]

Great job Cody!! You have a great looking shop!!

[Cuda Cody]

Sorry I didn't make that more clear. The paperwork shown in the video is for cars I still currently own.

Thanks for the positive comment and taking the time to watch the video. :)


Outstanding Video and great information, but how can one check the paperwork if people like you kept it and did not pass it on to the next owner.

Bruce

[daveg]

Nice job on the Video.. It will be a nice resource for those people that are looking for a Gen II and ask what to look out for...

[Lalmeida617]

So good! ��

[BlknBlu]

Sorry I didn't make that more clear. The paperwork shown in the video is for cars I still currently own.

Thanks for the positive comment and taking the time to watch the video. :)


Good deal I learned a lot about the Iconic GEN II cars.

Bruce

[LifeIsGood]

Very nice! That's my 2001 Viper Race Yellow RT/10 at the 25:00 mark when he's talking about cat-back exhausts and hi-flow cats.

[AviP]

OMG Cody! Amazing video. Thanks for taking the time. After 22 years of ownership, I still learnt a little bit.

[RacerJRP]

This was great, thanks for putting it together. Timely as I start the journey to find a Gen2 GTS.

[GTS Dean]

A great trip down memory lane! Very well done Cody!

[capevettes]

Nice job. Very comprehensive. Thanks for sharing!

[My98RT10]

Great video, it's very obvious that a lot of love and dedication went into it!! So thanks a ton for sharing this!

One detail I need to ask: you mentioned that the cam was changed in 1998 to address the NGR. So far, I was thinking that the smoother cam was introduced in MY 2000 and that MYs 96-99 all came with the lumpy cam. My cam does feel quite lumpy... ;-)

[Cuda Cody]

My98RT10, Thank you for the nice comment. You are correct in the major cam change came in 2000 along with the lifters and piston updates. If I recall correctly the cam change in 1998 was a super minor change and not many people even noticed it. I do hope I'm recalling it correctly and I can assure you I'm doing my best to remember everything as it happened back over 20 years ago. I have some old press releases that the factory issued to the press that make mention of the change in 1998. It says "Minor changes in camshaft events " and "Under the hood, weight has been further cut from the Viper through tubular exhaust manifolds; a low-overlap camshaft helps to reduce emissions and improve fuel economy; and an electronic radiator fan control reduces noise." On a side note, it's neat seeing the press info that shows Dodge was targeting a specific market and buyer.

Target Buyer
Profile Current
Buyer
Profile

Age:
52-58 51-57
Annual Household Income
$225,000 $225,000
Female/Male buyers
5/95% 6/94%


But back to your cam question, I think it was such a small change that the part number did not change but instead just had a revision letter added to it. Something like the 96 & 97 cam 4763708AA so the 98 and 99 might be 4763708AC. I'm not 100% positive on the part numbers so don't write it in stone just yet. The 2000 to 2002 cam should be 5037151AA.

~Cody




Great video, it's very obvious that a lot of love and dedication went into it!! So thanks a ton for sharing this!

One detail I need to ask: you mentioned that the cam was changed in 1998 to address the NGR. So far, I was thinking that the smoother cam was introduced in MY 2000 and that MYs 96-99 all came with the lumpy cam. My cam does feel quite lumpy... ;-)

[My98RT10]

Thanks. I am impressed by all the paperwork you still have. Didn't know that all this came with the car back in the day.

[1BADV10]

Great video, very clear and easy to understand for the newbie Viper owner. Nice toy box, gotta love them mopar muscle cars in the background, I have a few laying around also.

[JPL]

Great video, very clear and easy to understand for the newbie Viper owner. Nice toy box, gotta love them mopar muscle cars in the background, I have a few laying around also.

+1 Great vid!!

[Cuda Cody]

My goal was to keep the video under 50 minutes, but that meant I had to cut some stuff out. Now looking at the video I wish I would have spoke a little quicker in the paperwork area and kept some of the stuff that I cut out (like the details about when this card was used in Vipers). But ultimately I cut it out of the video.36655


Thanks. I am impressed by all the paperwork you still have. Didn't know that all this came with the car back in the day.

[Racngrn]

Really loved it and , as a new owner, learned a great deal. Thanks for making it and your garage is simply awesome. Steve

[98RedGTS]

Good video. Noticed the pinball machines in the back. Glad to see I'm not the only pinball collector on the site.

[ViperSRT]

Nice video.

Mitch Wherly there is a picture of you with the VCA raffle ACR roadster!

[Cuda Cody]

Anyone know if Peter Wong still owns the RT/10 ACR?


Nice video.

Mitch Wherly there is a picture of you with the VCA raffle ACR roadster!

[Silver GTS]

Thanks so much for taking the time to make this informative and interesting video

[Bill W]

Cody, that is a great video! Thank you. I've watched it twice and will view it again soon.

[Pauler85]

Great Video, Thank you.

[Lemay88]

Great video, learn a lot of interesting facts.
Thank you for sharing

[Scuderia47]

Thanks for making the video...good stuff...I had no idea there was a pocket behind the drivers seat...just checked to see if the VHS was still there but no luck!

[My98RT10]

My goal was to keep the video under 50 minutes, but that meant I had to cut some stuff out. Now looking at the video I wish I would have spoke a little quicker in the paperwork area and kept some of the stuff that I cut out (like the details about when this card was used in Vipers). But ultimately I cut it out of the video.36655

Why not doing a separate video about all the outtakes? For sure that would be as interesting as the main one ;-)

[My98RT10]

I couldn't stop thinking about the cam change for 98 MY, hope you don't mind, Cody ;-)

I went down to my basement and grabbed my old Viper Quarterly magazines, looking for one that had some info on the "new" MY 98. I finally found something in the spring 1998 issue. In this article, Herb Helbig states, that the only under hood change were the new tubular stainless headers and other than that the Viper remained mechanically unchanged. Now, could still be, that they just didn't mention the cam change if it was that minimal....

I just love to browse those old magazines, maybe even more so because I became a Viper owner in 2012, so I missed the golden Gen2 era when it was real. Reading those articles and looking at all those photos is almost like travelling back in time ;-)

https://i1359.photobucket.com/albums/q800/My98ViperRT10/Miscellaneous/20190214_105632_zpsq33ntfab.jpg

http://i1359.photobucket.com/albums/q800/My98ViperRT10/Miscellaneous/edited-image_zpsh8vaawep.png

http://i1359.photobucket.com/albums/q800/My98ViperRT10/Miscellaneous/20190214_105853_zpsompbuehe.jpg

[Cuda Cody]

It didn't mention the first time option of having a reset alarm key hole hidden in the glove box, but we know that happen in 1998 too.

I glanced at some parts catalogs to see what they list for part numbers and it shows 3 different part numbers that I can find. Might be more, but I don't have all the year parts books. In 1997 the Cam Part # is listed as 4763 708. By 2000 the Cam Part # is listed as 4763 708AC even though we know it changed in 2000. That is most likely because the book might have been written in 1999 for the upcoming year and that would be in line with them using a revised cam for 98 and 99. In 2001 the Cam Part # is listed as 5037 151AA. I can't say for sure either way, but I do specifically recall being told there was a minor cam revision in 1998. I've owned several 1998's and think they are a great year for Viper, but I love all of them so I'm not exactly the best person to pick good and bad years. I think they are all special.

[dave6666]

Sad thing is people will still join a forum and make their first question what year is the best to buy. Followed by a barrage of other unintelligent questions.

[NoWorry]

Damn this video is exactly what I was looking for. And it was almost posted on my bday. Learned a lot and thank you so much for taking the time to do this.

[Camfab]

Great video, the 2000 + engines as you mentioned went with the eutectic pistons which as you noted are not a great option for supercharged engines. This is particularly true not just because of the change from forged to eutectic, but because the rods were changed to a longer rod. This change meant the pistons were now shorter and lighter as well as a ring package that was tighter and closer to the top of the piston. Though these pistons won’t tolerate detonation and poor tuning in supercharged applications, they will however work great in properly tuned higher hp, naturally aspirated applications. Thanks for taking the time to produce the video. I particularly loved your enthusiasm of the car.

[Fatboy 18]

Awesome Video, Wow you just did not stop talking :smilielol:

I learned a lot of new stuff from that Video, I never knew about the light and Window date codes, also the laser alignment with shim packing.

[spdemon]

Awesome video! Thanks for putting together. Also, awesome garage.