ACR-ISH
02-17-2020, 11:21 PM
Hey fellow Viper buddies! Several of you follow me on Instagram so some of this may be duplicated information, but for many of you, it's simply a new resource and hopefully a cool write up. I always have something in the garage or at the shop, but more and more it's been another Viper lately. Which is fine... I cannot stop falling in love with these cars! So here goes:
I bumped into Todd a while back and we pretty much instantly bonded over track talk. He's always been quick to help out and even made me a great deal on the shoes my girl is currently flaunting, which I couldn't be happier with. So a few months ago we were talking about some damage to his passenger rocker which occurred during a quick run off at T-Hill coming out of turn 9, which happens often because of the kink right after the top of the hill. Anyway, it was JUST enough to absolutely banana peel the front edge of his rocker. I took a peek and I was honest as I could be. Despite it being a small damage area, it was TOAST. Aluminum hates be bent and even more so it typically cracks after being wadded up, see the pic:
42016
42017
Additionally, the rocker was molly-whopped in the middle toward the rear as well. Even being a $5700 factory part, fixing this rocker just didn't seem like it was in the cards. So we went on the hunt for a rocker. That's when the journey began!
42018
42019
So Todd and I touched bases on and off for a few months and it seemed like a used rocker was always just a step or two ahead, and usually ended up being a non ACR model, which doesn't seem far off, but without having one to see, we weren't certain that was a dark alley we wanted to be caught in without the right data or information. SOOOOO... I finally found one. BUT, it was a certain un-named dealer who's owner was keeping it for himself, for his own Viper. And no, it's not currently damaged.
As the months went by and it was becoming clear we simply were not going to secure this rocker without a legal fight, lol, I decided to lean on a friend of mine and see what he thought. I was FLOORED when he said: "It probably wont be cheap, but I think I can fix it and have it look decent."
So we brought the Viper for him to look it and confirm it was doable. "Decent." I don't think decent accurately describes how well it turned out.
It should be duly noted an ACR and a non-ACR are both racked for a reason involving a certain rear diffuser. Just leaving that one alone for a minute, but updates will follow in a new thread. Hitting post, and replying so I can keep adding pics.
42023
I bumped into Todd a while back and we pretty much instantly bonded over track talk. He's always been quick to help out and even made me a great deal on the shoes my girl is currently flaunting, which I couldn't be happier with. So a few months ago we were talking about some damage to his passenger rocker which occurred during a quick run off at T-Hill coming out of turn 9, which happens often because of the kink right after the top of the hill. Anyway, it was JUST enough to absolutely banana peel the front edge of his rocker. I took a peek and I was honest as I could be. Despite it being a small damage area, it was TOAST. Aluminum hates be bent and even more so it typically cracks after being wadded up, see the pic:
42016
42017
Additionally, the rocker was molly-whopped in the middle toward the rear as well. Even being a $5700 factory part, fixing this rocker just didn't seem like it was in the cards. So we went on the hunt for a rocker. That's when the journey began!
42018
42019
So Todd and I touched bases on and off for a few months and it seemed like a used rocker was always just a step or two ahead, and usually ended up being a non ACR model, which doesn't seem far off, but without having one to see, we weren't certain that was a dark alley we wanted to be caught in without the right data or information. SOOOOO... I finally found one. BUT, it was a certain un-named dealer who's owner was keeping it for himself, for his own Viper. And no, it's not currently damaged.
As the months went by and it was becoming clear we simply were not going to secure this rocker without a legal fight, lol, I decided to lean on a friend of mine and see what he thought. I was FLOORED when he said: "It probably wont be cheap, but I think I can fix it and have it look decent."
So we brought the Viper for him to look it and confirm it was doable. "Decent." I don't think decent accurately describes how well it turned out.
It should be duly noted an ACR and a non-ACR are both racked for a reason involving a certain rear diffuser. Just leaving that one alone for a minute, but updates will follow in a new thread. Hitting post, and replying so I can keep adding pics.
42023