James
06-12-2020, 08:24 AM
Hello all,
I am a new VOA member from Switzerland. Even though I did register on here quite a while ago, I've been more of a quiet reader. That is until I finally took delivery of my dream car last Saturday and thought it's about time to participate regularly and actively :)
I first laid eyes on a Viper RT/10 in a magazine as an 11-year old kid around spring 1994. In case you ask yourself why not sooner: don't forget this is Switzerland, I was a kid and the internet wasn't around for peasants yet - so news of this gorgeous car didn't reach me that quickly :witless: Kidding aside, soon thereafter came the GTS and I was blown away! Ever since then I dreamed of one day owning such a machine. It wasn't until the day before my 18th birthday in the year 2000 that I actually got to sit in one and the owner took me for a drive. By the way, 18 is the legal age to start driving and being considered an "adult" over here, so think of a combination of becoming 16 and 21 in the States on the same day :) Anyway, that special car was a 1998 GTS in red, no stripes, imported from Canada by a friend of my dad. This ride left lasting marks! WOW! I was blown away, again. Next time I got a ride was in San Diego in 2001, and again in 2007 when I used to live there for a year (Auto-X events at Qualcomm Stadium). No more rides thereafter, and I haven't driven one myself until three years ago, when the first RT/10 (a 1994) became somewhat payable for me. I went to have a look at it and it was AWFUL. By now I'm pretty sure this car had a few more issues than the cracked paint everywhere and an interior that's seen too much sun. It drove about as good as it looked and I was reminded of that saying that one should never meet it's poster car heroes... :/ Skip forward to a few months ago when I found myself in that position of desperately wanting a fun car for summer again, and still dreaming of a Viper. I found out where that Canadian 1998 GTS from went, as I still knew the owners and was able to trace it. Turned out it lives in the next village and I haven't seen it in years, as the owner takes it out twice or three times a year, if at all. I went there three times and tried to buy it; he was willing to sell, at least he said so, but in the end I never got that promised phone call. So about four weeks ago, on a Friday, a buddy of mine sent me a photo. A red GTS, no stripes, from 1998. He owns a small garage and knew I was looking for one. I was there the next day, we went for a test drive (my second time driving a Viper myself) and I was blown away. AGAIN. I knew I had to have it. Went back home, talked to my wife and bought it! So, here I am, the fresh owner of a red 1998 Chrysler Viper GTS :o (It's an official "EU" car, and as Dodge was never officially sold here, they were rebadged as Chrysler for European markets).
But it gets even better from here. As a teenager, I had a poster of a red GTS (no stripes) on my bedroom wall. I liked that poster so much, I even had it framed. I moved around a few times since, but that poster always made the move, even though it sat in the basement the last decade or so. After I bought the Viper, I reminded myself of that poster and went to grab it in the basement. I put it in my "model room" (room where my model car collection sits with a few airplane models, car books and so on). In the evening, brushing my teeth, I walked towards the poster and noticed a decal underneath the "Viper GTS" lettering on the side of the hood. It was this exact moment the toothbrush fell out of my hand!! It was the decal of a Swiss garage. But not any garage; the exact same garage where my Viper was delivered first back in 2000, which I knew out of documents I saw when I was at my buddy's garage to look at it. Was it possible, that the Viper I had just bought, was the EXACT SAME CAR as the one on my poster, which I had hanging in my room as a teenager? So not just any red GTS, but MY red GTS? I had to find out... So in the beginning of this week I sent an email to the garage the car was originally sold at. Lucky me, it turned out the owner remembered, as they owned the Viper in their family first before it was sold of. And he rememberd the poster, as they had it made... He asked for my VIN to check his records. Half an hour later I had my answer; I am the very proud owner of the Viper on that poster!!!
As you can imagine, I'm not only a huge Viper fan for the better part of my life, but this story made this new ownership even more special to me. Alas, I'm here to learn more about my favorite car, maybe meet some folks every now and then (I still frequently visit the US, even though not as much as I used to) and hopefully have a great time sharing knowledge and stories with like-minded people.
And here she is:
43982
My Viper is lowered with KW coilovers and wears a set of 1999+ Viper GTS wheels. I do have the original set to my car, though. I'm not sure of the correct term in English, but I do have "steel braided brake lines (?)", too.
I am a new VOA member from Switzerland. Even though I did register on here quite a while ago, I've been more of a quiet reader. That is until I finally took delivery of my dream car last Saturday and thought it's about time to participate regularly and actively :)
I first laid eyes on a Viper RT/10 in a magazine as an 11-year old kid around spring 1994. In case you ask yourself why not sooner: don't forget this is Switzerland, I was a kid and the internet wasn't around for peasants yet - so news of this gorgeous car didn't reach me that quickly :witless: Kidding aside, soon thereafter came the GTS and I was blown away! Ever since then I dreamed of one day owning such a machine. It wasn't until the day before my 18th birthday in the year 2000 that I actually got to sit in one and the owner took me for a drive. By the way, 18 is the legal age to start driving and being considered an "adult" over here, so think of a combination of becoming 16 and 21 in the States on the same day :) Anyway, that special car was a 1998 GTS in red, no stripes, imported from Canada by a friend of my dad. This ride left lasting marks! WOW! I was blown away, again. Next time I got a ride was in San Diego in 2001, and again in 2007 when I used to live there for a year (Auto-X events at Qualcomm Stadium). No more rides thereafter, and I haven't driven one myself until three years ago, when the first RT/10 (a 1994) became somewhat payable for me. I went to have a look at it and it was AWFUL. By now I'm pretty sure this car had a few more issues than the cracked paint everywhere and an interior that's seen too much sun. It drove about as good as it looked and I was reminded of that saying that one should never meet it's poster car heroes... :/ Skip forward to a few months ago when I found myself in that position of desperately wanting a fun car for summer again, and still dreaming of a Viper. I found out where that Canadian 1998 GTS from went, as I still knew the owners and was able to trace it. Turned out it lives in the next village and I haven't seen it in years, as the owner takes it out twice or three times a year, if at all. I went there three times and tried to buy it; he was willing to sell, at least he said so, but in the end I never got that promised phone call. So about four weeks ago, on a Friday, a buddy of mine sent me a photo. A red GTS, no stripes, from 1998. He owns a small garage and knew I was looking for one. I was there the next day, we went for a test drive (my second time driving a Viper myself) and I was blown away. AGAIN. I knew I had to have it. Went back home, talked to my wife and bought it! So, here I am, the fresh owner of a red 1998 Chrysler Viper GTS :o (It's an official "EU" car, and as Dodge was never officially sold here, they were rebadged as Chrysler for European markets).
But it gets even better from here. As a teenager, I had a poster of a red GTS (no stripes) on my bedroom wall. I liked that poster so much, I even had it framed. I moved around a few times since, but that poster always made the move, even though it sat in the basement the last decade or so. After I bought the Viper, I reminded myself of that poster and went to grab it in the basement. I put it in my "model room" (room where my model car collection sits with a few airplane models, car books and so on). In the evening, brushing my teeth, I walked towards the poster and noticed a decal underneath the "Viper GTS" lettering on the side of the hood. It was this exact moment the toothbrush fell out of my hand!! It was the decal of a Swiss garage. But not any garage; the exact same garage where my Viper was delivered first back in 2000, which I knew out of documents I saw when I was at my buddy's garage to look at it. Was it possible, that the Viper I had just bought, was the EXACT SAME CAR as the one on my poster, which I had hanging in my room as a teenager? So not just any red GTS, but MY red GTS? I had to find out... So in the beginning of this week I sent an email to the garage the car was originally sold at. Lucky me, it turned out the owner remembered, as they owned the Viper in their family first before it was sold of. And he rememberd the poster, as they had it made... He asked for my VIN to check his records. Half an hour later I had my answer; I am the very proud owner of the Viper on that poster!!!
As you can imagine, I'm not only a huge Viper fan for the better part of my life, but this story made this new ownership even more special to me. Alas, I'm here to learn more about my favorite car, maybe meet some folks every now and then (I still frequently visit the US, even though not as much as I used to) and hopefully have a great time sharing knowledge and stories with like-minded people.
And here she is:
43982
My Viper is lowered with KW coilovers and wears a set of 1999+ Viper GTS wheels. I do have the original set to my car, though. I'm not sure of the correct term in English, but I do have "steel braided brake lines (?)", too.