Reviving my 95 RT 10

[Breck]

Hey All!

I covered this briefly in a different thread, but I wanted to bring to light the unusual circumstance of buying and reconditioning my 1995 Dodge Viper RT/10.

Back in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, I purchased a 2004 Porsche Boxster. I had 29,717 miles, was a 5-speed manual, and I bought it off of the second owner who had it for the last 13 years. I daily drove that car for the summer and put just over 5,000 miles on it. I decided to list it for sale as fall was approaching in hopes that I wouldn't have to store it for the winter. I sold it quickly, and it left my possession on September 2nd. I was planning on looking for a Viper or a Lotus Elise in spring 2021.

A few short days after the sale of my Porsche, I was telling my step dad Mike about wanting either a Viper or a Lotus and he stumbled across a Facebook marketplace listing in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, about 350 miles from where I live. It was a listing for two vipers together (a black 95 Rt/10 and a white/blue 96 RT/10) but the description was very short and there were only two blurry photos. The listing price was cheap, but once I messaged the guy he immediately told me he was actually asking 5-figures less than the listing price due to some damage to the hood on one of the two cars. I was about 95% sure this was a scam.

I ended up getting the sellers phone number and had a lengthy conversation about the two cars. They both were a little rough and we discussed the issues with both. The 95 was having a transmission issue amongst a few small things with about 50,000 miles. The white 96 had a few aftermarket enhancements, but the seller had accidently left it in neutral and it rolled into his plow truck. He did not have it titled in his name yet at the time of the accident, the insurance denied the claim, and the bodyshop had given him an estimate of $11,600 to fix it. It left a bad taste in his mouth and he just wanted to get rid of both cars.

After a few days of working with him to get more pictures and VIN numbers, I was confident in the legitimacy of the cars. I initially made a very low offer on both, but I really only wanted the 95. After a few days of negotiations and getting him to split up the pair, we had came to a deal on the 1995. I got a hotel room on a friday night and went to the owners home saturday morning to purchase the car on September 19th, 2020. The seller had dozens of vehicles, many old and in non running shape. The 96 was actually sitting underneath a car port and mine was in a barn. The seller actually had a pretty phenomenal collection of automotive memorabilia and random stuff. I looked over and test drove the car. It was very dirty, it did have a few issues, but it actually ran and drove nicly. I handed over the cash and I proceeded to drive it back home that day.

Although I was worried going from a very nice condition Porsche to a rougher Viper, I was ready for the challenge. I ended up getting the Viper for cheaper than any other running and driving example I gave seen to this day, and I actually manage automotive reconditioning for a living for a large dealership so I have experience in taking on something like this.

To make the whole situation a little bit sweeter, my dad, another lifelog mopar guy, ended up buying the 96 from the same guy a few weeks later on 10/10/20. It was his first Viper as well and I may have talked him into it a bit :).

The rest of this thread will contain the extent of getting this Viper back the way I want it. I know it's going to be a "driver quality" car, and I am okay with that. It does not have to be perfect, but I will minimally get it nice. Most people think of a 60's muscle car or something along those lines when you hear of bringing a "barn find" car back into shape. Very few would ever suspect of it being a Viper. I have really enjoyed doing it so far and I have been able to do it in quite a cost effective manner as well. I cannot wait to do car shows, long drives, drag races, and track days with it this summer.

The attached images are from the day I bought it! (and a bonus one of the 96 parked by a turkey!)

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[Breck]

First order of business after the long trek home back to Wisconsin was getting it washed: I am a bit of a detailing snob, so I was washing it within a few hours of getting it home. Not only was the paint dirty, but the inside looked like it hadn't been vacuumed in a long time. In fact, the whole car smelled weird (like an old barn, not a pleasant scent). I vacuumed it as best I could, washed the exterior well, gave it a coat of wax, treated the leather, and overall just cleaned it up a bit. It looked way better already, but the paint was heavily swirled, the car still smelled, and the engine bay was a mess still. After getting it cleaned up a bit, we decided to look into the transmission thing I spoke of earlier. My Dad (his mechanical skill set exceeds mine by a very significant amount) looked over the car and discovered the main issue. Basically, the bolt holding the clutch assembly in place had snapped. Because of this, the whole piece was moving when the clutch was pressed in and therefore the clutch would not fully disengage. After extracting the bolt and putting a new one in, the transmission immediately became so much better. The car shifted way easier and was just all around better.

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Above: The first wash in my ownership
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Above: Cleaned up for the first time. My old 80' Fiat Spider 2000 lurking in the background
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Above: Working on the clutch repair

[Breck]

Once the simple clutch repair was done, I wanted to get a little enjoyment out of the Viper before putting it away for the Wisconsin winter. I went on some drives with my dad once he bought his and I took mine out with other friends as well. As November was ending, I decided it would be time to start tackling the things I wanted to do. We got both Viper's filled up and but fuel stabilizer in them to keep them maintained over winter, as well as some battery tenders for the meantime.

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Above: Arrival of the 96 RT/10
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Above: Out for a drive on a abnormally warm November day with my friend's 11' Mustang GT 6-Speed
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Above: Last fuel for both cars until next year
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Above: Winter's Storage

[Steve-Indy]

Great story...keep the updates coming on both Vipers !!

[plumcrazy]

awesome

[swexlin]

Enjoying the story. You were brave driving that car 350 miles home - especially with the clutch/transmission issue. And old belt? How bout Gen 1 headgasket? I would have trailered it. That being said, its a nice car and please keep us posted on bringing it up to speed (no pun intended).

[Breck]

Before I continue the updates, I just wanted to explain the clutch/ transmission issue a little more.

Knowing the risk of the car not making it, we did bring a trailer knowing very well we may have to use it. Everything looked good upon a quick inspection. I was not aware of what was wrong with the clutch at the time and the owner had explained the issues with it going into some gears. I had test drove it upon arrival and although the gearbox was stiff, it shifted fine. I had never even driven a viper so I honestly didn't know what to expect. The belt was in good shape and the vehicle overall seemed good to drive home. I knew it was a risk at the time and although in hindsight it would have been smarter to trailer it, I had the biggest smile on my face driving it away.

I also wanted to add, there were a few minor items repaired up to this point. For example, there was a battery light on the dash and it was just a loose terminal; The best type of repairs are the no-cost ones.

As 2021 came along I took the time to start taking care of the interior. The seats were removed first, as the driver side seat had major wear on the seat bolster. The interior repair specialist I know hooked me up and did a great job getting the seat to look better. The next thing to tackle was the parking brake. From the day I bought it, it was completely seized. The handle would not move at all. As the center console started to come apart, I found one of the worst things I could have: Mice had been living underneath the center console and the urine had caused the brake to seize up. This ended up making me pull almost the entire interior out, but I will elaborate upon that later. I cleaned out the old nesting and started treating the ebrake. A bunch of WD-40 loosened the mechanism up, and eventually the brake was able to start working again. I went out and bought rust remover to clean off the surface rust from the mechanism and cleaned it all up. Next up was to remove everything for a deep cleaning. I wanted to make sure there was no more nesting and that there was nothing living inside of my Viper.

Bonus photo of the custom window stickers I ordered for christmas from Patrick Moore.

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Above: Seat damage before
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Above: After seat repair
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Above: The disgusting mouse nest in the e-brake area
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Above: The Monroney labels I ordered

[Breck]

After discovering the less than ideal handbrake situation, I started to pull apart the interior. I removed all the seat frames, rear cabin trim, center speakers, and other interior pieces and thoroughly cleaned the inside. I wiped every trim piece down and deep cleaned the carpets. It not only took care of the funky smell, but it looked so much better. I got a bracket made to hold the radio in place (it was loose) and got the headlight switch replaced as well as the lever was fully coming out of the assembly and the headlights were difficult to turn on. I spray painted some discolored bolts and the center speaker covers before reinstalling them. As springtime came, I put the interior back together and did the springtime oil change. Looked everything over and got it ready to go for the nice weather.

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Above: Interior disassembly
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Above: Headlight control switch, old and new
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Above: Interior cleaned and back together
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Above: The springtime oil change!

[ViperDrive97]

This thread is fucking fantastic! Seeing someone reconditioning cars like this, for me, is like girls watching HGTV. Its crack. :smilielol:

[Breck]

Thank you all for the positive feedback!

Quick hop over to the 96 on this post!

Obviously the hood damage was one of the biggest issues with the 96. As I stated earlier, the seller of the Vipers had been given a quote of $11,600 to repair the hood. Miraculously, there was a hood for sale in Indiana for a very reasonable price, and it already matched the car! The seller met my dad in Chicago with the hood. He got off lucky with the hood situation (if anyone wants a cracked 96 stone white/GTS blue hood, make an offer and i'll send it over to my dad) given how expensive they once were and how hard they are to come by. I helped him swap the hood, which was a little difficult with two people but we managed. Afterwards he pulled apart part of the interior and sanded down the dashboard. It looked rough and for some reason in the past holes were drilled into a few spots on the dashboard, so they were filled as well. I tend to be a "purist" when it comes to keeping cars as stock as possible, but I think the dashboard looked way better painted black than it did in the factory color. The blue steering wheel was also removed and the interior repair specialists hooked me up once again with a re-dye of the wheel.

After the interior was put back together, my dad started tackling some under hood / suspension components. He replaced a belt and tensioner that was squeaking, pulled all the wheels off and deep cleaned them, replaced a transmission mount, replanced sway bar end links, installed a skip shift eliminator, polished the headlights, installed a seat lowering kit (he's like 6'4) and replaced the fog light bulbs. The oil has been changed for the season and he has gotten it all put back together and ready for the road.

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Above: Original hood damage
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Above: New hood on the truck
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Above: Interior Apart
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Above: Steering wheel re-dye
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Above: Interior reassembled

[Breck]

A few additional photos from working on the 96

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Above: Disassembly for some suspension work
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Above: The no hood look. I think it would be awesome to cruise around like this
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Above: Bonus photo of the 2 together ready for a drive

[swexlin]

Enjoying this! Two neglected cars being brought back into shape!

[Breck]

One of the most recent projects on my Viper was starting to get the outside into shape. The swirl marks were horrible and being a black car it just enhanced the swirling. This was driving me nuts, so I decided one week to buff it. I will add, I am not a professional at paint correction, but I used to detail a lot of cars and I am experienced enough to where I knew I could make it better. I taped off the car in my garage ( I just recently bought the place, so I am still in the process of getting the garage set up) in order to protect the plastics. Using an extreme cutting pad and compound, I went through the entire exterior. It's not perfect, but the paint looks SO much better. Afterwards I treated the plastics / rubber exterior components, waxed the paint and the wheels. I also started cleaning up the engine bay. While doing that, I added a titanium throttle cable clip with the sneaky pete logo carved into it.

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Above: Buffing the car
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Above: Post detail at Kennedy Park in Kenosha, WI
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Above: Post detail, rear view. Lake Michigan in the background
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Above: Engine bay detailing
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Above: New throttle cable clip made out of titanium

[Breck]

So far, the biggest improvement (besides the clutch thing) has been getting the tires replaced. No kidding, the rears were over 20 years old! I knew this needed to be done and you could feel the lack of grip in any corner and in any heavier-than-usual acceleration. I have stated in a previous post that the most frequent advice I have seen from fellow Viper owners is "HAVE GOOD TIRES". I ended up ordering a set of 4 Continental ExtremeContact Sport's at the eye-watering cost of $1,422.17. I knew the tires were going to be about that price but it still pained me a bit to hit the order button, but Tire Rack got them delivered in a few days and I got them mounted and balanced shortly after. I can say with complete confidence that every penny I spent on the tires was 100% worth it. The handing was improved significantly, but the acceleration improvement was insane, and the car just felt so much better. I didn't expect the car to get any traction at full throttle in 1st gear; but it grabbed immediately and I was shocked. I feel much more safe driving the car and I am looking forward to being able to do some serious driving this year. I agree with all the other Viper owners who encourage others to dump old tires even if there is tread on them! It makes a huge difference.

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[Viper98]

! It’s great to see these recent resurrections! Keep up the great work guys!

[Austin]

Great thread.

[Breck]

The good news on the Viper (next post is the bad...)

I have had an enjoyable first few months of spring/summer with the Viper. I had it out at a few car shows (quite the head turner in SE Wisconsin) and I even got a chance to take it to the drag strip. I went easy on it off the line in order to preserve clutch and tire life, and I was still able to run a 12.964 @ 111.46 MPH. I know I could have knocked a bit of time off too. Thankfully I was able to borrow a hardtop to use on the track. Fair warning for anyone wanting to race their G1, make sure you have something to cool yourself down with. Having to wait in line with the windows and roof on while the car was running made it quite toasty in the cabin.

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Car Show #1: Benefit for the Wounded Warrior Project
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Car Show #2: Kenosha Car Club Cruise IN
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Racetime!

[Breck]

Now the less than ideal news...

I started to hear a minor clicking when driving the car. I couldn't figure out what it was and the car drove fine otherwise. I was getting ready to bring it out to a show one day and something popped. I had to pull over as the car was shaking horribly. The diagnosis? It sheared off some gear teeth. It's been down for a bit now and I am ordering the rebuild kit and upgrading the 3.07's to 3.55's. It could have been worse and it does not exactly surprise me that something broke now that the car gets traction. I was torn on switching the gears but any of you guys have made the 3.55's seem great.

Another not so pleasant Viper moment: Getting caught in the rain on your way to a work related dinner, your date yelling at you every time you turn the wipers on because the water flies into the cabin at them, and having to find a parking garage to keep the car from getting any wetter.

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The removed differential
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The broken gear
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Pictured: The Viper hiding out the rain. Not pictured: The annoyed date standing by me

[SRT_BluByU]

Sorry to head about the pinion teeth... nice job in resurrecting this beauty!

[Breck]

Well I got the Viper back on the road a few weekends ago. Kilpatrick Engine & Transmission rebuilt the rear end in a day and I have been working on breaking them in. I have about 421 miles on the new gears and I intend on change the gear oil at 500 before I do hard driving with it.

However, today marks one year with my RT/10! I have put 2,922 miles on it since purchase and I am very happy with the car. I remember how nervous I was driving 6 1/2 hours from home to go buy a Viper out of a barn after only seeing some blurry photos, checking VINs and speaking with the owner over the phone. I felt at the time that it was a long time dream come true and I still feel that way. If anyone has read this whole thread, you will see all that this car has been through. It was quite rough when I bought it but I am glad I took the challenge and it was been the most rewarding automotive experience.

In honor of having it a year, which is an accomplishment for me (only the second car I have kept for at least a year), I decided to get some nice pictures of it. I can take a decent picture with my iPhone but these are next level. Here's to another year and many more miles!

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[Vetie]

Wow, that was a great read! Thanks so much for sharing you experience with the Viper! Great shots, what a beautiful beast!

[Breck]

Updates from the end of 2021 into 2022:

I replaced the headlight switch for a second time. The aftermarket one wouldn't dim at all and began cutting my headlights off while driving. That lead to an absolutely terrifying experience, so I ordered an OEM one. I diagnosed my blower motor noise and found a missing fan blade. I left it alone for now and will be keeping my eye out for one in the future. A few other small tasks included replacing the license plate bulbs, doing a little engine bay cleanup, and doing the springtime oil change. I am getting a few pieces painted that are scratched / chipped painted this spring, but otherwise I am mostly satisfied with the state that it is in for the time being.

That being said, I want to do some fun activities with it this year. I really want to get a track day under my belt with the Viper. I also want to go back to the dragstrip and see how much quicker the car is on the 3.55 gears. Obviously, I want to enter to a bunch of shows and see what other events I sneak into this year.

For someone who burns through cars at the rate I do (My average time of ownership for a car is under 7 months. Yes, I actually calculated that.) I still enjoy my Viper a lot. I do want to find another toy as well but I really couldn't see letting go of the Viper for something unless I either got offered a completely stupid amount or had the opportunity of a lifetime to buy something else for a stupid price.

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[jpmst3]

Damn! That is fantastic!
Kudos to you and your father for getting these gems back in action. What a great thread and great outcome!
Congrats on such a fine project!
:dude3:

[johnnyk_6]

Very cool to see this car brought back to life. Nice work!

[Breck]

A mostly trouble-free summer! Took the Viper on two overnight trips, three car shows (hopefully one more before the season ends), and drove it just over 3,000 miles this season. The only issue that cropped up was a thermostat failure. Replaced it with a 180 degree aftermarket thermostat and flushed out all the coolant. This winter I plan on flushing most of the fluid and slowly tackling some cosmetic stuff. Crazy to think I have had the car over two years now. 6,500 miles + into it and I still enjoy it!
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