Medusa #1 first impressions

[Herrsss]

Weather's been rather wet here in Houston the last 3 or 4 months so I haven't driven her much but she did get to stomp in the water puddles at Texas Viper Roundup a couple weekends ago! First round of cleanup is done so at least she's white again but i still have a lot more cleaning to do!

Those who know me understand my penchant for naming my cars because I think they have distinctive personalities! The Medusa was named at the time I took delivery of her at Tomball Dodge. They had lowered her to the ground from the 2nd story vault and i noticed she was quite curvaceous when I looked down at her. So . . . I named her Norma Jean!
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Here are a few questions I've been asked with answers.

So how does it drive compared to other Vipers - Gen V coupe and Gen IV roadster?

She drives just like the coupe with the difference being an open and larger cabin feeling as compared to the coupe. It is noisier than the coupe since there's little to no sound insulation in the roof (when up) but it makes the exhaust sound that much better! It is vastly different than the Gen IV roadster (which I own as well) in that the IV is much more raw and "in your face" all the time. The IV is truly a street legal race car at all times with few creature comforts and electronic bells and whistles. I find the V to be much more sophisticated and behaves nicely under normal conditions but when you romp on it the kid gloves come off.

Are there any shakes or rattles?

I turned 2000 miles the weekend of Texas Viper Roundup and so far no shakes or rattles. In fact my IV roadster has 62k miles on her with no shakes or rattles so I expect the same out of the Medusa. Keep in mind the car started out as a coupe therefore there were no changes to the tub so it enjoys the same rigidity and stiffness so I wouldn't expect any shakes or rattles.

Is there much wind noise and/or wind buffeting hitting the driver or passenger?

No more than the IV but the V stereo ROCKS! Crank it up and cruise at 80 mph with tunes! Richard does get buffeted when he rides with me since he's so tall - his forehead is above the windscreen! I am not one of those who rolls the windows up with the top down but perhaps that would reduce the noise and wind a bit. The one thing I have noticed is hands free isn't very audible at 80 mph so I generally don't answer the phone when I'm driving!

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p.s. kudos to FLATOUT on the outstanding pictures of her highness - he's quite the photographer!

[J TNT]

Car looks Great in White with Red interior ! :)

[Herrsss]

Car looks Great in White with Red interior ! :)

It absolutely does! I had to "argue" with Kim Zeile at Prefix over the color change - he thought I had lost my mind! Once completed he agreed with me;)

[duffman04]

Beautiful car! I agree, perfect color combination!

[J TNT]

It absolutely does! I had to "argue" with Kim Zeile at Prefix over the color change - he thought I had lost my mind! Once completed he agreed with me;)

That's Funny ! Most don't realize how good it looks until you see it in person . It comes across as classy and refined . :)

[FLATOUT]

I remember taking those photos. Love the car Beth and agree the red interior makes it.

[Slithr]

I'd have to agree, striking resemblance .... no need to squint, drop dead sexy on both counts, :D
http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n599/Slithr/norma-jean-1-sexy_zpsgvhlup3l.jpg
Congrats Beth, #1 couldn't have gone to a better Viperholic.

[Nine Ball]

Good write-up, Beth. I really dig the Medusa cars, mostly because of the coupe rearend on them.

[Herrsss]

Update: I took the car on her first road trip to Tyler for the Azleway Boys Ranch Charity Car Show that was sponsored by the North Texas Region and she drove flawlessly. It was raining cats and dogs (seems like every event the Houston Region has had this year has been rainy) so I tried out the rain mode and found it to be a nice addition to the traction control. The roof fit like a glove with no leaks.

Since this was the first longer trip (about 4 hours) with the top up and windows closed I noticed a bit of a drone. It isn't an issue with the top down or windows down/top up. You guys and gals with the coupes have roof insulation to damper the sound so it probably isn't that noticeable. I'm thinking about changing out the exhaust but haven't made a final decision until I listen to some different options.

I will be taking her into a fabricator to have true roll hoops built and installed. I'm thinking the same design as the faux hoops on the Gen IV only in flat black. I immediately replaced those stupid things with a roll bar in my Gen IV. I'm planning to get that done before we head out to the Steamboat Springs event the end of July. I'll post pictures once it's done.

[ViperPete]

Nice caR. Looks gorgeous.

[RSNAKE]

Update: I took the car on her first road trip to Tyler for the Azleway Boys Ranch Charity Car Show that was sponsored by the North Texas Region and she drove flawlessly. It was raining cats and dogs (seems like every event the Houston Region has had this year has been rainy) so I tried out the rain mode and found it to be a nice addition to the traction control. The roof fit like a glove with no leaks.

Since this was the first longer trip (about 4 hours) with the top up and windows closed I noticed a bit of a drone. It isn't an issue with the top down or windows down/top up. You guys and gals with the coupes have roof insulation to damper the sound so it probably isn't that noticeable. I'm thinking about changing out the exhaust but haven't made a final decision until I listen to some different options.

I will be taking her into a fabricator to have true roll hoops built and installed. I'm thinking the same design as the faux hoops on the Gen IV only in flat black. I immediately replaced those stupid things with a roll bar in my Gen IV. I'm planning to get that done before we head out to the Steamboat Springs event the end of July. I'll post pictures once it's done.

Do you have any update? Did you get the roll hoops installed?

[Herrsss]

Sorry for the delay in answering but we've been on the road to run TT with NARRA at VIR last weekend. The car continues to behave flawlessly and I have put about 3500 miles on her. Weather's not been conducive to convertibles since the first of the year but I'm thinking the rain will let up soon. As soon as we get back I will take her in and get the hoops installed. I am planning to mimic the G4 hoops but that's the only resemblance they'll have to those stupid aluminum coke cans. Biggest decision right now is what color to paint them. Same red as the seats or satin black to "fade" into the soft top when stowed.

Oh yeah, I just remembered we had to replace the gas pedal assembly a few months ago but that's the only thing that's gone wrong with the car.

[lochnessmonster]

Nice write up. Cool car for sure!!

[ViperPete]

I'll say it again... What a beautiful machine! You don't happen to have any additional pictures do you?

[G37Sam]

Need more pics!!! She's gorgeous!

[ViperDC]

Very nice. White/red looks great

[FLATOUT]

Such a nice car in person. I have been fortunate enough to put quite a few miles on my Gen V's with Beth and Richard and the MEDUSA is a really great looking car on the street. The red seats with white exterior is a home run.

[Dusty1]

Most all the good pics are on Beth's desktop and since we have a private track day tomorrow she won't be able to get to them till Thursday. We are currently on the road back from VIR and she's driving which is why I am replying.

[Herrsss]

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/515/18519680318_f69c87b013_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/udwcK5)15383289110_93fbc623b7_b (https://flic.kr/p/udwcK5) by Beth Sewell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/133204336@N02/), on Flickr

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https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/282/18086797133_f1e4561264_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/tygyDT)Medusa #1 (https://flic.kr/p/tygyDT) by Beth Sewell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/133204336@N02/), on Flickr

[Herrsss]

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/317/18519680008_8a9766430e_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/udwcDJ)15382742488_073627a9a9_b (https://flic.kr/p/udwcDJ) by Beth Sewell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/133204336@N02/), on Flickr

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https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/278/18709837351_dca49b487d_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/uvjNNB)14948153594_1f90f4d173_b (https://flic.kr/p/uvjNNB) by Beth Sewell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/133204336@N02/), on Flickr

[Herrsss]

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https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/456/18702661642_9df6a36856_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/uuG2Hu)
NJ goes grocery shopping (https://flic.kr/p/uuG2Hu) by Beth Sewell (https://www.flickr.com/photos/133204336@N02/), on Flickr

Here's proof the trunk can hold a week's worth of groceries!

[Herrsss]

3 of the 5 photos above were taken by the one and only FLATOUT (Andy Wheeler) our resident dynamite photographer!

[ViperPete]

That Viper is SHARP!

The sound must be amazing huh!

[Crotalidae]

Car looks FANTASTIC!!!

[gpearl]

That is a thing of beauty.

[Herrsss]

We drove from Houston to Ft. Worth to meet up with Wayne and D'Ann Rauh and some other folks from their region plus the Smarts from the OK region to drive through the Colorado mountains with stops along the way at the Royal Gorge bridge and various ski resorts ending up in Steamboat Springs to participate in the Bucket List Event #3. I put my helmet on to test out the autocross and the Medusa took 1st place in the women's Gen V division! The next day we had a spirited mountain cruise to a nice lunch place (forgot what town!).

I drove it to the top of Pikes Peak (elevation is 14,114 ft) and I think I had more breathing problems than the car - she climbed like a mountain goat! Maurice is the hero of the day - the top was down and he rode all the way up backwards standing in the seat taking pictures! Scared me to death but I didn't lose our national president!!!

All in all we drove about 2600 miles over the last 9 days and the car performed flawlessly! Now it's time for some serious TLC to get the bugs off her highness' nose - poor thing looks like she has acne right now!

p.s. No driving awards (aka tickets) for anyone from Houston but I think D'Ann got one for no front license plate!

[Doug Nash]

Beautifu! Nothing more needed to say.

[Herrsss]

Beautifu! Nothing more needed to say.

I tried to post some pictures yesterday but was having trouble with Flickr - will work on that today!

[dethred]

Wow that looks amazing. Why the hell SRT/dodge didn't create something like this as a factory car shows some very poor decision making. Please keep that thing mint!