Finally got my own Viper and I'm sure I have tons to learn

**hemichuck** · 10-29-2015

I had put this post on A bodies only forum because I have a couple of A bodies and have been on there a while. I moved it over here because I am new to the Vipers even though my son has had a Gen 3 for several years I didn't do much more than ride in his(and occasionally drive when he would let me) Some of you probably saw this on Facebook because he posted it as we were going after the car.
I have been on Craigslist a few days trying to get hold of some people about 100 miles away that had a 2002 Viper for sale. Couldn't get any reaction from them till this morning out of the blue I get an e-mail with a phone number saying I could come look at it. The asking price was $15000 and it had a salvage title but they had already hinted that they might take less. We jumped in the truck and hooked up my 16 ft lawn trailer that has rails around it since it was the only one empty and we took off for northern Kentucky to check it out. I stopped at Kroger to get Diesel and with my fuel points it cost $1.69 a gallon, I told my son it was going to be a good day. When we got there the car was sitting in the driveway with one of them blue tarps laying in front of it and there were tools all over the ground and junk laying all around it. We looked it over and took it for a ride, back tires were shot and about flat, the hood is beat and looks like it went to hell and back. its got 57000 miles showing but it ran pretty good but had a slight noise in the trans when decelarating It has HRE rims and and a Ichiban steering wheel and some aftermarket exhaust and air intakes. We started pointing out all the faults and negotiating price and to make a long story short we bought it for $8000 cash. Took us about an hour to get it on the trailer since the rails were only 2 inches wider than the car and Vipers sit so low that they wont just go up a normal ramp.
When we get home we start searching the web for some parts and happen across a photo of the exact same car in Redlands Ca. back in 2013 on cardomain.com. The first thing that tipped us off was the color, not a factory color and the car had the same wheels and steering wheel. upon further investigation the guy that owned the car listed other mods that he had done on the car back in 2003 so he must have been the original owner. It listed that he had added Eibach suspension and Flowmaster exhaust system. We climbed under it and sure enough it had them but the clincher was he said he added billet aluminum heater knobs so out the door we went and there they were. How weird is that. I sent a message to the guy hoping to get a little background on the car so I guess we will see what happens.

**ICPREY** · 10-29-2015

Nice buy! Any pics?

**hemichuck** · 10-29-2015

IMG_1065.jpg IMG_1061.jpg
Sorry, I'm new on here so I am still trying to figure out the picture posting

**MH60M** · 10-29-2015

Good buy! It's worth twice that in parts!

**G37Sam** · 10-29-2015

Holy crap how'd you get it on that trailer!!

**hemichuck** · 10-29-2015

It was quite a feat, only trailer we had available on short notice so we had to make it happen.
IMG_1064.jpg IMG_1063.jpg
Less than 1/8th inch on the passenger side

**G37Sam** · 10-29-2015

Made me cringe!!!

**hemichuck** · 10-29-2015

I've been reading the thread about the dinged up Dodge and it looks like I will be doing a lot of the same minor knick knaacks that he is doing. The only thing really beat on the car is the hood which I already have ordered from Dodge. The front bumper cover has one spot but they ar'nt too hard to find used. The thing I really need is some Gen 2 wheels and tires to stick on it while we polish the HRE's and get new tires. They dont need to be great, just have to hold air and roll.
Glad to finally have my own, getting tired of riding b***h in my sons car. I would hang around with him at the Viper club tent at the nats but didnt have much to talk about. I have had numerous Mopar muscle cars in the past but right now I am down to a couple of 1970 Dart swingers and a 71 Charger SE thats a 440 HiPo car.

**Bugman Jeff** · 10-29-2015

Wow, that's a heck of a good buy. I look forward to seeing your progress with it

V1P3R · 10-29-2015

Good buy! Saving a Viper, gotta love it.

Keep us posted with the progress.

**daveg** · 10-29-2015

Congrats on the purchase, great price!!!! Nice to see a Viper resurrected... Have fun with it and be safe!

**daytonprowler** · 10-29-2015

Excellent!

**hemichuck** · 10-29-2015

Originally Posted by daytonprowler

Excellent!

The only reason I went to them is my Cousin has a body shop so he gets a better deal which was actually about as cheap as most of the used ones we had found. plus there is no shipping. Like I mentioned earlier my son has a Gen3 so he has a pretty good handle on getting parts. I'm sure I will be doing business with lots of the sponsors before we get done!
The single tip is part of a flowmaster system, it looks a little weird but sounds pretty good.

**City** · 10-29-2015

Congrats. $8,000 is a steal.

Before you call "Dodge" again for parts, you should call some of our site sponsors. Not because they pay a small advertising fee here, but because all of them are sincere Viper enthusiasts and will provide you with excellent advice along with parts and prices.

Welcome!

**smhog** · 10-29-2015

Looks like a nice score. That single exhaust tip is something else.

What color is the emblem on the trunk? Looks blue.

Tim

**Steve-Indy** · 10-29-2015

Hi, Chuck...congrats on your Viper. I spoke with Trey a couple of days ago...he's quite excited about your project.
Looking forward to seeing BOTH of you at the C&C in the Spring.
If I can help you find needed parts, just give me a call.

Merry Christmas...early !!

**v10enomous** · 10-29-2015

Nice find ! Looks like it's all there. Good Luck with the restoration.

**ViperRT98** · 10-29-2015

Congratulations on your first Viper.... $8000 for that car was a steal...... What is your plans for this car??????

**hemichuck** · 10-29-2015

Fix the hood, paint it, polish the wheels, buy new tires, fix all the little things, drive it like i stole it, when it gives up build a bad ass motor and do it again.

My sons Viper is all stock with less than 20,000 on the clock and I keep trying to discourage him from doing any major modifications to it. So the plan with this one since it has already been modified is for us to build it any way we like it and have some fun. I'm already looking for a motor core to build into something nasty. My son is just finishing college and he has better things to be doing with his earnings than dumping them into his car. I, on the other hand, am retired and can afford to blow some money on my toys so thats the real plan. I've been building muscle cars all of my life(at least from 16-56 anyways) and I didnt bother getting married till I was 30, too busy street racing and having fun.So when I finally married a beautiful woman who already had a 4 year old daughter then a couple of years later we had my son so I spent the last 25 or so paying for schools and houses and keeping my kids in sports and doing family stuff so when the Vipers came out I was enthused but it was the wrong time. so now that my son is about to graduate from college and my step daughter owns her own insurance agency and house and my wife just got an addition on the house to make her happy so now its my turn. But being a cheap S.O.B. that I am I wouldnt just go out and buy a Viper, it had to be cheap and I have to build it myself because thats just who I am.