The Chronicles of SneakySnake Vol III

[txA&M08]

If someone is tripping over their tow hook with their "chins" they have bigger issues lolol....Too many "chins" and they are not of the homo erectus species...

Car looks great. Thought you might have made it yellow to match the calipers....I like the stealth look though. It blends in.

He's Russian and doesn't have a solid grasp on our language yet

[Snakebit10]

It wasn't a knock on him at all, the wording just made me laugh. I knew he meant shins....

[Ninjakris]

Alex, I just installed a front tow hook and your pictures were a huge help. Thank you for documenting small things like that.

[bulitt]

Alex, I just installed a front tow hook and your pictures were a huge help. Thank you for documenting small things like that.

Wonder why they decided to redesign the hood as "front opening" ? Looks like a real PITA to work on the front of the motor? Probably would have been better off keeping rear open and incorporate the hinge releases like Mercedes to allow vertical open angle?

[SRT_BluByU]

front open is fantastic! to quote mark trostle “there is something just heroic about it”

[Malu59RT]

He's Russian and doesn't have a solid grasp on our language yet

Hahaha

I always use the "English is my second language" excuse...even though I was born and raised in Texas. People don't question it because of my skin color

[slowhatch]

Alex, I just installed a front tow hook and your pictures were a huge help. Thank you for documenting small things like that.

No worries, I'm glad this stuff is useful to someone, thats why I do it!

[slowhatch]

Alright, lets go for a trip

About a week out from the NVE3 event, transport arrived to scoop up some of the local cars headed there. I won't give my car to a valet, let alone some stranger to take on a 1,000+ mile piggyback, so I wasn't very keen on the transport part. But, I had no choice so I handed over the keys and told the beast I'd see her on the other side;



The car arrived at the Delano in Vegas the night before we flew in. Luckily, some of our local viper club guys were already there, so one of them drove my car from the dropoff location (across the street), into the parking garage. We flew in Wednesday morning to a room that wasn't ready for check-in, so I quickly rushed over to the Blackjack tables to begin hemorrhaging money (well played Delano). When I tired of that, a quick breakfast was had, we checked in, and I went to get all of our "credentials" and schedules for the NVE3 event from the convention floor.

Found our car in the sea of the other 500 Vipers in the parking garage, pulled out all of the clothes etc we packed into the car and got settled into our room.

Coolest engraved bottle ever (welcome gift)



Seeing 400-500 Vipers in one place is pretty crazy, and we had tons of locals who'd found out about the event, strolling about the garage night and day taking pictures and chatting up the owners. We did have security 24/7, had our own floor, and key card access in/out from the garage, so it wasn't complete anarchy.

Quick videos of the viper filled garage;

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiSk-KPF...y=sneakysnakes


https://www.instagram.com/p/BiS42efl...y=sneakysnakes


Pulled our bucket of bolts out of the garage to get a look at our surroundings;





Wednesday night was essentially a night for everyone to get settled, meet & greet, and the welcome dinner. They had rented the beachfront on the Mandalay Bay out for dinner and it was nice evening filled with a few :beer:. Where's everyone else was falling off the wagon, I specifically laid off the sauce as I wanted to cruise the strip later on.






There is something super special about having your own car in a place that is far removed from the usual sight-lines in your windshield. I felt this way the entire trip, it was like we were at home every time we plunked down into the seats, but at the same time the geography never failed to remind us we were on vacation.

We cruised the entire strip making a bunch of noise for the tourists and turning a lot of heads/camera-phones, and then turned in for the night.



The following morning began what we really came for. While I had visited Vegas many times (for degenerate laden activities), embarrassingly, I never ventured far off the strip, or actually saw any of the places that I had heard so much about. Red rock canyon was one such place, and after going, I couldn't believe how many times I'd missed out on a nice drive.

There were so many people (~800) and cars (~500) attending the event, that the logistics of coming and going had to be carefully managed. The members were essentially split into multiple groups, with 7 sub-groups underneath that, which dictated what time you came and left each "module", and which day you went to which modules. It all actually flowed extremely smoothly, owed in no small part to the 2 years worth of effort by the 50+ person committee responsible for setting everything up. Getting 100s of cars out of the garage each morning and each night was aided by local police who'd block traffic, and timed exits by the sub-groups who would be scheduled to leave in 20min increments.

So bright'n early Thursday morning, our group embarked to Red Rock Canyon;

[slowhatch]

The roads/scenery were absolutely spectacular;










A generous photographer snapped these 2 lovely pics




So after about 15 min of people moving at parade lap speeds I quickly grew tired of the pace, and went around everyone to set off at my own rate.



Quick video of the beautiful roads;

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiUuF_tF...y=sneakysnakes



Yes Lia made us custom shirts and hats, yes I felt like a choir group, and yes I wore them, wanna fight about it?

[slowhatch]

After the conclusion of the red rock drive, we all headed over to Wayne Newton's place. I sh*t you not, I had zero idea who Wayne Newton was/is when I arrived much to the horror of our older surrounding club members. But, I am a just a poor Russian immigrant child who didn't have a TV until he was around 10 years old, so... maybe thats why?

Whoever he is, he seemed to have copious amounts of money, as "Casa de shenandoah" was not quaint by any stretch of the imagination.





Mark's ACR-E spec is one of my favorites. Car just breaks peoples necks off everywhere it goes. The color combo was originally from a '55 Bel Air, which was his childhood dream car, so thats where the inspiration came for this build. If the insane color wasn't enough, it also has a 9L stroker heads/cam build, and makes 700whp+ on pump 93.



His son was driving his convertible (Medusa) stryker purple gen 5 as well. This one is a slow piece of junk, like my car, and only has the heads/cam build at 650-660whp. But it does have the tractive DSC fully adaptive coilovers and the VE big brake kit, so its got that going for it...

[slowhatch]

Shuttled from the parking lot into Wayne's manor;

[slowhatch]

We spent about half the allotted time at Wayne's place as I'm not really one for all the celebrity stuff (it just genuinely doesn't do anything for me). We kinda ran through it, snapped some pics, and then headed back to the hotel to indulge in some activites that we are fond of; eating/drinking/lounging lazily by the pool.

Saw this Stryker Orange ACR-E on the way out and stopped dead in my tracks



This GTC which was converted into an ACR-E and then subsequently a targa, was interesting as well;



Couldn't resist this pic on the way back past the airport;



As promised, lounging;



Followed up by dinner at Voodoo rooftop steakhouse at the RIO. Which, I wouldn't recommend. Tremendous views, so-so food.




Not too shabby for Day 1.

[cashcorn]

Thanks for sharing! Wish I could have made it..

[Crotalidae]

Nice pics & write up...thanks for sharing!!!

[slowhatch]

Day 2, Friday, was my favorite during NVE3. Rightfully so, as it was the track day

We arrived bright 'n early to Las Vegas Motor Speedway and had 3 "modules" to rotate through. Our groups first module was the high speed oval, followed by auto-x, and the day would end with 4hrs on the road course. I was nervously excited about the oval, as I'd never had an opportunity to do anything of the sort. But then again, its just driving in a circle, how hard can it be? You make your way to the inside of the ring through the tunnels, where I proceeded to deafen myself and the surrounding volunteers with the sound of V10 glory.



We arrived in the paddock, and I did some pre-flight checks. Topped off 0.5qt of 15w50 just to be safe, and brought my pressures down to 34ish so I could run 38ish hot through the banks.



Whilst one of the instructors was making his way through the driver's meeting we were greeted by a heavy dose of MURICA in the form of being buzzed by a practicing Thunderbirds squadron. That was quite the welcome surprise, and try as he might, the instructor really never recovered our attention as we all had one eye to the sky from that point on. Nellis AFB is essentially across the street from the track, but I just didn't think we'd see too much action. For the remainder of the day, I personally, was in heaven, anytime I wasn't in the car on track, I was glued to the sky. The flybys never ceased, and I swear I saw half of the USAF operating arsenal flying around. From memory, we saw the Thunderbirds (F-16s), a pair of F-15s scrambling full burner vertically into the heavens, F-22s, an F-35, a pair of V-22s, A10s, and even 4 B1Bs (which happens to be one of my all around favorite bombers). It was unbelievable, I didn't know whether I was at a track day or an airshow.

But I digress, back to the snakes...





We made our way around to the pit straight, did 1 lead-follow lap with an instructor, and were cut loose;



One of the really cool things about this track rental was that the insurance allowed for passengers, so I was giving rides to people the whole day (mostly Lia). Most track days I've been on do not allow passengers unless you are an instructor, so this was very welcome, allowing Lia and some friends to share in the fun.





We were told not to exceed 130 on the straights and 120 in the banks. Cool story bro :laugh:. But seriously, the banking was intense. I was very ginger on the car as I wasn't trying to end my trip a week early, but I did run about about 150ish on the main straights and around 125 in the banks. It was as fast as I was comfortable going in traffic, and being an oval noob. Believe me, 20 degree banks may appear benign from the living room couch, but are a whole different animal from the driver seat. I still wont watch Nascar LOL, but I will say, I have a new found respect for the drivers after our sessions.



Entering the banks at full tilt is an experience, feeling the outside patches load up, the steering go heavy, and the passenger squirm in their seat as you give off a shrill woohoo in an effort to convey confidence that you both will make it out the other side. I have lots of seat time on track, but absolutely none in consistent high G, high speed cornering; which made gauging where the adhesion limit was, very difficult. In bank, I couldn't tell whether I was 5, or 50mph shy of being in the wall (likely the latter); so I just brought it up to a g load that felt comfortable (safe). It was still pegging my onboard telemetry out at 1.5g+. My favorite thing to do was actually to come out of turn 4 flat out, and stay in it through the kink past the finish line. You rarely get to experience any kind of cornering on any track at those speeds (140+) so that was definitely something special.

Overall it was an incredible experience. I'd still take road course work over this any day of the week but it is one of those things that you have to try at least once. Certainly felt good to have that feather in the cap:thumbup:



Short video of the banking, etc;

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiXMF_HFmFk/?taken-by=sneakysnakes




I think I did about 2 sessions and called it quits. Its strangely fatiguing, and I didn't want to burn myself out with all the fun yet to come.

Hanging out in the pits with one of my favorite cars/people on the trip, Bob Woodhouse. Bob and I got very well acquainted on the second leg of our trip (through Cali) and I have to say he's one of the most down-to-earth, nicest all around car guys I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. He's a straight shooter, a driver, and has an everlasting chipper attitude (which is exactly what you'd want in a travel companion). I had seen his affectionately named "dece-deuce" build in magazines/online, etc, and sheepishly assumed that it was more show, than go. I was wrong. The car is absolutely built for purpose and dialed in, and Bob had no problems slinging the thing around the track all day with no ill effect. Hell, he was within tenths of me on the auto-x in that thing, it was just plain badass! I also thought it was more custom than it really is, as upon closer inspection you see it is just a full gen 4 viper with a custom body. The entire Viper chassis/suspension/drivetrain/etc was separated from the body panels, and on went this sheetmetal. Even the interior is a full viper transplant, save for the rear waterfall and a couple of trim extension pieces fabbed up to span the height difference between the taller doors and the viper door cards. I don't think I'm old enough to really have a full appreciation or nostalgia for most hot rod/rat rod builds, but I'd drive this thing all day everyday.

[slowhatch]

We wrapped up the oval shenanigans and headed over to the auto-x track, hosted by the LV SCCA.






Auto-x was great, the guys did a good job of setting up a track that was conducive to Viper owners. Vipers aren't really at home on small tight auto-x events, so they strung together some nice mid-speed hairpins and slaloms for us. I didn't really take a lot of photos on the auto-x as I was too busy trading blows with the timing clock and the chaps in our group.

Here is a snake parade of us "walking" the auto-x track;

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiXfJMAFliB/?taken-by=sneakysnakes

And a quick video of a pass;

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiXguZvFuA6/?taken-by=sneakysnakes

We broke for a late lunch and gathered some strength for the road course;



My good buddy Brian and I posted up. Painted Ferrari's Rosso Fuoco, his car is a stunning spec;

[slowhatch]

LVMS is a really good road course. It reminded me a lot of New Orleans Motorsports in layout and in speed. Its a quick not fast track, which is great, because it keeps the brakes in one piece through multiple sessions. Main straights were 140ish, which is a far cry from the near 170 speeds you can hit on COTAs longest straight back home. The car performed admirably, I beat the living crap out of it all day and it didn't even flinch. I was a bit apprehensive at first since its the first time the car was run on 91 gas, but it seemed not to care about the few point deficit and kept trucking on. Temps were also manageable, I would start to hammer on it for a few laps until around 245 on the oil, and then I'd back it down for a lap and she'd quickly return to around 215-220, and I'd start the shenanigans again. The TA spec alignment also did wonders for the car on entry, and I was able to really lean on it when I learned the course. I am seeing some definite camber wear after the 1500+ miles through california, but its worth it for the on track grip. I also really appreciated the toyos propensity to communicate vocally about their grip level. Aside from a few bad apples who really shouldn't of been in the advanced group with us the road course portion was absolutely marvelous. We left the track absolutely ragged tired, and ready for a shower and cold one

Quick in car video;

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiYLOBoFPpB/?taken-by=sneakysnakes







A few more pics from a buddies cam who doesn't know how to keep me in the frame








Being as it was a Friday night, I was convinced to go out by some other members in our group so we decided to rent a section at the encore beach club for some Vegas style shenanigans. In the end, that resulted in a much lighter wallet, a horrendous hangover, and a reminder that I cant party like I'm 21 anymore.





..and that concludes Day 2!

[13COBRA]

Looks like a great time! I'm planning on making the next one in Miami.

[Snakebit10]

Love the pics and story. Epic times. Thanks for sharing.

Reading about your experience on the high banked ovals made me relive mine back in 98 at Atlanta Motor Speedway for NOPI Nationals. That banking I believe is about 24 or so degrees. I hit it at about 100 miles an hour and instantly felt my suspension compress and bottom out. The worst part was that my butt slide out of my seat and I was actually partly sitting on the seat and the door trim lol.

The group I was with actually stopped our cars in the middle of one of the turns and got out. Let me tell you it felt like we were going to fall right down out of our seats and roll down the banking. We had to stand with our knees severely bent to prevent rolling down haha. It is very very steep. Getting back in the car was very interesting too lol....24 degrees doesn't sound like much until you experience it. Car guy bucket list stuff...

[Murpowa]

Thank you for taking the time to do such a detailed recap of your NVE3 experience. Looked like a blast and it seems you and Lia had a great time!

[slowhatch]

Day 3, Saturday morning.

Well, eh, not really morning, the previous nights debauchery put us in early afternoon before we started moving with any real purpose. But we did get it together at some point and make our way to the Hoover Dam. I remember reading about this place in engineering textbooks, so I wasn't going to let a little hangover stop this visit. A 45 minute jaunt from the strip and we were there, the AZ/NV border, Hoover Dam. We had missed all the NVE arranged tour groups, parking, etc, so we just paid our own way and took a tour of the facility and its museum. As a big engineering nerd it was definitely exciting to learn the facilities rich history and construction methods. That, and the place is just visually stunning.






I couldn't look down at this and not reminisce of Goldeneye and N64.





Our buddy and his wife who were also joining us on the trip (but did not ship their Viper in), were tagging along in their rental 991 C2S cab. I heard 2 things from him all weekend; (1) How slow it was, (I don't think he appreciates the qualities that makes a Porsche a Porsche), (2) That he doesn't even know what it sounds like because he couldn't hear anything when driving around with us .







Later into the night was the closing Banquet. There were a few keynotes, and a nice video call-in from Dominik Farnbacher who talked a bit about the ring attempt. There was a reveal for the next NVE location--Miami and the Keys!! See you guys in Miami in 2020. The night wore on, we wined and dined, and took an opportunity to catch our breath. While most were winding down, getting ready to pack up and head home, our vacation was just beginning, and we were excited to caravan it to Lake Tahoe the following morning.

Lia and I standing next to a convertible ACR, (that most don't know even exist). 1 of 20 made in 2010.



The 7:01 car, cleaned up from its crash at the ring, highlighting the show;



The night was closed by an auction, in usual NVE fashion, for memorabilia and cool Viper bits. A real auctioneer was on hand and although giving it his all, the room was cold. The crowd, likely defeated by 4 days in Vegas, was either not paying attention, or tapped out, and in stark contrast to the last auction at NVE2 in NOLA (where things imo, were selling for pie in the sky prices), items that night were selling for peanuts. Never one to sleep on a deal, true to Russian blood, my interest perked up as the bidding came across a pair of Viper engine blocks stripped, powdercoated, and converted into tables. One was made into a vertical wine rack--which didn't interest me, and went for around 2.5k. But the other, converted into a coffee table, was something that I had always wanted to buy, but was reluctant to part with the pesos for. It came across the block and bidding stalled at 1.25, going once, going twice... I thought surely, there is no way 800 viper fans are sleeping on this 3-4k block right now, so I gave out my fiercest bidding Yuuuuuupppppp, from the back of the room. Lia's facial expression was priceless as the hammer fell as she had no idea I was going to bid on anything (neither did I ). I immediately thought, how the F am I getting this monstrosity home?



It was great catching up with Mark Trostle and Ralph G as well. I still can't believe guys at that level can even remember who the hell I am, but they always manage to make Lia and I feel more like long distance friends than acquaintances, every time we cross paths.




That concludes NVE3, but we are just getting started. The best is yet to come!

[SlayerLS1]

Excellent NVE posts! Thank you so much, I felt like I was there. Cant wait to get another viper.

[slowhatch]

Sunday morning, while everyone was loading up their cars onto trailers/18-wheelers for the trip home, we were busy packing up our belongings and looking ambitiously north, towards Lake Tahoe. I was fortunate enough to have one of our kindest local members (thank you Boyers!!) offer some space on their 18 wheeler for my prized engine block table, so I was up at the crack of dawn loading that boat anchor onto the truck.



With that completed, we checked out, and started to make our way northwest through Death Valley. The plan was to continue up 95 about halfway to Tahoe, and then cut west, across the Waucoba mountains and velley pass, into the Sierra National Forest, and Yosemite. Then continue north up past mammoth lakes and Mt Paterson. The drive was absolutely beautiful, as expected. Starting from the desolation in Death Valley, to the twisty mountain passes that stretch between it and Yosemite, the time flew, and the snakes burned many a dinosaur.




Quick clip of us making our way across Death Valley;

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bic531SA...y=sneakysnakes

Fuel stops were often, and much appreciated by my 75 year old bladder.



Love the gen 4 sidewinder I wheels in profile on the gen 5 ACR (front fitment is horrendous though, and not pictured).

[slowhatch]

A quick clip of us heading west across US 168;

https://www.instagram.com/p/BidA0hag...y=sneakysnakes







Stopped in a small town to eat lunch (I believe it was called Bishop). It didn't take long for word to spread about the snake-pit, with half the town rapidly descending upon the parking lot. Much to my surprise (in this rural area), the locals were quite the automotive enthusiasts.



Recharged, we pressed on for the final leg towards Tahoe;





Cool video of the pack blowing through the forests regions;

https://www.instagram.com/p/BidqNcIA...y=sneakysnakes

Another fuel stop, where we were finally introduced to California's lovely $5/gallon prices...




In the final moments of daylight, we were just across the mountains from Lake Tahoe;




Arrived at our resort (The Landing), located on the southeast side of the lake. Place was super traditional, yet decadent, and us southerners took quite a fancy to the heated floors and toilet seats

[slowhatch]

The following morning the rest of the gang had a planned route with stops around the Lake, but we decided to go it alone. I wanted to be able to enjoy the drive around the entire lake at a, well, spirited pace, so we decided to break away from some of the packs more judgmental, parade lap paced eyes.

We started off with a relaxing lake-view breakfast near the boathouse;




We then made our way to Emerald Bay, which, was as advertised.









We did run into the pack here n there as well...



A quick video of the views and roads;

https://www.instagram.com/p/BifHyY5A...y=sneakysnakes








I really don't need to say much about the place, the pictures speak for themselves...