GEN III IV to GEN V Frame Conversion

[VenomSnake]

You my friend are the Michelangelo of Viper builders! Unreal what you were able to do! I’m amazed!

[viperguy69]

How many of you got into the picture more than two times....

There I am... I mean I'm over here.... wait a minute, I'm in two places at once!

2017 CAAP Front Lawn There I am!.jpg

For those that were not there, the picture was done in three distinct shots and then spliced together as a single panoramic image... great job by that picture crew!

[viper04]

Hmm... So, from a cost to just restore the car, yes!

From the base of knowledge I got out of it, yes!

From the standpoint of getting back into getting back into building cars again after a 28 year leave of absence, absolutely!

From the standpoint of being afraid that parts will not available in the future and therefore I must store at least one of everything... not really! I have more money invested in GEN V spares parts collection then I have invested in this car...

From the standpoint of knowing who built what part, who does what mods, and all Points of Contact I have made during this effort, priceless! And the cost and price points I get stuff at based on these contacts has been awesome.

Nice! well done.

[jkviper]

Awsome job and congrats on getting your Viper on the road. I really enjoy fabricating things as well and can appreciate the amount of personal satisfaction you can get from a project like this. Enjoy and drive safe.

[viperguy69]

Alright, I thought my tracking control button on my clock-spring was busted so I bought another one.... well, I learned how to take clock-springs apart and adjust them now but my traction control indicator light is still on... any suggestions other than buying 4 new sensors for the brakes?

[ViperGeorge]

Alright, I thought my tracking control button on my clock-spring was busted so I bought another one.... well, I learned how to take clock-springs apart and adjust them now but my traction control indicator light is still on... any suggestions other than buying 4 new sensors for the brakes?

What size tires are you running? Stock Viper sizes? A difference in front/rear tire height can cause the light to come on and the traction control to intervene. Not sure how big a difference is required but it happened on my 2015 TA 2.0 with 315/30/18 in front and 345/30/19 in rear.

[viperguy69]

Running stock OEM SW II rims and Stock P-Zero tires.

[ViperGeorge]

Running stock OEM SW II rims and Stock P-Zero tires.

So it is just the light that is on? Traction control is not actually intervening, correct? If so, wouldn't that indicate a wiring problem somewhere or maybe a bad wheel sensor? Can you take it to a dealer and have them connect it to their computer to read any codes that are hidden from your over the counter reader? The dealer should be able to pinpoint what is causing the light to stay on.

[darbgnik]

I had a bad front end alignment before that caused that. The steering wheel wasn't straight when the wheels were.

Traction control didn't like it.

[viperguy69]

I think you are right, it's time for the dealer to plug in and see what things I did wrong instead of spending money trying to guess at what it could be.

[Fatboy 18]

Best of luck, I have really enjoyed reading this thread. Keep us posted

[viperguy69]

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It been a while since I posted any updates... This was at the Greenbriar in West Virginia in May 2018 (https://www.greenbrierconcours.com/2...showfield.html).

Every thing ran great! Took the car on a four hour ride to the event without single car issue.

The Friday lunch and afternoon 3 hour cruise was great until the monsoon rains came in for a visit. Saturday has a rainy day and we barely got the car onto the golf course before it started to rain again. By that evening the course was flooded. I think it was for the best has we had to develop a plan to stage the concourse vehicles for Sunday's main event. With the weather uncertain the call was made to put the cars around the hotel. As you can see from the pictures it made for an exquisite setup and much more enjoyable show. Between the showers you could go into the hotel and as the rain ended back out to the cars and to wipe them down again, again, and again.

By late Sunday afternoon I had more drying time on the car then driving time! Getting ready to head out and to return home my car started to have major malfunctions. When I turned the wipers on the engine would turn off. So, I had to apply lots of Rainex to try and make it home. It took us about an hour to figure out there was an electric short somewhere and it only seemed logical that it was coming from the wipers. I could see the rear lights doing some strobe action which would have been cool at a car show but not getting ready to head down the road; to make matters worse my wipers seemed to turned on when the switch was in the off position; the car was running in limp mode that would not allow the car to go above 45mph, at first; and the instrument cluster would turn on and off so that I had no idea of RPM's, speed, or other warning indicators! This resulted in a very frustrating ride back to my home in Virginia taking me over 7 hours as the car continued to have issues and malfunctions that required me to sit on the side of the road waiting for the errors to clear.

Once I got home I noticed the windshield wiper motor had burn some of the wires as a result of the intense heat from what seemed to be a very serious short. Most of the engine bay wire harness were extra hot as well, luckily nothing caught fire. So, I bought a new harness and re-ran all the front electrical wiring in the car. Initially the car fired right up and it seemed like all the issues were behind me. The next day the car was back in a no-start state and the wipers were moving when they were in the off position. After attempting to trouble shot the car myself I finally turned it in to the dealer to figure what was going on. The Viper Tech was excellent and about two weeks later he not only fixed the short, which was a faulty ground behind the passenger's seat, but a whole list of other items to ensure the vehicle was safe for VA roads. Using the Chrysler Diagnostic Computer we worked through each of the errors to retore the car to a 100% operational state free and clear of any issues.

Some things discovered were quite enlightening and very frustrating as well... more on that story later.

After two months of re-working the vehicle it is back on the road again and running like a champ! Total cost was just over $1100 for new Wiper Motor, front Wire Harness, and Engine Wire Harness. The cost for the dealership rework was $1549 which included; new window regulator, new key FOB sensor, New Key FOB Battery, New key FOB, Fixing the grounding issues, Front steering tightening, Electronic Throttle Controller relearn, New PCM programming, Suspension system conflict resolution for coil overs, and a vehicle safety inspection.

[1of1TA1.0]

Such a massive project, you definitely still got most of it right. Glad you got everything else ironed out, even if it was with help. Without the Diagnostic Computer a lot of that isn't possible so it needed to go to the dealer anyway. Congrats and Enjoy

[viperguy69]

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Lastest find and upgrade... was not too sure at first but this thing really has grown on me.

Now to get it painted and get that orange stripe running through the car...

[Space Truckin]

Job well done sir...

[Arizona Vipers]

Wow congrats dude!!!

[viperguy69]

Alright... I think I am going to build another one by cutting and splicing two frames together as I have enough parts to build another with exception of an engine and trans...

[Whiskey]

Alright... I think I am going to build another one by cutting and splicing two frames together as I have enough parts to build another with exception of an engine and trans...

Sent you a PM on a project idea.

[ACRSNK]

At it again... loved following your thread on the build.

[viperguy69]

Well, finally got this project nearly complete and only a few more things left to do on this build. Only thing really left it to paint a few bolts, add canards, add front diffuser, maybe modify the rear diffuser, change out the rims for high gloss black SW 2's or flat black SW 2's...

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[viperguy69]

Hard to believe its been six years ago that my Viper was all in parts across my garage floor and five year ago I finished it and starting driving it... from the 96 original miles when wrecked to the current almost 20K miles that are now on it!

[Snakebit10]

Hard to believe its been six years ago that my Viper was all in parts across my garage floor and five year ago I finished it and starting driving it... from the 96 original miles when wrecked to the current almost 20K miles that are now on it!

Great to hear your cars are still running strong. A testament to your incredible skills. Loved the build threads.

Any plans on the the RT-10? G5 frame, motor, tranny and brakes ?

[No hemi]

WOW, How I didn't know about this post before IDK, IT's Incredible, Such a great work and passion, I love what you did, Hopefully more vipers who have had a rough life can find owners like you willing to give them a second chance !!

[Arizona Vipers]

Wow!!!

[viperguy69]

RT-10 will get finished up here this next few weeks... been a fun restore but parts have been near impossible to find.

I Have been waiting for a year on door stanchions and inside stanchion covers, but it looks like I am going to have to fiberglass the old ones to get the car done so I can get it sold.

Car has 4,200 miles with one owner, got to get it retitled to me here in VA.

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Inside was a pain, dash kept on cracking as it was so brittle

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Went to install the door stanchion covers and I dropped one which shattered when it hit the ground last spring...
But, I got the car sanded all down with 3000, 5000, and then buffed to a nice smooth shine.

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Installed the other side covers