Green With Envy 2009 SSG Coupe

[wakebum2507]

Lets start at the beginning

This thread is going to be an ongoing story of a new to me Gen IV SSG coupe. I've followed a number of you on this forum, Facebook, Instagram, and various other boards. One of my favorite cars has been, and is, Mr. SneakySnakes' old VVO Viper. For years, I lusted for that car. Being from Houston orignally (OKC now), I knew of Alex's car pretty well. I followed his thread, kept track of the updates he had made, how the car was cared for, and the modifications he had been doing.

I'm a computer science guy, a security engineer for a large oil and gas company, a mechanically minded individual, and a thinker. I tend to challenge existing processes and efficiency (or lack thereof), in order to built/automate new/better strategies, which has somehow led me to where I am now, in my professional career.

I've had a number of fast and/or fun cars, most notably a 1300+ WHP coyote, that went through a number of iterations. After that was a gen III viper vert, an E92 M3 optioned fantastically, a few jeeps, etc etc. you know how it is.

Some of you are friends or acquaintances through Houston, Dallas, the Texas Invitational, Runway Rivalry, and some tollway's here and there.

A few months ago, I began to kick around the idea of getting back into something fun. The things I look for in a car have changed over the years, from wanting to be the fastest in a straight line, to the fastest around a track, to not caring about speed at all, but having something different. Like many of you, i've always liked vipers. It was a childhood dream, and when I bought my last one, it was really great. The Gen 3 was fun, but I didn't love it.

I wanted something different. I knew I wanted a gen IV, because the gen V's in the colors I want/wanted were above what I was willing to spend, for a toy. That being a limiting factor, brought my choices down. I knew I wanted a VVO, SSG, or GTS blue car. I preferred them stripeless as well, which narrowed the search down even more. I had my mind set on tracking down the owner of Alex's old car, which I did, luckily. We exchanged a few messages, and he wasn't ready to sell at the time. I was sad to say the least, because that car embodied everything I wanted in a Gen IV. The mods were chosen well, the car was cared for meticulously, the maintenance was detailed, and the history was there.

I started my search looking for VVO cars. I messaged a few of you on here that I knew owned the stripe delete cars, with no luck. I looked at one in Dallas, one in Tennessee, one in Cali. I posted some ISO threads, with no luck there either. The cars i'm finding aren't in the condition I wanted, with lack of history, etc etc.
After failing at finding a VVO car, I started looking for SSG and GTS Blue cars. I messaged people I knew had owned the cars in the past, searching for current owners' numbers, to see if they'd want to sell. This helped a little but still no bites.

Fast forward a little bit, and I came across a one-owner SSG coupe. The car was all stock, had a clear bra on it from day 1, 21K miles on the ticker, with some upgrades like stainless brake lines, stoptech rotors with stoptech pads, new brake fluid, and a spare set of SW2 wheels and tires. needless to say, i'm interested.

I reach out to the owner, whom isn't too talkative, or willing to give up too much info on the car. Odd for someone interested in re-homing their vehicle. We go back and fourth for a few weeks, and I make an offer. He accepted, not convinced I was real.

I arranged transport with Frank Barba, whom I had heard good things about from Calvo, and a few others. We discussed the timeline, picked a day and went from there. Chicago got hammered with snow, ice, and all around bad weather, and the pick up was delayed more than a week. Sadness sets in. I walk to my garage a few nights a week to find nothing but my daily driver in there.


Today is the day

The car was delivered by Frank this morning around 10AM, and I couldn't be happier. Its everything the seller said it was, and the transaction went relatively smoothly, all things considered.

Now like most of you, I believe cars are great from the factory, but can be made even better by some tweaks. I believe in a "factory ++" mindset, where i'm simply changing the small things.

Over the months that I was looking for a car, I had set my mind on a gen IV. After that happened, the gears started turning. I did some research on suspension, speaking with a number of people that owned coil overs from different brands, and some friends that I had gone to the track with, and that raced...lots.
I was using Alex's old car as a play-book for what I wanted to do, since his worked so well, for so long. The hard part was done, I just needed to buy.

I knew what I wanted:
-Wheels
-Suspension
-Exhaust
-Gen V intake
-Arrow/ACRX ECU
-3.55's in the rear.

I pulled the trigger on some coil overs, smooth tubes, full Belanger exhaust with Random technology high flow cats, and the newer 3" side pipes.

I also found myself sourcing some Forgelines, which I had always loved. The color was wrong for the cars I was looking at, but that's simple to fix.

Parts started to arrive before the car was here, which only made me want the car more, even though its been 30-50 degrees in okc, and no one is really doing car things at the moment.


On to the good stuff...
viper1.jpg
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viper5.jpg

I backed it off the trailer, into the garage, and put it on stands

viper6.jpg

[wakebum2507]

When I got the forgelines, the previous owner had plastidipped them (an abomination), and had the centers done in a flat black. I've always liked black wheels, but against a brightly colored car, I think you loose depth and detail.

viperwheels.jpg

I pulled the two piece wheels apart, and went off to powder-coat. I chose a gunmetal grey for the centers, which I think will be dark enough for contrast, but light enough for detail to be seen.
wheelcenters.jpg
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Once I got the car, I immediately put her on jackstands so that I could get the three sets of wheels I now owned to Discount Tire for the new rubber on my forgelines.

In the mean time, the coilovers had also arrived, so I was a kid in a candy store.
suspension (1).jpg

Over the next few days I'll get the new wheels on, suspension, smooth tubes, etc.

Exhaust was at the coaters, so it'll be here next week. Stay Tuned....

[commandomatt]

For sure not wasting any time. From unloading to jack stands in minutes and getting it done.

Nice work. Car is beautiful. Cant ever go wrong with SSG.

Looking forward to seeing those wheels installed

Congratulation on the new toy and have fun. I know you will be cracking the door to the garage before you go to bed....just to make sure its for real

[ky13]

My second favorite Viper color! Congrats!

[BlknBlu]

Joining the club would also be a good mod.

Bruce

[v10viperbox]

Is that a narrow stripe SSG or did they paint the wide stripes on it like the 2010's. Hard to tell.

[Steve M]

Is that a narrow stripe SSG or did they paint the wide stripes on it like the 2010's. Hard to tell.

Those are the narrow 2008-2009 stripes.

[commandomatt]

The 2010 stripes also go through the license plate area. The earlier years do not

IMG_9944.jpg

[viperBase1]

I had my mind set on tracking down the owner of Alex's old car, which I did, luckily. We exchanged a few messages, and he wasn't ready to sell at the time. I was sad to say the least, because that car embodied everything I wanted in a Gen IV. The mods were chosen well, the car was cared for meticulously, the maintenance was detailed, and the history was there.

Are you talkin' 'bout liddle ol muheee?
lr2_small.jpg


Hey huge congrats on the SSG!

She's already plenty to lust after.. but looks like you're on the FAST TRACK to making her your own.

In the process of getting to know her, be sure to take time to lube the manual lock on the drivers door.

Take your lusting to the next level!

Suggest you lube the keyhole...noting that sometimes one has to turn the key, while humping the door near latch with your hip AND depressing door handle.

Enjoy and welcome aboard!

[v10viperbox]

MU22dY8.jpg

Hopefully the picture loads on mine. So the 09's have straight stripes and don't come to a point. I always assumed they did the same thing as the 2010's but with a smaller starting stripe.

That is cool. Also SSG is the best color but I am a bit biased.

[Purple Haze]

Great car SSG is a great color too...

[wakebum2507]

After some fighting with the suspension to get the old stuff OUT, the new BC coilovers are on, adjusted, and locked in where I think I want them. It took some trials, but it wasn't so bad. the worst part was easily pulling the wheels on and off. WOOF.

Here's the final product -

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[ky13]

Love the new stance!

[commandomatt]

Nice look. 2nd shot is great with all the colors

.....which says you pushed the car to where it is or those leaves would have swiftly been removed by the side pipe (I know...stupid observation)

While I do like the 6 spokes, the new look is definitely better and the lowering is perfect.

[viperBase1]

After some fighting with the suspension to get the old stuff OUT, the new BC coilovers are on, adjusted, and locked in where I think I want them. It took some trials, but it wasn't so bad. the worst part was easily pulling the wheels on and off. WOOF.

2.jpg
1.jpg

Nice touch on the wheel treatment.
Big Dog on the block. WOOF!

Nice look. 2nd shot is great with all the colors.....which says you pushed the car to where it is or those leaves would have swiftly been removed by the side pipe (I know...stupid observation)

No my dear Watson!

The gorgeous shine of the finished paint indicates he started the engine and backed the car out onto the drive way and gave the girl a bath.
She's newly acquired.. it's what we do..

There are no obvious/visible swirls in the finish indicating the proper use of a power washer and foam gun for a touchless wash.
The light over-spray generated from the power washer dampened some of the leaves already on the ground, weighing them down and thus solidifying their position on the driveway.
At the same time, the wind generated by the power washer also perturbed other leaves, providing the pseudo-random distribution and clumping.

The lit fog lights indicate the sudden onset of a heavy fog.
The wind picked up and blew the fog away.. thus causing more leaves in the tree to let loose and fall to the ground.
This is visible in photo #1 where he clearly captured one such leaf in free fall near the front fender (@ ~1 oclock from the center of the front wheel).
And another leaf resting on the roof.
ssgLeafsmall.png ssgLeaf2small.png
This provided the replacement of leaves that were previously moved by the thundering exhaust out of the side pipes.

Exactly what happened in photo #2 is unclear and requires further analysis.
The Drivers side window is down and there's a Bigfoot hiding in the bushes across the street.

Elementary!

[Tylerqb]

Looking great. SSG cars always look good.

I think the car needs this on e the back end.
http://www.autoformgroup.com/index.p...category_id=56

[wakebum2507]

Adding a couple more small touches. MGW shift knob to shorten the throw a bit. Now I don’t feel like I’m rowing a boat!

Proud member of the manual gearbox preservation society, again. I lived the DCT life for a little....but I’m back. 5CE5D5BD-F749-4A7C-A406-C0862A05DCEE.jpg

[06SRTCoupe]

I would being the rear up just a touch. Other than that, looks killer! Love the Forgelines in gunmetal!

Are you going to join the club here?

[wakebum2507]

I would being the rear up just a touch. Other than that, looks killer! Love the Forgelines in gunmetal!

Are you going to join the club here?

I actually did end up bringing them up another half in or more once the suspension settled down a little bit.

I'll be joining the club sooner or later. Not sure what perks come with it, but everyone seems to be asking, so i'll support the cause.

Will probably wait until it gets warmer here. the 18 degree mornings take the fun out of driving anything.

[v10CodeMonkey]

That SSG is looking sleek. Glad to see you found what you were looking for!

[wakebum2507]

well, some fun boxes came in from UPS tonight.

Full Belanger Exhaust
-Longtubes (Tri-Y)
-Hi-flow cats
-3" Catback

1-3/4" port matched primaries, laser cut 5/16" flanges, and Jet hot coated. I chose to go with the more updated/newer full 3" system for maximum flow.

I think i should drop about 20Lbs, and pick up 50 or so WHP. Much excite to hear these things...just wish it was a bit warmer here!

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How about that pickle!!

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very smooth turnouts for maximum flow while retaining the full 3" throughout.
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[98intrigue]

Wasting no time I see. That will really change the sound of the car - you’ll love it!

[wakebum2507]

Wasting no time I see. That will really change the sound of the car - you’ll love it!

No time like the present. I've always thought the heat generated from the dual cats per side was overkill, and it doesn't sound like a real sports car with the stock exhaust.

I've heard the belanger full systems created some drone, which would annoy me if I was going on road trips, or things like that, but that's honestly not what this car will be used for.

just waiting on the ACRX ECU now, then need to get the UDP put on and she'll be good to go.

[viperBase1]

I've heard the belanger full systems created some drone, which would annoy me if I was going on road trips, or things like that, but that's honestly not what this car will be used for.

just waiting on the ACRX ECU now, then need to get the UDP put on and she'll be good to go.

Proven formula.

Exactly the way to view the Belanger system.
Absolutely awesome, but the drone can be fatiguing after a while.

Please-o-Please share the details of the Belanger install.

[wakebum2507]

Proven formula.

Exactly the way to view the Belanger system.
Absolutely awesome, but the drone can be fatiguing after a while.

Please-o-Please share the details of the Belanger install.

I'll be sharing the photos, tips/tricks, and stories of bloodied knuckles, but they will not be MY knuckles.

I'm paying a local shop that does most of the LS work here in OKC to do the install. I had originally intended to do the install myself, but after years of doing my own work on the big builds, i've decided to outsource.

some photos of the past builds:
Untitled by cameron underwoodUntitled by cameron underwoodUntitled by cameron underwoodUntitled by cameron underwood


Previous Viper ownership

IMG_8965 by cameron underwood

On Forgelines:

IMG_9704 by cameron underwood

and on SW2's....

IMG_9915 by cameron underwood