Finally making the full HD step-by-step fascia alignment video!

[TitleMine]

So, my GTS is for sale, but mamma always said to leave things better than you found them, so I'm adjusting the front fascia of my 2001 Dodge Viper ACR. A quick google (and even a look at the current Gen II Frorum front page here) will show that lots of people, including those (like me) who have accident free Vipers, have a problem with Serpent Stroke Face™:


Su cara es muy fea señor.


So, you'll need a set of standard and metric sockets, and some specialized tools:



Trim pliers, fascia panel retainers, and of course, a lot of clean-release painter's tape:



I'll update as the work is ongoing and post the final video when it's done.

[SuperSaiks]

Yes thank you this will be great help

[Jeebs]

I need to do this as well.

[TitleMine]

I think I'm going to market a book, the "Gen II Fascia diet." It's 65% relative humidity here, and I feel like I've lost about 12 pounds of water weight. Also, I'd like to get my hands around the neck of the engineer that put those upper retainer clips in that little crevice in front of the airbox.

[gerch85]

Cara fea... Lol
Pero si le falta alineación
Good luck with the project

[SuperSaiks]

It's the damn gap between the headlights and the fascia that drives me crazy

[TitleMine]

The headlights and the facia? You mean you have a gap in front of your headlights? If your car is accident free, you should be able to fix that buy loosening the four bolts under the headlight a turn or a half turn, then pushing the whole headlight assembly forward from the rear with the hood open. If it doesn't seem to budge, you may need to hit up the sliding rails with some lubricant/penetrant.

Also, good god this is tedious. We're making progress though. I'm trying to close the gap between the facia and the hood now on the corners by the wheels, after that, fixing the headlight-hood gap seems ridiculously easy.

[Matt M, Pa]

Awesome! I've pulled the fascia off my '96 and got it back on without issue....but i'd love to get the '00 to fit better!

[TitleMine]

Matt, are there big differences between the two? The only thing I need to mention somehow (Already forgot, @$*&) is that the ACR has no fog lights, so I need to go back and edit in a mention of that. You just pull the fogs out through the holes in the fascia panel where the ACR closeouts are, right?

[Matt M, Pa]

Titlemine...not that I know of. I had the fascia painted on the '96 and it fit fine when it went back on. There are some differences in the actual fascia piece...but I think they attach the same, etc.

The foglights come out through the holes in the rear...where the big rubber plugs are.

The problem with my 2000 is like yours....the gap on the left side where the hood matches the fascia. I'm anxious to see what the adjustments are....

I've done lots of work on Vipers over the years...but until I have a "plan of attack" to fix the gap....I didn;t want to pull stuff apart.

I will add that on the '96, two of the fasteners near or under the headlights were replaced with a nut a bolt. The fasteners I used were crazy tough to put in...so pushing them in at that location was impossible. (I used clips from the auto body supply shop...not Chrysler. Maybe they were a bit biggers)

[TitleMine]

My fasteners basically pulled out when I wiggled the facia a little bit. It looks like the front end was off at some point for something... doesn't look like paint though, so I dunno what.

[Fatboy 18]

Looking forward to the updates

[ViperJames]

Wow this thread is amazing I thought I was the only one with that gap problem . My 2000 GTS looks exactly the same as the ACR in this thread and I have been debating taking everything apart to do it. I consulted this with chuck tator and he said the hood latch can be adjusted in conjunction with lowering the back of the headlamp. Title mine is this your plan of attack ? Very curious to see what the answers are. Thank you!!!

[TitleMine]

I know tator is a Viper-mechanic deity, but In my case I don't think adjusting my headlight's back-end down is going to be the fix. It's not striking the hood, it's actually far too low. If the gap over my headlight was any bigger I could add oil without opening the hood :P

My plan thus far is to attempt to manipulate the side of the fascia. I don't want to mess with the radiator saddles if I can help it, that looks like a huge PITA. I'm going to do that, then raise the headlight. On the other side, I think I'm just going to raise the headlight a bit, the side gap isn't significant over there, it's thinner than my index finger. Yeah, I've seen ones that were machine perfect, but after rolling around on the garage floor for five hours, I'm starting to feel like 95% is good enough. Probably going to end up trading this thing to some dealer who doesn't give a s*** for a Time Attack anyway :-\

[TitleMine]

Anybody got more insight into how to get access to the bolts that adjust the radiator angle? I see the shoes and the shims at the bottom, but no evident way to access any kind of bolt for adjustment. Headlight adjustment is a piece of cake, but adjusting the strut in front of the light and the bolts in the wheel well and on the radiator-side below the headlight has done a fat lot of nothin'. It's free to move, but doesn't move in the right way to close the gap.

[TitleMine]

Work continues today. Headlight gap is 100% better. Just need to find a way to tip that fascia up.

[LifeIsGood]

Anybody got more insight into how to get access to the bolts that adjust the radiator angle? I see the shoes and the shims at the bottom, but no evident way to access any kind of bolt for adjustment.

I've got the same issues as you on my passenger side. I've had mine completely apart. I played with the radiator saddle and added shims on the top of the frame rails, under the radiator by jacking up the saddle on each side...didn't really notice an improvement.

Headlight adjustment is a piece of cake, but adjusting the strut in front of the light and the bolts in the wheel well and on the radiator-side below the headlight has done a fat lot of nothin'. It's free to move, but doesn't move in the right way to close the gap.

...same for me...those adjustments didn't do much of anything for me. The only thing that helped was lowering the passenger side latch. Sorry...not much help.

[Matt M, Pa]

Perhaps of little help...but I've spend too much time with my 2000 on the lift, trying to find something that makes a different in the fascia-hood gap behind he headlights.

I figure it must be something "deeper down". It seems that the driver's headlight and fascia "droop" together. On the fascia, the fender well bolts/screws are still exactly where they were from new. You'd see paint damage oir indentations had they moved. I noticed a number of shims under the radiator and wondered if some could have gone missing. I've been all over this car underneath and have yet to find anything that makes an appreciable difference.

[TitleMine]

Just the headlights were a game changer though.

[GhostStalker27]

Anybody got more insight into how to get access to the bolts that adjust the radiator angle? I see the shoes and the shims at the bottom, but no evident way to access any kind of bolt for adjustment. Headlight adjustment is a piece of cake, but adjusting the strut in front of the light and the bolts in the wheel well and on the radiator-side below the headlight has done a fat lot of nothin'. It's free to move, but doesn't move in the right way to close the gap.

After 2 attempts - I've concluded that adjusting the radiator support angle is the only way to make a significant change. I'll follow your progress and best of luck. I plan on taking another stab at this over the winter.

[TitleMine]

When you say "support angle" what do you mean by that? Like the shim pile, or what?

[Matt M, Pa]

Revisiting this thread may help us find what to adjust?

http://driveviper.com/forums/threads/2311-Hood-Gaps!!!

[Matt M, Pa]

I had my 2000 out for a bit today, and looked at the headlight-fascia relationship. Seems that the fascia has actually dropped a bit on the driver's side as more headlight is showing on that side. Perhaps hard to describe...but it looks like the fascia is "lower" on the headlight...especially at the side. It is possible that whatever holds up the fascia moves while the headlight, etc remain in place?

[GhostStalker27]

When you say "support angle" what do you mean by that? Like the shim pile, or what?

You left out the word "radiator" in your quotes - radiator support or radiator saddle. This thing -> Attachment 6547. I have yet to get down there and really mess with it, but I think you need to loosen it up and adjust it with shims and tighten it back down to have any significant adjustment. Again I have not gotten that far, but I've tried everything else with little progress. And was told by someone, on another forum, that was the only way that worked for them - I tend to believe them now lol

[TitleMine]

That's what I thought you meant. Great!