Doug Levin is torturing me! (pics)

treynor

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Arrrgh!!! After a year of planning and work, my car is days --DAYS -- from being finished, and Doug keeps sending me pictures of the nearly-completed system. It's gorgeous; I've started having dreams about the thing, fer crissakes. Yet I have to wait another 19 days before I finally get to drive it at VOI7. This home stretch stuff is driving me nuts!

Here's a couple of the teaser shots he's been sending me (NB: pics may have been altered to keep a few key items secret until the VOI drags...)

The front:
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The trunk:
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Eddie N

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ben,

your gonna need a HAZMAT placard to be able to drive that thing!!
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more pictures please!! the intercooler is so pretty...

- eddie -
 

Gear Grabbn Gary

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Ben, Words will not jusify the the way you will feel after the first ride in your car. I hope you are able to survive these last few days before VOI 7. See you there. Gary
 

Gerald

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Chuck, when I was at Dougs shop, I believe Ben's car already had a cage in it..
Now whether to keep monkeys in, or keep monkeys out...we'll never know!
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Chuck 98 RT/10

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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gerald:
I believe Ben's car already had a cage in it..

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Good. After driving your Viper I think it's crazy not to have a cage in a car with that much power. And yes, I think you're crazy.
 
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treynor

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Chuck -- my car's got a NHRA-spec 6-point rollbar / sidebar setup, but not a full roll cage. I agree that it's a good idea for any car with this much power; stuff happens...

Gerald -- perhaps I just photoshopped in the NOS bottle as a red herring to throw off the competition. After all, why would I need NOS with two turbos when I could just turn up the boost?
 

Janni

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Hmmmm.... in the front left corner of the trunk - there seems to have been a bit of Photoshop camofluaging (whoa - butchered the spelling on that one...) done... Wonder what could be there?????

Come on Ben, enquiring minds want to know!
 

ronviper

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Treynor, did i read you right when you wrote two TURBO'S not superchargers. Just turn up the boost, i have had all kinds of turbo cars and just love the power they make.
 

Snakester

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Actually, if I remember right Ben, you already had a N2o setup before.

Gerald,

Actually, it's not a fuel pump, it's a flux capacitor.
There's a LOT that Ben is not telling us.
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Ben,

Thanks for the pics. It's really exciting to see your car coming together, and it will be great to hear how it runs at VOI7!

Enjoy,
-Dean.
 
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treynor

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Snakester's correct, there's a lot of stuff I'm keeping under my hat -- I promised Doug I'd keep a bunch of secrets until VOI7, and I intend to honor that promise. I will note that I make no guarantees that what I'm saying is 100% accurate; some of it could be a red herring
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That NOS bottle, for instance, looks awfully photoshopped...

That said, NOS and any kind of forced induction go hand in hand. In both supercharging and turbocharging, you introduce heat into the intake air which is only partially neutralized by the intercooler, so the cooling effect of NOS is very useful. With both turbos and centrifugal turbos, NOS also helps you get off the line at the dragstrip, since neither makes much power at low RPMs. Finally, NOS can help BIG-turbo cars spool up the turbos more quickly, although with a Viper that's less of a problem -- you're not trying to make, say, a 3-liter engine produce 1000 BHP after all
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Finally, barring something unforseen Doug's now less than 48 hours from firing up the beast and beginning the tuning process. I'm sure it's going to be another sleepless night for yours truly...

I'll see if Doug'll let me post any other pics.
 

Tomer

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Janni is VERY perceptive!!!

I don't know too much about SC'ing, but I was gonna ask why the need for NOS??

Ben, where did you have your roll bar installed? Even for my near stock (slow compared to yours) Viper, I think better roll protection might be one of my better investments!! But I want a roll bar which will allow the factory hard top to be installed...

This would also help me rationalise some more mods once I am out of extended warranty !! hehe

Tomer
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treynor

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JP -- you're a clever fellow, but that site is a work in progress and its content & pix aren't for public consumption quite yet. I promise they'll all be up by beginning-October. I'm sure I can rely on your discretion for the next couple weeks; rest assured, what you saw in those pics is nothing compared to what's coming when I get the next round up.

Shey -- yep, everything in moderation. I know DLM, HMS and others have made cars which make &gt;1000 RWHP on NOS, so I posit that with the right prep the Viper block & heads can tolerate quite a bit of power.
 

Gerald

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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by treynor:

Shey -- yep, everything in moderation. I know DLM, HMS and others have made cars which make &gt;1000 RWHP on NOS, so I posit that with the right prep the Viper block & heads can tolerate quite a bit of power.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


With me not having any knowledge of HP or what it takes or the what stress the motor can stand, I would say that if a stock bottom end , cam, etc Viper can handle the 750 to 820 RWHP DLM is putting out now, I wouldn't see why 1,000 RWHP wouldn't be a breeze if cam, bottom end, etc are reinforced and modded..
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Gerald
 

ronviper

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Trev, you still have not answered my question are you TURBOING YOUR CAR. A simple yes or no will do.
 
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treynor

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Ron,
The simple answer is: <FONT COLOR="red"><FONT size="6">MAYBE</FONT s></FONT c>

Y'all will find out on 9/25, unless someone pries the answer out of Doug or visits his shop and spies on my car. I ain't saying nothin'
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WCKDVPR

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I'm betting on Turbo's given that the intercooler side tanks are wider at the bottom. This seems to be the appropriate place to run the intake charge into from low-mounted turbos.

The NOS looks thrown in the trunk as no lines are hooked up, but, having had lunch with Ben from time to time, I suspect he is planning on having the craziest Viper on the planet which means he probably will have NOS on it when finished.

Can't wait to see the car when it is back in CA.

Ben - Good luck at the VOI drags. Think seriously about installing the rest of the cage. Now, is it going to be a solid rear axle car so you can lay that power to the ground? Automatic?
 
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treynor

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Mike -- I considered converting the tranny & rear end, but (a) I want this to remain a street car rather than a dragstrip refugee, and (b) I like taking corners as much as going in a straight line. Besides, (c) the VOI unlimited class dictates a T-56 and IRS, and (d) making my car legal for &lt;10 sec 1/4s would be intrusive to the point of making the car unpleasant to drive regularly, so it stays as is.

I reserve the right to change my mind after I blow up my first few diffs
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