A Dream come true finally - 2001 GTS

killerviper

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Hey guys,

I remember back in 95-96 I fell in love in middle school. Used to draw vipers all the time in the back of my notebooks/textbooks. I got pretty good at the front-drivers side drawing of it! I had a model of a yellow Gen 1 Rt-10 that I always used to stare at at and made me study harder to pass my exams all the way through high school :rolaugh:

I always read posts on here living vicariously through you guys. Then 15 years later it was FINALLY time. Was a tough decision between 2 great colors as well.

She was in Lapeer Michigan, I am in Houston. Decided to drive her down here, a whopping 1350 miles. Flew into to Flint Airport with a buddy of mine. He car has an exhaust, smooth tubes, short shifter, billet glove box with logo. I was praying for no rain all the way down, but it IS November and it IS the north. Guess what! Not a single drop of rain the ENTIRE way down, nothing but sun and cloud cover with temps from 45-65! amazing weekend to pick for my drive. what luck! :2tu:


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Inspection and Test Drive. This was my first time driving a viper and boy I wasn't expecting this much fun. Can't believe I was gonna drive it over 1300 miles.

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30 minutes later after a visit to the bank and local DMV for temp tags (small town DMV's are the best. was in and out in 10 minutes!) we hit the road

Stopped at a mall to buy an FM transmitter and some "driving shoes". My Nike's were cutting it because the pedals were so close to each other. Parked WAY out there and a Z06 guy wanted to chat up a little bit.

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First Stop Ft Wayne Indiana. A pretty nice hotel AND it happened that there was an all girls volleyball team packed in it (2 coaches full worth) :headbang:

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Next day, pulled in at a great rest stop overlooking a lake.

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by this time my left leg was hurting right at the knee. Over 16 hours of driving so I just needed to pull over and rest for the night. No choice but a small town called Marion, Arkansas. Let me tell you the highway in Arkansas is BAD! Needed to find a "decent" hotel but everything looked real seedy. Finally saw a Comfort Inn, the best around there and decided to park her in the back, all alone in the dark. I took her to a manual car wash and hosed her off from all the bugs. the front end looked like I ran over a couple of people.

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FINALLY made it into Houston. After a quick wash to clean her up, put her in her garage next to the Z06 :D She is currently waiting for new plates and registration/inspection!

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All in all, great road trip and I got saw many photos taken off, thumbs up, questions asked, a few kids told me it was their dream car when I pulled into the rest stop. I told em, it was mine too and if I can do it, you can too! got truckers honking their horns as I passed them, people asking me what kind of car it was too! you can't really tell because the "emblems and font" is hidden cause its the same color as the paint.

A few notes though, just for anyone who is like me doing research into their vipers and long drives

1. Oil pressure was stable all the way through : 55psi or so if I recall

2. Coolant temps were stable too, it was mostly at the upper mark of the 190 reading. Only went a little higher when we stopped in traffic.

3. The AC and cabin climate controls still need to be figured out. it's confusing! :omg:

4. Always keep both hands on the wheels as uneven road surfaces and wide tires tend to make the car jump to one side.

5. I got between 20-22MPG depending on the leg of journey. This is relatively accurate cause I app'ed it on my iphone!

6. Seat Belt light keeps coming on even though I clicked in the belt well. If I wiggle it the light goes away. Comes back sometimes. Might be a loose wire need to get it checked.


Oh yeah and its even got this

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:cool:

Anyways great trip, great memories and I would like to thank all of you guys for the patience in answering my questions and helping a newbie like me through this experience!
 

Synergy

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Love the Yellow GTS! Just ran into another guy who had a similar story (Drove 2600 miles back from AZ in his Yellow 2001 GTS ACR). Congrats on the new ride, enjoy!!! :D
 

ACR_Matt

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I love hearing stories like this because my story is very similar. Congrats on finally getting your dream car! I know how excited you must be. Have you attended any VCA events yet? I went to my first one this month and it was a blast, I highly recommend it!

Matt
 

JonB

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Congrats on attaining a boyhood dream, a rare thing these days. You definitely sound like a "WORTHY" Owner.1) Yellow Vipers attract Waaaaaay more bugs than other colors. FACT. Bugs think you are a sunflower-dandeline smorgasbord.2) Your "Two-handed-Driver" comment is telling in that you could benefit from a performance alignment, NOT a flat-footed OE alignment. And / Or benefit from newer generation tires. Check your manufacture dates on the sidewalls. Be Safe.3) When the oil dipstick reads ADD, it is already TWO Quarts Low! Dont Be Low !!! DONT OVERFILL your crankcase...4) Find your coolant overflow bottle inside the fascia-front bumber, ahead of the RF tire. Really! Pay attention to potential air in the motor, which affects the heater in worst-case-low-coolant problems. Keep your coolant surge tank full, and the fascia-buttle half full.Be Safe, and Have Fun............. and CONGRATS on that dream...........JonB ~~~~:
 

racerjim

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Congrats on the new to you car, they are more fun then you can imagine.

My car jumped side to side like yours on uneven roads when i first got it. A new set of PS2's fixed that problem.
 

fastandloud

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Beautiful car...enjoy the ride, be safe, listen to those who know the most and now join the club to make it official!!!
 

01rt10outlaw

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awesome and congrats, bought mine in St Louis last april and drove it down to Dallas, rained the whole way down...you got luckey with the weather... enjoy and be safe.
 
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killerviper

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Thanks guys, as always you guys have been great!

JonB, I am going to look into some rims shortly, when I do will look at new tires too. these are now 7000miles old and installed in 2007. Shall look at my surge tank and coolant overflow bottle (I was thinking they were the same thing??)

As far as the HPD cruise goes, sounds like fun but I wont have plates yet. Just the temp tags valid till the 18th so I don't think it's a good idea, unless you guys think otherwise.

Next step is to join the VCA!
 

Vital Velocity

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If you have the temp tags i dont see any reason why you should get harrased. if you decide you want to go, hit me up and ill get you details if you dont have them yet
 

VYPR BYT 94

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Wow! Your Dream Car, Perfect Weather and all girls Volleyball players ... When will you wake up from this Dream? :D
congratulations!
 

All Blue ACR

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Congrats and nice story.

Love the "lonely" overhead parking picture; peeking out the curtains to see if it's really still there. I remember the first few days of ownership after waiting forever for my car.......

welcome to the club
 

WDW MKR

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Congrats! Thanks for sharing the story. I recently had my big trip to pick up my first Viper and still get excited thinking about it. I'm jealous that you also have an '01 Speedway White C5Z sitting next to the Viper!
 

CEJ

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Congratulations on a great choice. Love that color, and your road trip looked fun...no pictures of your Viper with a state trooper behind it, so that's good!
 

cfiiman

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Cool story, I only had to drive mine about 250 miles home, a longer trip would have been fun! Loved the pics to illustrate the story, congrats and welcome!
 
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killerviper

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haha thanks guys. Yeah trip was super fun, woulda been bad if it wasnt for the car. Gonna take some great memories with me down the line.

Yeah that is a Speedway White Z06, hehe I see it got noticed a LITTLE bit too :D
 

AHudson777

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What a terrific story, culmination of a dream. Shows you what good dreaming can do for a person! Car looks great. I just took a road trip in mine, had some of the same reactions, similar driving experiences. Congratulations again!
 

Jeebs

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Congrats on the dream car and that was a great story. One to remember. Have fun and enjoy it.
 

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