Do all the body panels just bolt on to the SRT-10 coupe?

[MuscleJunkie]

Was looking through the pics taken at the Connor plant and noticed several pics of Vipers without body panels. I know with my Vette all the body panels with the exception of the roof and lower rocker panels just can be bolted on and off. The roof has to have the urethane seal broken because it is both glued and bolted (been there/done that) and the lower rockers are glued on.

Do all the body panels on the SRT-10 Coupe just bolt on and bolt off? What about the roof? If they just bolt on and bolt off, and someone ever needed to do a repaint, could you just remove all the panels, paint them off the car and then just bolt everything back on?

Thanks

 

[ROCKET62]

All body panels including the roof do bolt on and bolt off. According to the service manual - 14 steps to remove and 12 to install the hard top.

 

[MuscleJunkie]

All body panels including the roof do bolt on and bolt off. According to the service manual - 14 steps to remove and 12 to install the hard top.

Thank You for the reply. Has anyone taken this approach when repainting their Viper? Seems that this would help to achieve an "as close to factory" paint job that could be achieved without actually being painted at the "factory"

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

The rear quarter panels bolt on in the rear BUT they are bonded in the front along the door jamb and down to the sill. They are nearly impossible to remove without ruining them. The replacements will go on fine if new though. Not saying that it is impossible but almost.

 

[Flexx91]

Thank You for the reply. Has anyone taken this approach when repainting their Viper? Seems that this would help to achieve an "as close to factory" paint job that could be achieved without actually being painted at the "factory"

This is the only approach to take when repainting a Viper. Otherwise, the car's value will be destroyed.

 

[MuscleJunkie]

This is the only approach to take when repainting a Viper. Otherwise, the car's value will be destroyed.

Thanks for the reply. Another reason I asked is I remember seeing some pictures of repaints with the panels on the car but have never seen any performed by removing all the panels.

Anyone know of someone that has done it this way with an 06 Coupe? Any pics?

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

We have done this a few times but do not have any real pictures that would help you. Te pictures I do have were for the owners of the cars "only".

 

[Nader]

Go to Jeff lemke's recent post regarding the installation of his Serpent kit. Plenty of pics in there.

 

[MuscleJunkie]

Thanks - oh BTW- nothing is wrong with my car. Was just considering the what if's and options were there ever to be a time that I might need to repaint in the future. Do think this information might be helpful for anyone that ever might wreck or need to repaint their Viper for any reason.

 

[Canyon707]

Everything I have had painted on my 04 was removed to be painted. Much more precise and just a better all around job.

 

[ROCKET62]

Everything I have had painted on my 04 was removed to be painted. Much more precise and just a better all around job.

Not sure what you mean by more precise and better all around job. The biggest advantage you have by painting the panels on the Viper is consistency of color across adjacent panels. This can be especially important when painting a custom color. I'm not saying that you have to paint over all of the mounting bolts like they used to with visible overspray. One such example was the Red Kandy raffle car, (painted by who many consider to be one of the finest painters around) which was painted with a number of the panels on the Viper.

 

[MuscleJunkie]

Not sure what you mean by more precise and better all around job. The biggest advantage you have by painting the panels on the Viper is consistency of color across adjacent panels. This can be especially important when painting a custom color. I'm not saying that you have to paint over all of the mounting bolts like they used to and having visible overspray, but there advantages to painting on the Viper.

What advantages

 

[Flexx91]

What advantages

These cars were not painted this way at the factory. For a "salvage title resurrection" job - maybe. For "an attempt to make whole again" job - hell no!!!