Going to buy an 01 GTS

[DynoDaddy]

Hello. This is my first post. I wanted to get some quick things to look for when i make the final transaction for an 01 GTS. This will be my first Viper and I am not as informed as I would like to be pertaining what Viper specifics traits I need to look for to make sure the car is ok.

What are some key things to look for when buying an 01 Viper GTS? IS there any particular place they begin to rust first? Any TSB's? Ect?

THe car has 3800 miles and has the origional yellow with black stripes paint scheme. The engine has been rebuilt by a very reputable builder. Arguable the best in the country. IT also has 20" HRE 540 rims, brembo 14" front brakes, SS brake lines, unitrax halfshafts, Xenon lights, ect.

Thanks ahead of time for all the information.

 

[GraphiteGTS]

Engine rebuild?

 

[Toby]

Is the car local?

Let me know if you need any help.

If you do a search here you will find many threads that will answer your questions on what to look for when purchasing a Viper.

My advice...have it looked over top to bottom and research the cars history vs. what is acceptable to you.

Note: To help you get off to a good start here...you spelled Cincinnati wrong in your location.

 

[Casey]

The best engine rebuilder in the country!? I hope his name isn't John H. He gets the most press, but it's not all the best.
Where's the car located? You could have someone with Viper Knowledge inspect it for you.

 

[DynoDaddy]

The car is located in Miami Fl. Ronnie Crawford built the engine.
The engine has 10.0:1 compression crower rods, JE pistons, Fox Lake ported heads, larger SS valves, upgraded pushrods, Jessel 1.7 rockers, ect. Quite a bit of work done to the engine.

I will search for some more info tonight on what to look for. My initial search did not come up with what I was looking for.

Toby,
I have only lived in the Cinci area for a little while. I would like to catch up with you, if possible, before I buy the car to get a little more info about these cars. I have only driven two vipers for a very brief amount of time and wouldn't mind a little one on one chat with a guy who owns two vipers.

 

[GraphiteGTS]

Joseph,
Come over and look and my car. I'm just out of 'nati off I-75, exit 184.
I'll help all I can.
Graph

 

[ViperJoe]

I would not rush into Viper ownership.

I would do a ton of research, look at several cars (not neccessarily ones for sale), and then buy one. It may save you a LOT of heartache in the long run.

Good luck and WELCOME!




"Join the VCA it costs less than 28 CENTS a day"

 

[GraphiteGTS]

Good advice, VJ.

 

[DynoDaddy]

Rick-
I would liek to meet up with you. I live in Independence as a matter of a fact. I am typing this at my office here just a mile from Dixie and KY18. Give me a call so we can hook up. 240.0274. I would love to take a look at your car asap.

VJ-
I have researched these cars. I am wanting to meet up to view/ride in a couple more cars before I take the final plunge. My mind is just about made up. I have had numerous people look at this car in person. None were Viper experts, but all very knowledgable car guys like myself. I felt like i needed to contact some "VIPER GUYS" so I found this forum, and this is how we came to this discussion.

Furthermore,
I choose the Viper for several reasons. First off I will not be driving this car very much at all. I spend quite a bit of time out of town, and rarely have time to play with my cars anymore. THe cars I currently have take a lot of effort and time to keep running at **** high power levels. I have spent tons of money into a metaphorical black hole. I will never see this money again. Since I realized this, I have been consolidating my other "play" vehichles and concentrating my resources to get a single play vehicle.
I am wanting a semi exotic that holds its resale value somewhat, and does not cost ubber cash to modify, repair, i.e, 911TT, 360M, ect. The Viper fits seems to fit this category. I pondered a new vette, but everyone has one of those. I want a car higher up onthe bling factor than a vette. THis is just a couple of reasons.

 

[YouWish]

Ummm last I checked fiber-glass doesn't rust.

 

[GraphiteGTS]

Dyno,
My wife teaches at Simon Kenton and we live in Union. I'll take you for a ride. Say when.
[email protected]
620-7678
Rick

 

[Detlef]

Is this the one? It sure looks sweet!

 

[Lee00blacksilverGTS]

1. Don't buy a car off EBay.
2. Don't buy a car from Florida, it is one of a very few states where a salvage title can be "washed." You will nver know if it has been titled as a salvage car.
3. Never buy ANY Viper unless a VERY knowledgable Viper tech or tuner has looked at it and said OK.
4. Don't buy a "modified" car unless you are REAL sure what has been done to the car and if it affects the warranty or your ability to go to a dealer and buy an extended warranty. Except for KNOWN and RELIABLE tuners, a search here will show you who to trust. And nothing against the guy you mentioned but I've been here since 1999 and have never read anything about him.
5. Take Graphite up on his offer.

 

[Casey]

In order to make the 800hp as stated you will need the AEM management system, new intake, and custom cam.
That's alot of $$. So what kind of power is it making now? How streetable is it with the Race engine?

Lots of questions that need to be looked into.
As stated above, look at other Vipers as well, don't just jump at the first one you see and like. There are other highly modded Vipers that have proven Dependable and Fast!!

 

[TAXIMAN1]

I have seen this car before... Yellow wheels right?? Nothing bad to say about it... Just that I have seen it before.. Nice car, but I cant confirm any negative or positive history the car may have..

The car is located in Miami Fl. Ronnie Crawford built the engine.
The engine has 10.0:1 compression crower rods, JE pistons, Fox Lake ported heads, larger SS valves, upgraded pushrods, Jessel 1.7 rockers, ect. Quite a bit of work done to the engine.

I will search for some more info tonight on what to look for. My initial search did not come up with what I was looking for.

Toby,
I have only lived in the Cinci area for a little while. I would like to catch up with you, if possible, before I buy the car to get a little more info about these cars. I have only driven two vipers for a very brief amount of time and wouldn't mind a little one on one chat with a guy who owns two vipers.

 

[01sapphireGTS]

Joseph: I'm not sure how I could help, but if I can, LET ME KNOW !

 

[VPRVENM97]

Dyno,

Don't know this car....but, a few things that make you want to be cautious.

1. Car is in Florida but doesn't look like a Florida plate (dealer plate maybe?)

2. Quote: "800hp capable....Note to make the power that is listed up top you will need from Mopar part# P4876846 intake system, AEM plug and play engine management system part#30-1500, and custom grind cam."

3. "Ballinger Headers" Is that the same as Belanger?

4. "TND jessel 1.7ratio roller rockers" So which is it? T&D or Jesel? Did those two companies merge?

5. What the heck kind of intake tubes are those? Gives a whole new meaning to the word "smooth."

Looks like a beautiful car in the pics but be careful with highly modified cars. When you stated that it was built by a reputable builder, names that came to mind were Levin, Cragin, Heffner...

It'll be worth it to have someone like Doug Levin to look it over before you sign the papers.

Good luck and don't forget to post pics of your new ride.

 

[DynoDaddy]

I never saw this car on ebay. I was unaware that they ever posted it on ebay. How I came to know the car was through two of my close friends that live down in miami. They are good friends of the owner and have been around this car since it first came off of the showroom floor. They have told me the entire history of the car: Why & What it has been through over the last couple years as it has progressed to its current state. I feel that my buddies have told me more about the car than any Viper tech ever could. My buddies are serious gearheads like myself and own a speed shop in miami as well, and being such good friend I trust what they are telling me. Something that could not be had with a stranger.

The car runs perfect. I had my Buddy take it for a drive again last night and spend some more time behind the wheel as a matter of a fact. It is supposed to be putting down 525rwhp as it sits. They never saw the car on the dyno, but have no doubts that it is making the power after driving it.

The intake is posing as a serious HP restriction in its current state as most of you could have guessed. A tune would free up some hp as well.
As I said before I am not looking to drive the car that much anyway. Winter is fast approaching so the car will be dorment for a couple of months. This will allow for plenty of time to purchase an intake and AEM computer, get more HP out of the car and allow it to run at its full potential.

I have been looking at purchasing an semi exotic for some time, and this car happened to fall in my lap. I have heard my friend talk abotu the car for about a year now, but the last couple months I started probing for information once i heard it was available for sale.

Everything thus far says that this car is exactly what I have been looking for, and to make the purchase.

BTW:
Ronnie Crawford is NOT know for building Viper engines. He is best known for have building pro 5.0 engines that consistantly won for the past 15+ years. He has built a multitude of other engines his life, and is considered in the ford world to be one of the best engine builders alive. He is reported to have over 2000 engine's built under his belt.

 

[DynoDaddy]

BTW I met up with Rick last night. I want to thank him for his time as well as sharing some viper specific tips with me. His car is absolutly stunning and MINT. I did not see one blemish on his entire car. She is a real beauty.

 

[MIKE-HKS]

so how much are they asking for that yellow beast?????? $$$$$$$$$

 

[DodgeViper01]

Yes, if you do not mind me asking, I would love to know what they are asking for this car as well.

 

[Detlef]

The old eBay auction had a buy it now price of $75K, not that it correlates to what it would sell for.

 

[KenH]

I choose the Viper for several reasons. First off I will not be driving this car very much at all. I spend quite a bit of time out of town, and rarely have time to play with my cars anymore. THe cars I currently have take a lot of effort and time to keep running at **** high power levels. I have spent tons of money into a metaphorical black hole. I will never see this money again. Since I realized this, I have been consolidating my other "play" vehichles and concentrating my resources to get a single play vehicle.
I am wanting a semi exotic that holds its resale value somewhat, and does not cost ubber cash to modify, repair, i.e, 911TT, 360M, ect. The Viper fits seems to fit this category. I pondered a new vette, but everyone has one of those. I want a car higher up onthe bling factor than a vette. THis is just a couple of reasons.

From what you are looking for, I think a Viper fits the bill pretty well as long as you either buy one that you know is built well or get a stocker and have it built by one of the known quality Viper tuners. The terms Viper and "Money Pit" are usually only used when describing botched tuner jobs.

If you are serious about the above mentioned car, I'd pay one of the respected Florida tuners to put it on a dyno and check it over. 525RWHP would be about the minimum I'd expect if it really has all the engine mods listed.

As for the '01's, some cars have had problems with the plastic water pump impeller spinning on the shaft, causing heating issues, but in general seem to have relatively few problems.

 

[DynoDaddy]

They have since added a couple parts since the auction. Including an upgraded T-56, wing, ect. Is there an upgraded water pump that can be purchased?

 

[unreelviper]

DynoDaddy, TAKE YOUR TIME........DO YOUR RESEARCH AND REACH OUT TO THE MEMBERS OF THIS CLUB!!