chopperpilot
Enthusiast
I had a great experience with my 2001 GTS and want to let others in Ohio know about 2 tremendous vendors (I don’t think I’m allowed to post a link to the vendors but happy to respond to ***) and the super help I received from Chuck Tator at Tator’s Garage.
I had decided to install the 708 cam (I know “there are much better cams available” but my results work for me) and 1.7 Harland Sharp Roller Rockers. I talked with Chuck before getting started and he let me know I wouldn’t get the idle I wanted unless I replaced the lifters with slow-bleeds as originally installed with the 708 cam. Chuck has always provided super guidance & support so slow-bleeds it is……guess the heads need to come off ☺
Since I was in there anyway, I decided to have the heads gone through and a radius valve job performed. It didn’t take long to be steered to Bischoff Racing Engines in Guilford Indiana, just outside Cincinnati Ohio. Tony was super to work with and he offered to open up the heads significantly at a very reasonable cost. He had Brian work the magic and the heads look like a set of aluminum heads should look…..like you could throw a ball through the ports.
I decided to paint the intake so I called Chuck to have him add o-rings for the injectors to the gasket order he was ready to ship. I told him that I was checking into available injector services and Chuck said no question about it; send them to Tony Armour at Armour Racing. Now the injectors look like new, work like new, are marked for specific cylinders, and the turnaround time was incredible!
After putting it all back together I started it and heard the deep rumble I was working for and in addition to the amazing rumble, the Viper now rocks from side to side as it idles! No headers, just factory exhaust manifolds with Jet Hot Coating, 3” Hi-Flow Random Technologies cats, and 3” side exit Corsa Track exhaust (thank you JonB). The results were exactly what I was hoping for.
I took it for a short drive and had a problem that triggered another call to Chuck Tator and he was able to diagnose it over the phone…..failed right side pre-cat 02 sensor. As has always been the case, Chuck had time for me and he was right…problem solved and time to head to the dynamometer.
I had checked around before doing the project and visited 3 SCT Dynamometer Tuning facilities in Ohio. Wow, that was an easy choice and I can’t say enough good stuff about Pickups Plus Cars at their Lewis Center site just north of 270 on Columbus Pike. I met with Justin and he introduced me to Brady who would be doing the tuning. Brady showed me the facility (clean, brightly lit, and a new Mustang Dynamometer like none I had seen before), asked me about my expectations (safe tune with no danger to the engine and no urge to make peak horsepower numbers), and told me how he would proceed if I chose to have him do the tune.
And Brady didn’t let me down!!
At 5700rpm with a conservative tune, my 2001 GTS showed 525 horsepower and 550 #ft of torque at the rear wheels. I called Chuck to tell him the good news and he let me know the corrected numbers would top 550 hp at the rear wheels and 640 hp at the crank.
After Brady was done with the tune we took it for a drive and he commented that the idle brings a smile to his face and the engine is very responsive with the adjustments he made to fuel & timing, but the alignment took the fun out of driving it. I told him I had it aligned by a reputable Ohio shop but had always felt that it wasn’t right and didn’t know where to take it for another attempt. He took me back to Pickups Plus Cars, put it on the new alignment rack, and set everything to specs. We took it for another drive and had fun with the new power in a Viper that now does exactly what you ask of it.
As if that wasn’t enough, Brady called me after my drive home to make sure I was pleased with the alignment and the tune!! Great customer service before, during, and after the sale.
Thank you to:
-Chuck Tator at Tator’s Garage
-Brady at Pickups Plus Cars
-Tony & Brian at Bischoff Racing Engines
-Tony Armour at Armour Racing
-JonB at PartsRack
I had decided to install the 708 cam (I know “there are much better cams available” but my results work for me) and 1.7 Harland Sharp Roller Rockers. I talked with Chuck before getting started and he let me know I wouldn’t get the idle I wanted unless I replaced the lifters with slow-bleeds as originally installed with the 708 cam. Chuck has always provided super guidance & support so slow-bleeds it is……guess the heads need to come off ☺
Since I was in there anyway, I decided to have the heads gone through and a radius valve job performed. It didn’t take long to be steered to Bischoff Racing Engines in Guilford Indiana, just outside Cincinnati Ohio. Tony was super to work with and he offered to open up the heads significantly at a very reasonable cost. He had Brian work the magic and the heads look like a set of aluminum heads should look…..like you could throw a ball through the ports.
I decided to paint the intake so I called Chuck to have him add o-rings for the injectors to the gasket order he was ready to ship. I told him that I was checking into available injector services and Chuck said no question about it; send them to Tony Armour at Armour Racing. Now the injectors look like new, work like new, are marked for specific cylinders, and the turnaround time was incredible!
After putting it all back together I started it and heard the deep rumble I was working for and in addition to the amazing rumble, the Viper now rocks from side to side as it idles! No headers, just factory exhaust manifolds with Jet Hot Coating, 3” Hi-Flow Random Technologies cats, and 3” side exit Corsa Track exhaust (thank you JonB). The results were exactly what I was hoping for.
I took it for a short drive and had a problem that triggered another call to Chuck Tator and he was able to diagnose it over the phone…..failed right side pre-cat 02 sensor. As has always been the case, Chuck had time for me and he was right…problem solved and time to head to the dynamometer.
I had checked around before doing the project and visited 3 SCT Dynamometer Tuning facilities in Ohio. Wow, that was an easy choice and I can’t say enough good stuff about Pickups Plus Cars at their Lewis Center site just north of 270 on Columbus Pike. I met with Justin and he introduced me to Brady who would be doing the tuning. Brady showed me the facility (clean, brightly lit, and a new Mustang Dynamometer like none I had seen before), asked me about my expectations (safe tune with no danger to the engine and no urge to make peak horsepower numbers), and told me how he would proceed if I chose to have him do the tune.
And Brady didn’t let me down!!
At 5700rpm with a conservative tune, my 2001 GTS showed 525 horsepower and 550 #ft of torque at the rear wheels. I called Chuck to tell him the good news and he let me know the corrected numbers would top 550 hp at the rear wheels and 640 hp at the crank.
After Brady was done with the tune we took it for a drive and he commented that the idle brings a smile to his face and the engine is very responsive with the adjustments he made to fuel & timing, but the alignment took the fun out of driving it. I told him I had it aligned by a reputable Ohio shop but had always felt that it wasn’t right and didn’t know where to take it for another attempt. He took me back to Pickups Plus Cars, put it on the new alignment rack, and set everything to specs. We took it for another drive and had fun with the new power in a Viper that now does exactly what you ask of it.
As if that wasn’t enough, Brady called me after my drive home to make sure I was pleased with the alignment and the tune!! Great customer service before, during, and after the sale.
Thank you to:
-Chuck Tator at Tator’s Garage
-Brady at Pickups Plus Cars
-Tony & Brian at Bischoff Racing Engines
-Tony Armour at Armour Racing
-JonB at PartsRack
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