John B. Could it be??? The year matters!

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I also noticed under the photo of the GT2 they called it a 1997 rather than a 1998.
 

C O D Y

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Come on guys, lets not pick on JonB. He knows more about vipers than any one man should, so to get one or two things wrong is just bound to happen. Furthermore, he probably wasn't the one to put the pictures with the article, so the 1998 GT2 mislabel wasn't really his fault.

Now with that said, here are some items that I feel might need to be looked into....


Airbag switch was added in '98 not '97

Power mirrors added in '99 not '98

Rear GTS window hatch release add in '99 not '98

And I think Connelly Leather was also '99 not '98?


All in all, a great article that I will refer back to when ever I have a year question. Thank you JonB for taking the time and effort to put your wonderful knowledge of vipers to print. A very good read.
 

Jay Herbert

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I'm thinking that the passenger grab handles were a year later.... at least that's what it says on the Dodge site
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JonB

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JonB, ..... B for BOGUS ?!?! Trying to keep you on your toes? I'll return my fee..........OOOPS..It was voluntary!

I sent drafts to ViperMag...( #2 even went to a "higher authority" for a sign-off.) Despite this, Yes, indeed, I did mis-state a few items.....like the power mirrors and remote release. As Cody sez, that was 1999. Fog light covers left after 98.....Was Connelly 1998? Help me out ! (My dated notes and E-mail dates often were the prior year to the upgrade...)

You guys MISSED another real typo boo-boo ! I initially said 18" rims, and later a 19" typo was in there.

The GT-2 photo caption was also a symple typo. The story states 1998...As Cody mentioned, I never saw them, much less attached them! (My idea of an "attachment" is a Post-It-Note!) The 1992 photo was a '92 PR photo with no antennae! Dodge deleted it for the photos....and they return to annoy us on occasion !

Keep looking ! My favorite all-time typo was the "SPRING" issue where a 96 RT was airborne on the cover.....but the story inside claimed that Dodge did not build ANY 96 RTs, while gearing up for the 96 GTS!

I "almost always" get you the right part, however !!!!

JonB~~~~~~:<~
 

BurnR8

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just couple of wimpy typos or "omissions" is nothing against the stellar customer service and follow through of partsrack....JonB where do you find the time....pace car driver, dog musher, parts guru on steroids, and all around good guy...oh ya and literary genius to boot....thank you for all you have done for the Viper Nation....and OBTW those items we talked about are at the polisher as we speak (type) ;-)
 

Tom Friend

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MY99 also saw the brushed metal interior bits: handbrake button, door releases, dash rings. Round shift knob- was that 98 or 99?
 

JonB

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Satin finish components were '99

Thanks for the Connelly Confirmation.....

Grab handles....any 94s gotem? late ones only?
 

Jay Herbert

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Grab handles grabbed my interest when they appeared because when I had the good luck to ride in a '92 on a race track in early '93.... no handles or harnesses.... what a ride. So I mentioned it to some folks at Dodge.. and got a slap in the forehead response
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(even my Trumph TR-3 had something for the poor passenger to hang onto).

Dodge lists the handle as a '95 change, but I've seen late '94's with them (agree with you John... a "sort of '94 change"). So I'm pretty sure it was a late '94 running change, which is why Dodge lists it as a '95 change. The reason I feel pretty confident is I recall seeing several cars with them at the first VOI in Detroit the Summer of '94. Funny thing is my car is a very late '94 .... but I traded the doors for roll up window doors.... so I can't look!
 
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Since we're adding to the list of honorable mentions...

Some of the early '94 models still had the four-rib magnesium intake. There was a change in the trunk prop support from '94 - '95 (I know, big deal). And what about my favorite storage nets in front of the seats for the '95? I love those things!

Three Cheers to Jon for a job well done!

Doug
 

Gerald

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My late Viper (Sold) was a late '94 (August)
it had a few weird things....

#1 Passenger Grab Handle
#2 GTS Hood w/o Ducts cut out (No service records on car showing it was replaced, etc.)
#3 under Hood Blanket w/ Viper Logo
#4 Supercharger (Err wait, I put that in)


Gerald
 

Jay Herbert

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confirmation! late '94, mid year change to grab handles.

Sounds like a replaced hood in the cars past. Not a surprise for a '94, likely craze cracks. That's why you had an embossed Viper hood blanket as well.

The '96 RT/10's Vipers were the first to get the "GTS Inner hood". New tooling was made for the inner and outer skins on the upcoming GTS.... moving from RTM (resin transfer molding) the SMC (sheet molded compound as John notes in the article). The tooling for the RTM hood was in pretty rough shape, so they used the new inner panals from the upcoming GTS on the '96 RT/10's.....

As a side note, the plan was to keep RT/10 hoods different from the GTS hoods (smooth, no ducts/louvres), but the tooling for the outer skin would not handle the volume (hence the small number of RT/10's made in '97). The plan was to make RT/10's with smooth hoods in '98 as well, several were made that way, but a quick poll of the VCA presidents in town for the presidents meeting was made (certainly other were asked as well
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) and the decision to go with the GTS hood/facia on the '98 RT's occurred. The hoods were replaced on cars made to that point, (except for one that slipped out).... and the RT/10 smoothie hood became history.
 
OP
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V

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I think this was a great idea. One way we raise funds for our club is to have little 10 question test on Viper facts at the end of our monthly meetings. Everyone pays $5 or $10 bucks before taking the test. The winner takes half the *** the other half goes into our savings account. This would be a great stash of info to use on future test. Great job Jon!
 
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