To all you jerks who said "it's not meant to be" and "you'll find a better one" when the deal with mdurbahn and the bee fell through...f**k you guys...you were right 
If you recall back when I posted about what I wanted in a GTS, Taximan and I got into a little ******* match. I said "here is my wish list" and he sarcastically said "good luck." We bickered briefly but he is obviously more mature than I am and PM'd me to squash that. We talked a little back and forth and all was good...THEN he sent me this:
1998 Dodge Viper in North Aurora, IL 60542: Coupe Details - 265557524 - AutoTrader.com
I'm like "it's nice but it's way out of my price range." He told me to email them and see what they said. To my surprise the seller emailed me back that day to say "I'm calling you tonight. We'll work something out." Long story short, we did.
I got a hold of the shop that did the build and he had limited information, but what he recalled off the top of his head:
• Roe blower (10 lbs)
• 30 over bored and stroked bottom end with Diamond pistons/rods
• Jesel rockers
• SVS headers/full exhaust/no cats
• Boosted Pump
• VEC 2
• Accufab throttle bodies
• 670 to the ground on last tune (11.5/1 AFR in Chicago; getting it tuned for Tejas next week)
Some of you saw that Marty B sold his car. I had the pleasure of meeting him on Saturday morning. He showed up and asked my sales guy about my car and I was like "sh*t, he's gonna steal it from me." He introduced himself and I let out a sigh of relief. Eddie (fastzilla) bought Marty's car and we roadtripped 1200 miles back to Austin. Eddie got the full Gen. I experience, complete with rain and a not-quite-weatherproof top and a sunburned left arm. The only incidents to speak of were Eddie's getting pulled over in the wee hours for no plates and the Okie's messing with us up and down the toll roads (pacing us in our blind spots for 10-15 minutes at a time, hitting us constantly with radar/laser). That, and 1/2 my NACA duct flew off in the first 100 miles while I simultaneously threw 4 engine codes. A.R.T is going to look at that this week. My hood also wouldn't close all the way (as you can see in the Autozone pic) but I got the latch adjusted and it's solid now.
The verdict? I love it I'm getting used to the full-size steering wheel (my RT had a small one) and the adjustable gas pedal was ENTIRELY too close. With that much power to the ground, having an ill-placed gas pedal was interesting to say the least...especially in the rain. This thing has power on demand at any RPM in any gear. It's an obnoxious amount of power and will take some getting used to, but I love it. 1 of 21 in this color in 1998 according to the registry, and it's a paint scheme that won't show fine scratches like my red RT did. I don't know if there was a more perfect car out there for me. This one is a dream come true.
Without further ado, a few pics from the trek:
It starts raining on us before we leave Aurora:
The pair parked outside IHOP, waiting for the clouds to part:
Pic of half my NACA duct gone; it came off in the middle of a 4-lane highway in the rain. We weren't able to find it:
We met my family in St. Louis for the best pizza ever, Imo's:
Filling up in the 'Lou:
A half-assed shot at dusk of Eddie on I-44 in Missouri:
Filling up again in Joplin. Note: I got almost 20mpg when I took it easy, but we still stopped every 250 miles anyway. Not bad!
Back in Texas, getting the codes read. I had a rich code (understandably), a "not getting up to operating temp" code (understandable), a crank sensor code and one more for good measure (I forget what it was).
I committed bug genocide in Missouri and Oklahoma. I'll bill you guys later for this service:
Right before the first wash:
After the rinse but before any in-depth cleaning:
Geoff at Ogden was the sh*t when it came to the car. It's by far the best dealership buying experience I've ever had. Driving with Eddie was a blast and meeting Marty was a treat. Great car, great experience!
If you recall back when I posted about what I wanted in a GTS, Taximan and I got into a little ******* match. I said "here is my wish list" and he sarcastically said "good luck." We bickered briefly but he is obviously more mature than I am and PM'd me to squash that. We talked a little back and forth and all was good...THEN he sent me this:
1998 Dodge Viper in North Aurora, IL 60542: Coupe Details - 265557524 - AutoTrader.com
I'm like "it's nice but it's way out of my price range." He told me to email them and see what they said. To my surprise the seller emailed me back that day to say "I'm calling you tonight. We'll work something out." Long story short, we did.
I got a hold of the shop that did the build and he had limited information, but what he recalled off the top of his head:
• Roe blower (10 lbs)
• 30 over bored and stroked bottom end with Diamond pistons/rods
• Jesel rockers
• SVS headers/full exhaust/no cats
• Boosted Pump
• VEC 2
• Accufab throttle bodies
• 670 to the ground on last tune (11.5/1 AFR in Chicago; getting it tuned for Tejas next week)
Some of you saw that Marty B sold his car. I had the pleasure of meeting him on Saturday morning. He showed up and asked my sales guy about my car and I was like "sh*t, he's gonna steal it from me." He introduced himself and I let out a sigh of relief. Eddie (fastzilla) bought Marty's car and we roadtripped 1200 miles back to Austin. Eddie got the full Gen. I experience, complete with rain and a not-quite-weatherproof top and a sunburned left arm. The only incidents to speak of were Eddie's getting pulled over in the wee hours for no plates and the Okie's messing with us up and down the toll roads (pacing us in our blind spots for 10-15 minutes at a time, hitting us constantly with radar/laser). That, and 1/2 my NACA duct flew off in the first 100 miles while I simultaneously threw 4 engine codes. A.R.T is going to look at that this week. My hood also wouldn't close all the way (as you can see in the Autozone pic) but I got the latch adjusted and it's solid now.
The verdict? I love it
I'm getting used to the full-size steering wheel (my RT had a small one) and the adjustable gas pedal was ENTIRELY too close. With that much power to the ground, having an ill-placed gas pedal was interesting to say the least...especially in the rain. This thing has power on demand at any RPM in any gear. It's an obnoxious amount of power and will take some getting used to, but I love it. 1 of 21 in this color in 1998 according to the registry, and it's a paint scheme that won't show fine scratches like my red RT did. I don't know if there was a more perfect car out there for me. This one is a dream come true.Without further ado, a few pics from the trek:
It starts raining on us before we leave Aurora:
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The pair parked outside IHOP, waiting for the clouds to part:
You must be registered for see images
Pic of half my NACA duct gone; it came off in the middle of a 4-lane highway in the rain. We weren't able to find it:
You must be registered for see images
We met my family in St. Louis for the best pizza ever, Imo's:
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Filling up in the 'Lou:
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A half-assed shot at dusk of Eddie on I-44 in Missouri:
You must be registered for see images
Filling up again in Joplin. Note: I got almost 20mpg when I took it easy, but we still stopped every 250 miles anyway. Not bad!
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
Back in Texas, getting the codes read. I had a rich code (understandably), a "not getting up to operating temp" code (understandable), a crank sensor code and one more for good measure (I forget what it was).
You must be registered for see images
I committed bug genocide in Missouri and Oklahoma. I'll bill you guys later for this service:
You must be registered for see images
Right before the first wash:
You must be registered for see images
After the rinse but before any in-depth cleaning:
You must be registered for see images
Geoff at Ogden was the sh*t when it came to the car. It's by far the best dealership buying experience I've ever had. Driving with Eddie was a blast and meeting Marty was a treat. Great car, great experience!
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Good luck getting used to the seatbelts being in the wrong location 
