The common red 2003 SRT10

[Twister]

I love my SRT10....But 2 months ago the car had some severe engine problems ( plugs/wires/coils/roller rockers) and has been at the dealership every since then...

With all the talk of the 2008 Vipers and pics of they're wild colors and huge 545 rwhp dyno's..Well my red 2003 was starting to seem pretty boring..

I had thoughts of selling it and waiting two years to snag a green 2008 in the 60's..

I had thoughts of selling it and buying a yellow 06 coupe with black stripes that has a paxton already equipped for 60's..

I even had thoughts of going back to my old gen 2 rt10 or perhaps trying out an GTS....Because next to the beautiful 06 coupes and 2008 verts with they're stripes or the 08 coupes...Well a red 2003 with 470 rwhp is pretty boring right????

I talked to a very good friend who is an enthusiast who owns

-C6Z06
-2 supras
-NSX

And his advice was to keep the 2003 and put a paxton on it...IS HE NUTS..I thought???? Those new 2008 verts with they're hoods and stripes or the 2006 or 2008 coupes look 10 times better than my common red 2003 SRT10....

So I told my wife that I was gonna sell it......

But like I said I havent seen the Viper (or any other Viper) in two months..It's been at a Dodge dealership pretty far away..Well I decided to go check up on it..Iget theyre and I dont see my car anywhere..I go get assistance and a pretty young women walks me around a few buildings to a parking area...

I turn the corner and Got Dayum.........

These SRT10 verts are beautiful..I have to really analize it to see whats differrant than the 2008 pics Ive been looking at. I come to the conclusion that the hood on the 2008 looks a little more agressive but DAYUM the hood on the one sitting in front of me looks pretty awesome as well..Other than that it looks like the same cars Ive been drooling over on the internet for two months...

Then I remind my self of the coupes more agressive rear end and how bad I want that look....And I start to walk away realizing that Im still gonna sell it...Then it hits me....Dude..The top can go down..It's a vert and you live in hawaii...You think that dosent have it's own merit as well???? ( Ive only put the top down 3 times) and I tend to forget it can do that..

I paced around the car for a solid half hour contemplating my decision...I decided to add factory correct black stripes as well as paint the rear difusser black and have the rims painted black as well..( I already have all the black outs on the lights/lenses)

And then a paxton....

So like I was saying I turned the corner expecting to see a common red 2003 Viper, that was nonthing compared to an 06 coupe or 2008's...

Instead what I saw was a work of art that looks so beautiful that they didnt really need to change a thing....And my friends was right..I guess when you see the car parked in the drive way day after day it looses it's luster. But man when I turnd that corner I realized how lucky I really am

 

[viperflex]

Nice Twister! Have they fixed your motor yet? Whats up?

 

[WANTED]

GREAT STORY

I owned a red 2003 , the first srt. I loved the color and the
car. When I took delivery it was a time I will never forget,
owning one of the first GEN III Dodge Viper SRT 10.
It's a great car and one to be proud of.

THANKS FOR THE STORY IT BROUGHT BACK NICE MEMORIES
FOR ME.

Tom

 

[dave6666]

RrRRrrRRRRrrRRRRrrRRRRrrRRrrRRRRrrrrred is best

 

[Sleekride]

Great story!

 

[TRAMP 13]

I also have a red srt 10,same thing here.Thought about selling but the extra hp and new hood is not enough to get me to by a new one ,this one is paided for.I also like the way it looks next to other cars and people ask all the question about it.Their might be more little upgrades but I think I will stick with the 03.

 

[Twister]

Nice Twister! Have they fixed your motor yet? Whats up?

It ended up being a broken roller rocker. ( I have after market ARROWRACING roller rockers that were installed by dodge)

At first the dealership told me that I was gonna have to go back to the stock roller rockers and ordered the stockers. But upon further inspection the viper tech said that I have a competition coupe cam and the stock roller rockers wont work with it. So they had to order the arrow racing roller rockers and thats what Im currently waiting on..

Competition coupe cam hugh???? Im still trying to investigate that further and talk to the viper tech but he's pretty busy..

Dose is make any sense that the stock roller rockers wouldnt work with a competition coupe cam??? Im really not understanding were they're coming from on that one..Arrow roller rockers only work with the comp cam????????

The car was an early 2003 Arrow rebuild so maybe they snuck in the cam as an extra????

Anyways..If it's true and I do have the competition cam then...

-KN filters
-arrow roller rockers
-competition coupe cam................................. Dynoing only 459 rwhp SAE before my exhaust mods is pretty dissapointing...

Sorry to take a wild turn on the thread but if anyone understands the comp cam and arrow roller rocker thing please let me know

 

[Kenneth Krieger]

Great story.....I have an 05 Commemorative Edition with a Paxton S/C.....and it's got ALL you'd ever want on the street....and it's paid for! I recommend the Paxton, it will truly wake the car up beyond your expectations.

 

[Twister]

I just went and watched Alvin in the chip munks..Great movie...And guess what.
A red SRT10 vert gets more screen time than a yellow Saleen as well as many other sweet rides..

The red SRT10 vert had atleaste 5 appearances in the movie. I could never tell if it was a gen 3 or gen 4 though...

My 6 year old son siad allowed during the movie.."daddy your car"..

PRICELESS

 

[PDCjonny]

It's funny. Red always get's knocked for being just "plain jane" red here on the forum, but in real life the Viper red is stunning. When it's cleaned up and waxed, it more than holds it own against any color. I have a red with black stripes and a B/W and without question the RED is the car that gets the most stares and points from onlookers. I never would have believed it, I think the B/W is stunning, but red wins in the general public "shock n awe" factor. Guess that's why they made red every year? (Except '96). But here it seems that it's always called the least desirable color.

 

[VPR RACR]

It's funny. Red always get's knocked for being just "plain jane" red here on the forum, but in real life the Viper red is stunning. When it's cleaned up and waxed, it more than holds it own against any color. I have a red with black stripes and a B/W and without question the RED is the car that gets the most stares and points from onlookers. I never would have believed it, I think the B/W is stunning, but red wins in the general public "shock n awe" factor. Guess that's why they made red every year? (Except '96). But here it seems that it's always called the least desirable color.

In the Ferrari world, red is the desirable color usually commanding a higher price than any other color. The red color on the Viper doesnt "pop" in pictures unless the lighting is correct. When you think sports car, red is the most common color.

 

[Nine Ball]

Just put some high dollar wheels on it and lower it. It will look 100x better than anything with factory wheels, and give it a new personality.

 

[viper spray]

Just call Arrow , your car is not the first Arrow rebuild to have major issues. My money is on them not getting back to you......

 

[dragon rider]

Great story. I think most viper owners with the exception except GTS owners (The classic)think of trying something new. I want rims big $$$ lowered$$$ removable hard top$$$ to fill the GTS void ect. ect. ect. When I talk to friends and family with other great cars like GTO's Mustang, and Vettes they tink that I'm crazy. They remind me that I still have the baddest looking car on the streets. Other than Lambo and Ferrari Nothing turns more heads.

 

[redlineviper]

I am not speaking from experiance with my srt just knowledge of some other engines. There are some cams that have too much lift for certain rockers, perhaps this is your case. When it comes to horse power numbers, I have heard that the factory heads do not flow much better with a bigger cam unless ported. I think I have seen the cams advertised with a 3-5hp gain. Anyone driving a viper regardless of year is doing well and should feel lucky.