You must have odd proportions or something, I'm 6' 175lbs, 10.5 shoe, plenty of room to feel comfortable, I didn't even notice the no dead pedal for a few weeks etc. I don't have the lowering kit on the seat and its not all the way back and I don't feel like the cab is closing in on me. The clutch and brake pedal are very close, but it makes for some relatively easy heel/toe shifting as the accelerator pedal is a little further away from the brake so you can actually use your heel and not the arch of your foot. Different perceptions I guess.

 

Having vettes, 911's, and vipers, I found it just took a little getting use to everything. The peddles on the 911's are shifted to the right, the vipers are shifted to the left. It just takes a little time getting use to the differences...

 

Yep, I was just gonna post it takes some getting used to. I have owned both the Gen I and Gen II and both have their own "character". They are not daily drivers by no means and not as "convenient" as my friends Corvette Z06's but you need to remember this is a race car you are driving and it wasn't built to take to the office wearing a suit each day. These cars were designed for the track but with all the street legal attachments, like lights and license plates... These cars take some getting used to and when you get the hang of it, you will understand why they are such great cars. About problems... The Gen I had some head gasket issues in the early revs, but most of those have all been fixed that are out in circulation now. I don't know if my Gen I had them replaced and I didn't care. I drive stuff HARD and if it breaks, I pull over and call a tow truck. I never had any problems with my Gen I other than replacing the clutch master / slave cylinder. I also replaced the clutch master / slave cylinder in my Gen II as well. Other than that, I drive them hard and almost try to break something but they just keep on going eating up the other cars on the streets. Buy it if the price is right and own most of the cars that try to challenge you at a stop light.

 

Love my Gen1. Make sure you know for sure whether the headgaskets were updated. I had Chuck Tator AKA Viper Wizard do mine after I bought it just as a precaution. You would be looking at over $2000 for the updated gaskets and labor. Once in a while it would be nice to have power windows, but I wanted a Gen 1 over a Gen 2 and Gen 3 because it is the orig. Viper and it is such a raw car. Oh.... and make sure it has AC because many early cars did not have it and these cars get hot as hell. I knew this ahead of time and made sure I bought a GEN1 with AC. Also, check the sidesills because they are aluminum and are known to corrode in some places.

 

The Gen 1's are lots of fun as a weekend car. They are more like a kit car so think of them more lika an old AC Cobra. The composite head gaskets were an issue, more so if you did not change the coolant every two years. Still lots out there with the old gaskets, but best to trade out to the MLS type.

The engines can be modified extensively without any issues, some changes need to be made to the cooling system to keep the temps down and vents in the side sills will get rid of the cabin heat.

Easy to work on and priced great. If you really like Gen 1 models and do not mind spending a little more, I know of 2 that are perfect and have over 30k in mods.

 

Chuck Tator is great, great guy...

 

I'm on my second GTS and love the Gen 2. For the good deals you can find on the GEN 2's they are just all around better cars than the Gen 1's...better motors, power window's, and the list goes on...
If you don't plan on doing any major mods and your getting it under 20k then maybe go for it the Gen 1 but you'll eventually want the bigger wheels, Naca duct and vents in the hood, power side mirrors and like I said the list goes on...

 

my gen 2 with twin turbos runs cool..Big radioator and huge fan fixes all warm problems

 

I would never buy a Viper!!

 

I had a 2007 GTS and there are significant differences over the GEN1 in not only performance, but fit and finish. I too looked at both and after driving each there was no other choice but the Gen2