I have always been a fan of the first gen Vipers and I may have an opportunity to pick up a '94 for a very good price. The car is low mileage and spent it's life under a cover in a garage, I don't think it has ever even seen rain.

Anything in particular I should look out for? Any maintenance issues for I should be aware of?

If I get the car I will drive it a heck of a lot more and harder than the original owner did, so if there is anything anyone thinks I should be aware of let me know.

-Tim

 

Over heating and the paper head gaskets. Both can be addressed with updated parts, but most gen 1's had issues with these. Be prepared to fix these if they haven't been taken care of.

 

Heat! The trans tunnel puts out a lot of heat in those early cars. I had a Blue 96 and had to get rid of it because it was just to dam hot inside.

Vince

 

Is the overheating issue something that happens when just sitting or are there larger problems with air/coolant flow?

I have read about the head gasket issue but there seems to be contradictory information about when Dodge started using better gaskets. Anyone know of anything definitive?

I also read a few things about the side pipes warping the floor boards. It seems to be discussed but none of the posts ever seem to be personal experiences or including any specific information about the how, what, and why of it happening.

Thanks
Tim

 

Tim,

I'll be honest, I've never paid all that much attention to the gen 1 details as I've never had all that much interest in them.

With that said... as I understand it, the head gaskets were an issue for most of the gen 1 cars. Although, even though they were problematic, not all the cars had issues, and I would think that most would have failed or been replaced by now if they were going to fail. But, it's something to be aware of.

The overheating is an issue on the road, and sometimes just sitting. Vipers in general tend to run pretty hot, but the early cars were even worse. If I were to buy one of those cars, I'd plan on installing a cooler thermostat, a HD radiator, and update to the newer style fan... but that's just me.

The side pipes/sills get hot. If the sills are still insulated, I wouldn't think there would be any issues with warpage, although I've seen some paint discolored... Ripping the factory cats out is a must IMO, that will DRASTICALLY drop the temps. If you need cats, go with high flow units, the sills will still be much cooler. Be advised the side pipes can get pretty loud w/o cats...

Do lots of reading over on VCA and VA, everything has been covered 100x over by now... Ask questions over there if you cant find answers.

If the price is right on the car, and you dont mind doing a little work, jump on it. Otherwise, you might be better off buying a gen 2 or later car.

 

See response below.

On the cars being hot (ambient, not the motor), I agree 100% with No Name. I drove my car back 21 hours from Daytona and although the cab did get hot, it wasn't unbearable. I had the cats removed shortly after I've had the car and the temperature change is nothing short of drastic. The side sills aren't hot to the touch after driving the car (although they are 'warm'), the interior of the car isn't hot etc. 10x better. My shifter shaft does get a little warm if I drive the car for awhile, but I have to push the shift-boot down to feel that, the tunnel doesn't get noticeably hot to me. I've never ever had any problems with warping, I'd assume that could have happened from someone taking the sills off, putting high flow cats etc. or doing something in the side sills and forgot to put the insulation back in and everything just got hot.

Since mine is a gen II I don't know too much about the head gasket and cooling issues. My car does get hot at a light if its 95-100* outside, I do plan on getting a spal fan to replace the stocker. I've had a lot of experience with remedying hot car issues, my last car ran very hot due to the ProCharger blocking the fan. After a 2 core radiator, random fan upgrades, nothing helped as much as the fans did. I'm confident a high flow spal fan would be sufficient.

Gen II cars are getting much cheaper, and despite the similar looks to a Gen I they are completely different underneath. Unless the Gen I is under $23k, I'd look for a Gen II car.

 

Good advice here. If the head gaskets haven't been swapped out on the car I'd pass, it's just a matter of time. I believe it's about a $2k fix, maybe more. Any Dodge dealership should be able to pull the records for you with the vin. Look for a Gen 2 as they have better motor and suspension.

 

Have you driven this car yet? You really need to drive it to help make your decision. I recently drove 4 hours to buy my dream viper(99' GTS, black, cognac interior). But after a test drive, I was un-impressed and disappointed. I don't want to offend any viper owners, but it felt slower than my 02' Z06 (stock-to-stock), and it definitely didn't drive as nice. I think vipers are one of the coolest LOOKING cars's money can buy, but after one drive, I'm content with my 8yr. old corvette.

 

Prob due to the factory 3.07 gear. It's much taller than the gear on your Z06

 

First off, I've been a GM guy since high school, I've had 3 LS1 T/A's since graduating in 04, all at various power levels from 400RWHP to 800RWHP, so I'm not Viper biased. After I sold the last T/A I was looking for a SW C5 Z06, but I found my current car for a good price.

The 3.42's in a Z06 v. the 3.07's in the Viper is probably the biggest determining factor as far as seat of the pants feel. The cars do MPH really similar though, both trap around 118-119 bone stock. They are very comparable, however you have to remember, 96-02 GTS' didn't change as far as power output, so you are comparing a car developed for 2003 vs. one developed for 1996, not the fairest comparison, but you can always argue the V10 v. V8 point. End of the day, stock cars don't really matter, mod for mod the Viper will put out more power. Maxed out stock CI N/A Vipers make low 600's to the wheels, maxed out stock CI N/A C5 Z06's are lucky to make much over 500RWHP. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

 

I have owned a couple of C5 Z06 (NA and SC) as still have a couple of Vipers. As noted, the gearing is a lot taller in the Viper. The Viper also lacks the DD refinement of the C5/C6. They are hard to get in and out of, typically hot, and certainly lack the nannies. If fact, if you look at the factory performance, they compare fairly well, but they look, feel, and behave like two TOTALLY different cars.

If I had to use one of the two as a DD, the C5 is clearly the much better choice. If you're looking for something more exotic that will turn heads, give you goose-bumps every time you drive it, and think "F-yeah" every time you open he garage door... the GTS is your car.

 

think "F-yeah" every time you open he garage door... the GTS is your car.[/quote]
Lol, ..That's what I was thinking when i was shopping for one.

 

You can't really make buying a Viper a 'logical' decision, there will always be something that you could use to talk yourself out of it. No Name's 'F-yeah' reasoning is the most logic that you should put into it.

 

Friend of mine has a wicked low mile no stories Gen II ACR in dark blue with silver stripes. I really think it has less that 2,500 miles ! It's for sale.
Having owned one, Gen II is really the only way to go...
Oh, and there is no room in the footbox for big feet, and no dead pedal either.
PS pulley and ipump bracket are feeble.
Not a lot of room for a big fella.
Center console is prone to cracking, and is expensive.
Early gen2's had a recall on the PS rack mounting. Hope it was welded up by someone with skills.
Neat car and the GTS's are destined to be absolute classics.

 

I'm glad 'jjbravo' said it = No room for big feet, and no dead pedal. ..That annoyed the heck out of me that there was nowhere for my left foot to go when I wasn't shifting! I'm 5'10", 160lbs., and wear a 10.5 shoe. I felt like I was against the driver' window, roof, and there was no room for my (very average) feet. ..Did you get a test drive yet 'NJSPEEDER'? What did you think??