98intrigue's long overdue journal

98intrigue

It all started when I was a kid... I think it must have been the Viper TV show that got me hooked on the Viper. I remember being babysat by my grandma and watching the show. At the age of 15, I was able to visit the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant. I was in heaven! I remember being in the main lobby and they let me try to start a 1996 Viper GTS Indy Pace Car, but the battery was dead. I was a little upset, but my time would come again.




For my birthday or Christmas or for good grades, my mom would buy me a 1:18 scale Viper model. I remember in elementary school during the book fairs, I bought Viper posters. At 19, I started valeting cars. I worked for some very nice venues in Orlando, so I was able to drive my first Viper just a few weeks after I started.

When I first bought my townhome in 2010, I set up my Viper shelf in the garage.


I set this as my background at work for motivation back in January


I put my posters up in March as more motivation


Still, the pondering question was how do I get rid of my Z? The motor still ticked. The Walbro fuel pump, Z Speed heavy duty CSC, aftermarket Flexalite fans, and aluminum radiator hose were still installed. I would have had to pay A LOT to get it back to 100%. I looked at used Vipers, but it only depressed me because I would need to be able to trade in my Z on the Viper.

Easter Sunday: I find a great deal on a 2006 SRT-10 Coupe. I call Monday morning to only find out it was sold. Darn Not like I could have gotten it anyways. I get a call from the dealership Tuesday letting me know they are just waiting on financing to go through and would call me if anything happened. Wednesday morning, I get a call... "The financing fell through!" I spent the day stressing out, trying to figure out how to get some money ready, how to get the Z out of my hands, etc. By Friday, April 13, 2012... I drove down 2.5 hours and picked up my new Viper. My dream car was a reality.



Goodbye Z, hello Viper!




When I bought the car, I knew it sounded louder than stock. Due to the strong smell of gas, I knew it had cat deletes, but still maintained the OEM rear crossover piping. The 2nd day I had the car, I installed a new K&N intake. The first week, I ordered a set of Eiback lowering springs. Before they even shipped, I ordered a Vipair cup kit. It came with adjustable collars so I could adjust the ride height and custom spring rate Eibach springs. I went with a 400/600 spring rate setup. I had scheduled the kit to arrive so I could do the install and come to ZDayz.

During the install, we found out I have 3 blown shocks From the factory, all new shocks are $3400 There are very few used shocks available and even piecing them together on ebay will run me $1000. Oh yeah, we alos found out I have 3" Borla mufflers , but I still need to get rid of the crappy OEM crossover piping. This will help with the in-cabin temps, the drone, free up roghly 30 lbs, and get the pipes straight out the side for a bit meaner tone


We dropped it lowww (refer to the first Viper pic to see how high it was when I bought it).


I also Plastidipped 2 wheels to get an idea what I want to do with the wheels for now. I was not happy with the finish, so I ripped it off quickly.


On our way to Cars and Coffee on Saturday


And a shot I took at C&C


I was saving up for wheels, but regretfully will have to put that off so I can buy some KW V2 coilovers..most likely tomorrow. I also decided I will be doing a black/purple theme. I asked for a quote today on metallic purple calipers, color matched center console and Viper SRT-10 emblems, and 40th Anniversary powdercoated wheels I'm holding on to the Z a bit I guess?

__________________