NJ Steves Pit Viper Revival

[njsteve]

Last day of coolant filling and rechecking. She only took half a cup today and was finally full. Started her up and took her for a drive. Ran steady at 175 to 180 (I think). When driving at operating temperature the needle sits on the left slash of the three middle hashmarks. Hard to actually tell the real running temperature since the gauge starts at 0 and goes to 250. In the middle of the gauge are three hash marks with a "190" under them. But if you cut 250 in half, it would presumable be 175 at the halfway point in the gauge? When I use the infra-red thermometer, the temps on the heater hoses, return lines, and radiator hoses range from 140 to 190. So, anyway, I'm done with the coolant refresh.

And you can see the infamous yellow zone on the gauge that Dodge decided to remove for 1994 so owner's couldn't complain of the cars running in the gauge's hot zone any more.

On to the brake fluid flush next. I used Castrol SRF back when I last changed it in 2,000 and it looks absolutely pristine in the master cylinder at the moment. Very expensive but it is the best stuff on the planet when it comes to highest temperature boiling point. Back when I used to race the car, everything else I tried would boil and lead to brake pedal fade and air in the system after a few laps. This stuff lasted the longest under the Florida track heat.

[njsteve]

Hand-polished the extra set of rims for the Viper today. I have a new set of tires coming in hopefully next week. Michelin is the only company still making the rear tires in the correct 17" size. $400 a tire! No one else makes them (other than Hoosier)

I figure it's time for new shoes since the newest set I have is 28 years old.

These are the original BFG R-1 racing tires from the first year they were introduced in Viper sizes. 275/40ZR17 and 335/35ZR17. We did the some of the first testing for BFG in the Viper sizes, with the SCCA Solo 1 and 2 racing we did back then.

Before and after. (Dogs for scale). And cat because he liked seeing his own reflection. That is the true test of a polishing job - if an apathetic cat will stop to look at himself.

[njsteve]

I bled the brakes over the weekend. All the 20 year-old Castrol SRF that came out was still crystal clear. Amazing stuff. It's DOT 4 with the highest dry/wet boiling point (594/518 degrees) you can find.

I remember back when we were racing and I tried various brake fluids, you had to bleed the brakes after every run because the fluid would boil and make the pedal spongy. After I switched to the SRF, you could go the whole day of racing and wouldn't have a problem til the end of the day.

[njsteve]

UPS delivered the new set of tires this morning. I just got back from picking the wheels and tires up after getting them mounted and balanced. The new Michelins Pilots barely took any weight to balance them. Around a half ounce per wheel.

[njsteve]

New spark plugs arrived from rockauto today. Got the Bosch 9656 double iridiums. They were $4.96 each with discount! Finally replacing the vintage Splitfires I installed way back in 1993. (Yeah, I know, the follies of youth).

[njsteve]

I got the passenger-side bank of plugs out. They actually look really nice for 8,000 miles and 27 years old, give or take a year. Burn pattern on the electrodes looks nice.

[olredalert]

Originally Posted by njsteve

Hand-polished the extra set of rims for the Viper today. I have a new set of tires coming in hopefully next week. Michelin is the only company still making the rear tires in the correct 17" size. $400 a tire! No one else makes them (other than Hoosier)

I figure it's time for new shoes since the newest set I have is 28 years old.

These are the original BFG R-1 racing tires from the first year they were introduced in Viper sizes. 275/40ZR17 and 335/35ZR17. We did the some of the first testing for BFG in the Viper sizes, with the SCCA Solo 1 and 2 racing we did back then.

Before and after. (Dogs for scale). And cat because he liked seeing his own reflection. That is the true test of a polishing job - if an apathetic cat will stop to look at himself.

----Looks just like our grey guy! He was a foodie and couldn't stay away from anything edible. He was a large sized version of yours and, sadly, has passed.We affectionatly referred to him as Fat Bastard!.....Bill S

[njsteve]

He actually thinks he is a dog but no one has the heart to tell him otherwise. He ignores our other two cats (who shun him anyway), and he spends all day lounging around with the two dogs. When they come in from doing their duty in the back yard, he sits right down next to them and demands the same dog treats that they get. He just aint right.

[njsteve]

Speak of the devil...

[njsteve]

Got all the plugs changed yesterday. It sure is fun trying to get your hands under/around the headers to reattach the spark plug terminals. I guess my hands got bigger with age.

Took her out for a spin today and she runs very crisply with the new plugs. Also rides really nicely on the new Michelins and my old polished rims. Very smooth and not as "hocky-puck on ice-ish" as the 28 year-old XGTZ's.

Today I also spent an hour pulling the sidepipe shields off because I heard the mufflers squeeking and the outlets moved when I went to jiggle them. Turns out that the large clamp holding the head pipe to the muffler had loosened since I last looked at them in 2000. The Borla XR-1 racing mufflers were installed when I put the headers on in 1999. Prior to that, I ran stock manifiolds with another set of XR-1s.

Back in the day I used the factory exhaust mount upgrade kit #4897970AA that was listed in the TSB from decades ago. My recept file shows I bought the kit in July, 1997 and it cost $26.97 at the time.

That kit was made available by Dodge because the 1992's and 1993's up to VIN #105 used two-piece exhaust manifolds and those crazy coil springs and shoulder washers & bolts to mount the exhaust directly to the frame. Gee what could be bad about that? Everybody likes to hear a V10 basso-profundo rumble with some high-pitched squeeky contralto to compliment it. Think about it: mounting an engine/trans to the chassis with rubber motor mounts and then solidly mounting the side pipes to the frame rails with spring-loaded brackets could only lead to loosening/breakage at the exhaust mounting points.

Just for trivia info, the 1993 cars prior to VIN #105 (this car is Vin #102, built in January 1993), were essentially continuations of the initial run of 1992s that were built up til the end of December, 1992. I had originally wanted a 1992 as a project car but the earliest that the New Mack assembly line could schedule the build on this car was in January which made it technically a 1993 model.

The early 1993's used the 1992 two-piece exhaust manifolds and the solid exhaust mounts with springs and bolts. After 1993 VIN #105 they went to the single piece manifolds with the flex pipe to attach the cat/muffler assembly and the upgraded/isolated hanger system.

The 1992's and early 1993's also had an external radio antenna, and a fully circular fuel filler hatch with a thumb cutout in the quarter panel instead of the filler cap.

The later 93's were updated with a windshield-mounted antenna and the new style fuel filler hatch lid with a thumb cutout in it and no indent in the quarter panel. From what I recall in conversations with the assembly line people, the fuel filler hatch/quarter panel and the windshield-mounted antenna were running changes on the line with no set VIN number start point. Other running changes included the moving of the battery box from underneath the trunk to the wheelwell, and the change in the number of air relief cutouts in the rear valance. These were things I found out during my tour at the Viper assembly plant when I watched my car getting built in Jan, 1993.