NJ Steves Pit Viper Revival

[njsteve]

(The first portion of this thread is located in the Member's Rides section. It's here if anyone is interested in the first half of the story: https://www.yenko.net/forum/showthread.php?t=83108 )


I pulled the cover off my own garage find today and decided to do an oil change. The last one was 9 years and 194 miles ago. After a brief battery charge she started right up. The oil that came out looked and smelled fine, of course. All ten quarts. And I was reminded how the wonderful oil filter set up was designed to apply liquid rust proofing right onto the passenger side frame rail so it can run all the way down both ends of the frame rail, avoiding all sorts of strategically placed drip pans, rags, and cardboard.

She has all of 8,143 miles on her now. The boy and I then took the old car out to the local cruise night and frightened the locals. Even though I got there at 3:00 PM, a guy already grabbed my favorite parking spot with his 2017 ZL1 Camaro that he just bought.

I forgot how stupid fast this car was. Jeez. It is a menace to society. If this doesn't get the boy in the mood to start learning how to drive a manual transmission, nothing will. He was too busy snapchatting photos of the car to his friends, to be watching how I was shifting. Maybe I have to snapchat videos of my shifting technique to him. That should get his attention.

[njsteve]

I got the oil analysis results from the 9 year old oil (only has 191 miles on it). Looks like that old adage about having to change your oil every year before you store it, is something of an old wive's tale. Since there is no moisture, corrosion, fuel or coolant present in this sample after almost a decade in a non-climate controlled garage, and running it maybe once or twice a year.

Here's what nine year old oil looks like when analyzed:

[Crush]

That is interesting info.. thx for sharing.

[Burd]

Steve, I got something for you, I did the auto shows, I got a die cast at press in 1996, it’s blue w/ white stripes. Looks just like your Viper. It’s a Racing Champions die cast, hot wheels size, but it says Chrysler Financial on it, Not sold in stores. If you want it it yours. Looking to give it to a Viper guy. It comes with some kind matching badge too. Throw me the ship or buy me a beer lol. Leme know.

[muscle_collector]

ive got the reverse color combo of yours. Ive never been able to really decide I like it. it is so different than any other car I have. weird how I feel like im sitting sideways in the drivers seat. crazy power like driving on ice. but it sure does get the looks going down the road.

just realized I posted on this thread I meant to post on your current one.

[Burd]

Me too lol.

[njsteve]

Originally Posted by Burd

Steve, I got something for you, I did the auto shows, I got a die cast at press in 1996, it’s blue w/ white stripes. Looks just like your Viper. It’s a Racing Champions die cast, hot wheels size, but it says Chrysler Financial on it, Not sold in stores. If you want it it yours. Looking to give it to a Viper guy. It comes with some kind matching badge too. Throw me the ship or buy me a beer lol. Leme know.

I'll take it! I'll PM you.

[njsteve]

Trying to repost some of the original photos that fodobucket lost.

[njsteve]

No good deed goes unpunished!

I have been driving the old viper to the gym every morning for the past couple weeks (when the weather was good) just to use up the 24 gallons of two year old gas in the tank. I was down to half a tank after going 90 miles so far. (7 mpg?)

Last week my son finally decided to ask me to teach him how to drive a manual transmission. Since he has eyes on getting this vehicle one day he better know how to drive it. We took it around the neighborhood and he didn't do half bad. The funny thing about using this car to teach manual transmissionship (if that's a word?) is that it has soooo much torque, you can't really stall it out by letting the clutch up too abruptly. So he did reasonably well for the mile he drove it.

Then comes this morning when I was going to go and fill her up with 93 premium after siphoning out the old gas/Stabil mix. I went to push in the clutch and it felt very low and ineffective. And it wouldn't go in to gear with the car running.

So I did a little research and it is either one of two things: The clutch master cylinder on the firewall...or the throwout bearing slave cylinder in the bellhousing. One is a half hour job and the other is a 8 hour job.

I opened the master cylinder filler cap and it was empty of fluid inside. I added some and could see it took a while to fill so it must have gone somewhere. No puddles under car anywhere. I tried bleeding the system but it didn't get any better.

I ordered both parts from amazon and we will see in week which one it was. I'm doing the master cylinder first since it only took a few minutes to get it out of the car although I did have to grind down an old 5/8" open end wrench to make the tool to release the fluid coupling at the bellhousing.

I did perform an autopsy on the old clutch master cylinder and a lot of black liquid came out (versus the clear fluid that came out of the bellhousing bleeder screw.) So maybe it is just the master cylinder that pooped out. But you know how my luck goes.

Fingers crossed!

[njsteve]

The new clutch cylinder arrived yesterday from rockauto and I installed it today with a little help from the wife sitting in the driver's seat after she got home from work. YAY! That was the problem. So now I can return the throwout bearing slave assembly to amazon when it arrives.

And if you're wondering what that little plastic bottle zip-tied to the footwell-box near the clutch cylinder is, it's a homemade catch can for the power steering pump vent. Dodge in their infinite wisdom had a cap on top of the power steering pump that had a vented nipple pointing straight up. This made for interesting times when the car was driven in anger and the power steering fluid heated up, which then would geyser upwards and then onto the headers and left front brake assembly. So I just attached a length of fuel line and routed it to that catch can. Problem solved!