NJ Steves Pit Viper Revival

[njsteve]

Got the radiator back in. It took about a month for the core to arrive so they could assemble it. Beautiful job they did. I installed it Sunday and used one of those new-fangled vacuum purge contraptions to refill the coolant. Amazing what technology can do! I kind of miss spending a week filling and refilling the coolant through a funnel into the heater hose inlet on the cowl with the car's nose one foot higher than the tail. Anyway, She's back on the road now and reading for drivin'

Of course I did have to wait for my son to get home from the gym so we could install the hood and start the car to check for leaks...I kind of forgot that I couldn't open the car doors to get in with the hood sitting on the roof, and covering the sides of the doors. (sitting on several car covers and a papa-san chair cushion for protection.)

[Too Many Projects]

Very nice job, it looks original. Then you covered it all up with the intake plenums..

The shop I used to work at had one of those evac tools and I used it there and HAD to have one. Mine is an Airlift that I've had for 6-7 years and only used a handful of times, but what a time, and frustration, saver.

[njsteve]

Yeah, I have never even had an air compressor. I'm an unfrozen caveman mechanic from the neolithic era. So I decided to go to Harbor Freight and get a small compressor to power up the purge contraption. Worked amazingly well although the coolant intake hose had a filter on the end that was too large to fit into an anti-freeze jug! DOH! So I dumped the four gallons that I had drained from the car, into a big bucket and clamped a vice grip on the end of the filter to weight it down to the bottom, and it worked out fine.

All that is left is getting the A/C system recharged. It was a little low anyway after 31 years.

[Too Many Projects]

And here I thought I was behind the times as a Neanderthal mechanic...LOL A mid size compressor was the first purchase when I had my previous shop built to park my Pete at home.

You were better off getting all the coolant in 1 container anyway. I did the jug by jug the first time and the system loses a little vacuum with each change and I was left with some coolant to add after a full run cycle.

[njsteve]

Took the old monster out for a cars and coffee and she ran great. No leaks or drips. It's hard to believe I've officially had this car for over half my lifetime now: 31 years! (Try to do that algebraic computation!)

It was well-received. There were three other early Vipers there, a red 1993, a green 1994, and a red, Gen 2 1996. I had to laugh when I was talking to the various owners and they all said how they always had a poster of the Gen 1 Viper on their walls when they were kids and wanted a real one when they grew up!

Boy do I feel old! The car feels old too but enjoys the exercise.