NJ Steves Pit Viper Revival

[njsteve]

Since she is up on jackstands I am still "mission creeping". I was greasing all the ball joints and tie rod ends when I noticed that all the sway bar link rubber boots have turned to rubble. They were a clear poly material originally and have totally decomposed after 29 years. Don't even get me started on what a new set of sway bar links go for if you could even locate an NOS set of the unique 1992-95 links - try around $300 each!!! And no one makes replacements.

There is some Viper parts place out west that advertises a new set of boots for $200 !!! (The dreaded Viper tax) Seriously guys? You can just measure the flanges and then shop for replacement boots on the net.

Before I started measuring and searching someone recommended I give Tator's Garage a call http://www.tatorsdodge.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJwL...el=LewisboroTV

So I used some ball joint pullers and got the links off today. They were all in perfect shape other than the boots. I was able to make contact with Chuck Tator at Tator's Garage last night. (they were formerly known as Tator's Dodge, est in 1908 and they were the oldest Dodge dealer in the world, when Mopar decided to cancel their franchise during the bloodbath of 2008 when they killed off 1/3 of their dealership franchises because they were not multi-branded.) They were also one of the largest Viper dealers for Dodge back in the day.

I left a message for Chuck and he called me back at 8:30 this morning and said he was mailing out the new set of boots for $40 and needed my address. I then asked if he was ready for my credit card info. He replied: "I don't do credit cards - the bank takes too much money. I just send out the parts and an invoice and you can send me a check when they come in." He even encloses a stamped, self addressed return envelope.

Holy Cow! It's like I'm back in olden times.

[njsteve]

One day later, they arrived from Tator! :-)

$45.50 for the boot set including a stamped, self-addressed envelope for payment. I rounded up and sent him a check for $50 just for the helluvit.

Easy install, The small ring clips go on first and are easy to slid over the flange. You then grease up the joint and slip the seal over until the big flange goes over the collar in the link. Then you gently wrap the large spring clip around while holding the end in place. Takes some practice but by the 8th one I could do it in around 15 seconds.

[A12pilot]

Chuck is the man for the Viper parts. When I redid all the stuff on my 97 GTS he’s the one that supplied the most needed parts. Invaluable resource. How are your tires? Jon B is a good source for those. Every five years Michelin makes a run of the these tiny diameter rubber bands. Miss it, and you’re ten years away from a new set!

Cheers
Dave

[njsteve]

Tires! Yeah no-one really makes the 335/35x17 out there other than Michellin (and Hoosier?) once in while for this application.

When I replaced the throwout bearing earlier this year I sprung for a new set of Michellins from Jon B. The old gal drives real nice now.

The old XGTZs she was sitting on were "somewhat" unsafe at this point. I have several sets of zero-mile, assembly-line Michellin XGTZs that Team Viper gave me, that are 30 years old and would make for perfect restoration sets but otherwise could double as hockey pucks if Andre the Giant played hockey. No cracks in the rubber but they are fossilized plastic now.

The XGTZs were dangerous tires even when new as the rubber compound they developed for this application gave zero transition warning when it was about to lose grip at the edge of adhesion. And with the 50/50 weight distribution, the cars would instantly swap ends, repeatedly, until they hit something immoveable that would stop the spin. Lots of 1992 and 93 Vipers were wrecked due to the XGTZs when they were new. Dodge pretty much immmediately went to the Michellen Pilot series as a replacement after about a year or two for the Gen II cars with the updated (more drive-friendly) suspension (1995 to 2002). The Gen I cars had basically a race car suspension and took a lot of focus to drive safely.

[njsteve]

Here's the suspension details. The factory installed, fixed spring, Koni shocks were sent back to Koni in 1993 and they installed the adjustable spring perches for aftermarket Eibach springs.

I have been on the phone with Koni and Eibach this week trying to find the correct spanner wrench for adjusting the spring heights in case I ever want to mess with the settings. Back in the day I uses a 5/16" drill bit inserted into the adjuster hole in order to spin the spring perch. Not too easy with 500 lb rated springs. Neither company makes the wrenches so I had to search to find an old style round tip spanner for a 82mm perch. It should arrive tomorrow. All the modern perches now employ a square adjuster slot and use a flat, hook style wrench.

FYI, In 1996, the Gen 2 suspension replaced everything you see here with forged aluminum control arms, different shock/springs and a totally different articulation geometry that made the car much easier to keep in a straight line and much more forgiving to newbie owners. It was a night and day difference. They also added airbags, roll up windows, and actual door handles on the outside of the car. Simply preposterous, I tell you!

Too cushy for me though. I like the brutality of the belligerent, original, Go-Cartosaurus Rex.

[njsteve]

My early birthday present arrived!

An NOS Gen 1 Viper Steering Wheel still in the box. My original one has all sorts of scuffs, nicks, and scratches in the leather from 30 years of abuse. I'll retire the original one up into the storage closet for safe-keeping.