Don't be surprised if the Lamborghini kicks it in the nuts when you're not looking.
Don't be surprised if the Lamborghini kicks it in the nuts when you're not looking.
So I had ordered the "screamin demons" coils a while back, with some new "live wires" thinking I'd replace them. Turns out, the plugs don't match up.
So I call up Performance Distributors. They tell me they sell the same coil packs for all vipers. I asked why they would have people choose different options and gens on the website and got, "I'm not sure. But they're all the same." Looked online at some other people and sure enough, apparently these guys just put out a "one size fits all" and want people to rewire stuff. So, I sent them back because it's not worth hacking up the harness for something. I'll just go find some OEM coils and replace them, ew.
Apparently dodge uses those funky square 4 wire plugs on the early coils, which i've not seen before.
In reply to corsepervita :
Same plug used on their 4-wire oxygen sensors from that time period.
Stefan (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to corsepervita :
Same plug used on their 4-wire oxygen sensors from that time period.
Yeah I don't have the energy to put into rewiring and making an adapter, figuring the pinout, and all that stuff for something I originally thought was plug and play. I'll just go OEM.
Well, tonight after work I worked on these horrific scratches left during sometime during previous ownership.
needless to say, I have not lost my touch in wetsanding and cut/buff skills. It's been a while, but it's like riding a bicycle.
After wetsanding
After cut and buff.
Polish.
I have some more compound arriving this week and this weekend it's going into the garage to get a full day spa treatment, I mean paint correction. The Porsche took me a good 8 hours to do, but this car shouldn't take as long. So
I'll do more paint correction, buffing and polishing, and a full ceramic coat. It's gonna look so good.
Side note: Drive number 8 since the ECU reset and it is still starting great, running great, idling great. Happy as a clam.
Awesome work. The paint is so thin on these cars your doing a wonderful job.
Professor_Brap (Forum Supporter) said:Awesome work. The paint is so thin on these cars your doing a wonderful job.
Thank you Brap! It feels good. I'll post some pictures of the full paint correction I do on it this weekend.
I'm excited to shine it up, make it nice.
My mechanic buddy who transported it for me was looking at all the stuff I've done to it last night and said, "This isn't the same car I picked up for you and stored in my shop when we got it. You've really done this car right." So it feels good to take an old OG Viper and bring it back to where it needs to be slowly.
Once the paint stuff is out of the way, I have a urethane bushing set for the suspension and transmission I want to put in.
In reply to corsepervita :
They are a riot. Thankfully they are parts bin cars.
Alright guys.
I wasn't able to finish up all the stuff I wanted to last weekend.
So, I spent another 5 hours today going through a final polish with the compound that arrived and then did a full alcohol wipedown and ceramic coat.
The results I am so so so happy with.
For comparison, BEFORE:
(here's on the rear lid area near the window
and the top
After:
before:
After:
You can see that instead of the light spreading out all around the swirls, they're mostly gone now, and the ceramic coat makes that nice black deep look back into the paint.
Spot the previous owner scratches, I dare you :P
Wow, that looks great!
So... how does one get good at this type of work? My truck needs some similar attention, but I'm terrified of messing it up and making things worse. I've only ever used clay bar and hand application wax - no power tools.
In reply to collinskl1 :
What he said... My ex- was so good at doing this sort of thing while it definitely ranks among my least favorite tasks - although I do enjoy the results when it's finished. But I always used her tools and whatnot under her direction. Now I'm basically starting over from scratch. All of my cars are in desperate need of attention.
Paint correction thread! Paint correction thread! Paint correction thread!
My Mustang has been washed a LOT, under the right light it is covered in swirl marks. I'm sure they will polish out, but I also am scared to ruin it.
Viper looks great!
Piling on the grm paint correction thread requests!!
Its the last step of paint, body, and general details that i don't know or comprehend. Hell, i don't know what I don't know yet!
The viper looks berkeleying AMAZING.
Amazed at the transformation sir! The Ceramic coating is truly the bees knees. Scary stuff sanding on a super car.
Amazing indeed! Nice work!
collinskl1 said:Wow, that looks great!
So... how does one get good at this type of work? My truck needs some similar attention, but I'm terrified of messing it up and making things worse. I've only ever used clay bar and hand application wax - no power tools.
I started working at body shops when I was a kid. I did everything from prep to wetsanding, fixing clear, etc. But I never did it long enough to become a pro at it, and really ultimately realized that I was losing interest in cars doing car things as a profession.
My first times learning to do buffing were on an old fender panel I got from a u-pull it. Picked it up for $5, induced scratches, and taught myself how to take out scratches properly, buff properly with cutting compound, etc. I don't think I'd make the car I want to make perfect my first test mule, so it's a lot easier to just go get a fender off a random car from a pull it yard, or craigs list, even if it's beat up, long as it has clear on it still. Scratch it up with a brilo pad, scrape it with a fork. Then take your time in learning to wetsand, cut, polish.
I purchased a rotary buffer that I used this last time around and it makes work a whooooooooole lot easier. Prior to that I've either rented or borrowed them, but got tired of doing that.
Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to collinskl1 :
What he said... My ex- was so good at doing this sort of thing while it definitely ranks among my least favorite tasks - although I do enjoy the results when it's finished. But I always used her tools and whatnot under her direction. Now I'm basically starting over from scratch. All of my cars are in desperate need of attention.
I enjoy working on paint and doing body work because the before and after is generally so entirely night and day that it feels really nice and usually comes with a huge feeling of accomplishment. A good rotary buffer will make allllll the difference in how much time it takes.
akylekoz said:Paint correction thread! Paint correction thread! Paint correction thread!
My Mustang has been washed a LOT, under the right light it is covered in swirl marks. I'm sure they will polish out, but I also am scared to ruin it.
Viper looks great!
If the GRM desires it, I shall do so. I'm sure there are others on here who are way better at it than I am. I'm sure they'll chime in though.
If you are new to it and scared to ruin it, my best advice is: Go to a u-pull it, or go on craigslist, somewhere you can find a car that's parting out and get yourself a small fender for $5-15. As long as it has clear, and it looks like ass, great. Get yourself a rotary buffer, some good compound (compound makes all the difference), and a handful of pads. For about $100 in materials, you have a crappy fender to learn on, and all the materials to move onto your car when you're ready. When you get the panel where you aren't leaving buffer trails, it looks good, feels good, and you're happy with it, go scratch it up, do it again. You'll get to the point where you get the hang of it and can move onto your car with confidence. For extra challenge, make it a black fender :) IF you can learn to do black correctly, you can do ANYTHING.
Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) said:Piling on the grm paint correction thread requests!!
Its the last step of paint, body, and general details that i don't know or comprehend. Hell, i don't know what I don't know yet!
The viper looks berkeleying AMAZING.
It sounds like there's a large desire for it, I will make a thread.
Thank you to all for the kind compliments, I am super happy with how it turned out.
that before/after shot of the hood is unreal. you've seriously transformed it...or more accurately, saved it!
I like how you replaced all the engine sensors to make it run like new again. Prior to purchasing my car everything got replaced while looking for a shorted 02 sensor, it runs like a champ.
There are plenty of other cars in the fleet to practice on before burning the paint on the good car, good idea with a junk yard fender.
akylekoz said:I like how you replaced all the engine sensors to make it run like new again. Prior to purchasing my car everything got replaced while looking for a shorted 02 sensor, it runs like a champ.
There are plenty of other cars in the fleet to practice on before burning the paint on the good car, good idea with a junk yard fender.
Yeah the throttle bodies were gummed up, the sensors were old, it really needed love. The engine itself seems to be tippy top, shifts great, goes like hell, and now it runs fine. But since I had no idea where it was at with replacement of sensors, it made more sense to just do everything while I was down there and know it's good for a long time.
I spent some time with a pot of coffee and my pipe this morning and made this.
Hope this helps.
Incredible transformation!
That turned out really well.
On the topic of paint correction, it's really hard to screw up the paint if you're using a modern random orbiter buffer. I grabbed all my stuff from Adams polishes and did both the R and 996 last fall. They came out great. Next up will be the corrado and then the Cayenne...
Well, I got the new coils installed. If I never do coils on a first gen viper ever again, it'll be too soon.
Rundown on it:
- wipers, and all the plastics have to come off
- all the lines for them have to come out
- weather guard has to come off
- coolant pipes all need disconnected
- mounts for them have to come off the heads
- coolant pipes then need to be pulled back
- wiring needs disconnected to make room
- play tetris till old coils come out
- play tetris to get new coils in
- attempt to plug wires into coils while they're behind the heads with the room you have (which is not much)
I got the firing order on the ball the first go, and it runs really superb now. It felt like I was getting an intermittent miss on idle. Turns out, these were the original wires afterall, because they crumbled as I took them out.
Side note, got out for a photoshoot and a friend took some pictures for us on a nice day for a no contact shoot for me and a friend. Detailed the viper and cleaned it up.
I've always like 370s, but man does it look like a Geo compared to the Viper. Such a nice looking vehicle.
You'll need to log in to post.
