The new Grassroots

We'll try a few more now that someone has unlocked the secret code. Stuart in mn I still can't figure out how you could see that link was to the whole album. Even when I have the individual picture open (which is where I got the original link) I don't see a URL that resembles what you posted that worked.

Here's a front view of the Viper and the S2000 sitting side by side. The S tapers to more of a point than the Viper does which gives it a daintier aspect. Actual measurements show only a couple of inches difference at the flat spot on the wheel arches.

Here's a side view of all 3 showing you relative lengths.

Here's a view from the front seat of the viper out over the hood. That yellow band you see just above the windshield actually looks a little broader in person. I shot this pic by holding the camera inside at what i thought was head height, unfortunately I was a little low. This is what makes the car feel big in it's first impression as you "feel" the mass of the hood in front of you.

Here's a view from the S2000 where I am actually sitting in the seat. Notice the hood drops off so that you don't feel the mass in front of you.

Now if anyone is interested the Shelby is up for sale to make room for the Viper. He'll give someone a smokin' deal to move it quickly. You can email or pm me for details but it's a price/condition/features you won't be disappointed in. It's lighter and has a few more hp than the Viper.

Here's a pic with my kids driving it

Now that I can add pics it's hard not to. I've added a new pic on the very first post.

Hmmm, I had to check the local listings after reading this and I was a bit disapointed. The cheapest cars were still in the mid thirties, and they were early 90's models with normal mileage. Cars like the one your friend bought were priced more in the 40-50K dollar range. He either got a smoking deal or the sellers around here are overly optimistic.

Seriously, if I could get an early Viper (not wrecked) in the "teens" I strongly suspect there would already be one in my garage.

stuart in mn wrote: J.G. alluded to the high cost of repairs on exotics -

I think he was talking about the emotional cost....

WilD wrote: Seriously, if I could get an early Viper (not wrecked) in the "teens" I strongly suspect there would already be one in my garage.

Try this one

http://www.autoextra.com/vehicledetail/adid-90746214/do-basic

This one's not teens, but it certainly caught my eye

http://www.autoextra.com/vehicledetail/adid-89662528/do-basic

Beautiful car, and a nice buy for the money!

I've driven a few Vipers, even on track, and a couple of things pop to mind. 1st, very quick in a straight line, 2nd, a shifter like a '60's American pickup, and 3rd, heat, heat, and yet more heat. Even with the AC on it let tons of heat into the cockpit, and that was both generations. That V10 puts out a ton of heat.

It was all worth it though to turn new rubber into rubber dust in a few simple laps!

Um, huh??

A viper with low miles for less than a corvette?????

Is that because people can't drive them?

I worked on Vipers during my short residency in DFW a few years back. Right at the inception of the Competition Coupe.

I don't consider them "grassroots" in the price dept. Anything I need a loan to purchase doesn't count...but that's MY opinion, and I won't discount that of the others here.

The cars are really neat. The early cars...I just loved them. They are basically a factory-built racecar. Very unrefined, and thinly disguised as a street car. I LOVE it! You sit at an angle because the seats are placed far inboard but the pedals are pushed outboard due to the girth of the engine/transmission.

When it comes to working on them...they're very friendly. I replaced a head, at the track, in just a few hours. And that was the first Time I'd turned a wrench on one. They were very reliable, in general. Parts, even used, ARE very expensive. I worked for Bobby Archer Motorsports, and I was always amazed at how much he sold used body parts for.

The Comp. Coupe was neat. I was charged with disassembling a new one for paint. This very much IS a factory-built race car, coplete with cage, harness, seats, fire system, etc.

Clem

carguy123 wrote: Try this one http://www.autoextra.com/vehicledetail/adid-90746214/do-basic This one's not teens, but it certainly caught my eye http://www.autoextra.com/vehicledetail/adid-89662528/do-basic

The prices always seem lower on the west coast. Its probably a good thing they are so far away or else that GTS would be too tempting. I doubt there are many Viper daily drivers in MI, but I'd totally do it. Well, at least untill the snow starts falling.

We all have a different threash hold of "grass roots". I happen to believe any car that you can drive home and not pick up with a trailor is not grassroots.

I dream of the day when my level of grassroots is elevated to the $60K level.....

Anyway, nice ride.

Dear Mr. Suddard,

Thank you for the excellent magazine and some great online articles for the times between the paper issues. The forums on the website however are not my favorite. I would like to recommend they be more closely monitored, if not moderated.

They seem to have attracted an unusually high ratio of very passionate, articulate, yet seriously misguided readers.

To wit, a forum user posted an article about low priced supercars becoming affordable. Vipers, Corvettes and Porsches selling for what the poster considered Grassroots Prices. Why this was posted is unfathomable, perhaps to cause other members to drive unpractical cars rather than the Corollas and Civics they should, or incite trouble between readers and their wives,

Most rationale people, even those whom have no qualm with supercars would realize that noone in their right mind would drive one of these cars in the real world, this is simple undefendable lunacy.

Instead, a number of your forum users have quite vehemently defended these actions as acceptable, though one poster has suggested the need to service longshoreman to pay the insane upkeep these so-called grassroots cars demand .

Personally, I found the article to be a disgusting example of poor judgment. Posting it here to ruffle others feathers suggests a desire for attention.

Your magazines have earned a great reputation for their high content:fluff ratio the website and forums should support. I strongly recommend establishing better boundaries for the use of the forums. Please do not be afraid to restrict or even disallow the use of the forums by those whom either cannot or will not behave themselves. A right to an opinion does not equal permission to pollute your forums with it.

43 minutes. Who wins the pool?

Wally wrote: Dear Mr. Suddard, Thank you for the excellent magazine and some great online articles for the times between the paper issues. The forums on the website however are not my favorite. I would like to recommend they be more closely monitored, if not moderated. They seem to have attracted an unusually high ratio of very passionate, articulate, yet seriously misguided readers. To wit, a forum user posted an article about low priced supercars becoming affordable. Vipers, Corvettes and Porsches selling for what the poster considered Grassroots Prices. Why this was posted is unfathomable, perhaps to cause other members to drive unpractical cars rather than the Corollas and Civics they should, or incite trouble between readers and their wives, Most rationale people, even those whom have no qualm with supercars would realize that noone in their right mind would drive one of these cars in the real world, this is simple undefendable lunacy. Instead, a number of your forum users have quite vehemently defended these actions as acceptable, though one poster has suggested the need to service longshoreman to pay the insane upkeep these so-called grassroots cars demand . Personally, I found the article to be a disgusting example of poor judgment. Posting it here to ruffle others feathers suggests a desire for attention. Your magazines have earned a great reputation for their high content:fluff ratio the website and forums should support. I strongly recommend establishing better boundaries for the use of the forums. Please do not be afraid to restrict or even disallow the use of the forums by those whom either cannot or will not behave themselves. A right to an opinion does not equal permission to pollute your forums with it.

YGBSM - but I agree it is ludicrous that anyone would desire anything except a Miata as a grassroots car...

Longshoremen need love also

Tim Baxter wrote: 43 minutes. Who wins the pool?

OK, I'll bite, what are you talking about?