Gen 1 with heads and cam

[Dicky]

Just got my viper (1994) back from Dan Cragin today, this is exactly how I wanted my viper to be. I had him replace all the gaskets on the engine before they failed. While he was there I might as well have him add some power, so he added heads, cam, 1.73 rockers, full exhaust (Belanger with custom mufflers), and tuned. The cam is 232/238 @.050 with 610 lift and is very easy to drive.

The car put down 488 RWHP and 500 RWTQ on a mainline dyno (not sure how it compares to the common dyno jet).

Here’s a list of everything I had done plus the dyno sheet.194BF8D4-704B-4845-A462-36A7DB20B96F.jpg2390D384-9076-421B-9BF9-785AACD0AEF0.jpgEEBE1F04-362E-4623-8207-E29C4EB07E2E.jpegE25C3DF0-6F5C-40BC-A742-E6156F1B60DC.jpg

[Old School]

Thanks for posting, it's good to see a real world build with real world results.

[GTS Dean]

488 cubic inches, 488.5 horsepower!

[Dicky]

488 cubic inches, 488.5 horsepower!

Haha, I didn’t even think about that.

[Martyb]

Great choice in having Dan work on the car! Mine has been spectacular since he built it nearly 2 years ago.

[SilveRT8]

Congrats on a great build !
Just did a similar build on my Black 1993 while restoring it to better than new condition with 13,800 miles and OE paint.
3.73 rear gears also adds some more punch while making 6th gear enjoyable on the freeway !

[Dicky]

Congrats on a great build !
Just did a similar build on my Black 1993 while restoring it to better than new condition with 13,800 miles and OE paint.
3.73 rear gears also adds some more punch while making 6th gear enjoyable on the freeway !

Thanks!

I been thinking about gears too, not sure if I should go 3.55 or the 3.73s. I’m sure either would feel great.

How’d your build turn out? The black looks really good!

[SilveRT8]

Hi Dicky,
For Gears on a Gen1, I feel 3.73 to be just right for the car, cruising at 80 mph at less than 2000 rpm, calculate 21% more rpm than what you have now. I would even consider 3.91 as I did on my Gen5 TA2. Gears are the best Bang for the buck on any Viper, speak to JonB at Partsrack about it ! If you change gearing, make sure to also get the ‘Yellow Box’ module to recalibrate the speedo. I also did the UD Pulley and belt.
My friend with the other Black ‘94 in the pic, always said he was fine with the OE 3.07, but after driving mine he made the switch to 3.73 and now enjoys the car so much more. He also did the lightweight Fidenza flyweheel and the engine now revs much quicker. I will also consider this mod if I decide to keep the car but I may sell it to make room for a ‘22 Clallenger WB Shaker on order.

[laney487]

Very Nice I knew someone out there was still tuning gen 1's! I'd like to mod mine a bit someday heck i need to see what its making stock.. I was thinking of doing the 1.7 rockers for sure next mod when i go in to change the old gaskets out as preventive measure since everyone assured me they wont last, speaking of how did your factory head gaskets look when he pulled them out were they compromised or fixing too in anyway?

[Dicky]

Very Nice I knew someone out there was still tuning gen 1's! I'd like to mod mine a bit someday heck i need to see what its making stock.. I was thinking of doing the 1.7 rockers for sure next mod when i go in to change the old gaskets out as preventive measure since everyone assured me they wont last, speaking of how did your factory head gaskets look when he pulled them out were they compromised or fixing too in anyway?

I think Dan is the only shop that tunes the gen 1’s. I never even thought to ask, so I have no idea. I started having a couple of leaks like the thermostat, a little oil. Once I saw that I figured I might as well do it all in one shot instead of chasing leaks, plus I wanted to make sure I didn’t wait too long on the head gaskets.

[Dicky]

[Sniper]

I had a Gen 1 full exhaust, light weight flywheel, and Roe Vec 1(I think) stock motor and on mustang dyno made 404 rwhp and 502 rwtq.

Nice car!
Can you post a flyby vid or some revs for our viewing/hearing pleasure?