The Dodge Viper has always been a car with allure. A massive V10, little else, a fearsome reputation. It’s the stuff childhood dreams are made of, which explains why I always keep one eye on them. However, this one caught my eye more than most, a 2004 Dodge Viper with just 40,600 miles on the clock and a clean Carfax history that sold on Cars & Bids for $24,050.
Now, $24,050 seems weirdly cheap for a 2004 Viper, and down the copy of the ad, it quickly becomes apparent why this one sold for so little. As the auction listing states, “The seller states that this Viper has spun a rod bearing and requires an engine rebuild or replacement.” Ouch. Still, if you want to get this Viper back on the road, what sort of costs can you expect to rack up?
Well, a quick check of junkyard part listing site car-part.com reveals that a used replacement 8.3-liter Viper V10 runs in the neighborhood of $7,000. Of course, with any used engine, there are probably things you’ll want to attend to while it’s out of the car. New valve cover gaskets, a new oil pan gasket, a new rear main seal in case the old one is hardened from age, a new clutch and flywheel, and pilot bushing if you’re going to be separating the engine from the transmission anyway. Since the Viper’s rear main seal is sold as part of a rear crankshaft cover assembly, figure $1,000 worth of refresh parts right there, largely because a new Exedy clutch kit is shockingly cheap.
Then you’re going to need new fluids, new filters, replacements for any one-time-use fasteners, and possibly new engine mounts, so let’s call that $500 in miscellaneous stuff. Oh, and then there’s shipping of big parts and the purchase any new tools you’ll need, which can comfortably take this $8,500 bill up to $10,000 or so. Assuming you’re doing all the labor yourself, you’d likely be in this Viper for around $35,000.
If you aren’t doing all the labor yourself, expect that bill to get more expensive. For simply swapping the engine, the seller was quoted $4,500 plus the cost of a used engine, which would put that bill at around $11,500 without refreshing anything while you’re in there.
So, what sort of running Viper can you get for $35,000? Well, if you’re cool to kick it old-school and just want a cheap Viper, this first-generation Viper RT/10 sold on Cars & Bids earlier this year for $33,000. Sure, it might not be as quick as a 2004 model, but this Emerald Green 1995 example had just 30,800 miles on it at the time of its auction, and there’s just something cool about these first-generation cars.
On the other hand, these 2003 to 2006 convertibles typically command considerably more than $35,000 or so. This 2005 Viper sold on Bring A Trailer last month for $44,250, which is right about where it should be. Alright, it did only have 19,000 miles on the clock when it sold compared to the non-running car’s 40,600 miles, but it’s still on the lower end of the market for this generation.
At the end of the day, I’m conflicted. While it may be possible to buy and sort this non-running Viper for thousands less than a roughly comparable model, it’s a relatively big project that’s definitely a bit of a gamble. It definitely makes more sense as a base if you want to swap a different engine into a Viper, but big projects like this definitely work better for some people than others. For those who are okay with the value hit of a non-original engine and can do the work themselves, this particular Viper probably worked out to an alright deal, although I’m curious what you think.
Top graphic image: Cars & Bids
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Put in a Ford v12 out of a wrecked aston.
For all of you suggesting an engine swap with less cylinders, shame on you. You need to add cylinders. I’m thinking a nice V12 out of a later Rolls or BMW.
For a budget build I’m imagining a ring gapped, boost cam LM7 on E85 corn running 15lbs boost. The T56 would play along and Holley injection would run it all.
Please be Rob dahm that bought this. I’d love to see this thing screaming with either a 4 rotor or a cosworth v8
I can’t be the only one contemplating an Iron Duke swap.
That car was rode hard and put away wet. You’re going to find other problems when you start looking. On the other hand….LS swap that sucker for like $500 bucks and a case of PBR.
I think you’d have a car with a used engine. You already had a used engine. Rebuild it, know what you’ve got, or don’t bother.
I’d love to see someone take a non running Viper like this and do an EV conversion or turn it into an EV dragster, even if it was just to troll the best kind of people to troll.
I was wondering, for similar reasons, whether you could physically fit 5 Harley V-Twin engines in that big long engine bay – and what kind of bizarre machining would be needed to connect their respective crankshafts. Sure it would be expensive, impractical, and guaranteed to overheat. But a Harley-powered V10 Viper would be an excellent trollmobile.
Edit: To ensure you also annoy the Harley fans, all 5 engines should be 883 Evo’s.
That would net you right around 200hp. but would be so worth it. If you really want to piss of the HD guys, put V-Rod engines in it.
Needs a Rolls Royce V8 swap to counteract this.
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/500-ish-viper-v10-powered-rolls-royce/
I’m not a fan of Vipers, but it looks good in green in that one photo up there. I would have said blue based on the picture, but whatever you call it, it’s nice.
If I bought it, I’d V8 swap it. I’ve always thought that damned V10 sounded like a tractor. I’d swap in a Hemi, an LS, a Coyote, hell, even a Ford Windsor just to have it sound as good as it looked.
Blasphemy Ford V10’s are also an option: FORD VEGE DFBF VEGE Remanufactured Long Block Crate Engines | Summit Racing
Yup if you are pulling one truck engine you ought to put another truck engine back in and if you are pulling out 1 V8+2 you should put another V8+2 back in. So yeah checks all the boxes and would really annoy all the Mopar guys. I wonder if you could fit the Super Duty 6sp in the transmission tunnel w/o major cutting. A little clunky getting from L to 1st but still worth it. Definitely keep the stock length shifter for the Rat Fink look.
It’d be a great candidate for a 3.6 swap!
May need a JK Wrangler PCM to work though.
Do you hear that….? It’s the sound of V-tech kicking in! You can Cruise The World in the one and only K-Swap Viper.
I’d start with a harbor freight motor and work my way up. No reason to risk too much power in a car i’m unfamiliar with.
Robot Cantina has his next project! 212cc Predator in a Viper!
Rather than buy a junkyard engine of unknown providence and quality, send the damaged one out to one of the big Viper shops for a performance rebuild.
If I had to guess, that’s exactly what this buyer has done or will do.
Yeah, this is a job you let a professional take care of. You’ve already invested $25,000 and you don’t want to wind up putting it back on the market for a big loss after a few years of failed tinkering.
Honestly I was just waiting for your reply on this specific subject to say
“yep, that’s probably correct”
Same. Wondered if Thomas could just append it to the end of the article so I could have everything I really need to know in one place.
As long as you don’t send it to that thief, John Hennessey. F that guy.
Seriously. He is garbage.
Anyone with any sense has learned this lesson years ago.
Amazingly publications still give him fawning coverage, I don’t understand it at all.
That is why I make a point to make a comment like this on any blog post that may portray him positively.
He’s decent at PR and hands bloggers pre-written articles about cars with superpowers. In the past decade or so, there’s no time to research or fact check and it’s a piece that gets the boss off your back for a minute or two. I understand how the garbage gets spread. I don’t have to like the process or acquire a taste for the garbage.
Yeah, you buy a junkyard engine to get the Camry or old pickup back on the road, for this you have it rebuilt whether it is to stock power level, warmed up, or full on hot.
Visually, I love the first gen viper more than any of the later gens. So yeah, I’m on board with that green one. that is a right sexy car right there.
I still have a Bristol Fighter for sale(ish) . What? it has the same engine [block] sort of, and it is cheap for what it is. One day someone will buy it and take it so far away that shipping it back would be too expensive.
Were you the first owner? If you were, I’d love to hear your experience dealing with Tony Crook. I hear he was quite the character.
Sadly, I was not the first owner. I am not sure if Tony Crook would have sold me a car, apparently I was too Welsh. (I am not very Welsh, that would be my grandparents, but whatever). This one has a clear history, in that it is very clear that whoever bought it wished to remain anonymous.
Aren’t there only like 20 of those things? They look distinctly British to me, but I love the concept of extremely British cars using giant American engines. I actually love the Jensen Interceptors for that reason.
Somewhere around 17, very British in it’s understatement, park it outside a pub and nobody gives it a glance. The doors are a giveaway, but serve a function. At 200mph they stay shut. And quiet.
I am not sure how much of the engine is as it left America, 690 bhp on a rolling road a few years back, I am not sure if I have ever gone fast enough to use the ram air thing.
Very easy thing to drive, useful luggage space, easy to park and it has switches on the ceiling, and a very clever little window in the hatch.
All in all a rather good car,although fitting a baby seat is a bit of a faff, but doable.
The seller states that this Viper has spun a rod bearing and requires an engine rebuild or replacement.” Ouch. Still, if you want to get this Viper back on the road, what sort of costs can you expect to rack up?
So assuming the best case how much to just replace the bearing?
Username checks out.
Yes it does.
So how much to just replace the bearing?
Do your own labor, $50 in parts and sell it very soon after you’re done.
I’m sure you could smooth things out enough with emery cloth to quiet it through a test drive.
Seriously, though, don’t do this. You don’t want to be a John Hennessey because that man is human garbage.
“I’m sure you could smooth things out enough with emery cloth to quiet it through a test drive.”
Back in the day a buddy of mine tried that in a Datsun 510, THREE times in one long weekend (he could pull that engine in like an hour). I was called to pick him up when on the fourth test drive a connecting rod punched a hole in the block.
Assuming oversize bearings are available, you could have the crank resurfaced for a few hundred bucks. Plus labor, or DIY.
That engine will be rebuilt. Even if the new owner replaces it, someone will want that V10 and will rebuild it.
When you say “rebuild” are you talking full rebuild or just machining the problem journals?
Depends on the mileage, I guess. If it’s low, I’d just throw a crank kit at it. Maybe cam bearings.
Yeah, rebuilding seems like the obvious solution to me. It’s not a complicated engine, just a large one.
This is the exact type of project I love. Rebuilding motors is awesome.
Vipers are some of the last attainable poster cars out there. We shouldn’t talk about it too loudly though. In fact please stop talking about it at once.
Buy it, tow it to Harbor Freight, and perform a Predator swap right there in the parking lot!!! Film the whole process and post the content.
How many Predators would it take to match that V10’s output? Right now I’m picturing using about 30 of them arranged around a central crank in offset rows. Think of it as a redneck Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratt_%26_Whitney_R-4360_Wasp_Major
I wasn’t worried about matching the output so much as if it would at least attain freeway speeds and hold together long enough for Finnegan and Freiburger to road trip it home.
Hellcat Viper? I know that might be too difficult to get all the DNA to work.
Requires frame modification. The V10 is remarkably compact.
I figured the might be some size issues involved, both in width and height.
Oh it’s been done before. I’ve seen them pop up on blogs and YouTube.
Do it! You can use it as a build piece on how to replace a V10 engine and what to look out for!!
SWG needs to get in on this…
K-swap it, bruh.
Join two K-series motors together into a V8 and now you’re onto something 😉
I was going to say LS swap. Fast and — to Viper fans — sacrilegious.
You’re all wrong, because you’re ignoring the V10 identity.
The correct answer is: One I-5 from a late ’00s Golf, and one I-5 from a ’90s Acura Vigor. Presto!
One up front and one in the back. AWD! If only there was a recent article on here about how well that works…
Bonus points for figuring out how that works on a RWD car.
It probably involves using an old GM-Toronado Unitized Power Package transmission.
First, if I had the finances available, I would have purchased that Viper immediately. I have no idea where I’d park it or how I’d fix it, but damn it I want a Viper! I’ve wanted one since I was a child.
That being said, I’d still prefer a Viper coupe. Don’t care which generation – they’re all gorgeous. Ideally, I’d have a massive garage and own one of each generation, haha! (I’d also love to own a Ram SRT-10 Quad Cab)
Ooooh, first-gen green Viper hardtop? I almost take back all the bad things I’ve ever said about chrome and/or 3-spoke wheels. Sounds like the tires are ancient and due for a replacement, anyway.
I’m cool with the 3-spokes. Chroming them makes me irrationally angry.
Polished aluminum wheels are awesome. Check out the 2003 GMC Envoy 17″ factory wheels.
https://images.dealersync.com/2602/Photos/916796/20221212215720766_IMG_5930.jpg?_=ac2206a8bf71b5bf6b7c8edd2bed2bffe1dacad0
Ours still look fantastic after 22 years.