Hennessey Viper
Discussion
Just noticed this brute on autotrader:
http://www.sonicsportscars.co.uk/vehicles/show/45
Is this stupidly cheap at 30k or am I simply missing something obvious.
I mustn't do it but it's one of those moments which make me tempted to
everything, borrow up to the eyeballs and do something very very stupid
http://www.sonicsportscars.co.uk/vehicles/show/45
Is this stupidly cheap at 30k or am I simply missing something obvious.
I mustn't do it but it's one of those moments which make me tempted to
everything, borrow up to the eyeballs and do something very very stupid
what the heck is a 'hennessey venron' ??? 
with a Transmission: Manuel
wouldnt say its cheap at all, at £30 it will be for sale for a while...
its supposed to have 600 bhp, but in them days hennessey had a nasty knack of charging the money but not installing all the parts, so you'd need a dyno run to actually see what your buying
the prodigy car, was yellow but with blue stripes
you need to see the tan interior its quite dreadful, and will put most off buying
with a Transmission: Manuel
wouldnt say its cheap at all, at £30 it will be for sale for a while...
its supposed to have 600 bhp, but in them days hennessey had a nasty knack of charging the money but not installing all the parts, so you'd need a dyno run to actually see what your buying
the prodigy car, was yellow but with blue stripes
you need to see the tan interior its quite dreadful, and will put most off buying
Edited by Viper on Tuesday 4th September 21:12
no not scornful at all just trying to put the hard facts down on the table, so you know what your looking at.
it may well have the full 600 horses, but it needs checking.
This venom isnt worth anymore than a stock viper, most new owners not knowing what the are getting into like any other brand will look for stock, over a modded a car
if your buying the beer its only right i bring my own glass
check the PH classifieds there are x2 £5K cheaper
it may well have the full 600 horses, but it needs checking.
This venom isnt worth anymore than a stock viper, most new owners not knowing what the are getting into like any other brand will look for stock, over a modded a car
if your buying the beer its only right i bring my own glass
check the PH classifieds there are x2 £5K cheaper
Edited by Viper on Tuesday 4th September 22:08
If im right , thats the same dealer thats selling 'the fastest truck in the world' apparently a lamborghini viper truck no less!!!!!! what are these guys on , they cant spell , dont seem to know their cars but clearly have loadsa money to play with!
Dont agree with all the Hennessey stuff here , im sure our friends in the US have heard a lot of forum stories , of which some are most likely true , but im certain its no different to the UK where sadly a respected tuner gets one car go wrong and the next day their name is mud and the whole forum community is suddenly anti that company , often without hearing anything of the 000's of satisfied clients that simply pay for their work and go quietly on with their lives! generally its only the compainants that shout the loudest!!!
i for one can speak for good business and relations with Hennessey , we have a Hennessey RAM SRT-10 on the water at present and due to arrive very soon, they were very very helpful with all aspects of information on the truck , maybe a little slow with a few spares i wanted but overall they served me very well , reacted to constant customer questioning with prompt response and tho i have yet to drive the vehicl myself im advised by my agents that this is one hell of a truck in all aspects and the Hennessey conversion gives every bit what was expected!
i will have a dyno run to back this up shortly
Dont agree with all the Hennessey stuff here , im sure our friends in the US have heard a lot of forum stories , of which some are most likely true , but im certain its no different to the UK where sadly a respected tuner gets one car go wrong and the next day their name is mud and the whole forum community is suddenly anti that company , often without hearing anything of the 000's of satisfied clients that simply pay for their work and go quietly on with their lives! generally its only the compainants that shout the loudest!!!
i for one can speak for good business and relations with Hennessey , we have a Hennessey RAM SRT-10 on the water at present and due to arrive very soon, they were very very helpful with all aspects of information on the truck , maybe a little slow with a few spares i wanted but overall they served me very well , reacted to constant customer questioning with prompt response and tho i have yet to drive the vehicl myself im advised by my agents that this is one hell of a truck in all aspects and the Hennessey conversion gives every bit what was expected!
i will have a dyno run to back this up shortly
Dont think its one bad car from one tuner he had the local police involved on more than one ocassion, for such acts as taking bits off peoples cars and selling then, charging for a 600 Venom and not doing any work.
But having said that he has built some stonking cars.
FYI the original owner didn't like sidepipes so he had it converted to rear exit using the standard Viper bits, so thats some of the 'H' parts gone and from memory it was a Venom 500 from a stock 400hp Gen 1.
Looking forward to the numbers for your Ram bet it will be fun to drive, I have met two owners so far with Roush ones and they are very quick with 700-800.
But having said that he has built some stonking cars.
FYI the original owner didn't like sidepipes so he had it converted to rear exit using the standard Viper bits, so thats some of the 'H' parts gone and from memory it was a Venom 500 from a stock 400hp Gen 1.
Looking forward to the numbers for your Ram bet it will be fun to drive, I have met two owners so far with Roush ones and they are very quick with 700-800.
Edited by viper paul on Wednesday 5th September 15:11
Thats fair enough , i was not aware of such serious infringements , only speaking of recent dealings to be fair!
why is it , people with a talent for doing so many good things and being able to generate good income off the back of it have to resort to such tactics!
i could tell you many a story of a very similar UK tuner , very high profile in their day and a genius with certain cars building without doubt some of the best street cars in the UK and race winning cars to boot, but had the same problem , robbing peter to pay paul , sadly peter was often the retail customer which was entirely wrong!
on the RAM im not expecting it to be mental , although im sure even the standard ones are fun , this one has what you might call the basic upgrade , so its lowered , throttle body , ECU , headers , exhaust , Air intake etc. all through Hennessey so although most likely not their own products in all cases just a nice touch to have the name behind it regardless of their history , im expecting high 500s but still reckon it to be a great drive !
im having the US boys roller it and will do the same over here , so i can compare like for like and also the type of dyno used , fed up getting one figure here and one figure there so thought ill get one of each and cover all bases!!
why is it , people with a talent for doing so many good things and being able to generate good income off the back of it have to resort to such tactics!
i could tell you many a story of a very similar UK tuner , very high profile in their day and a genius with certain cars building without doubt some of the best street cars in the UK and race winning cars to boot, but had the same problem , robbing peter to pay paul , sadly peter was often the retail customer which was entirely wrong!
on the RAM im not expecting it to be mental , although im sure even the standard ones are fun , this one has what you might call the basic upgrade , so its lowered , throttle body , ECU , headers , exhaust , Air intake etc. all through Hennessey so although most likely not their own products in all cases just a nice touch to have the name behind it regardless of their history , im expecting high 500s but still reckon it to be a great drive !
im having the US boys roller it and will do the same over here , so i can compare like for like and also the type of dyno used , fed up getting one figure here and one figure there so thought ill get one of each and cover all bases!!
blindswelledrat said:
Very interesting- why is that
a quick search on goggle will through up lots of info:According to a lawsuit filed in Salt Lake City, Utah resident Taig Stewart sent his Viper GTS to Hennessey last May for an engine upgrade to 1100 hp along with several other modifications. For that he wire-transferred $142,500 to Hennessey. The lawsuit states the parties agreed the car would be done by mid-July 2001. As of press time the car was still sitting under a tarp in Hennessey’s shop in Houston. Or most of the car, anyway. Stewart’s suit claims Hennessey sold the car’s engine, transmission, wheels, tires and hood. The suit seeks return of the money, the Viper and “no less than $1 million” in punitive damages.
Hennessey claims he’s just slow in getting the work done.
“My side of the story is we’re planning on finishing his car and planning on giving him everything that he paid for,” said Hennessey. As for the parts being sold, “That’s totally false. We’ve got all his parts in the shop except the hood and he wanted to do a lightweight hood.”
Stewart is not the first unsatisfied customer. The longer we dug the more dissatisfaction we found. Here’s a sampling:
On Nov. 14 a New Jersey court entered a final judgement of $133,674 against Hennessey on behalf of Viper owner Gary Dan for a botched conversion.
William Walters said he is out over $22,000 after shipping his Corvette to Hennessey for a head and cam package that was never done; he did have five rods bent and a head gasket damaged on the dyno in Hennessey’s shop during an experiment Hennessey tried with nitrous oxide.
Jerry Johnson said he had to file suit in Placer County Court in California to straighten out registration and engine computer problems on a Viper he bought from Hennessey. n Jon Belinkie said he loves the changes made to his Viper but had to sue in his home state of Maryland, then register the judgement in Texas, to recover overcharges Hennessey made on his American Express card.
Rick Ryan said he had to hound Hennessey for eight months by long distance from Marietta, Georgia, to put the proper wing and stripes on his Viper.
Mark Lublin said he sent his Viper cylinder heads to Hennessey for new valves but when the heads came back he found the “new” valves were actually used; a cam that was delivered to Lublin in a Hennessey box turned out to be a stock Chrysler cam. Lublin was finally refunded $5,715 from American Express but only after nine months of disputing the charge; and he got no money from Hennessey.
Bruce Iannatuono said he ordered $8,500 worth of Hennessey parts for his mechanic in Baltimore to install but was only able to use two-thirds of what was shipped, and then only after haranguing Hennessey for six months on an order that was originally promised in five weeks.
Most of the complaints come from outside Texas. Hennessey, some said, tends to take better care of local customers.
“If you were out of state, man you were fair game,” said Kyle Kent, a former employee at Hennessey Motorsports. When an out-of-state car came in it was sometimes parted out, with the wheels, tires and whatever else looked good going to other cars waiting to be finished or sold outright, according to Kent and others inside Hennessey Motorsports. Then Hennessey would call the car’s owner and try to sell him an upgraded kit. If the customer balked, Hennessey would take parts from other cars in the shop, or just let the job sit.
Kent described one typical disassembly on an out-of-state Viper. “The motor and transmission went into a Durango John was putting together, the brakes went to someone else, the hood went to a guy in Ohio, the rear bumper to South Carolina, man you name it. We had multiple cars like that.”
Another common practice was putting stock parts on what was supposed to be an upgraded car.
“One customer spent $130,000 to $140,000 and that guy thought he had purchased a Venom 650R package which he thought came with the stroker motor,” Kent said. “John told him he was getting a stroker. He was just getting heads and cams.”
Hennessey denies any wrongdoing.
Serious stuff , but also very old news its seems!
not suggesting a leopard changes its spots of course but again i can only make of my own dealings , thus far they have been most satisfactory and i would imagine i was more than 'fair game' not being in the same country let alone state!!
ill reserve 100% judgement till the vehicle is in hand and i can personally confirm the standard of work , but my colleagues in the US are enthusing about the vehicle so far and that is good enough for me at this point!
not suggesting a leopard changes its spots of course but again i can only make of my own dealings , thus far they have been most satisfactory and i would imagine i was more than 'fair game' not being in the same country let alone state!!
ill reserve 100% judgement till the vehicle is in hand and i can personally confirm the standard of work , but my colleagues in the US are enthusing about the vehicle so far and that is good enough for me at this point!
Edited by jwr on Thursday 6th September 10:54
Doh, wish i'd done some research - My 94 Hennessy Viper 550 arrives in southampton today, I'm picking it up Monday 17th. Car is a two owner, originally registered in TX, I bought it cos it was 'different' oh by the way it's also got Roe supercharger and a whole host of goodies done by the second owner about a year ago. Obviously wasn't fast enough for him !!!!
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