Wrecked Viper

I never thought the time would come that I had to think twice about buying a Viper and still regret doing it. Well that time has come!

The warning signs were plain enough but I was blinded by love ;) The auction photos for this one were out of focus and shot from a distance with a camera that appeared to have been made in the 1920's. Even then I could tell that this one was a proper hound, I know from previous experience that 'soft focus' photos hide a multitude of sins. Despite this I bid on it and won.

I've never seen an AYK and especially a Viper that has been so well used. Vipers look great on display but are a big anti climax to actually use, they don't handle well, they're slow and noisy due to the friction in the chain drive. To get them to move at any sort of speed you need a reasonably torquey motor to overcome the drag in the transmission, this then highlights their other downside - the diff's are a bit fragile and need to be shimmed just right otherwise they'll self destruct in a haze of expensive plastic. It's as a result of all these idiosyncrasy's that they don't usually get a lot of use. This one is the exception to the rule. It appears to have been raced hard for a long time and then 'modified' by some halfwit after being retired from racing duties. Arrrghhh.

The original grp top decks have been replaced with home made scruffy looking aluminium sheet versions, which sort of fit where they touch in some areas. ALL of the screw holes in the chassis apart from 1 have been stripped, the front of the chassis is missing and what is there is in poor condition, the diff's gears are knackered, every brass bushing on the car has been worn from round into an oval, tyres are perished, bodged repairs, everything that is supposed to be straight is bent etc etc.......

This one is a close call, I'm still debating whether I will break this one up and salvage what few usable parts there are left on it to complete another Viper project vehicle I have or bite the bullet and start on the long path to restoring it.

It actually looks much better than it is in these photos, I can only put this down to a trick of the light.

If you have any AYK or Nichimo cars or parts in any condition that you would like to sell or trade please contact me.