[njsteve]

Got all the plugs changed yesterday. It sure is fun trying to get your hands under/around the headers to reattach the spark plug terminals. I guess my hands got bigger with age.

Took her out for a spin today and she runs very crisply with the new plugs. Also rides really nicely on the new Michelins and my old polished rims. Very smooth and not as "hocky-puck on ice-ish" as the 28 year-old XGTZ's.

Today I also spent an hour pulling the sidepipe shields off because I heard the mufflers squeeking and the outlets moved when I went to jiggle them. Turns out that the large clamp holding the head pipe to the muffler had loosened since I last looked at them in 2000. The Borla XR-1 racing mufflers were installed when I put the headers on in 1999. Prior to that, I ran stock manifiolds with another set of XR-1s.

Back in the day I used the factory exhaust mount upgrade kit #4897970AA that was listed in the TSB from decades ago. My recept file shows I bought the kit in July, 1997 and it cost $26.97 at the time.

That kit was made available by Dodge because the 1992's and 1993's up to VIN #105 used two-piece exhaust manifolds and those crazy coil springs and shoulder washers & bolts to mount the exhaust directly to the frame. Gee what could be bad about that? Everybody likes to hear a V10 basso-profundo rumble with some high-pitched squeeky contralto to compliment it. Think about it: mounting an engine/trans to the chassis with rubber motor mounts and then solidly mounting the side pipes to the frame rails with spring-loaded brackets could only lead to loosening/breakage at the exhaust mounting points.

Just for trivia info, the 1993 cars prior to VIN #105 (this car is Vin #102, built in January 1993), were essentially continuations of the initial run of 1992s that were built up til the end of December, 1992. I had originally wanted a 1992 as a project car but the earliest that the New Mack assembly line could schedule the build on this car was in January which made it technically a 1993 model.

The early 1993's used the 1992 two-piece exhaust manifolds and the solid exhaust mounts with springs and bolts. After 1993 VIN #105 they went to the single piece manifolds with the flex pipe to attach the cat/muffler assembly and the upgraded/isolated hanger system.

The 1992's and early 1993's also had an external radio antenna, and a fully circular fuel filler hatch with a thumb cutout in the quarter panel instead of the filler cap.

The later 93's were updated with a windshield-mounted antenna and the new style fuel filler hatch lid with a thumb cutout in it and no indent in the quarter panel. From what I recall in conversations with the assembly line people, the fuel filler hatch/quarter panel and the windshield-mounted antenna were running changes on the line with no set VIN number start point. Other running changes included the moving of the battery box from underneath the trunk to the wheelwell, and the change in the number of air relief cutouts in the rear valance. These were things I found out during my tour at the Viper assembly plant when I watched my car getting built in Jan, 1993.