Maryland man takes chance on cheapest $8K Dodge Viper on the planet and finds rare part that makes it all worth it

This Maryland man took a chance on the world’s cheapest Dodge Viper, which only cost him $8k, and it turned out to have a rare part that made it worthwhile.

Lee Carter, the host of the YouTube channel ScrapLife Garage, had gotten his hands on a super cheap Viper.

And its low price was understandable, as the car was a ruin.

But among the wreckage, Lee found something that made taking it worth it.

EXPLORE SBX CARS – Supercar auctions starting soon powered by Supercar Blondie 

What sort of condition was this Dodge Viper in?

To say that this car was in a bad state would be an understatement.

We’re no stranger to seeing vehicles that look a little worse for wear – like this Toyota Supra or this Hellcat Durango with a celebrity owner.

But sometimes, part of the fun with these mangled cars is seeing them get restored to their former glory.

In this case, the car was being salvaged in hopes that its parts could be of use elsewhere.

Because let’s face it, you’d have to the patience of a saint to get this Viper back into running order.

“I bought this thing for $8,000, and it looks like $8,” Lee admitted.

Pulling out the smashed out pieces of the car was likened to ‘dumpster diving’, which isn’t a totally inaccurate comparison.

“If this was a common mass produced car, I think I’d throw this in the trash,” he commented.

But with only 32,000 Vipers being produced over a 26-year period, Lee knew this was worth hanging onto for the time being.

The rare part that made it all worthwhile

Most of the stuff in the car was trash, for want of a better word.

Various parts had been placed into garbage bags already, leaving Lee and his pal to sort through it.

It was slim pickings for anything cool.

But when it came to wheels, Lee realized he’d made a good choice spending eight grand on this Dodge.

“My original thought was I was going to turn them into a chandelier,” he explained.

A little bit out of left field, but we salute the creativity.

“But then Fernando came up with what I think might be a better idea.

“We sent them out, had new lips and barrels done, and stick them on the yellow Viper,” Lee continued.

So there you have it, a little bit of treasure among the trash.

In fairness, they estimate they recovered around $3,000 in usable parts from the car overall, which is a solid result.

To see the Viper for yourself, head over to ScrapLife Garage’s YouTube channel.

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie