Dodge Viper GTS will be gifted to the previous owner’s widow and children.
The world is an ugly place right now, but the story of this blue-and-white Dodge Viper GTS helps to restore some of our hope for the human race. This is the story of a selfless act at a time when there aren’t many feel-good stories on social media. It comes to us from the RottingClassics Instagram channel and it is truly a remarkable story of kindness from the automotive world, centered around the legendary Dodge Viper.
Viper Instagram Post
This story surfaced on the internet when the RottingClassics Instagram channel posted the picture above of a dust-covered Gen II Dodge Viper GTS. It is in the familiar Viper Blue with white stripes and it appears to be wearing a set of aftermarket wheels. Honestly, if you came across this picture on Instagram, the odds are good that the fact that it is so dirty would be what caught your eye, but then you would read the amazing story behind this Viper GTS.
“So, this guy (Sheldon) purchased this All Original, 14K-Mile, Dodge Viper for $20K. Sheldon then found out that the car was originally purchased by the previous-owners husband after he returned from Iraq, but was unfortunately later killed by a drunk driver. She wanted to keep the car for her kids to inherit, but lost her job due to COVID and was forced to sell it to survive. The new owner plans to detail it, tune it, get it ceramic coated, and then GIFT THE CAR BACK TO THIS FAMILY! This story truly restored my faith in humanity.”
The picture above is the only one included with the post, but really, this isn’t about the car as much as it is the gesture being made by Sheldon Bell.
An Incredible Act
The story of this Dodge Viper GTS is incredible, thanks to the fact that Bell can afford to spend that money on a car and then give it away. Figure that a good detail job and ceramic coating is going to set him back $3,000, if not more. The tune up will likely cost a grand or more, so with the $20,000 purchase price, the man in possession of the car right now could be into it for around $25,000. Even with that in mind, he is going to gift if back to the widow and children of the American soldier who was killed by a drunk driver. Many of us couldn’t afford to make such a move financially, but Bell does and he is doing something truly special for this family.
While the kids in this story will grow up without their dad, they will get to eventually enjoy the Dodge Viper that their dad surely loved prior to his death.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
