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Alright AI, going to give this whole thing a go and finally start a project thread for my 1971 Opel GT. Got a long history with this car and since I think you gearheads will dig it I'll start at the beginning. It's 1986 and my dad is in the Marine Corps. His commanding officer tells him he's setting a bad example for his men by riding a "drat unsafe motorcycle" on base. Dad's solution? Purchase a tiny rear end German sports car and start driving that. The 'for sale' sign I found in the car from then lists it as a "good running classic" with an asking price of 2k. Less than a month later he passes away in a training accident. The car becomes sedentary in the garage where a 7 year old me falls in love with it. The car literally sets the bar for what I consider cool in an automobile at this formative age. All cars growing up are measured against this early lust. Some how at this point it is decided by my mom and eventual step-dad that the car shall be mine some day, and expenses will not be spared to keep it in wait till I can drive. After a move from CA to VA the car is still entirely garage bound. Around 1990/91 the Opel leaves the garage for the first time in years, to be parked on the road to make room for a garage sale. That very day it is plowed into while parked on the street. Left rear is gone, and the car should have been considered totaled. Yet not to deprive me of my dad's legacy the decision is made to transfer the car to a family farm in PA, where it can continue to wait for me. Fast forward to 2011. Life has never offered me the opportunity to retrieve the GT, and I've long since given up on ever seeing her again. I happen to be in PA visiting family when I make a half-hearted inquiry as to the fate of my old love. I was shocked to find out that the poor thing had been dug out of the collapsed shed it had spent the last 20 years in, and was now residing in my Grandma's barn:  Oh that doesn't look like a lost cause at all...  ffffuuuuuuuu...... Yep, sentimentality still has 'mental' in it. Que me spending more to ship the poor thing half way across the country than it would cost to buy a good running one. Simply because it's MY Opel GT damnit. (( Oh yes, this story has gone further, much much further. But for now we'll stop here.)) (edit: fixed images) Five-Ton Lady fucked around with this message at 05:37 on Aug 20, 2015 |
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Aug 20, 2015 05:20
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((First off sorry about that image snafu, I swear it worked in preview. Shouldn't happen again. Also a much needed disclaimer: If you are hoping to see a museum class restoration, or hell even things done 'right' wrong thread. If you want to see a chick commit automotive necromancy because racecar, right thread.)) So the car is home, I wipe it down and begin the triage. It isn't pretty, Entropy has had 20 years of PA weather to bend this car over with, and that was on top of a the abuse it got before that. But still after all that, there's a solid seeming shell of a car with all her glass, most of her parts, and all my lust. She goes through several phases of shedding rust, dust, and rodent nests.   That's right folks, rust, nature's weight reduction. Did I mention this car weighed maybe 2000lbs when new? A few months after getting the car home I've already ordered some sheet metal  But lack of experience and utter terror of removing anything salvageable from the car stays my hand for nearly 3 years. Then this happens:  The bondo in that corner was well over a quarter inch thick. Seems this poor car had already been hit and survived one of 'those' repairs in the 70's/early 80's. So knowing I really can't do much worse a lot of slicing, hammering, and booger welding later we get this:  Up close it's bad, but hey it holds tail lights and isn't falling off any time soon. Around this point I finally am able to transfer the title to my name. Working on a car you have no idea if you'll ever legally own, not my idea of fun. Finally laying claim to the car you've been waiting two and a half decades for, priceless. 
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Aug 20, 2015 14:52
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((Kinda wanting to get to the good current stuff, as well as being surprised on how little actually got photographed through the early processes. I was wrenching dangit!)) Lets see, there was the thrilling adventure with rebuilding the POS Solex carb. Mostly just as a masochistic experiment to see if I could.  The butterflies were completely rusted shut, but I managed to force them open just enough to slip the discs out, hammer out the shafts, polish and untwist the shafts (made one look like a candycane twist), and despite all odds get the drat thing back together. Aside from an issue with the accelerator pump stumble at less than perfect running temp, that poor lump actually works as intended! The exhaust also suffered at the hands of Entropy pretty bad. While I'm all for a nice open exhaust note this thing was kind of removing all the oxygen from the cab:   And of course, the manifold had to get into the act with seized and snapped bolts:  Did I mention I'm still operating on no budget and every worry the car will crack in half and end this project? Because at this point I was. So the bodging continued:   Every little step however kept the car out of the junkyard, and a bit closer to actually running right.
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Aug 21, 2015 02:38
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KozmoNaut posted:The biggest issue is that there simply isn't that much room in the engine compartment. That hood bulge is absolutely necessary to fit the cam-in-head 1.9L, and it even has a special sloped valve cover to clear the hood in front. Fitting a DOHC engine is borderline impossible. Indeed there is very little room under the hood, and what room there is happens to be very specialized. Opel did use the running gear from the Kadett, but they took the engine off the front cross member and shifted it back and down. Technically the car is mid-engined, with the powerplant sitting entirely behind the front axle line. Half the engine sits between the driver and passenger's feet. It would be awesome to shoehorn something else in there, but even without the cost issues I really wanted to get to know this little beastie as she was built long before doing any transplants. So far the hunk of iron she was born with keeps turning!
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Aug 21, 2015 15:45
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IOwnCalculus posted:... From what I've heard making the Solex actually work properly is approaching Biturbo levels of madness. 
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Aug 21, 2015 15:53
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For the comments on size, yeah the GT is wonderfully tiny. I am completely in love with the form-factor of this car. GT's squeeze between cones like you wouldn't freaking believe!
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Aug 21, 2015 15:59
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BrokenKnucklez posted:Subscribed - Also - wheres the 5 ton? I miss seeing videos of doughnuts in the parking lot. 
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Aug 21, 2015 22:12
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CroatianAlzheimers posted:Nice. Can you carry the Opel around in the truck? I certainly want to, it's just the small matter of lifting the Opel up about five feet to the bed of the truck.
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Aug 21, 2015 22:19
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Heh, yeah you guys were calling me Opel Lady, but when I heard someone suggest Five Ton Lady in Doccer's thread I thought it more accurately represented my madness.  Engine swaps are certainly a consideration. I keep thinking a Hayabusa plant would be fun... Honestly though so long as the original keeps running I'm relatively happy with it. Fuel injection is high on the list of plans; as is a turbo to turn the low compression pistons into a bonus instead of a 20hp handicap. And heck I even know where I can get 2.4L later model Opel engines that supposedly drop in. For my current fetish however I already have as much power as I've been able to get traction for. More on that soon. One of the other hurdles getting the car on the road was the battery tray. GT's keep their batteries tucked way up in the nose, right over the belly pan that inevitably rusts out. Mine was no exception. There was already a sheet of plywood covering the hole and holding the battery before it spent two decades in a field. My solution was ugly, rushed, and thankfully perfectly functional.  I'd be more ashamed of the welds but given the space I had to work with I'm just glad it stuck. And yes that is a cookie sheet. Was at hand, and worked great. Picture is looking through the radiator mount, all that floor you can see left of the "battery tray" should be covered by bodywork. I consider it enhanced airflow. More recently I got really tired of the heater system blowing nothing but musty smells without airflow. Pretty sure what I would find I set out to remove the heater box. Which required removing the dash. I'm convinced the dash was never meant to be removed with the windshield in place, because they stuffed the screws all the way up at the junction of glass and dash at an axis pointed out the windshield. A phillips bit, two wobble socket extensions and black magic later I had all but one screw out. Dremel grinder on a flex shaft behind an irreplaceable sheet of glass? Why not. Dash finally removed I got the heater box out and found this:  You can take the car out of the woods, but getting the woods out of car, that takes work. I'd been finding nests like this from headlight buckets to tail lights. This mess in the heater was pretty much the last one to be cleaned out. I am happy to report that the vent system has actual airflow now and only vaguely smells of mouse turds.
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Aug 22, 2015 21:14
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Just about caught up with the present here, and with it finally up to what to me is "the good stuff". The primary goal for this car all along has been to bring it back from a dead pile of rust to at least a fun functioning car. Get it to a level where I could drive it, enjoy it, and in some way understand what inspired my dad to buy this car 29 years ago. Sure this project will likely never be 'complete' but it has reached a point where I'm fairly pleased. Maybe someday she'll get a full restoration, maybe someday I'll do an engine swap and make a true monster. Who knows. Right now though I have a fun, relatively trustworthy and solid if ugly car that is something completely different. Which puts me in a unique position of classic car ownership that lets me feel perfectly comfortable doing this...    
Five-Ton Lady fucked around with this message at 13:59 on Aug 24, 2015 |
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Aug 24, 2015 13:00
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Slow is Fast posted:If it still smells funny, grab a bottle of ozium... I will have to look into that, the Opel isn't the only car about with vent funk.
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Aug 24, 2015 16:03
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A few things were learned about the car at last month's rallycross. Apparently starters can seize at high ambient temperatures, 70's Opels lean like yachts, and cheap road tires do not grip. Solutions? Get push started down a hill to avoid missing a run, add the swaybar the car should have come with, and buy tires. Two of these three can be visualized: It's so shiny!  GT's have the frustrating need for very low offset wheels. Found these E21 (I think) wheels on CL and they even included a badass set of studded snow tires (that look a lot like AT's to me). Do they fit? Not really, but I have hammers and this is the sort of thing that totally turns me on...  Sunday will determine if these improvements work.
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Aug 25, 2015 12:38
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OpelGTSource owns more of my income than I like to think about, and they were indeed the source of the swaybar. For a car that only had about 100k produced it actually isn't all that bad to find parts for considering.
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Aug 26, 2015 01:12
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Don't worry, with that much corrosion the chassis will act as traction control when they lift and the rotational inertia makes the engine shear the mounts and fly through the hood.  Free float engine anyone? Apparently gravity is enough to keep my <80 raging horses under the hood.
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Aug 27, 2015 00:23
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Leperflesh posted:Guys this car weighs like twelve pounds. Cramming 300HP into it is only going to kill the OP. 
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Aug 27, 2015 00:31
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Seat Safety Switch posted:What's the bellhousing on the Opel GT like? Doable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK8AoXX1c_o
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Aug 27, 2015 12:24
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Did something small for the car yesterday, I reattached the bumper(ettes). Considering one of these was a replacement for the original that rusted to dust and the other was severely damaged as well I'm actually surprised how well they lined up: I'm not a fan yet of these things. They're tweaked, poorly secured and won't do a drat thing if I actually get bumped. They do however allow me to drop from Modified to Prepared class in Rallycross  Also bonus content. Growing up, lusting for my Opel there weren't exactly many around to idolize, so my fawnings jumped to the next thing available at the time; the first gen RX-7. I had not realized just how close the two were in size and form factor till I found one the other night:  Would flog either, but mine's got curves  (Also can you tell I'm new here and find the smiley collection both daunting and fascinating?)
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Aug 28, 2015 12:57
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Powershift posted:If anybody else has some cash laying around and recently had a tetanus shot, there's a clean title opel gt on copart right now. http://www.copart.com/us/Lot/30597825?searchId=297647277 Someone please save that car! It is in -waaaaaaay- better shape than mine and as such I can assure you it's worth it!
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Aug 31, 2015 12:25
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MonkeyNutZ posted:Oh hey, I totally didn't see this thread before, seeing a GT rallycrossed is the best thing. As someone already mentioned I'm swapping a DOHC all aluminum Suzuki engine into my GT (targeting 1,700lbs and 120hp, thread soon) which means I have a ton of spare parts I can't use! Eeeeeee! Yes please! Not sure if I can pony up for engine shipping at the moment, but carbs and manifold options.... *swoon* I would totally provide a good home for whatever you're willing to part with! Also good luck with the swap and looking forward to the thread!
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Aug 31, 2015 12:29
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Got the Opel out for her second long dusty day of rallying. Went with a uhaul trailer this time, which provided it's own share of nightmares. For reference guys, the uhaul car transport trailer is only -just- narrow enough to hold a GT. Get it lined up right, and have a spare pair of shorts if you realize how close you are to missing the ramps. Other than that worked great! Looking ready to me! They other guys there complained that the venue had very little traction. Too much gravel on a hard surface, very like rolling on marbles. I'd agree. They also said it was murder on tires and to run junk ones. My CL finds held up pretty good actually, and I am so glad I wasn't running on my road tires. Sadly I do not have any action shots as I was driving, but I do have one of her in grid ready to go:  It was a lovely day.
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Aug 31, 2015 12:45
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Sadly work has kept me too busy to make report-able progress, sorry about that guys. I did make a neat discovery yesterday though. Tearing out the central muffler on the car sounds... well amazing. Pretty sure either a bypass pipe for that piece or a side dump straight pipe will be happening very soon. Also I've just about had it with the Solex, so my schemes for a turbo ready FI setup are gaining traction. Oh, and meatballs: Also: http://www.ebay.com/itm/321869485989?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT (anyone want to help coordinate locally for me?  )
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Sep 20, 2015 16:35
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I'm quite sure that ebayer does not have a 1.1L. (Edit: oh hey look, more pictures. 1.9L confirmed) He does however appear to have a mostly straight car with the AC system that sells for more than my car is worth. Hence my lust. Speaking of that, here I am stuck out traveling for work and on a random drive to kill time I come across these beauties:  They're for sale no less. So very tempted to test my skills and see if I can't Roadkill one home.
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Sep 22, 2015 03:55
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If my big truck wasn't about 100 gallons of diesel away from me at the moment I would so totally haul one or both home 
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Sep 25, 2015 17:10
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MonkeyNutZ posted:There's a box headed your direction. WOOT!!
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Oct 7, 2015 02:24
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My work has had me travelling a lot lately, and the string of  rental cars has taken a toll on my tolerance of the mundane. This recently manifested with me ripping all but the long down pipe out of my Opel and delighting at the unfiltered cacophony. But dumping out of an unsupported orifice directly under the car is not nearly cool enough for my rustbucket! So I set about directing the sweet vapors and auditory delights out from beneath to where they could be properly shared with the world.This resulted in jury rigging hijinks due to the fact no one stocks 1 5/8" exhaust pipe, and I was trying to keep returning to stock an option. Old exercise equipment was harmed in the hunt for tubing; dredged up bits of the original rust that are still littering my garage; threw in a few too many exhaust clamps; added in one joking addition that was too awesome to ignore; and we ended up with this:   Sadly while this would have literally blown my skirt up some four cylinder singing in a tunnel less than a week later (and subsequent backfires) resulted in that design self-disassembling and meeting it's death beneath the wheels.  So now the exhaust leaves the down pipe, takes a quick 90 degree turn with suitable welds, and promptly meets open air having moved into some 1 3/4" pipe for about a foot. It's glorious, but not quite as tetanus-riskingly fun.
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Oct 7, 2015 02:52
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Took some work but I got the Weber from MonkeyNutz into the Opel. Now I understand why every account says to burn the Solex and go Weber. Wow. Thanks Monkey! Also swapped out the thermostat for a winter one. Still no heater, but at least the carb gets up to temperature. Which was good because the last Rallycross event for the year was last weekend, and it was hardly warm. Car ran great all day and much awesomeness was had.  The photographer on track got some awesome ones of the other cars as well, including the guy who rented a 2015 Camaro SS. That was fun to see in the dirt: http://shawngavlick.zenfolio.com/p714473741
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Nov 14, 2015 16:45
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Jonny Nox posted:Wow those helmets just made me realize that car is so small! Yep, tiny car. Though she did something I didn't think possible. I got all four dirt tires behind the front seats (one is hiding above the gas tank in the spare's spot)  Rest of my junk fit on the passenger side, including the full sized floor jack. Self contained rally car, just add dirt. Oh and the quality is embarrassing (old camera), but I've got this up now too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT9DHn4AY58
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Nov 15, 2015 23:27
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Egads, I'd feared this had been shut down. Okay so got kind of distracted from posting by life, and a relocation to the far side of the country. Sorry about that guys. Some highlights: M923 does a bang up job of moving stuff, even for civilians. When I set the Bridgeport on it (~2000lbs), it didn't even flinch. Covered in everything else I could get on it, including a M105 trailer loaded to the rafters and it made it 1400 miles without issue. Yeah sure it only went 30 mph up some of the hills, but it got us here! Opel is still in mothballs after having a lazy trailer trip out. Haven't gotten to much there yet, and without Rallycross being a known factor I don't know when I will. More in the works is possible rebuilding of some bikes, general area exploration, and shop setup. Maybe not post worthy, but hey not dead yet so who knows! oh yeah, and there's boats out here... dunno if that's automotive enough, but I'm certain there will be insanity...
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Jun 16, 2016 02:36
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kastein posted:Hopefully my truck will be roadworthy by the time we go to put up new fencing because I can't wait to tell the HD employees "just put it in the bed, it'll fit" and listen to them laugh and tell me I'm nuts before bringing the truck over. Tell me more please... because yes, yes I need that.
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Aug 24, 2016 23:19
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 22:56 |
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Thanks Kastein. I'm going to see about setting something like that up. Also I got bored and made something ... eh. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy18tZm6gu0
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Sep 1, 2016 02:49
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