Blitzvision: Why I Need an Old Opel in My Life

[Blake Noble]

For some reason, I've been eying the old Opel GT lately. There's something about the thought of an uncommon vintage mini-Vette that just leaps out and grabs me. Of course, eyeballing gives way to Craigslisting the hell out of a 200 mile radius of your area and, as my luck would have it, I found a drivable example somewhere in Nashville.

Did you click the link? Okay, okay. I already know what you're thinking. Yeah, the impromptu camo paintjob was more than likely done by someone at some point in the little Opel's lifetime with a few too many rattle cans of paint, a few too many cans of Coors, but far fewer bright ideas. Yes, it has its share of dents and dings and minor surface rust. But I really do see something here.

I'd like to get it home, start sanding away the gallons of matte-finish Krylon primer and get it back to a better place of health. While I personally may have had mixed results trying to restore an older car in the past, I think that particular Opel GT could bear fruit. There isn't much to the car mechanically and the engine has fewer moving parts than Stephen Hawking. All of the exterior trim appears to be intact and it could just need some good old fashioned elbow grease to gleam again. While I didn't see any interior photos, I have a good reason to think that the seats may need reupholstering, and some new carpet may be in order. All in all, I don't think it's anything terrible for what you could bring it home for.

It would be great to have the car brought up to a far more digestible standard for a few years then, when the money and time is right, rip the tired 90 bhp 1.9 liter Opel four-pot, antiquated three-speed slushbox, and creaky suspension out and toss in a naturally aspirated 2.4 liter Ecotec and six-speed manual gearbox from a trashed Pontiac Solstice or Saturn Sky and fit a custom suspension. I think that could yield one of the best Pro Touring cars ever, double that if I decide to go mental and toss in the 2.0 liter turbo Ecotec instead.

In the wake of the departure of my Dodge Challenger, I've had a unspeakable yearning for something with charisma and class. Yes, the Opel GT is as far removed from a Challenger as you can get, but it still has that certain magic about it. I have to admit I'm in lust over this car, especially since it seems they're all sort of dirt cheap to buy when you find them.

The question is, will lust give way to love? While I don't think it's entirely certain I'll bring home that particular GT I linked to, I'm crossing my fingers I will have one in my possession hopefully before the year is out, if it really is love.

Edited April 30, 2012 by black-knight

[SAmadei]

"Homemade AC installed"... that sums up that CL ad.

I think you need to work on easier projects before attacking ANY Opel GT. Every Opel GT I ever saw had serious rust problems and parts are very hard to find... if at all. So they will be expensive and will still require work. Body patches will need to be made from scratch. Almost any project is going to require an engine rebuild, which isn't going to be cheap, unless you do it yourself and also have to knowledge to tell the machine shop EXACTLY what you need done. You didn't even want to redo the head gasket on the Firebird. And in the end, you will have a car that is worth a fraction of what the Firebird or Regal could have been worth. And if you metabilization starts to slow down and you gain a few pounds, you won't even be able to drive it.

Dream it, get it out of your system, then find a more reasonable project. I like Opel GTs, too... but Opel GTs needing restoration are cheap for a reason.

[ocnblu]

Thread title made me immediately think of Drew's Kapitan photos in the Car Spotter's thread. I'm somewhat relieved, but still a bit concerned. I mean, I don't think you're pudgy like the hapless, hopeful guy in the commercial (cracks me up when the dude at the end says OPIL), but you did tell us you're like 6'7" or something. HOW IS YOUR TALL ASS GONNA FIT IN DERE?

Edited April 30, 2012 by ocnblu

[Blake Noble]

You didn't even want to redo the head gasket on the Firebird.

The Firebird? That didn't need a head gasket, the Cherokee did. The Firebird needed frame repair when it was all said and done. (I know, I know. I've had a billion cars, etc., etc.)

Thread title made me immediately think of Drew's Kapitan photos in the Car Spotter's thread. I'm somewhat relieved, but still a bit concerned. I mean, I don't think you're pudgy like the hapless, hopeful guy in the commercial (cracks me up when the dude at the end says OPIL), but you did tell us you're like 6'7" or something. HOW IS YOUR TALL ASS GONNA FIT IN DERE?

I'm 6'1". I don't think I should have much trouble squeezing into the GT, but then again I've never tried squeezing into one before.

[Robert Hall]

Sounds like a money pit in the making..

[Blake Noble]

Sounds like a money pit in the making..

Welcome to the wide wonderful world of classic cars.

I think it could be worse. My father works with a guy who is a few grand too deep into a crimson red '65 Mustang. And before you think, "That doesn't sound all that bad", it's worth mentioning that only the front of the car was made in '65. The back half was built a year later.

Anyway, while the GT is something I'm seriously considering, buying one certainly won't happen overnight, if it in fact happens. The thought of a Pro Touring-style GT is what really gets me.

[ocnblu]

No harm. I think a lot of enthusiasts have projects in their minds all the time.

[GMTruckGuy74]

No harm. I think a lot of enthusiasts have projects in their minds all the time.

Amen to that!!

[G. David Felt]

Yup I have plenty of projects I would love to do but will never happen due o time, money and the sort.

Dreams is what keeps us going.

[SAmadei]

You didn't even want to redo the head gasket on the Firebird.

The Firebird? That didn't need a head gasket, the Cherokee did. The Firebird needed frame repair when it was all said and done. (I know, I know. I've had a billion cars, etc., etc.)

Oh, Jeez... right building, wrong floor... I meant the Camaro. The Camaro at one point was rumored to need a head gasket. I was thinking you had two Firebirds.

I think it could be worse. My father works with a guy who is a few grand too deep into a crimson red '65 Mustang. And before you think, "That doesn't sound all that bad", it's worth mentioning that only the front of the car was made in '65. The back half was built a year later.

Yeah, but if its reasonably shiny in the end, someone will plunk $20K into buying it. If he's a few grand out, that's the price of playing the game.

OTOH, I don't think an restored/modified Opel GT would sell for more than $10K. But you could easily find yourself 15K underwater or more getting it to that point. That's a high cost, especially when you're young and have less savings to spend in the first place.

No harm. I think a lot of enthusiasts have projects in their minds all the time.

Exactly, but they work out (sometimes incorrectly) the finances within a magnitude before getting too deep.

[daves87rs]

No harm. I think a lot of enthusiasts have projects in their minds all the time.

Agreed!

[Blake Noble]

Oh, Jeez... right building, wrong floor... I meant the Camaro. The Camaro at one point was rumored to need a head gasket. I was thinking you had two Firebirds.

Nope. The Camaro had transmission issues. The Cherokee was rumored to have a bad head gasket, which ultimately turned out to be a cracked head.

Yeah, but if its reasonably shiny in the end, someone will plunk $20K into buying it. If he's a few grand out, that's the price of playing the game.

If I remember correctly, he tried selling it with an asking price of around $10,000 large before, which could've recovered a decent amount of his investment. No one stepped forward with an offer anywhere close when he revealed the true nature of the car. Similar money can buy you a Mustang that's aged evenly, so its really a hard sell.

OTOH, I don't think an restored/modified Opel GT would sell for more than $10K. But you could easily find yourself 15K underwater or more getting it to that point. That's a high cost, especially when you're young and have less savings to spend in the first place.

If this concept becomes reality, none of this wouldn't be of any major concern.

Honestly, you can find yourself underwater working with any classic car if you aren't smart about how you spend your money and, most importantly, aren't patient. Right now, considering what I could swing on this particular project, it would mostly be a tarp queen for a few years with an extremely slow rate of progress. Whatever work that would be done to the GT during that time would be whatever I could do to it myself.

Once again, I haven't committed to anything yet. I still have to finish reconditioning what I can on the Dakota and move it out of my way. Then I'll be looking for a more sensible, later model daily driver once I understand what budget I'll be working with after it and a few other items are sold.

Edited May 1, 2012 by black-knight

[SAmadei]

Oh, Jeez... right building, wrong floor... I meant the Camaro. The Camaro at one point was rumored to need a head gasket. I was thinking you had two Firebirds.

Nope. The Camaro had transmission issues.

You fixed the clutch. Here's a step back in time...

Update: The clutch master cylinder was the root of my problem, but that's going to be the least of my worries.

In addition to a bad clutch master cylinder, Burford Chevrolet also found the following issues during one of their courtesy checks:

-Cooling issues*

-A bad tie rod end

-Oil pan leak**

*Apparantly, my Camaro was half way low on coolant. Jack Burford ran a $20 dollar pressure test and found out the lower intake gasket is going bad and they'd want $800 bucks to fix it.

**This is strange because I've haven't seen any significant oil leaks in my driveway.

If you follow this thread, you later had lots of water in the oil. Head gasket, intake gasket... all top of the engine work, as far as I'm concerned.

If I remember correctly, he tried selling it with an asking price of around $10,000 large before, which could've recovered a decent amount of his investment. No one stepped forward with an offer anywhere close when he revealed the true nature of the car. Similar money can buy you a Mustang that's aged evenly, so its really a hard sell.

Then its a POS and has more problems than just the screwed up mix of '65/'66 parts. I've seen hybrid 2nd gen F-bodies get good money, if they were otherwise built well. Not crazy money (>$20K), but good. Is it a notchback? Then its worth less than half what a fastback would be... Or he didn't advertise it fully. Who knows. Apples and Oranges compared to an Opel GT.

Oh, and as far as "tarp queen" goes... you know that slow projects usually degrade faster than one can fix them. Slow projects need garages, not tarps.

[Blake Noble]

You fixed the clutch. Here's a step back in time...

If you follow this thread, you later had lots of water in the oil. Head gasket, intake gasket... all top of the engine work, as far as I'm concerned.

I never thought I'd find myself saying this, but I guess I've had one too many cars. When someone else can keep better track of what went wrong with what you drove in the past, I guess that's a good indicator you might have a problem.

It's a good thing I don't really talk about how many guitars and amplifers I've owned over the years then.

Oh well. That's alright. I'll probably have yet another car under my belt soon enough. I've almost done everything I can do for the Dakota (most of my time these last few days has been devoted to that purpose) and I should have it for sale by the end of the month.

I'm seriously considering a Cobalt or something, if I have enough money to buy one from a private buyer. I think I'm done with buying daily drivers that lead me down a path to dismal failure. Although, after having driven one fairly recently, I'd love to have an Astra over a Cobalt instead, but ... eh. What are the chances of finding one of those on Craigslist, especially on what will probably be a mediocre budget?

But anyway, the Camaro was having transmission issues before I traded it off to the Challenger. I'm sure I mentioned that on here in the past. While driving it to work one afternoon, it began refusing to shift into gear< I refused to spend any more money fixing it, and things went from there.

Then its a POS and has more problems than just the screwed up mix of '65/'66 parts. I've seen hybrid 2nd gen F-bodies get good money, if they were otherwise built well. Not crazy money (>$20K), but good. Is it a notchback? Then its worth less than half what a fastback would be... Or he didn't advertise it fully. Who knows.

Yeah, let's just say that, from I understand, if you needed new doors for it, you're screwed. And, yes, it's a notchback.

Apples and Oranges compared to an Opel GT.

As far as value goes? Well, sure. But that's not the point. The point is that there is a lot worse than buying an Opel GT as a project car.

Building one up into a Pro Touring car wouldn't be horribly expensive, either, except for fabbing a new suspension. Then again, there seems to be some aftermarket and restoration support for the GT in Europe, so who knows? Maybe there's an upgrade kit that you can have shipped over and avoid the hassle of building one from scratch yourself.

Oh, and as far as "tarp queen" goes... you know that slow projects usually degrade faster than one can fix them. Slow projects need garages, not tarps.

Keyword there is "usually."

Anyway, it's still a thought I'm seriously considering, once I clean my hands of my current agenda. When that happens, it's hard to say. If this doesn't wind up happening by year's end, then that's okay. While these cars are quite uncommon, they aren't hard to find. The US market was where the GT enjoyed some of its best sales figures.

Edited May 2, 2012 by black-knight

[G. David Felt]

I think everyone needs a good ol reliable auto for work, daily use etc. Then for those of us that have a love affair with the car world, we should have our pet projects that drive us crazy

[Robert Hall]

I think everyone needs a good ol reliable auto for work, daily use etc. Then for those of us that have a love affair with the car world, we should have our pet projects that drive us crazy

Yes...pet projects are great if you have the time, disposable money, motivation, and space to work on them. They have to come secondary to a reliable daily driver. Mine are in storage about 2000 miles away..don't have the space or time to deal with them currently.

Edited May 2, 2012 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Drew Dowdell]

I can think of about 100 other fun fix-up cars that will be 100 times less frustrating than an Opel GT.

[Blake Noble]

I can think of about 100 other fun fix-up cars that will be 100 times less frustrating than an Opel GT.

Indeed, there are. But I see the GT as being pretty rewarding versus a few other cars out there when everything is said and done, especially in the role of a Pro-Touring car. The GT only weighs in at 2,000 pounds, 100 pounds less than a first-generation Miata. If you just threw in the 2.4 liter Ecotec and manual gearbox out of one the base Kappa roadsters, I think the performance results would be quite suprising, given that the heavier Miata could reach 60 in. 8.1 seconds with only 115 bhp versus the Ecotec's 175. The 2.0 liter turbo in a GT would put many muscle cars to shame.

The fact the GT would also be upgraded with a modern powertrain and suspension means that you could also drive it to work on Friday, if you stitch things up properly. I also think the fuel economy of a Pro-Touring Opel GT would be fairly impressive too, given the Ecotec doesn't have much weight to throw around.

I am starting to wonder, however, if there is an alternative to GT that has a few less drawbacks, though. Given the nature of what I'd do with one of these cars, I'm not too concerned with restoring it back to factory spec, but it would be nice if there was a car similar to the GT that could be easier to find spare parts for; things like gauges, seat frames, body panels, etc.

I suppose its the thought of a classic car in Pro-Touring form that's really haunting me. It's just finding a clean slate to work from that will allow you to build one that's appropriate for an era of $3 dollar a gallon gasoline.

Edited May 3, 2012 by black-knight

[ocnblu]

They have a very small engine compartment. I'm afraid cutting would be involved even in an Ecotec swap. Then you'd have to shore up the structure you cut with custom structure work.

[G. David Felt]

Or as I have seen here in Seattle, have a custom tube frame made for the car with the suspension you want for the ecotec engine you want and put the Opel GT body on it.

[Robert Hall]

An Ecotec would be an interesting swap into a Chevette, Vega, Monza, etc..

[Drew Dowdell]

Hell, a DI Ecotec would be a horsepower boost over my 5.0 liter. I think running a 2.0T from the Regal GS would be sufficient.

[SAmadei]

I agree with Cube. Put the DI Ecotec into a Vega. It weighs between 2100-2200lbs The early Vegas look like 2nd Gen Camaros, IMHO.

Otherwise, for lightweight RWD cars, you are looking at early Corollas, Celicas, Supras, 200B, B210, 200SX, 240Z, etc. All have 10x the following in the Latino market.

[FAPTurbo]

Seriously? You people are recommending Vega's and Chevelles? To somebody that isn't your worst enemy?

Did 4/20 get pushed back to May 5th?

[Intrepidation]

Recommending a Vega...words fail me.

[SAmadei]

Seriously? You people are recommending Vega's and Chevelles? To somebody that isn't your worst enemy?

Chevette, not Chevelle.

Recommending a Vega...words fail me.

Did you guys not read the juicy center of this thread?

He's looking for something superlight (2000 pounds or so) and RWD... and he keeps talking Pro Street. Besides Vegas and Monzas (and their rebadges), what do you suggest? A Pinto? A Gremlin? All of the above have been Pro Streeted already. So have Opel GTs... but Vega and Monza sheetmetal is 100x easier to find in the USA than Opel GT sheetmetal. Also, Vegas and Monzas are easier to get into than Opel GTs.

In no way are we recommending Vegas, Monzas and Chevettes over RWD A-bods, B-bods, F-bods, etc... not in a million years.

Of course, if he is truly going Pro Street, I would find something light and FWD and just convert it to RWD during the Pro Street conversion. At least then, you have a mountain of junkyard parts out there.

If he wants to Pro Street a car built in Serbia, I'll recommend a Yugo... because its the only choice federalized in this country.