by "cletus44 aka Clayton Seams" (cletus44)
Published 12/12/2017 at 21:23
by "cletus44 aka Clayton Seams" (cletus44)
Published 12/12/2017 at 21:23
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STARS: 10
Been digging into the Opel GT lately after the sale of my Corvair and I’ve learned a few things about this cute German sports car. It’s pretty weird!
The battery resides ahead of the radiator between the core support and the front bumper.
The brake booster is similarly located at the very front of the car. A long rod actuates it from the firewall.
The front suspension uses a transverse leaf spring.
Early models used a torque tube in lieu of a driveshaft.
The GT uses an odd cam-in-head engine where the camshaft is located in the head but it still uses tiny 1.5" pushrods to actuate the valves.
A teeny 1.1L OHV engine with twin carbs was standard but accounted for less than 5% of production.
An Opel GT won the sub-2L class at the 1972 Targa Florio.
Pretty much made up my mind for this to be the next R+C car that I buy. Alex and I will be working on the Mustang this winter too.
"CB" (jrcb)
12/12/2017 at 21:33, STARS: 0
Looking forward to it! Although I’m wondering how hard it’s going to be finding one in the right shape at the right price.
"Spaceball-Two" (spaceball-two)
12/12/2017 at 21:38, STARS: 3
Or. You could invest in a pool of nacho cheese like the picture!
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
12/12/2017 at 21:44, STARS: 0
I very nearly bought one, but I did learn a lot about them too. A Buick/Rover V8 is the way to go!
"Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap" (ddadragon)
12/12/2017 at 21:53, STARS: 0
Also, epic lights. I also want one of these but I don’t think I’d fit just having stood next to one.
"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
12/12/2017 at 21:55, STARS: 2
So, gleaning what I can from the first ad you posted...
The facts you learned include the fact that Opel GT ownership will cause mostly disinterested/confused women in bikinis and one man in a Speedo to gravitate to your Opel GT which is capable of driving on pools full of liquid caramel as if some sort of confectionery automotive Jesus.
Also, you will turn into a slightly chubby man with a perm in plaid Speedos who carries a red towel and a Playboy magazine with him at all times just in case?
"arl" (arl1968)
12/12/2017 at 22:00, STARS: 0
My step mom had one back in the early 1980’s. It was red and I remember the back seat being very small. Beautiful little car. Good luck finding one!
"itschrome" (itschrome)
12/12/2017 at 22:16, STARS: 1
Pretty sure that’s flan.
"itschrome" (itschrome)
12/12/2017 at 22:17, STARS: 1
Pretty sure it’s flan.
"BvdV - The Dutch Engineer" (dutchengineer)
12/12/2017 at 22:31, STARS: 1
The Opel GT is awesome, and a jr. Vette! If you end up buying one, and need help with sourcing parts (or a point to which you can send parts, and have them sent to Canada in one package) from Europe just let me know.
"Spaceball-Two" (spaceball-two)
12/12/2017 at 22:59, STARS: 0
Even better!
"HPoz - I like Honda Fits and I cannot lie" (hpoz54)
12/12/2017 at 23:00, STARS: 0
it had a back seat? wow
"XJDano" (xjdano)
12/12/2017 at 23:36, STARS: 0
Will you fit in one of these?
"cletus44 aka Clayton Seams" (cletus44)
12/13/2017 at 08:51, STARS: 0
Oh yeah, they’re actually pretty roomy inside.
"cletus44 aka Clayton Seams" (cletus44)
12/13/2017 at 08:54, STARS: 1
Thanks! Some parts are indeed very hard to find.
"cletus44 aka Clayton Seams" (cletus44)
12/13/2017 at 08:54, STARS: 0
They’re not common but also not non-existant. I’m patient on this one.
"AuthiCooper1300" (rexrod)
12/17/2017 at 09:34, STARS: 0
Look up Opel GT Diesel Rekordwagen.
I think you won’t be disappointed.
"cletus44 aka Clayton Seams" (cletus44)
12/17/2017 at 09:47, STARS: 0
I’ve read about that thing. It’s wild.
"AuthiCooper1300" (rexrod)
12/17/2017 at 10:09, STARS: 0
Wild indeed. I wonder how difficult it would be to replicate the body (from a roof-damaged GT, natch)? The problem, of course, would be the canopy. Now imagine a reborn record diesel GT with a modern common-rail turbo unit...
Also: Feynman tells the story of how a GT had an interesting role in the investigation of the Challenger disaster. Per Wikipedia:
The partnership of Kutyna and Feynman was critical in the discovery and publication of the cause of the Challenger disaster: Kutyna told Feynman about how he was repairing his car and discovered that some seals failed due to low temperatures that morning. That inspired Feynman, who discovered the truth about O-ring weakness: they lack elasticity when it is at or below a temperature of 32 °F (0 °C) degrees, such as those the morning of the accident. Feynman knew that some astronaut had given Kutyna the crucial piece of information that led to his O-Ring insight; Kutyna later revealed that it was in fact astronaut Sally Ride , a member of the investigation commission at the time:
One day [early in the investigation] Sally Ride and I were walking together. She was on my right side and was looking straight ahead. She opened up her notebook and with her left hand, still looking straight ahead, gave me a piece of paper. Didn’t say a single word. I look at the piece of paper. It’s a NASA document. It’s got two columns on it. The first column is temperature, the second column is resiliency of O-rings as a function of temperature. It shows that they get stiff when it gets cold. Sally and I were really good buddies. She figured she could trust me to give me that piece of paper and not implicate her or the people at NASA who gave it to her, because they could all get fired. I wondered how I could introduce this information Sally had given me. So I had Feynman at my house for dinner. I have a 1973 Opel GT, a really cute car. We went out to the garage, and I’m bragging about the car, but he could care less about cars. I had taken the carburetor out. And Feynman said, “What’s this?” And I said, “Oh, just a carburetor. I’m cleaning it.” Then I said, “Professor, these carburetors have O-rings in them. And when it gets cold, they leak. Do you suppose that has anything to do with our situation?” He did not say a word. We finished the night, and the next Tuesday, at the first public meeting, is when he did his O-ring demonstration...I never talked with Sally about it later... I kept it a secret that she had given me that piece of paper until she died [in 2012]. [2]