New Owner, Old problems..

GoinManta · August 27, 2015 at 7:50 AM Official Post

Bought what I can describe at best as an "interesting" GT.. Not only is it "Interesting", the seller wasn't exactly honest with the car.

Within the first 4 weeks he replaced the clutch, carb, brake booster and master and radiator not to mention hoses. He also needed an exhaust but fortunately the previous owner sent a new resonator and other parts with the car.

All this was before he found out it had bad bearings in the motor.

So given I can't stop myself from rescuing Opels, he shipped it to me and I will be going over the wiring ( Thats another whole story ), rebuilding the motor, torque tube bushings, and anything else I can find that may need attention.

Also since the new owner has a great sense of humor (one would have to, to buy this GT.. ) I will document it all here

Jerseyconvertible · August 27, 2015 at 10:31 AM

Needless to say, all humor aside.. Charles should be seriously commended for his efforts to not only help me and save one more opel, but also help teach others. Additionally Gordon should be commended as well with one of his "life time achievement" awards!

As I said to Charles.. several people told me to throw in the towel and cut my losses...including my wife (not so happy wife at the moment), but I felt like you can't be a classic car fan (an opel fan) and expect not to have bumps along the way..

and so... this thread begins... and maybe in a few years (with help and hard work) I'll have something a little better than a "laugher"

cheers to all!

GLarsen · August 27, 2015 at 12:54 PM

Classic cars are rarely exactly what they seem to be, my latest one was better in some respects than I expected and a bit worse in others as the PO's chosen mechanic seems to have had work ethics that would have gotten him fired if it was my shop.

It's easy to get discouraged, unfortunately there's no guarantee that abandoning it and buying another one will be a better experience unless you buy a known good car from a reputable person. Most of us can't afford to buy a mint condition unrestored car or one restored by Keith Lundholm or whatever so most of the time we've got to work with what we've got.

Sorry to hear you got burned and kudos for sticking with what is a very unusual GT, and of course to Charles and whoever else is pitching in

wrench459 (R.I.P.) · August 27, 2015 at 7:31 PM

Quote from GLarsen

Classic cars are rarely exactly what they seem to be, my latest one was better in some respects than I expected and a bit worse in others as the PO's "chosen mechanic seems to have had work ethics that would have gotten him fired if it was my shop."

Wow, this statement is worth it's own thread.
Highly skilled mechanics are hard to find over on this side of the pond.
Shop management is partly to blame IMO.

GoinManta · August 28, 2015 at 8:38 AM Official Post

BTW your handle.. should be "Just aN Old Fart"

Something Cathartic in being able to mess with Wrench for a change

Goes to figure his new Avatar would be a chart..

GoinManta · August 28, 2015 at 9:04 AM Official Post

The lights are "unique" to say the least.. but that can be fixed/replaced.

The Sticky chrome.. well its all over and looks as if you try to remove it the paint will come with it.. so it stays for now.

GoinManta · August 28, 2015 at 9:09 AM Official Post

A few more detailed shots..

Yes the PO, broke teh side marker lights, cleaned them out and then painted what was left black..

Does have the GT Source dash cover so thats a bonus.. the seats don't seem broken and could use a little cleaning and "Vinyl dye" other than that I have seen worse interiors.. the Dash cluster needs some work.. has a inop oil gauge ( NOT the Opel on.. someone stuck an aftermarket one in the clock spot ) and the three switches to the left of the lighter were replaced with three toggle switches.

1) Ignition power/kill
2) Headlights
3) Parking lights

I think I will fix that and some of the wiring of the dash before it leaves.

GoinManta · August 28, 2015 at 9:21 AM Official Post

That all "said" ( A Pictures worth a thousand words )

The frame seems solid.. ( Know more tonight as we got the engine lift here now and some more stands.. )

The execution of the "roadster" in the back isn't half bad.. with some work on the gas cap and replacement of the lenses I think it will look pretty good.

The interior is in need or overhaul but not horrible. Something a piece here or there over time can't be improved on with a limited budget.

The front end is a mess though.. and it looks to be from a front end accident.. In time it could be fixed and improved upon.

First is to get the mechanicals back in order.. and that starts this evening with pulling the motor and torque tube and getting a parts list together.

Good thing I have two things that it will need..

Those rims should help it look a bit better and the tires are better too. Also as a side benefit, we can put his tires on Red Baron and get Gordo those rims back.

GoinManta · August 28, 2015 at 9:28 AM Official Post

Have to give it to Matt for sticking with it.. I think under all the sticky chrome and questionable design choices exists a good GT that will be fun to own.

Just going to have to take its restoration in small bite size pieces.

Jerseyconvertible · August 28, 2015 at 11:09 AM

My wife asked me today "will the Opel survive?" .. I think it was her way of trying to make peace with me after she told me that I should not have bought that car a dozen times! lol

I just smiled and said it's in "critical condition... but the we've placed "her" in the best hospital ward we can"..lol
I'm gonna give Charles first crack at naming her once he's done.

Seeing these pictures makes me feel better... I know that somewhere down the road that it will be a joy for my son (who this is really all for).. he's just 8 so I'm giving myself some time to get it ready..lol

Charles told me that it was badly out of tune, and that I was only using at best 20-30% of the engine power... amazingly.. even though I only drove the car less then 20miles so far.. I thought it was a blast to drive... I can't imagine how much better of an experience it will post "surgery"

I think the PO had some real courage and skill in building the convert.. knowing now that it is "solid" make me congratulate him even more... NOW.. all that being said... the care for how the car drove and operated is a freakin shame... Charles is being kind when he describes the lights/electrical set up... I don't know anything about wiring and yet, when I saw that the wires used appeared to be left over cords from a toaster or lamp I knew I was hoodwinked! The speedo and tach don't work, the horn has a side button screwed into the side of dash, and I would bet dollars to donuts that half the other electrical stuff is completely wrong..

Perhaps.. the Opel gods truly wanted to save this car.. because it was on life support!

GoinManta · August 28, 2015 at 12:03 PM Official Post

Ill probably just update both threads.. some people just don't want to be bothered with "two sites" to keep up on.. I personally like this one better. But like Ebay you go where the traffic is.

Jerseyconvertible · August 28, 2015 at 3:53 PM

OK.. I see your point... being new to Opel, I don't know the politics of the sites..

thanks again for heads up on the radio..

Jerseyconvertible · August 29, 2015 at 3:17 PM

Update for those following:

Charles pulled the engine out... drum roll please... the block is TOAST!
Kind of knew the news was gonna be bad... looks like Gordon's use of words" Nuclear Option" is coming out true.

On the good side.. Charles discovered that the structural reinforcement underneath for the convert. is very solid.. some added welds/metal.

Stay tuned... machine shop gets it this week..
Kudo's to Charles partner in this work Matt; who has Gordon's Red Barron... I send them some funds for a few cases of beer.... I know I could use a few after hearing about this car... If karma exists, the PO is gonna have some serious car issues after the BS he told me!

GLarsen · August 30, 2015 at 11:27 AM

Quote from Jerseyconvertible

Update for those following:

Charles pulled the engine out... drum roll please... the block is TOAST!

Well that sucks, good thing blocks are still cheap and plentiful so it's basically a matte of finding a decent one and picking it up

CuriousGeorge · August 30, 2015 at 6:04 PM

you are getting every penny worth. Tell your lovely wife your red headed stepchild of an opel is making Opel history.

Jerseyconvertible · August 30, 2015 at 10:00 PM

Quote from CuriousGeorge

you are getting every penny worth. Tell your lovely wife your red headed stepchild of an opel is making Opel history.

making history???

GoinManta · August 31, 2015 at 9:39 AM Official Post

Act one complete

With a few interesting finds..

Additional Parts collected for act 2

GoinManta · August 31, 2015 at 9:42 AM Official Post

Act 2 - Wiring, Headlights, dash, etc..

Looky what I found behind a piece of velcro :

PO CUT The dash cluster to put in switches.. But it gets BETTER

Yes that is either speaker wire or applicance wire with wire nuts.. BUT IT GETS BETTER

PO siliconed the wire nuts..

GoinManta · August 31, 2015 at 9:45 AM Official Post

So after pulling the Headlights and such to get into the wiring hidden in different places. It was obvious that setup wasnt going back..

So back to the parts bin, and look what we found.. a Manta grille in good shape and a set of PIAA low beam headlights mounted to bumper guards.

With a bit of work.. it still looks a bit "home made" and shade tree.. but it looks a 100x better than what it was IMHO..

GoinManta · August 31, 2015 at 9:47 AM Official Post

As for the engine.. in the parts bin happened to be an authentic European 2.0L that was originally in the the Red Baron.

It too is in need of a rebuild as well. But if your going to rebuild.. might as well get the most bang for the buck.

It is what is going to the machine shop this afternoon.

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