[Gordy]

I found another former Opel expert! Back in the early 70's when I didn't know a spark plug from a lug nut, I used to take my 1967 Kadett 1.1 Rallye to a mechanic who did a little side work in his drive way. He was the Opel mechanic at the local Buick/Opel dealer.
Couple weeks ago I had driven my Manta to work (which involves making stops at several car dealerships) and a mechanic at a Honda store saw my Opel and asked if I knew a guy named "Kiwi" who used to work on those things, and that Kiwi is now a service manager at a local Nissan store. I said it had been over 30 years but I had known him way back when.
I went over to the Nissan store and sure enough Kiwi was there, remembered me and my Opels, and was all over the car. Wanted to know where the heck I found parts for it these days (I said it's easier now with the internet than it was back in the 80's when you had to page thru the phone book and call import or "Foriegn Car" part stores asking for Opel parts!). Said he had worked on Opels for years but had never owned one himself (we would love to change that!). I took my GT down a couple weeks later and again he was amazed that there were any still around. I told him we will go to lunch real soon and he can drive the GT when we go. Maybe he will get bitten by the bug! He would be a great asset to our site and an additional source of years of professional experience working on our beloved cars! First thing he had said was how often he had had to literally "file down" the warped bases of so many Solex carbs to get them flat again so they wouldn't have vacuumn leaks, and checked to make sure I had a heat shield under my Weber carb!