Opel GT motor conversion

[Dutch]

Bought my first GT on E-BAY. Looking for a little power.Im new on this site, can anybody help ? Its a 1973, solid body. Im old school thinking a small V8.

[roosterrusek]

Hey there, I put a 2.3 litre 4 banger into my 71 GT that also uses a turbo and front mounted intercooler. I had the automatic tranny swapped with a 5 speed and it's fast as $hiat.

The engine and tranny came from an 88 Ford Thunderbird. While the new engine necessitated a cowled hood, it really is cool and plenty fast.

One thing to remember...if you are putting in a small V8 with the intent on being fast and a road car, the front to back weight ratio will be huge. Keeping that butt end from spinning out is a real concern.

[First opel 1981]

Originally Posted by Dutch Bought my first GT on E-BAY. Looking for a little power.Im new on this site, can anybody help ? Its a 1973, solid body. Im old school thinking a small V8.

I don't want to come off as anything but helpful but I have to tell you that for every 100 attempts at a V8 conversion to an Opel GT, only one will survive. What usually happens is yet another Opel GT dies. Sad to say but true.

If you want to beef up the power in the car, go for a newer 4cyl or get a 2.2/2.4 fuel injected Opel motor. Much less involved and more likely to keep the GT from hitting the graveyard.

[neuropel]

I would strongly agree with "First opel 1981"...I recently got an Opel GT with just a stock 2.4 and side draft webers, and it has almost too much power for the chassis in my opinion. They're tiny cars, and it doesn't take much to turn them into death traps. Be sure to upgrade your brakes and suspension to keep the car safe. I cannot imagine that a V8 powered GT would be all that fun except on straight highways.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Dutch Bought my first GT on E-BAY. Looking for a little power.Im new on this site, can anybody help ? Its a 1973, solid body. Im old school thinking a small V8.

Thanks guys. Always willing to listen. If a V8 is over kill, what about a V6 ? Chevy 4.3 ??? Im 56 years old ,not that much in a hurry. [I think]

[opelnut10]

Originally Posted by Dutch Thanks guys. Always willing to listen. If a V8 is over kill, what about a V6 ? Chevy 4.3 ??? Im 56 years old ,not that much in a hurry. [I think]

Any engine swap with a "V" is going to involve some metal work and fabrication to get it in the GT engine bay. The GT is a unibody built car and cutting into the body structure requires reenforcement to maintain the sturdiness of the car. The swaps I have seen that turned out well are the Ford 2300 (turbo or non-turbo) and the Mazda "round" motors RX7 12A or 13B rotory. A couple of people have done V6 swaps GM 3.4 and 3.8, involved a lot of cutting and metal fabrication. I would not even attempt to do a "small block" swap without a frame or at least 2 subframes tied together. The GT is just too narrow to get anything much bigger into without a lot of work. As stated, the CIH Opel motor can be upsized to over 2400 cc's and be made to put out 175HP with less money spent and a better results.

[CDN OpelNut]

Originally Posted by Dutch Bought my first GT on E-BAY. Looking for a little power.Im new on this site, can anybody help ? Its a 1973, solid body. Im old school thinking a small V8.

As a start, have a look through the engine swap forum on this site. There are *many* threads devoted to this subject and most of the answers to your questions have likely been covered.

[kwilford]

Originally Posted by CDN OpelNut As a start, have a look through the engine swap forum on this site. There are *many* threads devoted to this subject and most of the answers to your questions have likely been covered.

Good advice, as that is where I have moved this thread to. When you have surfed this Forum, have a read of Ron Delozier's (namba209) articles on his 3.4 swap at
Performance Articles - The Classic Opel Forums
Plan on taking your time to read these, as there are six articles, and about five years of Ron's life there

[dsmith]

Here's my 3.4 with six speed automatic just waitng for custom radiator.

[grslightng02]

DSMITH, what kind of motor and transmission is that? And what mod's did you have to make so far to get it in there?

As far as motors go... My last GT I owned is now for sale for $3500. Check craigslist.org, sacramento, CA, OPEL GT. Amy is the owner's name. She's installed a Mazda Miata motor and tranny.

Neil

[alolmo]

Hey Neal, I met Amy the other day at Starbucks, she said she'd heard about some guy driving a yellow GT in the neighborhood and she wanted to meet him (I guess I'm famous now); anyway she is nice and for some crazy reason wants to get rid of the GT. It would be a good buy for someone, maybe you? again?

[grslightng02]

I wish I could buy it back, unfortunately I have my finances set on other goals for the time being. I'm sure it must be fun to drive now though... Did you see it in person? Take it for a spin?

[alolmo]

No Neal, but Amy offered to bring the car to Starbucks to check it out. I think she is in a hurry to sell, so I don't want to waste her time.

[dsmith]

The motor is a 3.4 L V6 out of a 95 Camaro with the 4L60E auto trans with overdrive. Yes you have to do some body cutting and fabrication to get it in there.

[neuropel]

Where in PA are you located?

[dsmith]

Monroeton, Pa N E Pa.

[jlthunder]

Originally Posted by dsmith Monroeton, Pa N E Pa.

Hey is that near Route 6 and 220? If so, Beautiful area.

[dsmith]

Ya, I'm 10 miles west of that intersection!