Restoring a GT: Where to Start?

[72 Opel GT]

what did you first start out with when restoring? and how far did you go until you went your own way on custmozing it. I'm not sure where to start and when to finish, although im leaving the engine and tranny alone, i got plans next summer for them

[Matt M240Z]

well, in my case, we did the engine first. We rebuilt it in my dad's machine shop and basically left the transmission alone. From there, once the car was rolling , me and my dad wet sanded the car and then my dads friend (does excellent body repair work) came over and buffed it. The buffing and wet sanding made a huge difference. i really wish i had taken be4 and after pics, because the difference is just amazing. Due to a lack of funds, that is about as far as i have gotten, although we have done other minor fixes on it (polyurethane bushings, fuel filters, custom storage compartment panels, fixing speedometer, swapping calipers from side to side, etc.) Getting back to the storage compartment panels, DO NOT spend a lot of money on these unless you have plenty of money at your expense. We bought some sheets of wood (cant remmebr how thick), traced the original panels to the new sheets, cut out the new patterns, painted them just for sturdiness and protection, and then covered them in a really nice black vinyl (i thnk its vinyl).

[jlthunder]

Here is what I did
1) Rebuild engine
2) New seals on Transmission
3) Install Engine and Transmission and new Exhaust
4) Install new Rear and replace pinion seal and bearings
5) Install new flex brake lines
6) Replace front and back suspension bushings with poly style
7) New boots on steering rack
8) Body work, Front & Rear Rubber replacement & Headliner(had someone else do it, I'm no artist) & Paint
9) Rechrome Bumpers and reinstall
10) Rewire Headlights
11) New Vinyl for Seats
12) New Shocks
13) Install Weber
14) New Bosh H-4 Headlights
15) Drive down road with big smile

I'm sure I left out something but this is the path I took. Take care of the mechanical systems first before going onto the body. This GT is pretty much stock except for the Weber. This restoration took from 1985 - 2003. Getting out of school, getting a job, getting married, buying a house, getting laid off twice, and having a kid does slow things down.

[Mike Preble]

To me restoring is taking the car off the road, striping it down to nothing and building it up from there with parts that are as "new" as possible with all bodywork done while it is apart. In my eyes if you aren't willing or capable to go that route then all you are doing is getting it up to a normal maintenence level, a daily drive type of car. I have seen too many cars out there that a person feels he has restored the car and all he has done is keep up on the maintenence.
Enough said, is your car running at this time and you don't drive it in fear of never getting home with it. If so then start on the safety items as in the brakes, electrical system and the likes. Then go to the cosmetic items. Don't start a project without a good plan of what you expect out of it. Make a list of all items you want to tackle on a large sheet of paper on the wall so that you can cross off items as they are done. Also you can add to it as you find new things to repair.
Don't lose track of the overall project. Buy pieces as you see them come up for sale used or new that you don't need right now but need to replace when you get to that area of repairs. Tag them and put them off to the side for the future. Don't start too many projects on the car at one time as you will forget where you are with some of them and miss something.
These may seem like common sense but so many people get frustrated with a project car and give up on them because of these things. Then you see them for sale on Ebay with the phrase " my _____ said either the car goes or you do." fill in the blank yourself. Then someone like me comes in and buys the car for next to nothing and we see you standing there with a tear in your eye.
i wish you luck in your endevor and hope to see you some day at a car show with a great big smile on your face as you explain to everyone that it is a minivette and you built it.
Mike

[nobody]

There are also levels of restoration. My GT is basicly finished and a blast to drive. Stock, no way but good to drive yes. Then there is a true restoration and I don't mean take it all apart and have at it. I'm talking all original, no poly bushings, no weber, no aftermarket anything. I'm talking rematch of colors to original paint codes and remake or replacement to all bone stock. A rebuild is alot easier than a true restore. Try finding A arms in good original condition or an uncracked dash. Then you get into lights, lenses, bumpers and trim pieces. Or brake and suspension pieces that are original. A rebuild is alot easier than a restore.

[benncojr]

Without getting into semantics over what is a restoration and what is a rebuild. This are the steps I am doing on getting my GT up and running. It is currently not street worthy so this is a different process then if it is currently street worthy.

1. Clean out all the junk that has accumulated in it (i.e. trash, tree dabry, treasures left behind be critters)

2. See if the eng. will run? (This may requiring some creative wiring and fueling)
a)if it does - do nothing more
b)if not - get it to run

3. Check all wiring (From the headlights to the tail lights) The 30+ year old wiring is brittle and can be frayed. This can cause a lot of different types of gremlins, ie. both turn signals operation when you make use the turn signal, the tach to jump all over the place the Oil PSI gage not reporting correctly.

a. Replacing the wiring were needed
b. Replacing all wiring (this is were I am currently at)

4. Get the rust taken care of
a. Cut and weld new pices in
b. Cover with the appropriate paint (POR-15 or other rust preventers)

5. Check and replace as needed the braking system
6. Check and replace as needed the steering system
7. Repair any body damage
8. Paint car to factory specs (Fire Glow Red)

9. Drive car!!

I will probable be driving the car prior to getting all the body damage fixed and the car painted but not before I check and replace the braking and the steering system.

There are other things that need to be done but they can be done at any point prior to driving the care, ie. check and clean and replace the fuel system, check clean and replace the cooling system, check clean and replace the interior.

I agree with what has already been posted a lot of what needs to be done is normal maintance if the car had been run during the past 30+ years but if it has been sitting for a while then normal maintance was not done and it is now not normal!!

As far as where do you stop.......Well. .....you never stop with the process it is like a good relationship, it requires work all the time, some time more than others !!

Good Luck

[simplemind7]

i got mine completely stripped down to the body, with the exception of the suspension and wheels so it can be moved around easily, and the engine was already rebuilt. then i was lucky enough to get my high school to take the car in as a project for auto body. right now it has been in there since september and is very close to being done, from the rear window forward its ready for paint. while its been in auto body i've fixed up the wiring at home by replacing the wires that have cracked and brittle insulation. once its out of the body shop and painted the engine and transmission will be put in in the auto mechanics shop at school, then i get to take it home, first i plan to put in the wiring and get it running, then install and fix the brakes, then interior and glass. my goal is to have it ready for a spin around the block before it snows in the fall, then have it insured and on the road about when i finish school next year, just in time for the summer

[soybean]

All of the above is excellent advice. One thing I found to help me was to get a simple 3 ring spiral binder. The first section is a semi journal: Days, Date,Work done. The 2nd section is parts put on,part nos.,where purchased and price. 3rd section is routine maintaince done, Oil changes, Filters mileage. Takes a little time everytime you work on the car, but soon it becomes a routine. I found it helpful when I want to look up something you sorta remember doing, just not for sure.
Take your time,and as was said in the other posts, do the basics, the rest will all come together. Most of all try to have fun. Especially when you hit that bolt that's rusted on so badly, it's welded itself to the other part. Gotta love it. Jarrell

[Dan-MI]

My 72 GT is still stock and pretty clean so I have't had to do much. The only things I've had to do is replace headlight wiring, tune it up, and try and stop oil leaks (unsuccessfully so far). I've also go a 72 Mini that is currently in the throws of being rebuilt. To go this route takes quite a bit of time, energy, and money. With the Mini we basically disassembled the entire vehicle, sent the body out to be blasted, the rust repaired, then painted. Haven't made it all the way to paint yet. Then will come the laborious task of putting the whole bloody thing back together with new engine, seats, gauges, etc. I wouldn't go down that route with your GT unless it is in really bad condition or you really need/want a totally clean car. But be prepared to spend a lot of time on it. The Mini has been in process since last fall and we aren't to the putting it back together stage. I would say not to rush into an approach until you are sure what the goal is. To get a good driver that is nice to look at is easier than what would amount to a new car. However, if at some point you want to do the full tear down and restore, you don't want to spend a lot of time and money patching things now that you'll only toss out later. If you go the tear down route, get a really good technical manual first that tells you how to disassemble and reassemble everything. That is a big time saver. You don't spend a lot of time puzzling over how something comes apart nor do you have to document in as much detail how it came apart so you can put it together again.

[jtb]

Interesting thread.

My Opel is so far from stock, I won't comment on what I've done.

I will say, however, that in my humble opinion, the first thing you need is a good shop manual. The factory one is likely better, but a Haynes or Chilton will do as well.
[It's easy to take things apart; it's getting them back together (correctly!) that's the trick.]

Of course, there's lots of good information on this very web site, but it's not quite as accessible as a manual.

Good luck with whatever level of resto you do!

jtb

[Thom71GT]

Well, to start off I'd like to tell "Nobody" that I have an original uncracked Dash. Most people freak out in amazement when I tell them this, but, since the car has always been garaged and the dash usually soaked with armour all, I guess its no surprise.

After getting it out of 16 years in storage...

I was just going to get it running and start driving it, but as I started tearing things apart and started watching "overhaulin" and "american hotrod: things changed...

I redid my engine first. It was a 2.0 litre conversion from C & R cars that I did in the 80s but only had about 20k miles on it since the conversion. I replaced the fuel pump, starter, battery, put in electronic ignition, all new gaskets throughout, etc....

Then, I discovered that I must of done bodywork in a past life and was pretty damn good it. So, all the rust and ding repair came next. Im actually finishing up the bodywork. Then next comes the following.

Remove the fuels tank and redo all the lines for it. Clean it out. New rubber filler hose and rubber grommet for the back deck.

Reallign doors and make sure all gaps are nice.

Rewire entire car. Just bought an EZ21 through Charles Goin. Saved about 30 bucks that way.

Suspension. Lowering car front and rear. New bushings and shocks. Replace tie rods and ball joints if necessary.

Ground effects. Have the kit, just need to put it on. California spoiler on the front, lenk sideskirts, and lenk rear skirts.

Bumpers rechromed

Drill out old hubs and refit for 5 x 4 wheel pattern.

Liquid strip old paint. Prime and wet sand car

Car gets sprayed

New weather stripping for doors, and windows installed.

Drive around with a huge cheesy grin and explain to people what it is.

Slowly do interior and other engine and body tunning mods. i.e. chrome door stops and hindges, nifty new seats, etc...

[nobody]

Ya a good dash is a big deal and a lot better than the headache of fixing one.

One thing I do on older cars is gererate 2 lists like what Jarrell was saying. After a very thorough inspection of what you have to work with make a to do list and a to get list. I for one get focused on the motor and body and forget to be looking for some odd little part I'll need down the line. Or get some aspect done and in the mean time forgot some detail that needed work. On mine the to do list was 5 pages long and the to get list was almost as big. I did mine on the computer so as I went I could leave myself notes and edit as I went along. I also on the to get list put down prices and where I got each piece from. It helped me stay on track and identify some things in advance that were going to be trouble areas.

Just as an example it reminded me to be on the hunt for a rear trim strip to go with a glass rear end that hadden't arrived yet, while I was building the motor and redoing the seat covers.

[Thom71GT]

Thats an excellent idea on the two different lists. I wish I had thought of the list where you put down what you spent. Although in the end it may be a good idea NOT to have that in case the wife gets ahold and sees you've spent $24,000 on a $3000 car.

But hey........... it's worth it.

[nobody]

No you name it something funny like favorites.1 and put it in an odd folder. Then be sure to delete out recent documents. I had already hired the divorce attorney before I started on the car so it wasn't a list that needed to be public at that time. On paper my car is valued at 700 dollars and insured for 15K. OK alot of smoke and several mirrors were used for that trick, but that's another story.

[my71GTEEE]

My brother passed away in 99' and left me his 71 GT. He kept it ouside, uncovered but kept it road worthy. Every year I put in some work focusing on one area. Year 1, bead blasted, powder coated rims, added new rubber. Cooper make a tire that says "GT" on em. Had to have em. Next year, brakes. Had a shop do it. Next year I put a replacement weber and all fuel lines and filters. Next year I replaced all hoses, and backflushed system. next year had transmission drainned and put in synthetics in all cases, as well as distributor, rotor, wires,plugs. This year, I think I will do springs bushings shocks. Next year, new rubber all around, then paint.