72 GT with under 600 original miles

[wodawic]

Hey gang,

I'm a true newbie, all of 5 minutes under my wheels here since registering. I come to you all from Seattle to pose a question, placed upon me due to unfortunate circumstances.

My wife's grandfather died last night after a lengthy battle with cancer. He left behind a scared little old Polish lady with not much of a clue on how to proceed in life. Long story short, she now has an all original yellow GT with black striping that has only 500+ miles on it. I don't know jack about these, but am trying to guesstimate what for ($) and where she might auction it off. The only things I do know about it is it actually stills smells new, and has the original battery plate. Which apparently gives some folks wood when they hear that...

So anything you smart folks can offer up would be appreciated. I'm sure I'll need to go get the pics and all the goods, so will keep anyone posted who's interested.

As I learn navigation of yet another bulletin board system, for now you can send emails to roderic.robinson@nokia.com

Warmest regards,

RR

[BQS4]

RR;
You might want to post some pictures, like interior/exterior, engine bay, some under car shots, like the rocker panels and such.

[GTJIM]

Sorry to hear of your GrandMother-in-Laws loss - good to know that she has a man like yourself looking out for her.

The most common way of selling Opel GTs seems to be EBay - have a look by putting "Opel GT" into the search there and you will see that two oe three are usually listed. There is also a Classified Ads section here.

500 miles! Is that the total miles it has ever been driven? If so it does have considerable value as long as it is still in "as new" condition.
The black stripes are intriguing as only the GT/J model had those from the factory - does it have a black "GT/J" decal on the rear panel under Opel letters? If so it is even more unusual.

Hope you can load a couple of pictures up here - worth a 1,000 words!

HTH

[OpelJim]

Is it a 4 speed or an automatic transmission?

Can you send me some pics?

OpelJim@ca.rr.com

[wodawic]

Thanks for the inputs. I do plan on getting some pics, but as I'm sure you can understand it may be a couple days.

The stripes, tran, and other questions I will confirm shortly.

RR

[Sparky73]

Yes, definatley get some pictures. Without them, our guesses on the value could range from 8,000-25,000. We ALL love looking at them also

[wodawic]

FYI, to one of the Jims

[Motor Mouth]

Interesting to hear about the car....the strips sound intreging and had many of us thinking it might have been a GT/J (I'm not aware of any of them making it outside the european market), that said however it's not going to be a 'J' with an automatic transmission as these where only available with the 4speed .

Would be great to see some pics if possible post them on hear otherwise you'll have everyone asking for them (if you can email some to mark@opelgt@freeserve.co.uk that would be appreciated), hear about any docs that the car has supporting it's mileage.

[wodawic]

First, let me just say I'll get pictures within the next couple of weeks.

So here's a few more tidbits I've been able to determine without going to see it in person. The color is an original light yellow-ish, with 2 thin black stripes applied by opel at the point of purchase. She is the original owner, and the last person to drive it was my wife - 23 years ago. Since then, it has been hidden away under blanketing in the garage. My wife does not recall a "GTJ" symbol, and it is an automatic. She thinks it has a light tan interior.

Hope this helps. More as I learn it.

RR

[Anonymous D]

According to the description provided,
this car sounds comparable to a couple
advertised in recent years, at
$20,000. to $25,000.

It might benefit from a mechanical
inspection and verification. There are
Opel experts (like Paul K.), and an active
Opel enthusiast group, within an
hour's drive of your area.

You'd probably receive the highest amount
for the car by marketing it yourself,
in forums such as Ebay (using a minimum
bid), or by allowing a qualified buyer
to find it by posting it on the web at
Opel enthusiast websites (and being patient
in the meantime, to avoid the re-sale hustlers
and low-ball bidders).

[OpelJim]

Originally Posted by wodawic First, let me just say I'll get pictures within the next couple of weeks. So here's a few more tidbits I've been able to determine without going to see it in person. The color is an original light yellow-ish, with 2 thin black stripes applied by opel at the point of purchase. She is the original owner, and the last person to drive it was my wife - 23 years ago. Since then, it has been hidden away under blanketing in the garage. My wife does not recall a "GTJ" symbol, and it is an automatic. She thinks it has a light tan interior. Hope this helps. More as I learn it. RR

My questions are :

1st is the speedometer working? or was it disconnected at sometime?

2nd Can you verify that the odometer has not turned over once as once it reaches 100,000 it goes back to 000000.0 and starts over again. So it is possible there are 100,600.0 miles on the chassis. What does your mother in law say about the milage?

[wodawic]

AnonymousD,

Thanks for the inputs. I'll try to figure out how to get of Paul K., as I'm sure he would at least like to come take a look, if not assist in getting the mileage certified.

OpelJim,

Not sure what else to say than what's already been said. Everything worked fine 23 years ago when it was last driven. They had it flushed and stored, and there it sits. Until I get a formal appraisal; get down to take some pictures; and do whatever work is recommended (if any), all I can say is this is the real deal. That little old lady cant work a can opener yet alone turn back or turn off an odometer...

I understand the skepticism, but time will tell once I get someone smart here to take a look.

RR

[yellaopelgt]

I dont think its fair to give any type of monetary value to a vehicle until its been gone thru by someone that knows cars..... ANYTHING could have been done to a car before it got stored. And...who knows what could of happened to it after sitting for so long as well. Just get some detailed pictures...and get it running, then figure out what has gone to pot from sitting. We all know that a car "stored" for 23 years is not necessarily a good thing. We will be able to give a good idea once we see some pics....after all, you've come to the BEST web-site in the world!!! And we can tell if a car is truly unmolested from good pictures.
Good luck,
Joe

[wodawic]

Thanks to all for the input.

Again, I fully intend to get in touch with someone local to take a look and verify any claims I've made. I'm only reaching out to try to figure out what it MIGHT be worth. Granted 23 years under cover may not be the best thing for any collectable.

Which is why I reached out to the board in the first place. I've received some good info both on and offline from you guys, so thanks again. Rest assured I'll get it looked at properly, details pics (looking to the board as to pics of what parts), and if nothing else give y'all a look at it.

My only goal here is to take care of a little old lady (my wifes grandmother) who never drove it, and recently lost her husband - an insurance policy of sorts left behind by gramps.

Please be understanding that prowling around her garage with a camera right now is probably not the best thing I could be doing for her. I'll get it up on jacks somewhere for a complete slide show as soon as possible.

RR

[Anonymous D]

On this thread:

Tacoma Wa. Opel SHow - Opel Community Forums

You can find ID "MawandPawOpel"

They run the Tacoma Show, and have contacts
with Paul K. and other Opelers in your area.

[tomcat]

Ya'll do realize that if she really has only 600 miles on her and has been sitting that long every gasket in her will blow after the first trip she takes. If you want to get your money out of her you ought to spend 3000 and rebuild with all new gasket and seals.

[OpelJim]

Originally Posted by wodawic Thanks to all for the input. Again, I fully intend to get in touch with someone local to take a look and verify any claims I've made. I'm only reaching out to try to figure out what it MIGHT be worth. Granted 23 years under cover may not be the best thing for any collectable. Which is why I reached out to the board in the first place. I've received some good info both on and offline from you guys, so thanks again. Rest assured I'll get it looked at properly, details pics (looking to the board as to pics of what parts), and if nothing else give y'all a look at it. My only goal here is to take care of a little old lady (my wifes grandmother) who never drove it, and recently lost her husband - an insurance policy of sorts left behind by gramps. Please be understanding that prowling around her garage with a camera right now is probably not the best thing I could be doing for her. I'll get it up on jacks somewhere for a complete slide show as soon as possible. RR

Email me at Opeljim@ca.rr.com

[wodawic]

wodawic - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

[wodawic]

See the link in the prior post for details.

It's located in Tacoma WA, comments/questions welcome.

Thanks,

RR

[spdkilz02]

boy if definately looks like it has been taken care of. i bet that might be the actual miles.

[OPELFIEND]

Man, that thing looks like it just came off the floor! Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

[newman27]

Wow - great pix! It's cool to see how the car would have basically looked from the factory. Looks like most of the 500+ miles were put on the car going to Disneyland .

[wodawic]

That's a bummer - I hate to see that bumper sticker.

It was purchased at Gilchrist Buick in Tacoma (which still exists) and was only driven from Tacoma to Federal Way (roughly 15 miles). It never saw Mickey...

[Gumby]

I wish they had made more of the GTs with the tan interior.

BTW that is a beautiful car. I thought my GT was in good shape... but this one puts it to shame.

Good luck selling it.

[Phoenix]

It's a treat to see those pics.