Carlisle 2004 Reports

[namba209]

In the interest of letting everyone know what's happening at Carlisle, I am copying this by John Grosh, from the Classic Opel, Yahoo site. Hoping I'm not stepping on anyones toes. If I am, my apologies.

Ron

The lateness of the hour and my recent lack of sleep both dictate
that this report be an abbreviated one. Suffice it to say that a fine
time was had by all. In fact, late this afternoon it appeared that nearly
"all" of us were there on the showfield by which I mean to say that the
attendance numbers far surpassed anything we've seen previously on a
Friday. The number of Opels on the showfield (24) came close to equaling
our usual Saturday attendance. As always many Opelers came without their
cars so the people count was much higher than the Opel one. Everyone is
very excited to see how we do tomorrow. I think it's possible we may come
away with a club attendance award from Carlisle Productions. Maybe not
first place, but perhaps second or third. And that's not too shabby for a
marque that's as rare on the street as ours is.
I don't have time to type up the line of showfield Opels and
their owners. I'll get it to you tomorrow evening.
McKay's Cave was a fine choice for our evening meal. I'm
confident we'll be going back there for many years to come. The evening
air on their outdoor deck was mild and pleasant and there was plenty of
room to seat all 48 of us (another attendance record). The owner of the
joint gave a short welcoming speech in which he thanked us for coming and
announced that our tab next year is on the house. It was the perfect
evening to sing in celebration of Gary Farias's birthday. Happy Birthday,
Gary!

--John

[RallyBob]

Carlisle was excellent. Very unseasonal weather, high '80's to low '90's, and very sunny. We had 34 cars on Saturday, definitely a record for Opels at Carlisle. We even got 4 Opels to run on the chassis dyno! Very cool indeed...

Bob

[Travis]

You can't just leave it like that Bob. Who ran and how'd they do? Hopefully Gregg ran the roller cam 2.5l?

-Travis

[RallyBob]

You can't call me out like this Travis, I don't have the dyno sheets in front of me! These are from memory only.

There was a 1.1 GT (stock), that pulled 45 hp and 60 ft lbs at the wheels. Very impressive, the torque curve was a horizontal line from 2000-5000 or so.
I estimate 53 hp at the flywheel.

There was a stock 3.0 litre Bitter that made 125+- hp and 138 ft lbs of torque. Again a very flat torque curve. Estimated 165 hp at the flywheel. This car had an automatic transmission which absorbs more power.

A 2.4 litre with dual 45 Webers that made 125 +- hp and 150 ft lbs of torque. Very nice torque curve here. I estimate 148 hp at the flywheel.

And yes, we ran the 2.5 roller cam engine and it made 154 hp and 152 ft lbs of torque with a 2-bbl Holley carb. Interestingly, it fell off power by 6500 rpms. Could certainly use more induction....
About 182 hp at the flywheel.

Bob

[jordan]

I just made this for every one to post any problem or good things that happened on the way to, from or at carlisle.

For me the drive there was great, no problems. driving around there I some times had problems with the starter found out about an hour ago that my stereo is drawing alot of power all the time and it killed the battery and that wasnt easy to die (1000 cold cranking amps) so I will have to recheck some wiring. about 20 minutes from home I was driving down some rumble strips on an off ramp and the rear right beauty ring decided to roll down the ramp next to my car instead of on it. it took about 15 minutes to find but it wasn't damaged too bad. I saw about 20 hub caps next to that off ramp and in a ditch by it there was a whole outer tractor trailer duel wheel complete with hub.

[neuropel]

Todd Kirby here...Tom Cavataio and I made it home with no problems. Although we had at least 20 tickets between us, no dice on the giveaway car. Just ignore my 1964 VW at next year's Carlisle, OK? (just kidding...we weren't even close unfortunately, but there's always next year). Great weather all weekend, and a real honor to spend a couple of nice relaxing days with such great, friendly people. Given all the bad things going on in the world, it really restores one's faith in people to be around so many friendly, honest people with similar interests. My sincere thanks to everyone for making it such a great time.

I have some pics, but I don't seem to have the ability to upload more than one at a time. Is there a simpler way? I have some great photos of the roller rocker setup and a few car pics.

I'm sure the stories will start coming forth shortly. Kudos to Charles for finding the Appalachian Inn as all the accomodations, including food choices, were excellent. I'm already looking forward to next year!

Todd
PS...I randomly chose a pic to upload, and it was one of the shots of the roller rocker setup. Enjoy! More to come...

[garrymc]

Originally Posted by neuropel PS...I randomly chose a pic to upload, and it was one of the shots of the roller rocker setup. Enjoy! More to come...

Ahh...those are nice but that taped on master cylinder cover has got to go !

[GTJIM]

Originally Posted by neuropel PS...I randomly chose a pic to upload, and it was one of the shots of the roller rocker setup. Enjoy! More to come...

Not only Roller Rockers - there are the unmistakable signs of a Roller Cam in there too!!

[Gary]

Please post Carlisle photos here: http://opelgt.com/photos/showgallery.php/cat/3042

It will make it much easier to view and to upload.

[BQS4]

ToAll;
This is a Newbie's viewpoint, in a word "GO!!!!!" I
know I posted earlier that I was not goig, but, at the
last minute I changed my mind and an shotgunned up
with another newbie Edwin. Guys and Gals, next year,
we wear name tags with our screen names :-) Anyway,
I'm not sure whether Ewdin & I got the "farthest
distance driven" (GA) 10 hours up, with one stop, and
approx 11 hours back, with 2 stops and an EXTREMELY
slow ride due to a horrendous rain storm for a brief
period, but, no incidents. But, farthest distance
travelled goes to Todd Kirby's wife, Gina (she came
from Ireland, DEWD!!!!)As I spent the weekend
Opel-less, I really wished I had brought my Wagon,
but, I won't digress here, but, I will say, that
Saturday we had 34 total, for that day! The high point
of Friday, after heavy thunderstorms and lightning in
the morning (which clear off early and turn out
extremely sunny and nice) was a certain member
arriving with a trailered GT and not bringing the
correct key to un-lock the door ;-), which resulting
in practically everyone trying their Opel key(s) in
it, calling Carlisle security, and finally being coat
hangered open. The best "pat on the back" will go to
Andy Legge for trailering his non-operating GT up from
Savannah, GA, just to park it on the show field and
earning him an award. Andy, we WILL get together :-)
Dinner that night (Fri) was great, the place was
definitely the best place to be, we shall return.
Friday night was spent in the upstairs conference
rooms talking, swapping stories, bench racing,
sampling various brews and having an even better time.
Saturday was THE day, 34 cars was the final count. We
also found out the highs and lows of "Opel power" as
there was a chassis dyno set up at the show field.
Needless to say, Gregg's extreme yellow 75 Sportwagon,
with a Bob Legere blessed 2.5 motor, pulled a 152HP,
at the rear wheels! Bob, get us the numbers when you
finish tuning it out! At the opposite end, was Tom
Adkins' all original 12K mileage 1.1 69 GT, which
pulled a 43HP at the rear wheels! Go Tom! (And I'm
glad to finally meet you!) Charles' Bitter pulled
125HP, and I think Duane's Manta pulled about the
same. Dinner Saturday night was great, at the diner
next to the motel, which was very handy, and as Friday
night, the evening was topped off at the conference
room for more "sampling" and chatting. I'm still
sitting here trying to remember the faces and names,
but, that will take some time. There was a great mix
of cars, as the GT was the prominent one there, and
excellent showing of Mantas, 3 Sportwagons and 1
Kadett wagon, and 2 Kadett sedans, one 2dr, and one 4
dr. I'll have to collect my thoughts and post more,
but, I will have to say, from a viewpoint of one that
almost didn't go, I'm VERY glad I did!
Roy- I'll get with Jarrell and we'll meet again soon.
Elwood- Kudos for baggin' the Recaros, I'll get the
frames done soon, and you'll be sittin' in style next
year.
Charles- send the TE 2800 kit and I'll get that going,
and if you want the Bitters done, I can do that and
I'll do a stock GT like we talked about.
Ken- I'll get up to Braselton and check out the BMW
yard there for you and keep you posted.
Gary- I'll get those articles posted
Vickie- thanks for buying the all the stuff
Scott- don't look so shocked next time, lol.
Todd- try to come to Atlanta for when Eddy gets here.
Tom- thank your brother for the invite, but, it all
worked out.
Andy- come on over to Atlanta and I'll see if I can
gather a few others for a meet.
I know I have missed a few others, but, I'm still
trying to struggle through all the overload of the
weekend, but, I had an absolute blast being amoungst
all those cars and people with the same passion as
mine. I'll DEFINITELY be looking forward to next
year!!
Gene


=====

[BQS4]

Due to the info overload, my brain (or lack thereof) I wanted to mention, that I did get pics of all the cars Saturday and I'll post them on the site here.

[jlthunder]

Thanks to all at this years event. This was my first time there(always wanted to go). The people were great and it was great to talk to people about our cars. Thanks again BQS4 for solving my 22 year Mystery of why the engine in my Manta Luxus with Air siezed up back in '82. I'll post pictures, as per Garys instructions, as soon as I get the film developed. I haven't entered the digital age yet, I'm still running my GT on Points and Condenser

[Sportwagon75]

Greetings All - Well...Emilyn and I rolled in about 10pm last night after a reasonably uneventful 6 hour drive. With the wagon and the Manta, we had our own little Opel mini-caravan and got alot of thumbs-up admirers along the way. We had an absolutely GREAT time, made alot of new friends and connected some screen names with faces. This is one of the best weekends I've enjoyed in a long time and I sincerely hope we can expand the ranks as much again next year. I personally spoke with two people who said they owned Opels but never knew there were any clubs or gatherings. One gentleman said he lived 20 miles from Carlisle and had a showroom condition GT but never saw any Opels at the shows he attended. Personal thanks to John Grosh and Gene Smith for hooking me up with some much needed parts. Thanks John for all your efforts in chronicling the weekend, tending to the details and for your labors as "grill sergeant"!!
The only problem I had was a small glitch with the Manta. After a couple hours of hot, highway driving...it seemed like it was starving for fuel while going up hills and around left hand turns. It felt like a plugged fuel filter or pickup sock in the tank. The problem got progressively worse until it finally lost all power and stalled. But when I restarted the engine...the problem was gone. After another 10 miles or so...the problem would come back. For the remainder of the trip...whenever it started to buck and hesitate...I just stepped on the clutch, turned off the ignition and coasted for 100 yards or so. Then I turned the ignition back on, dropped the clutch and went on my merry way. The only thing I could think of was perhaps a sticky fuel pressure regulator...which I will replace tomorrow. If anyone has other suggestions...please let me know. Otherwise...this was a great weekend!! Great food, great accomodations, great weather, great Opels...and GREAT fellowship. See Y'all next year!!

PS - The wagon is still for sale. If there are no takers...I'll post it on Ebay soon.

[Ooooner]

This was my second time at Carlisle and the first with my GT. I really enjoyed getting to know everyone and putting faces with screen names. The idea of having name tags with screen names under our names would be an idea to consider for next year.
I had drove my 73 GT to New York City from Charlotte, NC to visit my daughter on Wednesday and then back to Carlisle on Friday morning. Then back to NC on Sunday, which was an 8 hour trip by itself. The GT ran great the whole time but you can bet when I redo the seats in a few months, there will be extra padding placed in the seat area!
Thanks to everyone who made the show a success and thanks for the friendships made.

Roy Bell

[jordan]

My uncle was searching on the audi site and in the back round is our row of opels. kinda cool http://www.audiworld.com/news/04/carlisle/

[BQS4]

Jordan;
I looked at the other pictures and lo and behold here's a great shot of the flag I sold Andy Legge!!!

[Hans Speederman]

I liked the vendor set up on the other side of Nu-Chrome...scared me when I saw OPEL GT $1.00 on that plywood. Cylinder heads $10, 4-speeds $25? That's crazy! Those LED tail lights are pretty neat. And I nabbed floorboards which made the trip back to Virginia strapped to the back of my '72 GT...wish I took a picture. And despite a fan belt breaking on 94 on my dad's '70 GT, everything went over real smooth with the girlfriend, which was the biggest shocker.