PROJECT - Restoration of 1972 Opel GT Download

[opelspyder]

Belly pan is officaially part of the car again. When bonding fiberglass to metal, it is always important to insure that cracks will not develop later. We use a Lord Adhesive here made for bonding metal to metal and fiberglass to metal. It is actually crash tested and is what most bodyshops are using to attach quarter panels!!! We glue then clamp it down to set and then trim the edges. Robert trimmed this afternoon and it looks really good. The fiberglass pan was a little bit of an pain, but was most feesible at the time.
Keith

[opelspyder]

We are in the wetsanding stage of the body shop part. What happens is after you have done all the bodywork, and then primed-you begin to step down in grit on sand paper...of course by sand paper numbers it goes higher---so lets say FINER. This actually will make the primer as smooth as the final paint in the most part so you can see a gloss or shine from the primer. Helps to see if any final pits or high lows need to be addressed. Then it is ready for paint. The runny white water is from the wet sanding and will be cleaned off with a precleaner before painting. Decided we will paint it on the rotisserie as well.
Keith

[opelspyder]

Well Friday is the day. The long awaited day has come. At 6:00 AM the Opel GT will be painted 60620 Fireglow Orange. We are focusing on the main body as we have to paint in the engine bay and all. I checked over the body, and I see nothing that henders us from expecting a sweet paint job. I cannot wait until tomorrow to download the pictures. NOW-comes my disclaimer...I cannot predict the future...we mayu end up with hell when we are done. Things do happen. But I have faith that we will end up with a sweet finished project. We will be wetsanding and buffing the body on the rotisserie, and then mounting the car back on to the chassis. That way we do not get a bunch of wetsand residue all over a sweet chassis. Enjoy the suspense
Keith

[opelspyder]

4-1/2 hours later and we are finished. I basically rotated the car while Robert painted it. We had a fun time. The body was straight as an arrow and only one small run near the front marker light (easy fix during wetsanding) I can't believe how nice it turned out. Oh, to video tape a 4-1/2 hour paint job would have been a pain. I didn't even want to take pictures due to it being one less thing to cause an error. Enjoy the pics!
Keith

[opelspyder]

Here are some more pics.
Keith

[opelspyder]

Here is some different lighting
Keith

[opelspyder]

Here are a few more in front of a white background where it recieved all its metal work. I did not see any orange peel, nor flaws of any signifigance. Will take very little finish work to complete. The prep and bodywork is number 1 on a project like this, but Robert is a skilled painter as well. I learned a few things while working on it with him.

[opelspyder]

Here are the other items after paint. We have wetsanded and polished the body, and now ready to take care of the doors and hoods. I will begin assembly of the car and have several pictures coming up today and this week
Keith

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[opelspyder]

Here I have reundercoated just the fender wells. I cannot stand the look of a car without blacked out fenderwells-just a personal thing. Then I began putting it together. First the new brake lines are installed as this is much easier to do 1st. Then I installed the firewall material, and then fished the headlight cable through. I also made a stainless steel fuel line out of 5/16 and pre-bent it to the body. I will reinstall this once everything is set with the motor, as there are certain clamps that come off the engine.
Keith

[opelspyder]

Rotisserie needs to go home. So here we begin the where we started in January going back onto the lift. I am removing the rotisserie and it will be ready for anyone else that needs a GT restored at my shop-plug. Anyways here are the pics. The car has been given several new names in the shop-I guess by the last pictures it did give me the munchies
Keith

[opelspyder]

Well with everything running smoothly, the engine is going in. Actually I didn't even lay a scratch when putting it in, it went smooth. Tightened up and getting late-so rear end and fuel line tomorrow; maybe front end and some dynamat. Who knows, maybe we'll have the doors on?
Keith

[opelspyder]

I couldn't get back to sleep this morning, so I came in about 4:30 and got to wrestling the rear end into the car. The new bushings are good, but the bolts they give you, you have to drill out larger to accomidate them. I will end up putting the rear trailering link on after I can get it on the ground. It's easier when someone can push down on it and then hook the bar. I then installed things like the clutch cable-just merely routing it as of now, and I installed the stainless fuel line. I like to flare the ends of the tubing to give a better seal. Stainless is tough, but I use a hydralic flaring tool just for this job. I will put things like springs and such the further I get into the assembly. I then began the front end assembly and putting on the tierod ends. It is really nice having all this stuff ready to go and powdercoated. It makes short work on the finishing assembly. I am for the most part going to use the original clamps and such that were used to hold cables down, but may make some new clamps for other areas.
Keith

[opelspyder]

Put the wheels on it to make it movable once again. It will get the wheels coated, and new trim rings and such. It is sitting pretty high in the front, due to new bushings that are alot stiffer, no battery in front or radiator, bumpers, and such. They tend to sit high in the front anyways-always worse when just put back together. Its nice to see this car is in the stage it was in the 3rd or 4th post of this thread, too bad it will still take several more post until it will be done though. Al here at the shop has been calling it Cheetos' Diablos. I don't think it will stick, but had to put a plug in here for him too.
Keith

[opelspyder]

Had a chance to do a little bit of Dynamat on the inside of the car. I chose to use the Dynamat Extreme. It is more for noise reduction, than temperatures, but still provides a heat block. I like this over there other lines as it really adhears well, and contours whatever you are covering. They offer a little roller to help you flatten it down. I will be doing as much as I can, without hindering on the interior installation. Parts of the tunnel will be left, do to the consoles always seem to be a little tight going back in with new carpet. I also am working on the headlight cable hardware. A new cable will be used, but the old hardware must be used. I have two ends in excellent shape that with the proper grease, should give us years of use. Also I forgot to mention, the rubber boots and grommets GT Source is offering, fit great!!!! The underneath of this car looks great, and the rear drainboots, and floor plugs and e barke boot, makes it even better. Its nice to be able to have that stuff, and makes it a real showpiece underneath.
Keith

[opelspyder]

Remeber back in a earlier post I mentioned drilling 2, 1/8in holes in each hindge on both the body and door side. This is why, attach doors one time and they shut and are lined up perfectly. I installed door stickers as well. Looks a lot more complete now.
Keith

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[opelspyder]

Here I've gone way ahead of myself and put the front emblem on. I know, I know-add the jewelry last, but I could not help myself. Also continued applying Dynamat on roof and doors. Here is the picture of the door stickers from last post.
Keith

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[opelspyder]

Installed the hood and finished off the package of Dynamat. Looks great and will need some hood rubber trimmed down to make it sweet. I swore I powdercoated a hood prod, but cannot find it, oh well good thing I have extras
Keith

[opelspyder]

Car will be slowing down on assembly, mainly due to certain things that just take time. Like wiring and such. I like to sit back and work on that stuff without being worried about getting it done quickly. I finished off the Dynamat getting it into places I feel heat and noise would be a hinderance. I left the top of the tunnel due to the fact that everytime I install new carpet, the consoles always seem to fit tighter, and with that in mind, I need to keep as much clearance as I can get. Its really fun though installing new and powdercoated pieces. Makes life easier and makes it all worth the while. I installed the new washer squirters from GTSource. They have 90 degree tubes attached to them, which makes them a little tougher to install, but seem more practical. I also removed the rear rotisserie bracket, and will begin putting rear bumpers on and begin some of the wiring. Still need to sandblast the ground strap and tie up the headlight cable.
Keith

We decided to keep the cowl area body color for now. I kinda like it. That is always something we can change later to black like the factory had it if we decide to. Will be painting inside it though.

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[opelspyder]

Installed rear emblems on the car and pulled outside for a look. Looks great, will be going on a trailer over to my shop today, as I will be finishing it up there...don't worry, will still post until the end. Also you might wonder where I got the color for the engine-last picture tells all. Will be taking that car to the Goodguys show.
Keith

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[opelspyder]

I had a few odds and ends (and still do) to powdercoat. The hood prod and under hood items as well as the front bumper support. Moved the car into its final assembly area. It looks a little lonely in the new shop, but it will have company soon. This shop is going to be kinda dedicated to working on Opels. I have my 4 post lift to put in it and some old dealership signs and such
Keith

[opelspyder]

Installed the pedals (still have to install support bracket) and the window trim rubber on the doors. Hood prod installed and getting ready for an order of some stainless bolts for bumpers and other odd and ends. Its been a little while since my last post as I have been moving in cars and such in the new shop. Just picked one up in Oklahoma City area. That will be the next mechanical resto. I will be posting more frequently about the assembly. There will be quite a bit of wiring modified on the harness. I will be downsizing the micro switch wires and doing the headlight wires as well. I will be using factory style connectors and terminals as well as color coded wiring special ordered for the Opel harnesses. I hope that will be enjoyable as well.
Keith

[opelspyder]

Finally got the window trim polished up and installed on the doors. With the new rubber from GT Source, it really makes a difference on how it fits. The window channel rubber is expensive, but does seem worth the cost when you figure all the trouble the trim is on my original rubber GT. It is the sure fix to chomer hanging on a GT. Also I have been tied up with moving equipment into the garage and all. I had to assemble the lift over the weekend. Since It will not be in use for a couple weeks, I came up with a neat way to save some space in the shop. NOTE: the yellow GT is from Oklahoma City area and will be my next project. It is starting out as a mechanical restoration.
Keith

[opelspyder]

Wiring is the part of the restoration I really enjoy. I could go out and buy a new harness for this car, but it would never be the way I wanted it and I would end up redoing it some way or another. I am taking a lot of advice from Destec off the wiring diagrams. I want to eliminate, and reduce the size of the main headlight harness. In order to do this the micro switch wiring must be downsized (too large from the factory #12-can run #20 wire here) Also I can eliminate one of the microswitch wires all together as the one side does the same operation as it seems. I want to then add wires for such things as the Amp. The engine wiring will be redone also and I will incorporate an electric choke wire and remove the resistor wire and replace it with a full 12v wire for the electronic ignition. I will be installing a relay for the starter and possibly for the headlights. I like to use the factory style Packard Terminals as I cannot stand using Stak-ons. The have their purpose, but long lasting wiring is not it. The original style terminals have to be crimped with a special tool, but once you get the hang of it, it ends up being so much cleaner of an install. I also add a little solder to the connections as well. I do NOT us Electrical tape to wrap my harness in. I remeber seeing Destec even post this as well that the original wrap was not electrical tape, but a pcv or vinyl non-stick wrap. They actually tied it at the end of each run of wiring. It does give it a cleaner look and is less forgiving to stretching. The last picture shows the difference in new and old wrap. I will rewrap everything.
Keith

[opelspyder]

Here is the reason why the wiring gets replaced on the headlights-its brittle from rubber insulation and will short out. Notice the crubbled wiring and corrosion. Fortunately this car was parked way before the headlight wiring went bad. Actually I don't belive even a fuse was replaced from this harness. I begin from cutting the vinyl wrapping and I temporarly wire tie my breaks off the harness (breaks=wires that branch out from the harness. I want to be sure that the harness will route as factory had it, and maintain the proper length of each branch. I replaced the yellow and white wire alltogether and you can see how the new packard terminal blens well at the relay( yellow wire) I will split out the yellow and white wires like the factory did and will be using a splice connector made specifically for multiple wires. I will the solder the wires together and use heat shring over the connections. I also do not use the part store headlight connectors that are pre-wired. Usually they are 16-18 gauge wired and I feel if you are running 12 gauge all the way out-then the connector wires need to be the same. I will also be using the large blade Packard terminals here.
Keith

[opelspyder]

Okay-since the last update I have accomplished many small tasks, nothing major except bumpers. I installed all the bumpers and bumperettes. I use stainless steel bolts which I special ordered to put these on. I feel this is an area that when you really need to get the bumpers off-bolts start breaking and all h$$$ breaks loose. So for the guy down the road that may work on this later-your welcome. I also carry that into some engine bay items as well. I installed the GT Sorce repro heater control valve. There is not a perfect place for it, so I modified and shaped the mounts to fit nice. Looks like it will be a longer lasting item as well. I have been painting the radiator and shroud, doing a little odd and end extras. I was able to install the booster and master cylinder with the mount arm. It looks great. Check it out
Keith