Twenty Two Years!

bello · 09-02-2007

Hello All- Well, this Labor Day Weekend marks 22 years since my 78 Kadett GT/E arrived in the US thru Jacksonville, FL. My wife Cristina and I imported this car- a former "track slut" from the Nurburgring because it seemed like the right thing to do! Little did I know I would own this car so long- the kids are grown & gone, I have grown older if not wiser, my wife still tolerates the Opel (she does Driving Schools in her M3 at Porsche and BMW Club events) and the long-suffering Opel is still rocking! When it arrived, it was really a street car with some battle scars from the previous owner's adventures in Germany. I was able to import it as a "racecar" under DOT and EPA exemptions where you could import ONE non-conforming car per lifetime. And a solemn promise to the Feds that it would never be driven on public roads. Over the years we have gone from autocrossing to "Lapping Days" to Instructor Run Group use to a dedicated Vintage Racecar- its main occupation since 1995! We have had our ups & downs of course- 2005 was my year "in the barrel"- seems like all the bad luck I had not had previously finally caught up with me! 5 DNF's and ONE completed race, which I won, in Homestead, FL. 2005 was such a let down after being the Class Champion in HSR's Class 3R in 2003 & 2004! Well, 2006 was better- no Championship but I did win 2 or 3 races, skipped the rest of the season. So far, 2007 looks good- have won the 2 races I've entered- at Sebring in March and The Walter Mitty Challenge at Road Atlanta in April...haven't raced since- life is getting complicated, etc! Have just installed a new motor, am going to Homestead tomorrow, ostensibly to be an Instructor for NASA, but being a Track Junkie, I am really there to "break in" the new motor and tune for a couple of more races I plan to do this year in Savannah (Roebling Road) and Sebring. Can't think of a better way to celebrate the Opel's 22nd Anniversary! Of course on Monday we will have the mandatory "honeydo" list of things to do around the house... Regards to all! Ernie

Rionart · 09-02-2007

Have a great weekend Ernie...just remember..."The older you get, the faster you were!!"
LOL...Here's to another 22 years of flogging the living daylights out of your poor Kadett!
Cheers, Rob.

davegt27 · 09-02-2007

wow congrats on 22 years of racing an Opel that has to be some type of record

way to go
Davegt27

RallyBob · 09-02-2007

Congrats Ernie.

I'm not worried about your Kadett holding up...that can always be rebuilt. It's the old nut behind the wheel that you have to worry about!

Bob

jeff denton · 09-02-2007

What a great story! It's nice that you can race when you want to, and do something else if that's what you feel like. How it should be. I would never be in a points chase again. It's slavery. It's just for fun now, when it looks like it would be fun.
NASA instructor, huh? That's awesome! So I wanna know, is there any truth to the stories of astronauts being launched snockered? I totally doubt it.
Good luck in the NEXT 22 years of racing!

09-02-2007	#1 (permalink)
bello Opeler Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: West Palm Beach, FL Posts: 30	Twenty Two Years! Hello All- Well, this Labor Day Weekend marks 22 years since my 78 Kadett GT/E arrived in the US thru Jacksonville, FL. My wife Cristina and I imported this car- a former "track slut" from the Nurburgring because it seemed like the right thing to do! Little did I know I would own this car so long- the kids are grown & gone, I have grown older if not wiser, my wife still tolerates the Opel (she does Driving Schools in her M3 at Porsche and BMW Club events) and the long-suffering Opel is still rocking! When it arrived, it was really a street car with some battle scars from the previous owner's adventures in Germany. I was able to import it as a "racecar" under DOT and EPA exemptions where you could import ONE non-conforming car per lifetime. And a solemn promise to the Feds that it would never be driven on public roads. Over the years we have gone from autocrossing to "Lapping Days" to Instructor Run Group use to a dedicated Vintage Racecar- its main occupation since 1995! We have had our ups & downs of course- 2005 was my year "in the barrel"- seems like all the bad luck I had not had previously finally caught up with me! 5 DNF's and ONE completed race, which I won, in Homestead, FL. 2005 was such a let down after being the Class Champion in HSR's Class 3R in 2003 & 2004! Well, 2006 was better- no Championship but I did win 2 or 3 races, skipped the rest of the season. So far, 2007 looks good- have won the 2 races I've entered- at Sebring in March and The Walter Mitty Challenge at Road Atlanta in April...haven't raced since- life is getting complicated, etc! Have just installed a new motor, am going to Homestead tomorrow, ostensibly to be an Instructor for NASA, but being a Track Junkie, I am really there to "break in" the new motor and tune for a couple of more races I plan to do this year in Savannah (Roebling Road) and Sebring. Can't think of a better way to celebrate the Opel's 22nd Anniversary! Of course on Monday we will have the mandatory "honeydo" list of things to do around the house... Regards to all! Ernie

09-02-2007	#2 (permalink)
Rionart Manta Maniac Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,186	Have a great weekend Ernie...just remember..."The older you get, the faster you were!!" LOL...Here's to another 22 years of flogging the living daylights out of your poor Kadett! Cheers, Rob. __________________ Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly and for the same reason.

09-02-2007	#5 (permalink)
jeff denton former opel racer Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: near some glaciers Posts: 2,863 Real Name: Jeff "Oh-Oh" Denton	What a great story! It's nice that you can race when you want to, and do something else if that's what you feel like. How it should be. I would never be in a points chase again. It's slavery. It's just for fun now, when it looks like it would be fun. NASA instructor, huh? That's awesome! So I wanna know, is there any truth to the stories of astronauts being launched snockered? I totally doubt it. Good luck in the NEXT 22 years of racing! __________________ No Opels were harmed in the filming of this movie. However two Mustangs, a Pinto, and a Capri were hospitalized. One Mustang was euthanized the next morning.

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09-02-2007	#3 (permalink)
davegt27 Certified Opelholic Join Date: May 2002 Location: Aurora, CO Posts: 936 Real Name: joe blow	wow congrats on 22 years of racing an Opel that has to be some type of record way to go Davegt27

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