Pro Sport Opel GT Rescue

[kwilford]

Time for another Calgary Opel rescue story. If you recall, the last one was documented at:
http://www.opelgt.com/forums/opel-st...t-rescued.html
Now, a little over a year later, I have another story. This story likely won't have as happy an ending, but at least some parts will be put to use.

A few weeks ago, the president of our local Vintage Sports Car Club of Calgary (www.vsccc.com) received a call from a fellow who had an Opel GT that was going to get towed to the crusher if someone didn't take him up on his offer to give it away. He sent a note out to members, and being the gluttons for punishment that we are, John Warga (aka "ftl"), Trevor Poffenroth (aka "poffenroth") and myself loaded up my custom built body dolly onto John's trailer (the tool of several Opel stories already) and went to see what needed rescuing.

It turned out to be GT that I was a bit familiar with. Several years ago I got a note via OGT.com from a lady who had a partially built race car (her term) that her boyfriend had spent many years, and muchous dollars, building. The sad story was that he had been killed in a car accident, and the GT was languishing in her garage. The photos she sent me indicated that it was more drag racer than street GT, as it had a Chevy small block 383 stroker and such. After mentioning the car here, the story went quiet. Until this past weekend.

It had been bought by a local race car builder, with the intention of selling the expensive pieces (the engine was professionally built, worth upwards of $15k apparently) and then finishing off the intended conversion into what he calls a Pro Street car. After two years (and some profit from selling some of the parts), he realized that he was:

a) too tall to fit in the car (he is 6' 6")
b) too busy with life and other projects to actually work on it

so he was giving it away. And so we came to collect it.

The most interesting part, aside from the fact that the V8 conversion hadn't gotten very far (the engine was simply "tabbed" temporarily in place, and there was no rear unibody left as the owner had cut it away to make room for a tube-chassis sub-frame) was the extent of the body modifications that had been done. There were bills back from 1987, as I suspect that this was a "project" for some time before the V8 conversion began. It had tee-tops, a front spoiler/splitter, a rear wing, and side skirts, all done in sheet metal (NO fiberglass!) and very well done. Apparently the owner had paid for this to be done, and I can only imagine the cost; certainly many thousands of dollars.

Anyway, here are the first five photos:

[kwilford]

Many of the body mods are of a style more from the 80's rather than the present, among them the tee tops and the flip down gas filler cover behind the license plate. Irrespective of the taste, the quality was top notch. The raised hood scoop (a la LT1 or Chevelle SS) is completely metal. The body was stiffened with substantial frame rails added between the jack points (which were still intact, thankfully, as it is how my body dolly attaches), and the front spoiler/splitter is actually quite tasteful. Unfortunately, the tee tops were never finished, and had rusted, and were not fastenable (they just laid there, probably waiting on a dzus fastener solution of some kind)

[kwilford]

The side skirts were particularly well made, and the doors modified to match the new side profile. One thing though: all this new steel weighed a LOT more than equivalent fiberglass pieces. The hood, although cut out (roughly) for internal height, was almost twice as heavy as the stock hood. And the louvered rear quarters, where the windows used to reside, were also well made, but again more from an earlier era. It wasn't clear what was planned to be built for a rear sub frame, as it was a gaping hole. LOTS of room for wheel tubs, although fender flares weren't part of the body "kit", if you can call custom fabricated steel a "kit"

[kwilford]

The engine compartment wasn't very developed, which is what leads me to believe that the V8 conversion followed most of the body work. What was done was VERY rough, with crude chisel cuts and such. In truth, I don't believe much thought had gone into how to properly build a tube frame to withstand the torque of a 600 HP (conservative) engine.

The next photos are of us loading the car onto John's trailer, and heading to his house for the next stage

[kwilford]

These final photos are of the loaded GT, and the trip back to John's. Oh, and of the VIN plate for posterity, and an OpelGTSource window sticker, indicating that they supplied some parts, at least until the V8 work.

To finish the story, we just can't see the merit in actually rescuing this car. The basic body was actually quite rusted BEFORE the modifications were done, and what remains is WAY too much work to make it a runner. So it is now a parts car. Trevor needed a windshield, the side windows were recovered, and we'll cut as many useful body panels as it will yield. Unfortunately, most panels are too heavily modified to be donated, and I don't think we can salvage many (if any) of the body kit, although we will try. Next weekend, we'll pull whatever mechanical parts can be pulled, and then plasma cut the useful panels off. The remaining metal will be recycled.

And that is the story of the Pro Sport Opel GT Rescue, at least to this point in time

[namba209]

That's gonna be quite a project Keith. As far as the body work, it looks to be a fair good start, but, as you said, it will probably take the V-8 to move all that sheetmetal and the tube frame it's gonna need. You guys just gotta keep us in the loop on howgozit.

[BQS4]

Keith;
Has anyone spoke up for the hood on the car?

[Phoenix]

That is THE first T-tops that I've seen on a GT. Everyone does convertible and targa but no one is doing T-tops. It's a shame about that car, everything is truely unique but with as much metal as was cut on that car, it would be a handful just to make it a drivable 1.9.

[PROPEL]

Originally Posted by Phoenix That is THE first T-tops that I've seen on a GT. Everyone does convertible and targa but no one is doing T-tops. .

Yeah, I LIKE those t-tops! I'd consider using that roof section to replace the damaged roof on my GT which was hit by a tree.

[heimue]

Keith,

before you start the plasma cutter, maybe somebody wants the whole thing to finish the job? Actually, for about ten minutes, I was thinking about it... and 10 minutes is a long time for me thinking about a new project. I've bought cars with less thinking involved...

Anyway, this is my 1111th post, and the date today is 11/11. Funny!

Dieter

[wrench459]

All the snow brrrrr
Too bad its getting parted out.. I keep seeing an array of hilborn stacks peeking out of the hood.
On the other side of the coin ..thanks for the pictures
I've decided not to completely roll the nose. Better to leave a hint of the joint line.

[jeff denton]

I think the car is beautiful. Or could be. Certainly not as a "stock chassis-ed" restoration, but as a bad-ass street car with a real frame and rollcage fabbed up. It's not that hard to do. There's a shop here that would do it quite well at a reasonable price, seeing as how we won't be building any more race cars!

[kwilford]

Originally Posted by BQS4 Keith; Has anyone spoke up for the hood on the car?

You're the first Gene. I should warn you, it is QUITE heavy, and the opening from below is completely unfinished, rather not in keeping with the rest of the body mods. And there isn't an apparent method of hinging it either.
Here is a photo of the underside. If you really want it, John or I could find out the approximate cost to ship it, but being big and heavy, it might be too dear

[kwilford]

Originally Posted by PROPEL Yeah, I LIKE those t-tops! I'd consider using that roof section to replace the damaged roof on my GT which was hit by a tree.

If someone REALLY wanted the complete roof including the tee tops, it could be readily cut off, probably best at the top of the pillars so as to preserve the work that was done to stiffen the remaining roof. But again, there's that pesky shipping issue.

[kwilford]

Originally Posted by heimue Keith, before you start the plasma cutter, maybe somebody wants the whole thing to finish the job?

Absolutely. If it could be given away, once we recover a few parts to make it worth the trouble to have recovered the car, that would be preferable to simply cutting it up and crushing the rest. But the reality is that Calgary is a darn long drive to where most of you live (even Jeff in "nearby" Montana is a half dozen hours drive). John already has his GT in his garage, the first Rescue GT (with only 28,000 original miles and stored most of it's life in a heated garage) in his back yard, and now this GT on his front drive. I doubt that he can be convinced to let it linger for more than a couple of weeks, as he REALLY doesn't run a salvage yard.

Speaking of the Rescue GT, I suspect that he could be fairly easily convinced to sell that car, as it has already spent one winter outside and another is closing in, and the previously un-rusted body is starting to get a bit rusty where the primer isn't doing too great a job of warding off the evil tin worm gods. If anyone is interested, drop "ftl" a PM and see what he says.

[kwilford]

Originally Posted by jeff denton I think the car is beautiful. Or could be. Certainly not as a "stock chassis-ed" restoration, but as a bad-ass street car with a real frame and rollcage fabbed up. It's not that hard to do. There's a shop here that would do it quite well at a reasonable price, seeing as how we won't be building any more race cars!

So, are you gassing up the pickup and trailer for a trip north? With gas below 90 cents/litre CAN and the Canuck buck at 84 cents per $USD, the trip just got cheaper. Clearly this car needs that special touch that only a serious race car guy can give it. Come on, you KNOW you want it
I found the e-mails of two years ago from the lady who's late boyfriend was the last owner, and they actually show that it had the rear tubbed and a roll cage and such. So perhaps it CAN be resurrected...

[BQS4]

Originally Posted by kwilford You're the first Gene. I should warn you, it is QUITE heavy, and the opening from below is completely unfinished, rather not in keeping with the rest of the body mods. And there isn't an apparent method of hinging it either. Here is a photo of the underside. If you really want it, John or I could find out the approximate cost to ship it, but being big and heavy, it might be too dear

Keith;
You forget, shipping is what I do I can print up a shipping tag here and send it to you. I just need to check to see if I can do it from Canada to the US. I can do it here in the US. I'll let you know. But, if there's a speck of hope to ressurect the car, then it should stay with the car. Let me know what ya'll decide, and I'll be checking into the tag situation.

[jeff denton]

Originally Posted by kwilford So, are you gassing up the pickup and trailer for a trip north? With gas below 90 cents/litre CAN and the Canuck buck at 84 cents per $USD, the trip just got cheaper. Clearly this car needs that special touch that only a serious race car guy can give it. Come on, you KNOW you want it I found the e-mails of two years ago from the lady who's late boyfriend was the last owner, and they actually show that it had the rear tubbed and a roll cage and such. So perhaps it CAN be resurrected...

Were the economic situation just to the south of you a little better, I'd be on it like you know what. Lately, and for a while more, we have to concentrate on keeping business alive through the winter, hoping things will improve by spring. Presently I'm renovating a building to become the new Party Time Rental department home, now that the Party Time retail store is located at beautiful Hutton Ranch Plaza.
Yeah, a car like that needs to be considered only a body shell which needs a chassis made up for it. Assuming the customizing done to the exterior was done well. Hopefully it's not a bunch of hacking and chicken crap under an inch of Bondo.
The owner of our race car shop is starving. Needs work. He could put your car on the jig and have a Mini-Stock style chassis in it in no time. I'd keep it light, no overkill, and plan on running Ecotech equipment. A Honda eater...

[poffenroth]

There are two things that astound me with this car.

First, the quality of the sheet metal work that was done. The flares, the side windows, rear scoop, and the front dam are amazingly well done. The lines are straight, and everything is welded solid. No flex at all to them... well, except the entire rear body section which was really just held in place by the body panels with nothing underneath them. As someone else pointed out, he needed the 383 stroker just to move the car. I'd bet that there is 150-200 lbs of extra metal in that body.

Second, that the "typical GT body rots" weren't really fixed first. You'd think that if a quality body man was doing the work, he'd have made sure that the base was solid to start with.

The two just seem to come from opposite sides of the table.

Trev

[opelenvy]

Originally Posted by Phoenix That is THE first T-tops that I've seen on a GT. Everyone does convertible and targa but no one is doing T-tops. It's a shame about that car, everything is truely unique but with as much metal as was cut on that car, it would be a handful just to make it a drivable 1.9.

Here is a T-Top GT that I saw in Germany.

[kwilford]

A plan is afoot to salvage the ProStreet GT sometime during the next week, unless somebody comes along VERY quickly and declares their desire to take the entire car (sans the few parts that we need to salvage).

Assuming that no such declaration occurs, we will remove all the mechanical parts, and use my plasma cutter to cut out any usable panels and such and then the remaining metal will be recycled. If any member sees something that he or she covets, please let John, Trevor or myself know so that we can make the correct cuts and arrange to get it delivered.

TIA

[kwilford]

Today is the day that the ProSport GT body gets significantly lighter and then goes off to the crusher. I haven't heard from anyone who wants any of these unique body panels, except Gene who expressed an interest in the modified hood. Gene, if you still want that, please contact John Warga (aka "ftl") and you can coordinate shipping.
If there are any last minute pleas for these panels, call me TODAY on my cell at 403-862-9094, otherwise whatever we don't recover will be recycled into soup tins. Now off to fire up the plasma cutter...

[Mike Preble]

What is really interesting about this car is that I met a guy down here in Tucson who was driving a car similar to this one. I chased him down and we talked about the car he was driving. He explained that in the early '70s there were around six cars built using steal instead of fiberglass to look like this car. They were displayed in Buick dealerships around the country. He climbed up on the rear spoiler to show the integrity of the spoiler. He said his was heavy and thus slower then regular GTs.

I have spoken to other people in the local area who have had contact with this person and the car. He also stated he had gotten parts from the guys at Opel Gt source and they were familiar with the car.

If this is a true story then maybe this car has some history with Opels. If this is one of the 6 cars it could be worth something, if not monetarily but historically.

Just some food for thought. If I had the finances I would have been up there bringing this car down to AZ.

Mike

[Gary]

Originally Posted by Mike Preble What is really interesting about this car is that I met a guy down here in Tucson who was driving a car similar to this one. I chased him down and we talked about the car he was driving. He explained that in the early '70s there were around six cars built using steal instead of fiberglass to look like this car. They were displayed in Buick dealerships around the country. He climbed up on the rear spoiler to show the integrity of the spoiler. He said his was heavy and thus slower then regular GTs. I have spoken to other people in the local area who have had contact with this person and the car. He also stated he had gotten parts from the guys at Opel Gt source and they were familiar with the car. If this is a true story then maybe this car has some history with Opels. If this is one of the 6 cars it could be worth something, if not monetarily but historically. Just some food for thought. If I had the finances I would have been up there bringing this car down to AZ. Mike

Kind of like that Tempest Pro Street shell that sold for $250,000...

[kwilford]

John, Trevor and I spent most of today removing whatever else was salvageable from the ProSport GT. We had already recovered the front suspension clip, the windshield and door windows and mechanisms, and such. Today we salvaged the door hinges, wiper motor, heater motor (the fan motor had been re-located in a sideways manner so as to provide more clearance along side the V8, and was then pretty much glued in place, but I missed getting a photo), rear bumpers, and sundry other parts. In truth, this was far from a complete GT, and would have been pretty much impossible to finish without a complete donor car. We also fired up my flapper sander and plasma cutter and did our best to salvage the useful metal parts.

Originally Posted by Mike Preble What is really interesting about this car is that I met a guy down here in Tucson who was driving a car similar to this one. I chased him down and we talked about the car he was driving. He explained that in the early '70s there were around six cars built using steal instead of fiberglass to look like this car. They were displayed in Buick dealerships around the country. He climbed up on the rear spoiler to show the integrity of the spoiler. He said his was heavy and thus slower then regular GTs. I have spoken to other people in the local area who have had contact with this person and the car. He also stated he had gotten parts from the guys at Opel GT source and they were familiar with the car. If this is a true story then maybe this car has some history with Opels. If this is one of the 6 cars it could be worth something, if not monetarily but historically.

While the steel body mods were of quite high quality, I don't believe that they were of the quality that would indicate that six GT's such as this were built. Virtually every part I worked on looked like they were "one-offs", and often made up of a number of pieces to make the whole part. Upon closer inspection (like, I ground a BUNCH of body filler away), the mods were not as well done as they first appeared. Bondo hides a lot of sins!

Originally Posted by Gary Kind of like that Tempest Pro Street shell that sold for $250,000...

If only. Heck, for one-hundredth of that I would weld all the pieces I cut off back in place.

Anyway, for posterity's sake, and for general grins and giggles, here are a bunch of photos of how three Calgarian Opel nuts spent their Grey Cup day. Oh, bye the by, the Calgary Stampeders won the Canadian Football League's Grey Cup today, triumphing over the Montreal Alouette's by a score of 22 to 14.

These photos are of the ProStreet GT sitting on John's driveway this morning