Finally got the new GT on the road!

[First opel 1981]

I came back to this forum after a lengthy time without an Opel. In December I got a bug and all of a sudden bought one with a cracked head.
All of a sudden I was waist deep in rebuilding the motor. It was supposed to be a budget rebuild but ended up being a bit more. I'm still under $500 (I think) on the cost of the rebuild thanks to some flat top pistons from (SVOpel) Ken of Ohio.
I did have to have the block bored a little for the pistons but it was going to need honed anyhow so it wasn't any big deal.

Today my son was all grins when I let him know it was finally ready for him to take it home. He really was worried and stalled for over 2 hours before he finally drove it out of my driveway. I admit I was hesitant to let it leave because I bonded a little with the puddle jumper. I was also hesitant because I didn't get a chance to properly run it to check for oddball problems. I wish I had.

Before my son came over I was having a hard time getting it to idle so I quickly rebuilt the carbureator. Webers aren't that difficult so I knew it would only take a short time. He showed up just as I was finishing and I made him put on the fuel filter while I finished up.

Now the fun began. I first took him on a little jaunt to show him how an Opel GT should be driven. The car needs a little rejuvenation in the suspension but he's doing that later. It was a fun little drive with the car scooting away at stoplights. I figured this would tune the car a little and let me check for leaks and such. All in all the car was doing pretty good with its old untested components mixed with his 1927CC hi-compression motor. It still wouldn't idle well so we worked on that for a bit. Finally got a nice smooth idle at 1050RPM and attributed the little vibration below that to the used spark plugs we had to use. (The parts store didn't have the right plugs, or rather had no idea what plugs would work in an Opel GT).

Well, finally, after a few months of work. A few setbacks. A few mistakes corrected in the nick of time, finally....he drove it away. I told him to call me when he got it home so I wouldn't have to worry. It's only a 7 mile drive, what could go wrong, right?

Well.....it didn't make it.

The little thing just liked not having to work. It crapped out about halfway to his house so it was off to the rescue. On the way I was racking my brain trying to figure out all of the potential problems.

He had run the battery down trying to restart it so we tried a push start. Nothing worked so I went and got the ol tow strap. Didn't want to do it!!

As luck would have it, he called his friend who was going to be passing by. His friend is a backyard mechanic like myself so it was two brains there instead of just mine. I finally got the problem narrowed to the fuel system which is, suffice to say, likely my fault.

We could get the engine to fire and try to start when the pedal was pumped but as soon as the initial gas from pumping was gone it would die. Then we figured out that the engine would run at 2500RPM if the choke was held completely closed. I don't know where it was getting the air from but it made me think it was a vacuum leak. Well, it wasn't.

His friend asked how hard it was to remove the top of the carb. It made me think that it's as good a place as any to do a quick check to see if there was more gunk that I missed. Well....and this made me laugh and want to cry at the same time. There was ONE, little teeny tiny piece of gunk that had made a perfect seal on the primary fuel input out of the float bowl. This piece was so tiny that under most circumstances I wouldn't have even noticed it.

With the help of a soda straw, we blew the fuel passage out, reassembled the carb and the engine fired right up. It runs quiet and strong. My son is impressed with the way it gets up and goes.

It's amazing how something as small as a (small) bread crumb could disable the car like that. At least I can say...today....there is another Opel GT on the road. One likely to be turning a few heads when he gets done with the body work.

[OrangPeEL]

Originally Posted by First opel 1981 ...after a few months of work. A few setbacks. A few mistakes corrected in the nick of time, finally....he drove it away.

Nice job! But you'll be getting one for yourself soon, right??

[First opel 1981]

Originally Posted by OrangPeEL Nice job! But you'll be getting one for yourself soon, right??

Oh, nobody knows what I might do next. I usually don't know till it's too late.

BUT, I do have a nice core 1.9 block in the garage and you all have helped me come up with a few ideas for. I'm thinking of boring it out a bit and stroking the crank a little. The only thing that holds me back is that I am a motor guy. If I am going to get another GT for myself (which is likely) then it needs to need a minimum of body work. I don't even care if it has a motor as long as the body is good. I can sew interiors, I can rebuild/repair most anything mechanical but I lack the patience needed for sandpaper.

[GatorDude]

Very cool! It's fun to get a GT running and overcome little obstacles along the way.

[First opel 1981]

Originally Posted by OrangPeEL Nice job! But you'll be getting one for yourself soon, right??

Well, you called it.

Tonight I bought another GT. Its a 73 that is 98% rust free and it appears everything is there. Will need to be rewired and check/reseal the engine. The interior needs some help as well. It hasn't been licensed in 12 years and in dry storage the whole time it was parked.

All in all, I am pretty happy with the buy. This one will be back on the road in short order.