The Good Samaritan

[BQS4]

Tonight, had to run out to PEP Boys to return an alt for a core charge, but, had to also make a run into ACE Hardware to get some sawsall blades. It was just after 7pm and I figured ACE would be closing soon, so I almost didn't go by, but, went in anyway. Grabbed a pack of blades and went to the register. While checking out, overheard two of the employees talking about how one was going to get his broke down mini van a few miles down the road without having to call a wrecker and pay a big bill. I offered that I carry a tow strap in my Wagon and that he was welcome to it. Well, he didn't have a tow vehicle. I offered again, my Wagon could do it. What kind of wagon you got? A 75 Opel Sportwagon. Naww, it won't pull my Dodge Caravan. I shugged, worth a try. He said, he wanted to see if it would start first, and that he would be off in about 15 minutes. I said cool, I gave him my cell number and said I had to run to Lilburn to get a core charge, but, I could swing back through where the van was, just in case. He said cool. I went to Lilburn, got the core charge and headed back. Was just pulling into the parking lot, where the van was, my phone rang, it was the ACE guy, the van wouldn't start. I wheeled around front, and popped the hatch, and pulled out the tow strap. Handed him the one end and told him to loop it over something. Pulled the other end through and the van was locked in, I literally TIED the other end to my Wagon's bumper and off we went. A little gunt, but the F.I.'ed 1.9 was up to the task. A few miles later, we pulled into the Service Center parking lot and untied both cars, pushed the van into a slot and it was done. He offered to pay for my gas, I refused saying it was fun to have pulled something that big with my little Wagon. He thanked me and said, how am I going to explain this to the guys at work? Shook hands and he jumped in his wife's car and we parted. Never underestimate the power of an Opel!!!

[Gary]

Originally Posted by BQS4 Tonight, had to run out to PEP Boys to return an alt for a core charge, but, had to also make a run into ACE Hardware to get some sawsall blades. It was just after 7pm and I figured ACE would be closing soon, so I almost didn't go by, but, went in anyway. Grabbed a pack of blades and went to the register. While checking out, overheard two of the employees talking about how one was going to get his broke down mini van a few miles down the road without having to call a wrecker and pay a big bill. I offered that I carry a tow strap in my Wagon and that he was welcome to it. Well, he didn't have a tow vehicle. I offered again, my Wagon could do it. What kind of wagon you got? A 75 Opel Sportwagon. Naww, it won't pull my Dodge Caravan. I shugged, worth a try. He said, he wanted to see if it would start first, and that he would be off in about 15 minutes. I said cool, I gave him my cell number and said I had to run to Lilburn to get a core charge, but, I could swing back through where the van was, just in case. He said cool. I went to Lilburn, got the core charge and headed back. Was just pulling into the parking lot, where the van was, my phone rang, it was the ACE guy, the van wouldn't start. I wheeled around front, and popped the hatch, and pulled out the tow strap. Handed him the one end and told him to loop it over something. Pulled the other end through and the van was locked in, I literally TIED the other end to my Wagon's bumper and off we went. A little gunt, but the F.I.'ed 1.9 was up to the task. A few miles later, we pulled into the Service Center parking lot and untied both cars, pushed the van into a slot and it was done. He offered to pay for my gas, I refused saying it was fun to have pulled something that big with my little Wagon. He thanked me and said, how am I going to explain this to the guys at work? Shook hands and he jumped in his wife's car and we parted. Never underestimate the power of an Opel!!!

Well, after knowing Mr BQS4 for a number of years, those actions do not surprise me in the least. Great story Gene.

[heimue]

That's how we know Gene, the bigger-than-life-guy! Way to go Gene!

Dieter

[traytodd]

The little engine that could.

Good Show.

[74Opel1900]

That's a great story. You should keep a camera in your glove box.

[First opel 1981]

Originally Posted by BQS4 Tonight, had to run out to PEP Boys to return an alt for a core charge, but, had to also make a run into ACE Hardware to get some sawsall blades. It was just after 7pm and I figured ACE would be closing soon, so I almost didn't go by, but, went in anyway. Grabbed a pack of blades and went to the register. While checking out, overheard two of the employees talking about how one was going to get his broke down mini van a few miles down the road without having to call a wrecker and pay a big bill. I offered that I carry a tow strap in my Wagon and that he was welcome to it. Well, he didn't have a tow vehicle. I offered again, my Wagon could do it. What kind of wagon you got? A 75 Opel Sportwagon. Naww, it won't pull my Dodge Caravan. I shugged, worth a try. He said, he wanted to see if it would start first, and that he would be off in about 15 minutes. I said cool, I gave him my cell number and said I had to run to Lilburn to get a core charge, but, I could swing back through where the van was, just in case. He said cool. I went to Lilburn, got the core charge and headed back. Was just pulling into the parking lot, where the van was, my phone rang, it was the ACE guy, the van wouldn't start. I wheeled around front, and popped the hatch, and pulled out the tow strap. Handed him the one end and told him to loop it over something. Pulled the other end through and the van was locked in, I literally TIED the other end to my Wagon's bumper and off we went. A little gunt, but the F.I.'ed 1.9 was up to the task. A few miles later, we pulled into the Service Center parking lot and untied both cars, pushed the van into a slot and it was done. He offered to pay for my gas, I refused saying it was fun to have pulled something that big with my little Wagon. He thanked me and said, how am I going to explain this to the guys at work? Shook hands and he jumped in his wife's car and we parted. Never underestimate the power of an Opel!!!

Towing with the Opel GT is fun too.

Once when I was driving back from Yreka to Portland I encountered a broken down car and offered assistance. It wasn't quite a Dodge Caravan but it was a dodge. I think it was a colt.
Well, I ended up towing that car about 200 miles back to Portland. Only had to downshift twice.
I only did it because the driver was cute though. She needed to be in Portland that morning for a job interview.

BTW, that opel GT had a trailer hitch on it. I used it a lot to take my 3 wheelers down to the beach.

Never underestimate the power of Opel.

[Gordy]

So if Gene finds you broken down by the side of the road and stops and offers his assistance, remember...it won't cost you an arm and a leg, he just wants your tow!

[jlthunder]

All right Gene! You da man! Try doing that with a small bumper Opel J/K, there are other spots to tie the rope on the small bumper Opels.

[Aardvaark]

That was good of you to do Gene. But keep in mind the old saying that
"good deeds seldom go unpunished".

[officertyo]

Way to go Gene! Good story!

[neuropel]

Having known Gene for many years, I'm not at all surprised. Way to go Dude!

[deanh74_2]

Way to go Gene! Now I know if I ever get mine running I can tow large objects. Though mine probably won't be F.I. though

Dean

[tekenaar]

. . . a "Rainy Night in Georgia" and a "Bitter" adventure . . .



. . . but I'll let Gene tell y'all the details on that one and only offer thanks again!

[BQS4]

Originally Posted by tekenaar . . . a "Rainy Night in Georgia" and a "Bitter" adventure . . . . . . but I'll let Gene tell y'all the details on that one and only offer thanks again!

Well, since Otto has brought it up, I'll tell ya'll "The rest of the Story" IT's no secret now that Otto has one of the nicest and rarest Bitters, a 3.9 liter w/265 5-spd, but, what most of you don't know is the adventure that took place getting it from NC to TX.

I had just gotten back from my yearly vacation to St. George Island in FL. I was living in Lilburn, GA at the time, and was online with Todd Kirby. Well an IM screen pops up on my pc and it's Charles, asking if I was too busy to help a stranded Opeler. I typed back, no, who is it? Otto. OMG!

I said what's he doing here, he's in TX. No he's not, he snuck up to NC to purchase a rare Bitter and is trying to get back to TX to show it off at their next meet. What's wrong? Don't know, he's got a problem and he's near I-85 and I-285, in an area called "Doraville" (yes, like the ARS song)

Well, that's only about 15 minutes from me. I got Otto's cell number and called to find where exactly he was, and what generally was the problem. He said he was losing oil and oil pressure. Well, while I was gathering up tools and trying to think what could be the problem, you need to know that this is about 9-10ish in the evening and it's raining "cats and dogs" from the hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico I left in FL.

On the drive over to Otto, I was thinking of ways and where oil pressure could be lost, and a prior incident came to mind, but, I told myself no, it had to be something else, but, I would check when I got there. I got there at a motel Otto managed to limp to, and we moved the car of of the main drive. We jacked up the front, threw down some furniture mats and with flashlights in hand, started searching.

Well, I already was checking my theory out, hoping it wasn't true, but, as they say, "I hate it when I'm right" and sure enough Opel didn't change hardly a thing on the straight 6 motors that they did on the 4 cylinders. Otto's Bitter was equipped with A/C and it had the same HUGE GM compressor the 4 cylinders had. That means the square mounting flange around the clutch of the compressor had one corner about 1/8" away from the oil filter, and sure enough the compressor had swung down and beat a hole in the side of the oil filter and all the oil gets pumped out.

Well seeing this, it makes the repair easy, BUT, the filter on the car was an oversized Mann (read, German) filter. Well to get it off, I had to crush it slightly to get it to clear the compressor, and even though I didn't bring one with me, I had some K-mart filters back home. So, we went to my house to dry off a little, grab some quarts of oil and a filter. Back at the car, the filter is small enough that the compressor couldn't even begin to come near it, but, that fixed it and he was on his way.

Needless to say, those of us who know Otto, he was NOT going to let this happen again, so, now if you see his Bitter, look in the passenger side front wheel well, and you'll see where he has installed a remote filter adaptor on the motor, and fabbed a custom bracket in the fenderwell to mount the new and bigger oil filter and has nice stainless steel aircraft lines running to it.





Now, I took the crushed filter home to throw it away, but, decided to keep it, and to this day, it's sits on my desk, in my garage to remind me of that night. I'll post a picture of it tonight. Otto, you're more than welcome Sir!

[tekenaar]

. . . neither of us knew it at the time, but actually Gene ended up helping me a bit more than just what he's mentioned above . . . so let me tell you the rest of "The rest of the Story".

When we realized it was a holed oil filter, clearly indicated by the puddle of oil under the car directly beneath it, and went to his home to get another and some oil from his stash, he mentioned that he'd seen a complete set of Rekord standard-bore [93mm] NOS "flat-top" pistons [four pistons, pins, rings] for sale on e-Bay with a short time left to the end of auction.

He linked up to the item while we were at his home and I saw on the OEM packaging in the pictures that it was a set from Kolbenschmidt. Now comes the really good part . . . it had a "Buy It Now" price - I almost hate to tell you this - of $110 . . . including shipping!!! Too good to pass up, so I logged on and bought them.

I was really surprised that noone had snapped them up yet, to be honest! The only reason for confusion I could think of at the time was that "Rekord" listing. Anyway, the story continues and would finally play out six years later, in 2008.

When I was finally getting ready to install my Rekord "sprint" intake/exhaust in my '69 Kadett, I had a catastrophic #1 piston failure in the 1.9 engine just prior to doing it. Luckily it happened very close to my home and didn't damage anything else inside the engine, as posted in another thread from last year about this engine rebuild.



The "Rekord" pistons that I bought that evening at Gene's now happily perform in my Kadett 1.9, whose intake and exhaust are now also nicely taken care of by my "Rekord" sprint system. Funny how things work out sometimes, isn't it! I would also add that the sprint system works beautifully with the TH-180 tranny . . . the only one in the world!

So, I'll just add another word of thanks to Gene!

[neuropel]

Of course, one might view this from the standpoint that...even at a time of crisis, your Ebay addiction managed to get the best of you!

Great stories!
Todd K.

[Phoenix]

Can't tell you how many times that my uncle has helped me out. We changed a clutch cable in a parking lot in pitch black. He drove 5.5 hours one way to pickup the GT when I blew a wheel bearing. And he's taught me everything that I know how to do on an Opel.

[BQS4]

Here's the filter from Otto's Bitter, although I said it was a Mann filter, it's a Bosch, my bad

[Gary]

Gene - Where's the snow?

[BQS4]

Originally Posted by Gary Gene - Where's the snow?

Long gone Gary.....

[Phoenix]

After one day it was pretty well melted but most everybody takes whatever is left and scapes it up into a poor brown and white snowman.