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Opel Engine Books

10K views 35 replies 19 participants last post by  kwilford 
#1 ·
I've had a number of new members contact me recently about Opel engine upgrades and, as always, they lament that there's no all in one guide or book on the subject.

So the subject of this thread is: Are there any books, guides, pamphlets, websites, or links to articles about Opel engines and how to tune and modify them?

Of course, this website has a vast archive of saved "conversations" on the subject. 'Nuff said. Now, are there any others and what are they?

I figure that tuning and improving 4 cylinder engines has never been a hugely popular thing in this country and our Opels were around for just a short period of time. There's just not a big enough market in the U.S. for a book exclusively about Opel engines. Are there any European books on the subject? In any language?

Inquiring newbies want to know!

:veryhappy
 
#2 ·
Gordy, Maybe we should put together a comprehensive list of the common upgrades for a GT. Right now it is all spread out over numerous pages of forums. I think this would be great for someone who doesn't know a whole lot about these cars. Plus it would be a TON easier to search for and understand if it was all in one thread.
 
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#4 ·
How about we start with the basics? I.e. stock bore size, stock journal size for all bearings, things the machine shop needs to know before they can fix anything.

And if a machine shop seems desperate or tells you you need to sleeve your bore, take your money elsewhere. You cannot sleeve an Opel engine, you bore it out until you hit a water jacket, that's it.
 
#24 · (Edited by Moderator)
[/B] You cannot sleeve an Opel engine, you bore it out until you hit a water jacket, that's it.
Why can't you sleeve an Opel block? While some machine shops may not do a good job at it, I had a block that was being bored out to .030 over at one time, and there was a pit in one of the machined bores. Since the pistons were already purchased, they said they could sleeve it. I was a little leery at the time, but when I received the engine back, I had to ask which bore actually received the sleeve, because they did such a great job doing it. In my head I actually prefer it..I feel the sleeve material is a better metal than the original bore material, and could cause it to run cooler (but those ideas are more for the bench racer types...we won't go there) Oh by the way, that engine was in the Spyder, and what 10 years later it is still running strong!
 
#5 ·
'Opel Tuning So Wird Er Schneller" is an interesting book that is a snap shot of the performance upgrades being done to the Opel circa 1972. The book features chapters on performance upgrades on the engine (single and dual side drafts and their manifolds, cylinder heads, engine blocks and some nice photos of the Opel cross flow CIH cylinder head that was talked about around here recently). Other chapters focus on ignition, transmissions, suspensions, oiling and cooling systems, differentials, wheels and brakes and interior upgrades. Lots of photos, but all are in black and white.

2 problems: the book appears to be out of print, so a second hand source must be located. I got mine from Opel GT Source back when they sold the reprint of this book. The other problem is, is that it's in German. But performance parts are performance parts, no matter what the language is. It really is a neat look back into time and is pretty much a must-have for the Opeler. Just have to keep in mind, it was written in 72 with an eye towards that time period and not now!

Opel Tuning So Wird Er Schneller
Author: Gert Hack
Publisher: Motorbuch Verlag
ISBN: 3-613-87148-3

The other book sold at the GT Source sounds interesting and I must add it to my collection: Opel GT In Motorsport. I imagine there would be good details on what the European race teams were doing with the GT back in the day.....

Take Care,
Mike
 
#8 ·
When I need to figure something out about our cars, such as Weber tuning, I search here, a lot, and then cut and paste what I find useful into a document I can edit, then I edit to make it more coherent. Each time I do this I wish someone else had already done this. ;)

These forums have a wealth of great information. I wish we could go through it and turn some of the technical posts it into something more accessible.

A while back I toyed with the idea of making a Windows Help document for Opel info. In the future that's where I'll do my edits and compilations. Anyway, it is very searchable, prints, etc. I have the software to create those files, but lack of time and expertise are my biggest limitations.

BTW, this software can output PDF files, ebook files, even web site versions.

Who needs another project?

(See the attachments)
 

Attachments

#10 ·
OGTS Catalog

There is a ton of information in one of these and all of us should have one for reference. This will at least get you started in the right direction, on modifying the original 1.9 to a 2.0 (like I decided to do) or go the full 2.4L route. Then from there you can research Rally Bob's papers and such and who knows ....

Just before you decide to put those jet packs on the sides for more umph.... :no:

Just my 2 cents worth,
Dick
 
#11 ·
I was attempting to get a a collaboration of our favorite links going, but only gordon gave a shat.

Obviously all the info is regurgitated, but I was hoping for it to become something like the ad board.... check it every couple days for new stuff. Some of us are sitting on gold mines saved in our bookmarks.

Consider it the caveman version of what M610 is doing but where all share and make it cool..

It was even made a sticky, click here....

:beerchug:
 
#13 ·
This really is excellent stuff compiled by Frozen Tundra GT. Just my .02 cents here, but a question for Gary and the moderators: Could this be something that should be a STICKY kept at the very top of the Home page rather then buried in the Forums page? A permanent addition to the Home Page?:yup:

When every new person comes aboard, they are directed to the Home page, not elsewhere and I'd think if this were readily available in plain view it would help assist both the newcomer and the old Opeler in searching for info. Ummm, how many times in the past 5 years or so have most of us said "Search the forum"?

But as Jimmy mentions, it should only be used for the pertinent info already compiled. Future additions via a present or pending thread that is interesting enough to warrant it should be included only by the Mods or Gary. The too many cooks spoil the soup kind of thing, ya know?

Just a thought......

Take Care,
Mike
 
#12 ·
The OMC Blitz is an excellent resource, too. The info there is first rate and the illustrations are even better then photos as there are no variations in lighting that can confuse the issue like you find in a lot of photos that have been photocopied.

Plus there is just something I like about having something in my hand rather than on some LCD computer screen.....

Note to M610: Mike, just a thought for you: how about compiling those Opel bits from past Blitz magazines onto a CD or Thumb Drive to sell to the general public for something like 40 bucks or so? Can this be something that the OMC can work with OGTS in a collaborative effort that benefits both? I for one would be a buyer.

I can see something like a "Blitz Tips" thumb drive used as such: print out a section and take it to the garage, getting it all greasy and the like......

Finally, in regards to the OMC Blitz technical article drawings: who was the artist behind them? Whoever he or she is, they have done an excellent job over the years.
 
#16 ·
Note to M610: Mike, just a thought for you: how about compiling those Opel bits from past Blitz magazines onto a CD or Thumb Drive to sell to the general public for something like 40 bucks or so? Can this be something that the OMC can work with OGTS in a collaborative effort that benefits both? I for one would be a buyer.
I've thought about that. There once was talk about scanning all past issues and producing a CD-ROM and it could contain all of the tech tips submitted over the years. I was also thinking that using these tech tips to build the help file I mentioned would be a possibility. Between those and the very informative posts here we have a treasure trove of material which unfortunately is a bit difficult to locate, and in the case of the forums, threads tend to wander and/or never get to the conclusion, although the discussions themselves are very helpful.

I like the help-thingy idea. It is searchable, printable, and a PDF version can be generated with no extra effort. I like it even better than the wiki idea. But, as valuable as such a resource would be, it would take a real community effort to build this up.

As for selling it something, maybe, depends on lots of things. If the community creates this then probably not. Then there are also copyright issues. I think many of the tech tip illustrations are scanned from the FSM and borrowed from other sources. Maybe it should be a freebee for OMC and OpetGT.com members.
 
#14 ·
Opel was never *that* good at making stuff available to private individuals who wanted their Opels to go faster, but then again they had "in house" tuners like Irmscher to take of those customers, and as a result it seems that very few "how to make your Opel faster" books has been published

I used the browse the tuning section at my fav automobile bookstore here in Norway for books on Opel tuning but never found a single one, at the same time I could pick between at least 10 different books with tuning tips for Ford Escorts, or for that matter American small blocks. Heck, Ford even published how to build a "world spec" rally car from a stock Ford Escort

Another problem is that in Europe the majority of the bigger tuning companies and engine builders are/were located in the UK and since Vauxhall had their own line of engines for most of their cars all the way up to around 1980, even the English didn't do much with the CIH engine or wrote books about them. You will have little problem finding books about tuning the Vauxhall slant 4 engine found in the Chevette, which is what was used for rallying in the UK rather than the Kadett or Ascona. A bloke named Bill Blydenstein did some amazing stuff with that engine but none of that translates to our engines

Things changed dramatically when the English started using the OHC and 16v engines in their cars, you can find all sorts of stuff for those engines, parts, books, DIY guides, crate engines ..... whatever you need

The Swedes, ENEM in particular, were pretty good at tuning the CIH engines back in the day but I've never seen a book about them, and even if it existed it would probably be in Swedish

So basically we're left with what little info trickled out from the German tuners and don't expect too much of that to be available in anything but German

Basically we're left with "general" knowledge and whatever info available through those that are kind enough to share so much of their knowledge with us in forums like these
 
#15 ·
So basically we're left with what little info trickled out from the German tuners and don't expect too much of that to be available in anything but German

Basically we're left with "general" knowledge and whatever info available through those that are kind enough to share so much of their knowledge with us in forums like these
There are actually a surprising amount of modern day tuners doing some pretty wild stuff on the CIH engines for historic racing and rallying. Anywhere from 200-290 HP is attainable depending on the baseline engine (2.0, 2.2, 2.4), the regulations, and your wallet.

However I have definitely seen that most of these tuners...while willing to sell you a top-level Opel CIH racing engine, are not divulging their secrets too easily. I can't blame them really, since race engine development requires prototyping parts, testing parts, blowing stuff up, and tuning and dyno time. That all costs a frightening amount of money. They don't get that money back giving up their developmental secrets.
 
#17 ·
#19 ·
That would cover 71-75, they also made an Ascona/Manta B book too which I assume would have all the info on the 2.0 and possibly 2.2 ?
2.2 never came (factory) in a Manta B chassis. So no-go there...:no:
 
#20 ·
Never looked.. but of course it was there:

Opel CIH

Just nothing in english so you have to google translate.
 
#23 ·
Considering that many of the existing tuner and club tips are decades old, refer to parts no longer produced, and are based on fuel blends no longer readily sold, there is no "one size fits all" approach now available for Opels. A compilation book with these materials would likely leave its readers more confused than they were when they began, which is an impression that readers of multiple discussion threads also report.

Variables applicable to any drivetrain project include what you are starting with, what you want as an end result, and how much time, money, and other resources are you willing to commit to reach it. Therefore, drivetrain inquiries are best fielded on a case-by-case basis.
 
#26 ·
Oh. Whenever I hear "Sleeve your block" an image of a Vega puking black smoke out of the exhaust comes to mind. I had no idea that it can actually be better than the original iron of the block. As far as my motor goes, the '73 block has 0.008" of taper, so a 0.010" overbore will fix it. If there are no voids in the material, I'll be fine.
 
#27 ·
You'll have to go .020" over then. You can't bore and hone accurately to .002". Normal procedure is to bore within .002" of the target size, then hone the last .002" to the final size.

Voids are rare in the 1.9 blocks, but they do occasionally happen. They can be bored .090" (2.0 litre) without too much trouble in most cases!
 
#30 ·
Wow, I took a look on the performance articles section, and this thread was still at the top! LOL. Pretty easy thread resurrection.

Since this topic hasn't been looked at in 4 years...

I saved every single article RallyBob wrote about porting the heads, so I have a html copy forever on these. I've also saved many of the engine articles that have been published in the OMC, that talk about the various challenges of the CIH from vacuum leaks to building a 2.4 stroker. Working on engines in general, I've found the Engine Builder Mag to be full of useful articles. They recently published a good one on cryogenics, and I have to say that I think freezing a bunch of CIH stuff would be smart. Old cast iron parts like blocks and heads could use some heat treatment before assembly. I like the reduced wear benefit for the cylinder bores.
 
#31 ·
Wow, I took a look on the performance articles section, and this thread was still at the top! LOL. Pretty easy thread resurrection.

Since this topic hasn't been looked at in 4 years...
They recently published a good one on cryogenics, and I have to say that I think freezing a bunch of CIH stuff would be smart. Old cast iron parts like blocks and heads could use some heat treatment before assembly. I like the reduced wear benefit for the cylinder bores.
Contradictory? The cryogenics claims are appealing. I've thought about sending a gun barrel or two off, just for grins.

Harold

P.S. I promise I'm NOT trolling you. :D
 
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