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What did you do to/with your Opel(s) today?

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181K views 2K replies 123 participants last post by  Commodåren 
#1 ·
This is a popular thread in another car forum that I frequent, so I thought I would try it out here, and see if it catches on.
In that forum, it is a "sticky" so it stays near the top of the thread list and has about 180 pages of replies. :cool:
Basically, just a few words or whatever you want to contribute about your daily interaction with your Opel or Opels.
Perhaps you finished wrapping your interior in authentic synthetic alligator skin, or just brushed the spiderwebs off the gear
shifter and drove up to the hardware store.
I'll get it started. Today I...
sat in the drivers seat of my GT and debated on whether I wanted to pull the instrument panel to fix the
4-way/brake/fake fog light switch which was come unmoored from one of the posts (after trying to reach it from
the side panel where the flasher sits) Should I fix it, or just wait until something else breaks?
Cheers,
Ron in Indy
 
#158 ·
This could have been a ball of needles and razor blades.

 

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#160 ·
Did some repainting today! It came out very well. I repainted both covers, the wiper motor, windshield wiper, fasteners, radiator shroud, radiator cap, and the area under the cowl covers.









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#161 · (Edited)
Checked all of my fluids in the GT today and hunted for any remaining leaks.
The transmission was a couple mm too low, but still ok. The diff was where it was supposed to be.
The only leak I can find is from the 1970 style speedo cable connection to the transmission. That 90° connector leaks pretty good. I can’t get it to not leak.
The paint on both still looks nice after 10000miles on this engine swap.



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#162 ·
I did a little grinding where the header joins the exhaust pipe as occasionally It would bump against the tunnel. I also checked all the fluids today prior to going for a "spirited" ride in the country.

Yes, I did port the intake manifold prior to installing the WEBER 38. I find it is a lot of fun to drive her now with "VERVE," Kind of like one had to do with the old Volksys after converting them to the BOSCH 009 centrifical advance dizzys.:yup:
 
#163 ·
I tried to pick the lock on my blitz gas cap today with a $5 jiggler key purchased on the inter web. Nothing doing. The 50 year old lock technology too tough for my limited skills. Next step will be to remove the taillights to get to the filler neck.


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#164 ·
#165 ·
Just made a $300 order to Opel GT Source for window and door rubber for the doors. This car is making me broke! It doesn't even really NEED the rubber except for the scrapers, But why not replace everything at once right...
 
#166 ·
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I intended to swap out the non-GT Solex for a Solex that is original to the GT (the difference is very visibly obvious). As I had mentioned, I am very aware of this forum's members' near unanimous favorable comparison of a Solex carburetor with a doorstop, but, at least for a time, I want the car to be as near-stock as possible. This is despite the fact that the 1971 GT has an engine and dashboard from a 1969 model; the car, originally silver with a black interior, has at least one red seat that has been sprayed with black vinyl paint; and I resprayed the car with a non-Opel color (FLY yellow).

Well, this past week I made the swap and it did not work. I had received the carburetor about a year ago from a salvage yard, with full assurances that I would need to rebuild it. No doubt about the need to rebuild -- it looked as though it had been under mud for the last three or four centuries. I had cleaned it up and put a rebuild kit in it, but apparently that was not enough. The car started really well -- turn the key and it fired up every time. There was excessive surge and it simply would not idle. I could not get the idle speed down below 1,500 RPM and when I tried, it would just die. No amount of fiddling with the adjustments or the linkages made any difference whatsoever, so I reversed the swap and put the correct Solex back on the shelf. Car runs quite well with the NOS rebuilt carburetor that I bought from Frank two years ago.

Just to prove to myself that I can do something successfully on the car, I went ahead and painted and then installed the access covers that fit into the front wheel well that allow access to the headlight mechanism attachments, after which I undercoated them. Next up is to take the car in for steering alignment and then, this winter, have the headline installed.
 
#167 ·
...The car started really well -- turn the key and it fired up every time. There was excessive surge and it simply would not idle. I could not get the idle speed down below 1,500 RPM and when I tried, it would just die. No amount of fiddling with the adjustments or the linkages made any difference whatsoever...
It's been a couple of decades since I last tried tuning a Slowex :) but I recall it being quite different than any other carb. The idle stop for the throttle plate has to be set using a vacuum gauge (the FSM calls for a manometer, like anyone has one of those!) and THEN the idle speed is adjusted using an internal air bleed screw, NOT the throttle stop screw. Perhaps you did that as you are familiar w/ your non-GT Solex, but that was the first thing that came to mind
 
#168 ·
I hated tuning the Solex back in the day. Even with "good" (non ethanol) fuel it was a pain.
The thing about the Solex is one day it would run beautifully, and the next it would run like snot.

I finally found out that the variable was where I was buying my fuel. It was as simple as that.

I have a "brand new" Solex and I won't put it on any of my engines.
 
#171 ·
I have had UniSyn's of various sorts for decades, ever since I did foreign car service back in the late 1960s and '70s. Still have one and use it for my Triumph Spitfire with the twin SU's. Getting that part of it right for the Solex was no problem.

If you go on any of the Triumph forums, you will find a few clowns that will tell you that using the Unisyn is BS, that they can tune the car better using a hose and listening for the whistle.
 
#172 ·
Just did some small stuff today.

I was trying to help out another forum member with a heater wiring problem and found some issues of my own.

This top coolant connection to the heater core has a small leak. It hasn’t leaked into the floor yet it’s just oozing out very slowly I guess. I tightened the bottom bolt that I could reach. Hopefully that doesn’t make things worse.
This year’s winter project may be a full restoration of the behind the dash area.

Also found this ground wire hanging out down there. I can’t find anywhere to connect it to and everything in the car works, so I may just remove it.

While I was digging around under there I found my radio antenna cable. I wired my radio in to my new sound system and fired it up. When I hold the antenna cable I can pick up radio stations! The radio works! Woohoo! I’m going to go buy a hidden AM radio antenna and enjoy having Bluetooth AND AM radio.

Also cleaned and reinstalled my original dome light.



I also had an enjoyable test drive with the new door rubber and sound deadening. My car is much much quieter and there are zero rattles!


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#173 ·
Did lots more patching on the Sport Wagon this weekend. That battery tray rust did a lot of damage.

We've added 1.5 square tubing the strengthen the rocker panels and to make it easy to jack from any location.

We're sizing it up for the race seat installation.

I've started drawing up the schematic for the car's electrical system.

The car will come home on Friday and will get preliminary measurements made for the cage.

Mike
 
#180 ·
"I was trying to help out another forum member with a heater wiring problem and found some issues of my own."

Knorm65 --
What is the heater wiring problem? I had one myself and found that it resulted from the "hybrid" that I have. The car is a 1971 GT but it has a 1969 dash & instrument panel (except for the five lights above the steering wheel that are post-1969) and a '69 heater motor. The wiring harness is post-1969 and there is a difference in the heater circuit. The 1969 circuit utilizes a resister at the blower switch to control the speed, sending power to the heater motor through one wire. After 1969, the blower motor was changed and the resister was removed from the switch, with two wires sending power to the motor. Any chance this may be the issue you are dealing with?
 
#182 ·
No wiring problem. As I said everything works fine. I just found a random dangling ground wire on one of the mounting bolts and the leak in the above picture.


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#185 ·
Great thread idea. Although admittedly used elsewhere, thank you for starting it here, Ron. It has been a rough year(lost three of four parental figures in my life in a two month period of time this spring), and I have not been on here much, but have been busy with the Opel, and more so with its stable. Due to slowly insulating and finishing the interior of my garage, the Opel has been sitting in the driveway for much of this year. I covered her with a tarp this morning as rain was in the forecast, and I have found through MA "monsoon" season(30"+ in 1 month) this year that the weathered window rubbers do not work well at all. Thankfully, my 3M rubberized undercoating of the inside as well as the underside of my welded in floor replacements from a couple years back has minimized any real damage, but I could have stored minnows in there a couple of times this year.
 
#188 ·
OK Mike, a package with 2 NIB KYB gas shocks that are supposed to fit the "1900" were supposed to arrive at your place (Esparto address) yesterday. My wife had 2 packages on the same PO receipt and threw it away when her packages were received and confirmed so I don't have a tracking number. Keep your eyes open.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=502880&cc=1430350&jsn=311

As I said earlier, if they don't work for the Lemony Ascona, use them any way you see fit!

Doug
 
#189 ·
Thanks. I did get them. They look great and even if they aren't sporty shocks they'd get us more grief from the judges, seeing as they look all shiny and new. ;)

I will find a use or home for them. Right now they'll be our spares. We have some used KYBs and you never know how much life is left in them.

Mike
 
#191 ·
Started my GT today for a little ride of 3 hours.Drove to a Alt-Opel-Meeting near my home!Only 90 Km.
Last years this meeting grove up more and more! A lot of nice Opel`s pre 1988 are there when I arrived!
The GT run so smooth today,a real good feeling:veryhappy

Just a pleasure and medicin for me:yup:
 
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