[JackRoten]

I'm new to the forum but became a member to see if anyone had any advice on this 1971 Opel GT:

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From the seller's description:
"The car runs and stops , it needs sanded, paint and crank. I have the crank."

From the seller's messages when asked about car's current condition:
"The car has all the parts, it has a rod knock, I start it once a month. I have a piston and rod, just in case a crank. Bad paint, to keep it from rusting"

As I am not the most familiar with the GT, what more information should I look for?

I'm thinking about taking a look at it next week, on either Tuesday/ Wednesday evening to get a better idea of its current state, if any Opel veterans in the Seattle area were interested in taking a look at the car, it would be great to meet up to go take a look!

 

[The Cub]

Rust in front of the radiator, behind the wheel wells and underneath the carpet/car. Bring a magnet. Other people on this site can already tell a lot more than I as to what looks suspicious on the photos. Once the shell is considered to be almost rust free (unless you are good with and enjoy welding then it would just be a talking down the price thing), you’d have a good foundation to rebuild with, the price would be right in there.

 

[Mercougary]

I don't know... looks like a six hundred dollar car to me.

 

[rrossjr]

Replacement sheet metal for these cars is hard to come by. Rust and body work should be a major focus when you inspect the car. As mentioned above, a magnet can help you find some areas that have been filled with bondo, but I think you may not even need one in this case. Unless the photo is screwed up, it looks like the driver side door and quarter panels are pretty lumpy. What kind of project are you looking for? Obviously, restoring this car to "like new" condition could cost many tens of thousands of dollars. Getting it to a safe and reliable driver quality would be considerably less expensive-particularly if you are doing the work yourself.

 

[rrossjr]

I don't know... looks like a six hundred dollar car to me.

Those old recaros could be worth almost that much if they were not so beat up. 😕

 

[JackRoten]

Rust in front of the radiator, behind the wheel wells and underneath the carpet/car. Bring a magnet. Other people on this site can already tell a lot more than I as to what looks suspicious on the photos. Once the shell is considered to be almost rust free (unless you are good with and enjoy welding then it would just be a talking down the price thing), you’d have a good foundation to rebuild with, the price would be right in there.

Thanks for the insight on what areas to check for rust. That will be one of my primary concerns as I currently don't have the body work experience to take on restoring a car with hard to find sheet metal replacements.

 

[First opel 1981]

The seller is off by at least $1000.
If you know how to rebuild Opel engines, and have the time, and a buddy that does body work, and knows how to properly fix rust, maybe $1000 because every thi g is there and the wheels have some value.

THIS car is a PROJECT!

P. S. A rod knock usually means the head was starved for a while also.

 

[JackRoten]

I don't know... looks like a six hundred dollar car to me.

What are some red flags you notice?

 

[JackRoten]

Replacement sheet metal for these cars is hard to come by. Rust and body work should be a major focus when you inspect the car. As mentioned above, a magnet can help you find some areas that have been filled with bondo, but I think you may not even need one in this case. Unless the photo is screwed up, it looks like the driver side door and quarter panels are pretty lumpy. What kind of project are you looking for? Obviously, restoring this car to "like new" condition could cost many tens of thousands of dollars. Getting it to a safe and reliable driver quality would be considerably less expensive-particularly if you are doing the work yourself.

It is hard to tell by picture, but now that you mention it, I'm seeing more lumps. Also since it's been repainted with primer to lessen body rust, any amount of patchwork could have been done so this will be a good area to focus on when inspecting it.
The goal would be to initially get it to a safe driving condition, so initially flushing and replacing fluids, working on the electrical, checking/fixing steering, and suspension components, which are all things I've worked on before with different project cars. At this point engine rebuilding will be a challenge until I find a buddy who may let me borrow some garage space for a while, and read up on the rebuild process.

 

[JackRoten]

The seller is off by at least $1000.
If you know how to rebuild Opel engines, and have the time, and a buddy that does body work, and knows how to properly fix rust, maybe $1000 because every thi g is there and the wheels have some value.

THIS car is a PROJECT!

P. S. A rod knock usually means the head was starved for a while also.

Thanks for the price insight! Learning how to rebuild the Opel 1.9L would be a matter of time/patience, reading, and probably shop work, plus finding a buddy with some cheap garage space in the area. Body rust would be a whole other level, which if bad enough, I would walk away from.

 

[MattsAwesomeStuff]

Sharpening the image and cranking the contrast a bit...

Makes the defects show up a bit better.

Most troubling to me, there is white paint on the rocker panel there. If the rocker is rusted through, that's a fairly major repair.

It looks like the typical rust in the typical places, rusted through from the inside out. Rockers, and bottoms of the fenders in front of and behind the wheels.

Think of how much you'd be happy paying someone to un-rust it, and how happy you'd be doing it yourself.

I don't think it's close to $1000 car, definitely not a $2000.

For $2000 you should be able to buy a rust-free body.

 

[Will I. Finish]

Sharpening the image and cranking the contrast a bit...

View attachment 431627

Makes the defects show up a bit better.

Most troubling to me, there is white paint on the rocker panel there. If the rocker is rusted through, that's a fairly major repair.

It looks like the typical rust in the typical places, rusted through from the inside out. Rockers, and bottoms of the fenders in front of and behind the wheels.

Think of how much you'd be happy paying someone to un-rust it, and how happy you'd be doing it yourself.

I don't think it's close to $1000 car, definitely not a $2000.

For $2000 you should be able to buy a rust-free body.

Nice work Matt, great enhancement. Looks like someone that had never used bondo or really did not want to be using bondo just smeared it on to cover god knows what. They certainly were not interested in how it looked. That car looks really bad. I will be curious to hear from someone that conducts an on site inspection. For those of us that know what to look for it would be a quick inspection with quick results in regard to, a rust bucket, or a car that would be a good candidate for a restoration. A lot of these cars that have sat outside for 50 years would be a real changeling to restore. Buyer beware!!!

 

[opelbits]

I'm new to the forum but became a member to see if anyone had any advice on this 1971 Opel GT:

Log in or sign up to view

See posts, photos and more on Facebook.

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From the seller's description:
"The car runs and stops , it needs sanded, paint and crank. I have the crank."

From the seller's messages when asked about car's current condition:
"The car has all the parts, it has a rod knock, I start it once a month. I have a piston and rod, just in case a crank. Bad paint, to keep it from rusting"

As I am not the most familiar with the GT, what more information should I look for?

I'm thinking about taking a look at it next week, on either Tuesday/ Wednesday evening to get a better idea of its current state, if any Opel veterans in the Seattle area were interested in taking a look at the car, it would be great to meet up to go take a look!

A couple of quick rust checks..inner rocker sill .inside car at the base of the door hinge pillar. If it rusted on the outside, it probably rusted on the inside under the carpet. squeeze it, poke it, pull the carpet back. If no holes or softness you might get lucky.

Rear control arm front mounting points. The body tends to rust around the mounting plate.

The rocker sills where they meet the floor (or vice versa). Look for globby welding, globby bondo, globby rust. Or holes.

Jacking points. Another good indicator spot. If they all look normal that is good. If they look patched, not so good, but if patched well...then maybe.

Anytime you are looking at an unfamiliar car, the Sesame Street Rule comes into play. If a spot looks odd, look at the other corresponding spots. They should all look the same, or match. if one or more stand out and look weird, the investigate further...hence the Sesame Street Rule...

"One of these things is not like the others
One of these things just doesn't belong
Can you tell which thing is not like the others

Three of these things belong together
Three of these things are kind of the same
Can you guess which one of these doesn't belong here?
Now it's time to play our game"


As for motors, if you get the car, there maybe someone in your area with a spare running motor. They are usually pretty cheap for stock motors. Mechanicals are the easiest thing to source.

 

[rrossjr]

Oh, and for the record, there is no such thing as a "Chevrolet Opel"
We would have accepted Buick Opel, GM Opel, or just Opel, but Chevrolet? Naw...

 

[bolbers]

Something looks a bit off in the rear-view photo. Hard to tell exactly but am I seeing some sort of rivets or something here?

 

[terrylewisac]

trust me dude that thing will is and will continue to be a rusting corpse nightmare. If you really want an opel save more money If you have that already spend it. It will be money well spent if an opel is what your after that thing is indeed a parts car with some usable body parts

 

[opelbits]

Rear panel has probably been replaced

 

[terrylewisac]

..hence the Sesame Street Rule...

"One of these things is not like the others
One of these things just doesn't belong
Can you tell which thing is not like the others

Three of these things belong together
Three of these things are kind of the same
Can you guess which one of these doesn't belong here?
Now it's time to play our game"


As for motors, if you get the car, there maybe someone in your area with a spare running motor. They are usually pretty cheap for stock motors. Mechanicals are the easiest thing to source.

hahahahahaha haven't heard that one in a longtime that's a good one

 

[opelbits]

hahahahahaha haven't heard that one in a longtime that's a good one

I just came up with that...but then it made sense!

 

[First opel 1981]

Sesame street. 51 years ago.
It was my favorite part of the show.

Yes, the back panel has been replaced. I had the exact same repair on one of the gts I bought, then disassembled and sent to Opel heaven.

I'm tempted to drive to Seattle to look at it. Just to look though.