[opel rookie]

1972 Opel GT. Previous own replaced the 1.9L engine with a 2.1L. I'm guessing this changed the carburetor position. He unhooked the kick down cable and used it's mounting to attach a carburetor cable from underneath. This isn't really working well. I need to know what others have done including pictures. I have most of the old mechanical linkage and an idea how to install it, but things are missing. Are there still people using this linkage? Does anyone have pictures? Does any one have old linkage to sell? Should I abandon the linkage and work on a better carburetor cable system?

I replaced the kick down cable (detent cable), which was bad, and need to come up with another way to mount the carburetor cable or go back to the linkage, which I think would be cool, or a pain in the ***, I'm not sure. Pictures would be great because I've never seen a complete working linkage.

 

[The Cub]

Load up pics of what you got, linkage from the gas pedal to the passenger side of the engine. Or just laid out on a table would help. Lots of people here to help.

 

[opel rookie]

Good news, I found another piece of linkage. So the linkage I have consists of three long rods linked together with swivel ball joints. The middle rod runs along the fire wall behind the engine. I installed this yesterday by lowering the engine and transmission enough to get it back there. I just found the small link that would hook to the end of the accelerator lever. Questions I have are, does the linkage behind the engine run high or low. The linkage could be flipped around because of it's flexibility letting the linkage run higher on the fire wall or lower. Also on the driver side, you will see two holes in the mounting bracket near the fire wall. My first thought is it would mount in the hole on the left as pictured, but it seems to fit better on the right. Pictures are attached if I did it right. I need to get clips to keep it all together, but the missing bushings or grommets will be tougher to find. Once I get the linkage installed correctly and working freely, I can work on the carburetor end. Pretty sure I can cobble something up that will work better than the previous arrangement. One other problem. The accelerator pedal has always been low. I think the previous owner was relying on the external carburetor accelerator spring to return the peddle. Is there a spring missing some where? Maybe on the pedal it's self?

 

[opel rookie]

 

[The Scifi Guy]

OpelGT Source sells replacement plastic bushings for the pivots in the brackets at the firewall areas. I have also made my own out of rubber grommets. They will also have the wire clips that hold the ball and socket pivots together. They will also send you instruction sheets on how it all goes together. I have always had the adjustable end of the trans-firewall rod on the passenger side, instead of the driver's side as you have it. I don't suppose it makes any difference. As far as it's adjustment, I recall having the adjustable end screwed almost all the way in. The adjustment of the vertical rod that attaches to the gas pedal sets how much you open the throttle. Throttles on carbs move 90* from fully closed to fully open. You want your pedal to basically hit the floor just as the throttle is fully opened and the throttle on the carb can't move any farther. YOU DON'T WANT space under the pedal after you have achieved full throttle. If you have space under the pedal when you floor it, then you run the risk of breaking or bending the linkage and possibly the carb. Luckily, there is plenty of slop and give in the linkage system, so even if you do have a little space under the pedal, squashing the pedal to the floor usually doesn't break anything. Once you have the throw of the pedal correct and your carb fully opens and closes, you then adjust the kickdown cable so that it starts to get pulled just before you reach full throttle. The kick down is an on-demand one-gear downshift of the tranny. It pulls open a valve in the tranny that makes it downshift one gear. If you're in 2nd it will drop you down to 1st, if you're in 3rd it will drop you down to 2nd.

There is also a very important linkage return spring that you might be missing. There is a lever on the rod that goes to your carb with a hole in it. Just below that, on the side of the footwell, there should be a metal tab sticking out with a hole in it. That's where the spring goes. Bending the tab up and down strengthens the return to zero throttle and gives you a firmer feeling pedal, loosening it gives you a soft pedal.

 

[P.J. Romano (R.I.P.)]

Here are few pics to help you understand the throttle linkage components.

 

[kwilford]

Here are few pics to help you understand the throttle linkage components. View attachment 424296

That is a familiar engine bay....

 

[opel rookie]

This is super helpful guys!!. Thanks for the info and the pics. I've already contacted OpelGT Source and should be getting some goodies by the weekend. Opel looking really clean there P.J.

 

[kwilford]

This is super helpful guys!!. Thanks for the info and the pics. I've already contacted OpelGT Source and should be getting some goodies by the weekend. Opel looking really clean there P.J.

PJ (aka Pedrag) does have a really clean and exceptionally nice Opel GT. But the engine compartment photo showing the throttle linkage is mine, taken about a year ago during the restoration. I hope to have it e3ssentially "complete" in about two weeks, when it gets outside my garage for the first time since paint. It goes back to the autobody painter for detailing and preparation, so I can show it the 2020 World of Wheels car show Feb 21st to 23rd.

 

[Lil Red GT]

A week ago Maria was driving the GT on the freeway when she heard a Clunk! and the accel pedal went to the floor. She was able to coast over to the right-hand shoulder. I get there 10 minutes later and see that the ball stud back off the carb linkage and the linkage had slipped out of the L bracket. By some miraculous fortune, at my feet next to the front tire, with nothing else around, was a zip tie! What are the odds? I was able to zip tie the rod to the L bracket and made it home.

 

[Lil Red GT]

Here are few pics to help you understand the throttle linkage components. View attachment 424296

But the other reason I brought up the missing ball stud was that after taking a more careful look at the accelerator linkage I can see it's got issues. For one the passenger side grommet is practically disintegrated and the driver's side grommet is missing completely. This is a great reference pic; thank you PJ for sharing Keith's engine compartment. On Maria's GT, the linkage has fallen below and behind the driver's side bracket. If I try to manually position the linkage towards the inside hole on the bracket, it binds up. But up until the ball stud went MIA, the linkage was working, although probably with a lot of slop. Pictures of other member's engine compartments also show the linkage unhinged from the inside hole so it seems fairly common.
I assume the linkage should correctly fit like the picture. Is it possible the front bracket is bent forward to the point it pushed the linkage out of the hole? You can see it has an arc to it.
I've ordered the grommets and L bracket from Gil; the ball stud is back ordered. I might as well pull the linkage and clean it up and refurb it. What was the finish on the linkage from the factory, and have any members painted theirs?

 

[The Scifi Guy]

Yes, it does look like the driver's side bracket has been bent forward, but that shouldn't affect anything.

Yes, Splendid and possibly OGTS sells a beautiful stainless steel linkage set to replace the plain black steel oem linkage. There's also a chromed version. And there's a new passenger side bracket with a swivel bearing bushing. Yes, people have painted them or put decorative sleeves or wire wrap stuff on them.

Gasgestänge Opel GT, chrompoliert

Splendidparts your friendly dealer

www.splendidparts.de

Opel GT Gasgestänge Sport-Kit (auch Midi-Kit)

Splendidparts your friendly dealer

www.splendidparts.de

 

[First opel 1981]

Do you see the little hole on the piece that goes on the ball stud? That's for a retainer clip/pin.
It will fall off again and again unless you add the clip/pin.

Once, in an emergency, I used a safety pin. It wasn't too safe. I ended up pushing it a half inch into my thumb. It did hold for almost three months before it rusted through.

 

[Lil Red GT]

Yes, it does look like the driver's side bracket has been bent forward, but that shouldn't affect anything.

Yes, Splendid and possibly OGTS sells a beautiful stainless steel linkage set to replace the plain black steel oem linkage. There's also a chromed version. And there's a new passenger side bracket with a swivel bearing bushing. Yes, people have painted them or put decorative sleeves or wire wrap stuff on them.

Thanks for the tips Gordo. Stainless steel would be nice but I'll start by cleaning and polishing and see where it takes me.

 

[Lil Red GT]

Do you see the little hole on the piece that goes on the ball stud? That's for a retainer clip/pin.
It will fall off again and again unless you add the clip/pin.

Once, in an emergency, I used a safety pin. It wasn't too safe. I ended up pushing it a half inch into my thumb. It did hold for almost three months before it rusted through.

I ordered several of those clips also through OGTS. The PO had installed a washer between the ball stud and the L bracket that had a small tab attached which could be bent over one of the faces of the stud to prevent it from rotating. Obviously it didn't work and so now it's going to be assembled the correct way. Thanks.