[paul Stecker]

i am 18 and im thinking of buying and importing 1.1L 1969 opel gt from america to England. i already own a 1.9L 1972 gt but cant afford to insure it until i have some NCB on my record. my cheapest quote for the 1.1L was £900 when i selected uk spec European model but when i selected american spec it got crazy "+£7000" i was wondering if there is a difference in the models ?
extra questions:
can i convert it to uk spec?
how much would it cost?
anyone know any good classic car insurers?
thank you

 

[First opel 1981]

There are subtle differences with the '69 and older models.
Nothing serious that will change how you restore it.

The 69 had a different dash insert. It had rectangular indicator lights and just popped into place instead of being secured with screws.
The door handles on the inside were in a different location than later years.
The back panel was flat instead of having an indent for an American License plate.

Ther were a few other things too.

The 1.1 version is hard to find though. And if you find one with a split bumper you have a real find!

 

[paul Stecker]

just saving my money together at the moment to afford shipping costs . am really considering buying it
any opel gt owners in Britain on the forum?

 

[BQS4]

i am 18 and im thinking of buying and importing 1.1L 1969 opel gt from america to England. i already own a 1.9L 1972 gt but cant afford to insure it until i have some NCB on my record. my cheapest quote for the 1.1L was £900 when i selected uk spec European model but when i selected american spec it got crazy "+£7000" i was wondering if there is a difference in the models ?
extra questions:
can i convert it to uk spec?
how much would it cost?
anyone know any good classic car insurers?
thank you

I may be wrong, the only real difference between a UK spec'd and a US spec'd GT may only be the front lights below the bumper. A US spec'd GT from 69-71 (?) has these as just running lights, the 72-73 had them as running/turn signals. These had an amber lense on them. A UK spec'd GT would probably have been clear and would be a type of fog lamp. Other than that, we have a member here who bought what is an Italian spec'd GT, and it had side marker lights, or repeaters on the back part of the front fenders.

 

[paul Stecker]

There are subtle differences with the '69 and older models.
Nothing serious that will change how you restore it.

The 69 had a different dash insert. It had rectangular indicator lights and just popped into place instead of being secured with screws.
The door handles on the inside were in a different location than later years.
The back panel was flat instead of having an indent for an American License plate.

Ther were a few other things too.

The 1.1 version is hard to find though. And if you find one with a split bumper you have a real find!

sorry but whats a split bumper version ?

 

[opelspyder]

Split bumper is an early 69 model, but these things do not matter

The differences are going to be the gauges, we are MPH, you use KPH

So lighting for passing lights and the Speedometer are going to be the thing you need to convert when you receive it, the other stuff doesn't matter, should be the same things...though you might not have seat belts in a Euro model?

 

[kwschumm]

I believe the Euro versions had a factory rear sway bar which the US versions lacked.

 

[wklopf]

It is my understanding that speed limits in the UK are still posted in MPH, so I don't think that the speedometer will be any problem. Also, only the very earliest of the 1969 GTs had the flat rear panel. From what I have seen a GT in good condition in Germany will command a higher price than an equivalent car in the US. Shipping from the US would be more expensive, however. Many, many GTs originally sold here have been shipped back to Germany. One quickly observable difference between the GTs that came to the US and the European spec cars is the side marker lights in the rear fender on the US spec cars. Bill

 

[G.v.Mainberg]

... A UK spec'd GT would probably have been clear and would be a type of fog lamp.

Hi beams

Dieter

 

[nickincrete]

I imported mine from Dallas to the UK
It was a driver and came on a roll on roll off shipping method from Galveston Port Texas
I had to pay some inport duty and vat on mine
Vat doesnt have to be paid as it had origionally come from europe but you need to show proof, i didnt have the time , contact the UK club they should help you on this.
There is no major differences in the car Mot wise, just need to change the headlight to rhd and the front marker lights into indicators
Classic insurance should be simple to find and much cheaper than normal insurance.
However i would look at ebay.de as there are quite a few for sale in Germany and with the money and hassle you could eliminate buy buying it there may make more sense.
Nick

 

[ggl]

I imported mine from Dallas to the UK
It was a driver and came on a roll on roll off shipping method from Galveston Port Texas
I had to pay some inport duty and vat on mine
Vat doesnt have to be paid as it had origionally come from europe but you need to show proof, i didnt have the time , contact the UK club they should help you on this.
There is no major differences in the car Mot wise, just need to change the headlight to rhd and the front marker lights into indicators
Classic insurance should be simple to find and much cheaper than normal insurance.
However i would look at ebay.de as there are quite a few for sale in Germany and with the money and hassle you could eliminate buy buying it there may make more sense.
Nick

Shipping costs from the US to Europe, 1500-2500 dollars depending on where the car is located so finding one in Europe may be a better idea except that they're getting kinda pricey over here now and 1.1's are few and far between

I'm not sure I get the insurance bit though, is a 1.1 GT really that much less to insure than a 1.9 that it would make sense to buy and import one when you already own a 1.9 ?

Even up here in Norway I only pay 300 dollars a year for my TR6, that's with my regular insurance company and with an estimated value on the car of 20k dollars. It has a few limitations on the use of the car though but that's the same with any classic car insurance

I would look into buying a cheap runabout that could serve as a dd and then put a classic car insurance on the GT and live with the limitations it puts on your driving, my policy allows me to drive it 5k miles or something and that's more than enough for me to use it to commute to work when the weather is nice during the summer season and stuff like that

 

[hrcollinsjr]

Hi beams

Dieter

:wavey: beams or 'high' beams?

Harold

 

[neuropel]

Check the situation with insurers first. Not sure about the UK, but in the USA you have to be 25yr old to get classic car insurance.

 

[oldopelguy]

I'd be willing to bet that in this case the cheaper rate for "UK Spec" refers to RHD, and that the other rate is so expensive because it is for a new driver driving on the "wrong" side of the car.

 

[wklopf]

According to the book Projekt 1484, there were a total of 165 GTs exported to GM Limited (GB). Two more went to Vauxhall Motors LTD. Bill

 

[Anonymous D]

James in Texas is parting out a 1.1L GT right now. Good opportunity to pick up some of the rare stuff.

http://www.opelgt.com/forums/genera...point-one-junk-opel-junky-update-warning.html

 

[Anonymous D]

A hopped up 1.1 GT could be a real screamer, built to 1250cc with the larger 1.2L pistons and the bolt-on Weber DGV conversion kit (sold in Europe). There used to also be special hipo 1.1L camshafts years ago, not sure if anyone still grinds those.