[Will I. Finish]

Very Happy For You. Good luck with your project. Best, Carl

 

[Will I. Finish]

I am very jealous of your opportunity, the beginning of a very long project and the fact that you have a grandfather that has the knowledge and desire to help you with this awesome protect and the help of this forum and all of the information accumulated over the past 20 plus years.. To mirror some of the other comments and go a step further - you will be tempted to rush the process with the need/desire to just get this car on the road. A very natural reaction even more so with a " young GT lover". But this project is going to take a lot of time and a lot money and you cannot rush perfection or even a good daily driver that is 50 years old, safety is always a major concern especially when just getting started and you don't know hat you have - don't get in a rush as you will just have to go back and do things a second and third time. Any car of the age of your car but even more so an Opel GT is virtually going to need to have everything replace. Someone on this forum once told me that an Opel GT is kind of like a Bic pen, disposable. They really were not made to last, not like today's cars. So take your time and enjoy the journey, bask in every successfully completed project and move on to the next project as there will always be another project. Good luck to you my young friend. Again you are very lucky to have a great car to start the project, a skilled and caring Grandfather, and a forum with 20 + years of information at your disposable and a group of people that are willing and able to answer your questions to help you achieve your goals. Now, let's make it happen! There are a lot of step - It felt really great when I got to this step:

And the next step was also so rewarding - when after all of the preperation was done and the car was ready for paint and then painted - I was rewarded with the opportunity to begin to put it all back together again - that was one of the most exciting things I have ever done in my life and I took my time and enjoyed putting back every new or reconditioned part as I spent months, years, putting my car back together. So much fun. But I rushed it so now I am doing things I should have done 25 years ago. I blame myself of course but also the fact that I did the majority of my work before the forum existed so I could not just post a question - wish I could have as that would have saved so much time and prevented so many mistakes...........................

Replacing each little part, each big part, each step, was so rewarding and I know that I speak for so many of the members of this forum. And how long does it go on for, well, as long as you want depending on your goal. Again if looking for a daily driver this is not the route you want to take but you still have to be patient as the same rules apply just to a lesser extent.
Again best wishes to you and your grandfather on this wonderful project. Let me know if there is anything that I can do to help you from a distance. Best Regards, Carl

 

[Will I. Finish]

Recommend that you search the web on what is available out there, paint by the quart, and compare not only prices but quality - and no disrespect intended but keep in mind that you may look at this in a totally different way in just a few years. For example I took my 16 year old daughter out to look at used cars - well like a lot of 16 year olds she fell in love with every car she saw, 4 wheels and the freedom of owning a car was really all that she could see, at that point in time - so I steered her to the right choice which she was very happy with. Moral of the story listen to eveyone, do your own research and then make your decision, but with that said don't make it just based on $$. It is going to take you months to prepare this car for paint so in the mean time start saving money toward your paint or paint job. I know one thing for sure you need to be really happy with the finial results because if your aren't happy, well you will be doing it over again much sooner than you can imagine. Good Luck

 

[Will I. Finish]

Easy to see both sides of this fence. A young man is excited about his first car and rightfully so, especially an Opel GT and everyone on this forum wants to see him succeed and not quash his enthusiasm, but ....for those of us that have been around a GT for a lot of years we know the pitfalls and it is hard not to bring a little reality to the picture as we all know there will be a lot of issues to over come.

 

[Will I. Finish]

Must have been a great feeling. Congratulations......the beginning is always fun, now roll up your sleeves you have a lot of work ahead of you, enjoy it.

 

[Will I. Finish]

The engine & transmission seemed to operate really well considering. I’d leave the carburetor alone. I think you were suffering from a vacuum leak at the brake booster & perhaps problems with the master cylinder as FO said in the video. I had a really slow undetectable leak from my MC into the brake booster over time and didn’t know it until I replaced both, the booster was full of brake fluid when I removed it. Focus on the brakes first. Be careful with the fuel pump, I’d like to see it bolted on with a bracket. You can make it safer for little money. From what you said your grandpa ought to be well aware of the things hear from us, just thinking these things are pretty important. It’s great to see you having a blast in it. Keep the videos coming 😏

Hey Cub, I have also replaced the old brake booster with the newer larger one and a new master cylinder at the same time and I also found that the old booster had a pretty good amount of brake fluid in it however I have no idea how that happened - do you by chance know. As far as I know the old booster still worked but I have no idea how the fluid ended up in the booster as if memory serves the master cylinder, that I just replaced this year, was pretty close to new as well but not having a strong understanding of the master cylinder/brake booster relationship I would love to know how it pumped brake fluid into the booster unit. Thanks, Carl

 

[Will I. Finish]

Congrats on your first car show and your first award Sam. And good luck with your continuing progress/success regarding your GT project. With all of the good information on the forum and the help of Grandpa you are well on your way to your next trophy.

 

[Will I. Finish]

That's a good point Matt, And to follow up with that the number of them that the work was actually performed by the owners and not just sent out for someone else to do makes the margin even greater.
I personally know a hand full of people in my area that have more money than they know what to do with and there collection is extensive.
To the point they buy property solely to build extravagant garages/mancaves for there cars. ( not that there's anything wrong with that).
But they can't fix anything if there life depended on it.
So when they win there awards it goes up on a shelf in there mancaves just to brag about what they've payed there way for.
Interesting enough there sense of pride for there builds are different than those who actually get there hands dirty.
Anyway not to highjack the thread just find it interesting

Well Terry when you do it yourself you get not only the bragging rights but the satisfaction of doing it yourself right. I have always been a do it yourself kind of guy and in my life time, with the exception of a new roof and or HVAC repair work, I have done 99% myself. Same with the GT - never been to a mechanic, since I started the restoration, that may not have always been the best thing to do but I take a certain amount of pride in that. During the daily driving years the car saw many many mechanics as I did not have the time or knowledge to do it myself or this forum to guide me. It is one thing to own a classic car a totally different thing to build one.

 

[Will I. Finish]

Sam, Congratulations on all of the progress, you are really getting a lot done and also learning a ton about the new love of your life. You are so lucky to have your Grandfather and your Dad involved in your project. Cherish the time and enjoy every day as again you are a very lucky young man. Keep up the good work and as always keep us posted on all of your success. Impressive.....