I saw her and she looks great. The odd thing is she looks EXACTLY like Emmy!! My GT is dark mica/metallic finish green (its actually the hunter green from the 2001 Honda Civic). The first two photos in my book show her a lot lighter than she really is... they were taken/sent by the seller, so his camera must overexpose slightly. The super wierd thing I noticed is that your GT must have been originally FireGlow orange (from the interior I saw) Mine was too!!! Wow... two repainted dark green GTs that were originally fireglow.. thats just wierd! What year is yours?
My BABY
Well I finally got my pics loaded but I don't know if they are in the right place or not. I couldn't get them on the member area. Oh well I'm just happy to put them on here. I will try to get more pics loaded when she is completed. I have to finish the interior and the engine is just about running. She has a Chevy V6 3.4 I can hardly wait to get her on the road. I know from reading some of the other articles allot of people would rather stick with the 1.9 engines but having opels since I was 16 it always seemed I was doing something to them plus I just thought it would be different. It is allot of work but thanks to some that have done it and of course knowing a mechanic that likes a challenge I won't be off the road to much longer. 
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Hey Kristi,
I thought the same thing when I seen yours They must be twins seperated and sent to diffrent parts of the country . Although I would say you are the older twin. Isn't yours a 1973 mines a 72 and the color is called Polo Green Metallic, looks black when you get her in the garage. I'm sure when you drive her people are always looking. I'm so hyped I want my baby done and done soon. Unfortunately that probably wont be until this spring. Wouldn't dare take her out in the winter at least not here in South Dakota. Have fun with your baby
I thought the same thing when I seen yours
They must be twins seperated and sent to diffrent parts of the country . Although I would say you are the older twin. Isn't yours a 1973 mines a 72 and the color is called Polo Green Metallic, looks black when you get her in the garage. I'm sure when you drive her people are always looking. I'm so hyped I want my baby done and done soon. Unfortunately that probably wont be until this spring. Wouldn't dare take her out in the winter at least not here in South Dakota. Have fun with your baby Actually mine's a 72 also!! Wow.. they are twins!!
If (gasp) I were to swap a CIH 1.9 liter for a v-block, it would be a narrow angle V-6.
There are a bunch of different angles to engines these days - back in the day, v-block auto motors had but one angle - 90 degrees. When V-6's (a recent development) came into vogue, some smart engineer-types figured out the primary rotataing couple of the motor (read vibration) is best overcome in theiur application via a 60 degree cylinder spacing. A 120 degree spacing would be better , but hard to fit in the average engine compartment.
Anyway, the 60 degree motors lend themselves to packaging in tight areas. having said that...betcha you still had to hack away at the drivers footwell to get the motor in place!
How'd the swap go - easy/hard...were there any unexpected obstacles?
The general consensus on motor swaps is what it is for two reasons:
1 - There are precious few decent GT shells left. Cutting them up reduces the number available for restoration to orig specs, and orig is always a better bet in the long run.
2. The 80% rule applies to engine swaps. 80% of the people who attempt it do not have the skills or patience for one of the more difficult powertrain swaps. The 'acid test' for engine swaps is to see if an Opel swapper would or is capable of converting a front wheel drive vehicle - say a PT cruiser - into a rear-wheel drive car. If they hesitate, then their chance of success is pretty low on the GT swap. Sadly, most only find this out after they've completely bunged up a decent GT with a torch and cutting wheel - the car will never see pavement again.
These admonitions are here to keep GT's on the road, instead of under tarps in backyards. If you're successful in your swap - that's AWESOME! You're one of the few who made it past some fairly difficult hurdles.
Now if I were contemplating a swappie - it would be a GNX 3.8 liter stuffed into the engine bay of a Manta, Ascona, or Kadett. There's something appealing about having 400+ HP on tap inna 2000 lb car - although I can't quite put my finger on what it is...
There are a bunch of different angles to engines these days - back in the day, v-block auto motors had but one angle - 90 degrees. When V-6's (a recent development) came into vogue, some smart engineer-types figured out the primary rotataing couple of the motor (read vibration) is best overcome in theiur application via a 60 degree cylinder spacing. A 120 degree spacing would be better , but hard to fit in the average engine compartment.
Anyway, the 60 degree motors lend themselves to packaging in tight areas. having said that...betcha you still had to hack away at the drivers footwell to get the motor in place!
How'd the swap go - easy/hard...were there any unexpected obstacles?
The general consensus on motor swaps is what it is for two reasons:
1 - There are precious few decent GT shells left. Cutting them up reduces the number available for restoration to orig specs, and orig is always a better bet in the long run.
2. The 80% rule applies to engine swaps. 80% of the people who attempt it do not have the skills or patience for one of the more difficult powertrain swaps. The 'acid test' for engine swaps is to see if an Opel swapper would or is capable of converting a front wheel drive vehicle - say a PT cruiser - into a rear-wheel drive car. If they hesitate, then their chance of success is pretty low on the GT swap. Sadly, most only find this out after they've completely bunged up a decent GT with a torch and cutting wheel - the car will never see pavement again.
These admonitions are here to keep GT's on the road, instead of under tarps in backyards. If you're successful in your swap - that's AWESOME! You're one of the few who made it past some fairly difficult hurdles.
Now if I were contemplating a swappie - it would be a GNX 3.8 liter stuffed into the engine bay of a Manta, Ascona, or Kadett. There's something appealing about having 400+ HP on tap inna 2000 lb car - although I can't quite put my finger on what it is...
Chuckspeed,
You ask if it were hard or easy? I'm sure you know the answer to that question and this is coming from someone that didn't even put the engine in. I have been very blessed to have people around me that are knowledgeable enough to tackle this large of a task. It also helps allot to have the vehicle that the engine came out of for pulling fuel lines, fuel pump and wiring. I probably would have been nickel and dimed to death if I would have had to purchase each item separately. Lets say I would never attempt something like this again and if I were to have known all that I have learned at this site about what you can do to get the 1.9s up in horsepower I would have probably gone that route only because I could of done that myself and not have to rely on others.
I to have seen those Opels under tarps and purchased one that was hacked up to fit a Chevy 350 in. It wasn't a pretty site; of course the engine was pulled before I got it. I guess all they could do was drive straight to much weight for the front end to do any cornering. I had to sell that Opel; it was way too much work to get her road worthy again. To this day I see it advertised for sale because I'm sure the person that bought it from me didn't realize just how dedicated you have to be to get these little baby's back on the road.
Like I was saying before she's not completely done and there are still a few hurdles to get over, of course once you go this far there is no turning back!
You ask if it were hard or easy? I'm sure you know the answer to that question and this is coming from someone that didn't even put the engine in. I have been very blessed to have people around me that are knowledgeable enough to tackle this large of a task. It also helps allot to have the vehicle that the engine came out of for pulling fuel lines, fuel pump and wiring. I probably would have been nickel and dimed to death if I would have had to purchase each item separately. Lets say I would never attempt something like this again and if I were to have known all that I have learned at this site about what you can do to get the 1.9s up in horsepower I would have probably gone that route only because I could of done that myself and not have to rely on others.
I to have seen those Opels under tarps and purchased one that was hacked up to fit a Chevy 350 in. It wasn't a pretty site; of course the engine was pulled before I got it. I guess all they could do was drive straight to much weight for the front end to do any cornering. I had to sell that Opel; it was way too much work to get her road worthy again. To this day I see it advertised for sale because I'm sure the person that bought it from me didn't realize just how dedicated you have to be to get these little baby's back on the road.
Like I was saying before she's not completely done and there are still a few hurdles to get over, of course once you go this far there is no turning back!
Nathan,
I went with the fiero manifolds and I am not the first to have a V6 Chevy Camaro engine installed. I got the idea from an Air Force guy who had it posted on one of the other web sites. I was able to get a hold of him on email about 3 years ago and asked him allot of questions on how he proceeded with this conversion; he was allot of help. I'm surprised he didn't tell me to bug off with as many questions I asked him. Of course he used a 3.2 V6 which is slightly different from the 3.4 setup. So far everything seems to be fitting okay, what have you done for the fuel pump? We were able to take the one out of the Chevy and install it on the GT's tank.
I would love to have A/C but I knew that would just be allot more time and money and boy I could use more money. I never thought of making a custom dash. If you get it done I would sure like to see that. I'm still trying to find a dash that isn't cracked or a place that can recover mine for less then 500.00. So far I'm still searching. As soon as I get some more pictures taken I will put them on here if I have enough room. Take it easy
I went with the fiero manifolds and I am not the first to have a V6 Chevy Camaro engine installed. I got the idea from an Air Force guy who had it posted on one of the other web sites. I was able to get a hold of him on email about 3 years ago and asked him allot of questions on how he proceeded with this conversion; he was allot of help. I'm surprised he didn't tell me to bug off with as many questions I asked him. Of course he used a 3.2 V6 which is slightly different from the 3.4 setup. So far everything seems to be fitting okay, what have you done for the fuel pump? We were able to take the one out of the Chevy and install it on the GT's tank.
I would love to have A/C but I knew that would just be allot more time and money and boy I could use more money. I never thought of making a custom dash. If you get it done I would sure like to see that. I'm still trying to find a dash that isn't cracked or a place that can recover mine for less then 500.00. So far I'm still searching. As soon as I get some more pictures taken I will put them on here if I have enough room. Take it easy
Re: Jeff's Photo's
kwilford said:...I must not deserve the moderator title. I STILL can't see where Jeff's photo's are filed!
Keith, you could not see the Upload Gallery because of the Moderator title.
By the bye, the link I mentioned above is a bit "flaky". It often takes at least two or three tries to establish the link.
I've noticed the same thing when I click on the "Photo Album Gallery" in the main menu, I have to hit the refresh/reload button once, then it loads properly. That is a vBulletin thing. Clicking on the same link in the "More" section below takes you there without problem. I need to work on that one.[/]
Nathan Acree said:
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