[opelgt73]

I haven't been posting around here lately since I haven’t had a GT in over a year but I'm getting another one soon. I just graduated from Purdue and moved to Chicago for a job, though after this project is over and my girlfriend finishes with Pharmacy school next spring my plan is to move to San Diego. There is a lot of stuff I was going to buy first (plasma tv, New keyboard and guitar amp) but since I have been driving a Corvette everyday, and damn does it ride rough, I figured I would get another car first. I had been looking at picking up a late 90's BMW 750iL but ...... like I knew I would...... I came back to Opels.

Been looking for quite a while at different ones that are for sale in various conditions. I always knew that there are a lot of GT's out there just sitting in garages that the owners wouldn't mind getting rid of. So I decided to put a wanted at up on craigslist for the Chicago area and got quite a few responses.

I went to look at one of them yesterday, here are the details he gave me over the phone:

Always garaged
Orig Fireglow but now repainted Yellow and black(coincidently EXACTLY like my last GT.
103K miles
Solex (AWESOME!!!!!!)
Engine is Froze
No rust
Last driven in 93
Comes with extra engine and trans, and a host of other parts including a NOS NIB Gas cap.


Here is what I found when I got there:

Rear quarters were OEM replacements
Bondo in every quarter - BUT I believe it is from accidents, the car was mostly driven in the city and prob had the fenders banged up a few times. The rear quarter replacement was excellent work but one side was hit at a later point and the work is kind of shoddy. The floors were completely solid and even had all the original insulation.
Interior is in excellent shape, only one small crack on the dash. Seat is broken though, but comes with an extra seat.
Headlights rolled over but go past where they are supposed to stop.
Electrical is a complete mess, someone stole the stereo and ripped half the wires out.
The hood hinge has broken off.

I offered him $700 for it, he settled on $800. Not the best deal I have gotten but good considering you never find rust free ones here in the north and with my new job I don't have the time to travel to pick up a rust free one.

I was hoping for a car with not as much previous body work that I could really sink some money into and do a primo resto. But being that this car has been in a wreck or two I think I am just going to restore it to be a daily driver. It might be a good one for an engine transplant down the road. The current owner says that the motor is stuck because it has been sitting for so long but there was nothing wrong with it. Hopefully I can get it freed up and not have to install the other motor. Either way I will have an extra motor to get rid of. I was also thinking I might drop in one of the 2.2L FI motors that Gill sells. Anyone know how much those run? I seem to remember they were in the $1500 range.

My biggest problem with it is the broken hood hinge. That’s one problem I have never run into in any of the other 7 GT's I have owned. Being that I don't have the big garage that I used to I am going to have to have it done at a body shop. Does anyone know how much that might cost?

Anyway when I start the resto I will put up weekly updates of my progress and pictures.

 

[bear]

Chris, hood hinge repair is really easy with just a piece of 1" angle iron, drill, and some nuts and bolts. The big thing is to make sure the other hinge is free to rotate so you don't break it too. Run a search for "hood hinge repair" and I think you'll find a couple of solutions. If not, I can take a pic of the repair I did on both sides of mine.

 

[opelgt73]

Yeah it's both sides that are busted. It needs a repaint anyway so the welding won't matter.

 

[opelgt73]

Just picked up the new GT tonight. I got to tell you, I am NOT happy with U-haul. Made my reservation for a tow-dolly for today. They called me at noon saying that they did not have one in stock, and that I would have to go to another store in downtown Chicago. OK that’s fine, the car was in Lincoln park anyway. I get to that U-haul and what do I find out? THEY DON"T HAVE ANY EITHER!!!!! They then told me that even though the computer shows that they have one, they are fresh out. They point me to another U-haul about 4 miles away, which in the city takes about 25 min. Well it was already 6:40 and they close at 7. Luckily I got there right as they were locking the doors and they let me in.

Onto the car:

All the wheels were flat. The PO told me that he pumped them up and they held air. I don't know if I believe that or not since they were still all flat. Obviously they DON'T hold air. But 5 cans of fix-a-flat later they do!!! Towed it home with no problems.

I have quite a few parts to go through and get rid of. The PO stripped down his other GT and gave me all the parts. So I have a spare engine/trans radiator, a bunch of interior pieces, lights and a bunch of other stuff. I'll take pics and prob put most of it in the classified section.

Tomorrow I will finally get to see the car in the daylight and be able to tell if the body as good or worse than I thought it was. I'll try to post some pictures of it this weekend to show the "before" condition.

 

[Rose]

I am very scared of posting wanted ads. If meant to be, it will show up. you are braver than me

 

[opelgt73]

I actually think it is a better way to find a GT, thats where I have found all the best GT's I have had. A lot of times people hang onto them until they are too far gone to restore, which leads to these $500 cars on ebay that are all rusted out. With wanted adds usually you catch people who maybe weren't thinking about selling but they realize when they see your add that they will prob never do anything with it.

 

[greensmurf20]

good GTs do come from lincoln park. my 2nd best GT was from there, and my 71 i've had for the last 2 years was within a half hour of lincoln park.

 

[Stanley_P]

Chris,

I've remember your website when you finished your yellow Opel.
I went back many times when restoring mine. I'm looking for an
Opel right now myself, I really miss mine since I sold it but the next one
is going to be even better. I'm in the process of restoring a 66 GTO but I think I can work in an Opel project too. Keep us posted on your progress.


Stanley_P

 

[opelgt73]

I still have that website up:

http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~blustc

However it hasn't been updated in a long time. In fact since I updated it I have sold my "New GT". Lezliewk bought it and has since completed the restoration.

My Purdue web hosting will run out soon so I will need to find a new server, but when I do I am going to update the site with my new GT and give it a fresh look.

 

[nobody]

Chris, I'm glad your getting another one. All Opels deserve good homes.

Every time you post it reminds me of one of my more bright moments. There was something I needed but was a bigger part on Ebay. I have a friend in Loveland so contacted to pick it up. Oops not Loveland Colorado. Yup that was me

 

[Gary]

@Chris - Check your PM.

 

[opelgt73]

Here are the pictures that I took today.

Also if any of you remember the last GT I restored, it was painted EXACTLY like this one. Yellow with the black rear and rocker stripes. I don't like this look anymore and need to decide on another color to paint it.

 

[opelgt73]

And here are the ones that show some of the problems.

In the first picture you can see the largest dent that the car has, really it is the only major dent. I think there are two others about the size of a dime elsewhere.

The second two show where there is a little bit of rust. Now granted there might be more than I think there is underneath that, it still is pretty good for a midwestern car.

The fourth picture shows how terrible the fuse box looks, all kinds of bad fixes abounding.

The last one shows where the most ammount of bodywork will be needed. It looks like it was hit above and behind the wheel and fixed very poorly. You can see how the contour of the arch is incorrect.

 

[greensmurf20]

gee chris, if you can get her to fire thats one hell of a GT for 800 bucks.