[DO'Brien]

There's a 1969 GT for sale with the original split front bumper and flat rear panel (no indent behind the license plate) on Craigslist in Santa Barbara! The seller is asking $2,500.

1969 Opel GT - auto parts - by owner - vehicle automotive sale

Awesome, all Original GM Car that has been off the road for 20 years. Everything works but will...

santabarbara.craigslist.org

(The pictures I've included are ones I have personally taken of the car in the past.)

I actually went to look at this car when it was listed about 7 months ago. The only reason I didn't go for it is because I didn't have the knowledge or budget to deal with rust repairs.
That being said, there's a bit of rust scattered around the car, like the floors, rear quarters, and where water sat inside the hood. Battery was still up front and the tray was surprisingly intact.
Engine seems good - a compression test a couple years ago showed 150, 160, 160, 145 psi, respectively. With some gas in the carburetor it sputtered to life for a few seconds. It has a 4 speed that shifted through all the gears. Headlights still rotate. If I remember correctly, it really does have only 19,000 miles.
The latest registration sticker is from 2000 and the car has been off the road for 20 years. Everything is there.

I believe this car deserves to be restored - not used as a parts car.

 

[SiliconTi]

Hmm... Never knew there were split bumpers.

 

[Vincent]

Yup some very early GT's had split front bumper, and the rear pannel did not have a recess for the rear license plate...

 

[Autoholic]

Oh man... there is a lot of want. I already have a GT that needs to be restored but dang. This would be one to restore to factory condition.

 

[Gary]

It would be good to add its VIN to the registry database.

 

[V8GT]

Even with a first registration from 69, this GT is definitely a 68 build and I think it was produced on one of the very first GT body´s.
This car shows some “early” signs like the odometer without the “W” indication and the passenger handle with chrome frames.
What really wake up my curiosity is the body nr. on right side(radiator support corner). Zooming in and turning the pic 90°, i read “11??”!

@Donovan:
Have you more pics from engine compartment? It would be very interesting if you could post some more pics from this GT.

 

[DO'Brien]

View attachment 424648

Even with a first registration from 69, this GT is definitely a 68 build and I think it was produced on one of the very first GT body´s.
This car shows some “early” signs like the odometer without the “W” indication and the passenger handle with chrome frames.
What really wake up my curiosity is the body nr. on right side(radiator support corner). Zooming in and turning the pic 90°, i read “11??”!

View attachment 424649

@Donovan:
Have you more pics from engine compartment? It would be very interesting if you could post some more pics from this GT.

Here's a better shot of the passenger door.

It looks like that number stamped on the radiator support either says "1474" or "147A."

The build number on the metal tag says "941657477"

And if there's anything else you'd like to see, I have a ton of pictures.

 

[Gary]

That VIN puts it as the earliest GT on the Registry!

 

[DO'Brien]

That VIN puts it as the earliest GT on the Registry!

Wow! I'll be letting the seller know that!
Is there any way to find out exactly what the build number of this GT is? Is the actual build number the number V8GT was referring to stamped onto the radiator support - "1474?" "147A?"

 

[Autoholic]

That is 1474, and at B&L they started at 1000 I believe? So, this would be GT #474.

That VIN puts it as the earliest GT on the Registry!

Second earliest, we know the VIN of the first production GT, 94 1587440.

DO'Brien, would you have a good pic of the driver side radiator support area, where the BUN is? That is what we really need to see. This is either #474 out of B&L, or it is 1474th GT out of B&L. Bochum never did the second production number on the passenger side from what I remember.

 

[DO'Brien]

That is 1474, and at B&L they started at 1000 I believe? So, this would be GT #474.



Second earliest, we know the VIN of the first production GT, 94 1587440.

DO'Brien, would you have a good pic of the driver side radiator support area, where the BUN is? That is what we really need to see. This is either #474 out of B&L, or it is 1474th GT out of B&L. Bochum never did the second production number on the passenger side from what I remember.

Posting these pictures from my phone so I hope they go through ok.

I believe the stamped code is either “U1158” or “U1159”

 

[Autoholic]

I think that is U1158. So, when it came from Cluasson it was either the 1158th GT received by B&L or it was the 158th GT. I’d have to dive back into BUN’s to know how B&L started numbering.

 

[DO'Brien]

I think that is U1158. So, when it came from Cluasson it was either the 1158th GT received by B&L or it was the 158th GT. I’d have to dive back into BUN’s to know how B&L started numbering.

Still posting with my phone so bear with me.

GT Body Unit Production Numbers

Promotion GT´S John not sure of Crispy's early history but I have a old magazine (November 1969 Poupular Imported Cars) with a 1969 split bumper GT green with buckskin interior on the front cover.....maby it is crispy? how many green split bumper built??? Steve Steve I mean,in this colour most...

www.opelgt.com

In this thread, it is revealed that the first “pre-production” GT was stamped as “1001.” I believe if there is a “U” present at the beginning of the code, that indicates the car was made for the US market (side rear markers cut out and other differences).

So could this GT be the 158th GT body made?? That sounds crazy to me!

 

[V8GT]

@ DO`Brien
Thank you very much for posting the pic´s. This is very helpful to determine the build date. It seems that this specific GT shows a typical 1968 production run/history with big delays in some production steps.
The VIN indicates for a build date in the first week of Dez 68. But the low body numbers point to direction oct 68. Meaning that this GT spend two month in the production line!
The body leaves the Chausson plant as 159th US spec body.
At the B&L factory, US and rest of word get counted together. It leaves B&L as 474th body in direction to Bochum.

Opel send in 1968 only 31 GT to the USA. I don’t know if this one has been part of this group. But no matter, this GT was certainly used for display and demonstration at the dealership because its early arrive in the USA.
Do you know first date of registration?

I have another question. Do you have a pic from this angle which show the driver side wheel arch?

I attached a PDF documentation/description about body numbers below.

 

[terrylewisac]

That would be awesome if it is wow and it's still around

 

[V8GT]

@ DO´Brien
Please forget my question about a pic from the left inner wheel arch. I found such a pic in the craiglist ad.

 

[terrylewisac]

Please Tell me that's not a NO.2 pencil sticking out of the valve cover

 

[DO'Brien]

@ DO`Brien
Thank you very much for posting the pic´s. This is very helpful to determine the build date. It seems that this specific GT shows a typical 1968 production run/history with big delays in some production steps.
The VIN indicates for a build date in the first week of Dez 68. But the low body numbers point to direction oct 68. Meaning that this GT spend two month in the production line!
The body leaves the Chausson plant as 159th US spec body.
At the B&L factory, US and rest of word get counted together. It leaves B&L as 474th body in direction to Bochum.

Opel send in 1968 only 31 GT to the USA. I don’t know if this one has been part of this group. But no matter, this GT was certainly used for display and demonstration at the dealership because its early arrive in the USA.
Do you know first date of registration?

I have another question. Do you have a pic from this angle which show the driver side wheel arch?

View attachment 424674


I attached a PDF documentation/description about body numbers below.

View attachment 424676

Did it leave B&L as the 1,474th or the 474th? Does the number starting at “1001” refer to both the stamp on the driver’s side and passenger side? Or is that just for the driver’s side? In that case wouldn’t it have left as the 1,474th? Just double checking

 

[Autoholic]

Someone needs to buy this car ASAP

 

[V8GT]

Did it leave B&L as the 1,474th or the 474th? Does the number starting at “1001” refer to both the stamp on the driver’s side and passenger side? Or is that just for the driver’s side? In that case wouldn’t it have left as the 1,474th? Just double checking

Yes they started with "1001" on both side´s.
B&L 474th.