[opelgtnitro]

I came up with the best idea today. I'm soon to purchase an opel gt with the front valance or as everyone calls it a "body kit or ground fx", and these F***ing HUGE fender flares in pretty damn good condition. After seeing yxy's ferrari red opel, I decided that I was gonna do the same. I'm gonna paint her ferrari red, eliminate the emblems and replace them with ferrari's emblems, replace the steering wheel with a ferrari steering wheel, do the interior over, slam the car about 2 inches off the ground with some big wide brushed aluminum mag rims, have "Ferrari" added onto the valve-cover, and last but definately, I'm gonna turbocharge the engine with most likely a garret T-25 until I work-up enough cash to do a v-8 swap, I can get my hands on a mint 400 small block and tranny that are built to the hilt for $1000 flat. It'll probably take a couple years for the whole thing to be complete with v-8 but it will be well,well worth the effort.[ Who knows, I might even Twin Turbo the 400 smalls if I can put enough cash into it. (I'm the Turbocharging God! ) Anyways, let me kno2w what you guys think. And don't say that I won't if anything, because I always do. Catch ya on the flip-side people. -Colt

 

[jordan]

It would interesting to what it would look like in the end....but just hope rallybob doesnt read this. LOL

 

[Old Hippie]

My question is "Why?". I know, like the mountain, it's there. Seems like alot of work when you should just get a ferrari body.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[calvin]

It has been done. The fellow in Sweden who wrote the first how to on the v-6 swap years and years ago did it. It seems that he and his dad were sheet metal workers and after the v-6 engine swap did all the body flares and all body changes in sheet metal. They put in years of work and thousands and thousands of dollars. They also managed to get it done and keep the car at the stock weight. The metal work that they did is true craftsman quality. They even managed to bring the car with them to the states when they moved to the USA.

The car was sold on ebay early last year for about $2100. to real lackluster bidding. I think 100% of the people who bid on it wanted it to use as a parts car as it did have some nice trick parts. I thought it was the ugliest thing I had ever seen done to a Opel and I am very happy to report that it was stripped down by the new owners as the pressure plate and clutch found it's way to here in the Midwest.

It would be much cheaper just to use a vette as they have kits for that sort of thing (and the finished product is still pug ugly). They had one at the route66 show and we got to watch 44,800 out of 45,000 people walk by and scoff and snicker at it.

still if you try god luck maybe yours will turn out better

 

[icemangt71]

Opel farrari

Sounds like a good idea but i belive that any v8 opel has to have everything pushed back dash seats all that.

Also with that much power you'd need a new rear end and definatly a subframe ( lot of money )
Not to get your hopes up but a big old buick regal with a turbo on it can run 9's what do you think that can do in the opel with huge diff in weight? Get the grand national engine instead is a better idea. those come with turbo its a buick regal engine souped up.
Also they are space savers and not too many mods compared to v8 let us know how its coming along.

 

[RallyBob]

That Manta that was converted into a 'Ferrari' that sold on ebay last year was bought by a friend of mine. It had a turbo 2.2 litre in it, and the engine was set back 8" in the chassis. The body was done entirely in steel. Over 3000 hours were invested, and it was nowhere near completed. It ended up getting stripped for parts sadly, and the body discarded. I was duly impressed with the amount of work that went into it, and the guy's ability cannot be undermined, but I still have to ask 'why' sometimes. Even me, known for spending ridiculous amounts of time on seemingly unimportant details or fabrications, cannot fathom the thought of ALL those hours trying build that car. After all, you can polish a turd, but in the end it's still a turd.....

FWIW, if you want a Ferrari, but cannot afford one, why not build a 'kit car' based on a fabricated spaceframe or a Fiero chassis? A friend of mine has a Countach kit based on the Fiero with a 350 Chevy in it. It's not done yet, but at least it runs and drives, and cost less than 10 g's including the driveline.

The re-engineering that goes along with stuffing ANY high torque/high power engine into a chassis designed for 100 hp is beyond most people's means, either financially or ability-wise. Even if it is not beyond your abilities, when you're done, it is neither an Opel, a Ferrari (no matter how much we want it to be!), or a Chevy, and is virtually worthless to all but the owner.

Bob

 

[Jerry C]

I bet you can buy a nice 308 Ferrari cheeper than you can turn the Opel GT into a V8 look-a-like Ferrari.

 

[opelenvy]

http://www.cctol.com
(collector car trader on line) Has SEVERAL Ferrari Kit car in various stages using everything from VW's, to Fiero's to Corvette's, Firebirds. Some for as low at 4K.

Here is a REAL Testarossa for only 6400.

 

[rallye73]

OGTS has a Testerossa (sp?) flare kit for the gt.

Darrin

 

[husker]

The guys on this board are not idiots and I would take their words of wisdom to heart.

The real thing for you is to sell off the Opel and buy the Ferrari GTO kit from Reaction Research. It is called the Velo Rossa and costs $3900 and the body panels are simply (ha!) bonded to a Datsun 240/260/280 "Z". Most "Z's" came with a pretty decent straignt 6 cyl - plus you can fit a v8 inbetween the fenders on the "Z" donor. I think it is Jags that Run that has the v8 swap kits. I began to go this route but fell in love with the Opel GT and decided to build it up instead.

If you look... there is even a partially completed one for $9500.

 

[husker]

another...

 

[husker]

Sorry... the website is

http://www.reactionresearch.com/automotive.html

 

[opelspyder]

Opeltestarossa

If you want to make an Opel a Ferrari. Just by my roadster on Ebay, save yourself the money, and put Ferrari emblems on it. It what I tell everyone it is. The special edition Ferrari Opeltesterossa. Ha
Keith

 

[RallyBob]

Testaropel.....

 

[webster]

this is a v-8 gt out of hot rod mag. belongs to shawn mcdonald
of flowering branch GA

 

[opelgtnitro]

The guys on this board are not idiots and I would take their words of wisdom to heart.

The real thing for you is to sell off the Opel and buy the Ferrari GTO kit from Reaction Research. It is called the Velo Rossa and costs $3900 and the body panels are simply (ha!) bonded to a Datsun 240/260/280 "Z". Most "Z's" came with a pretty decent straignt 6 cyl - plus you can fit a v8 inbetween the fenders on the "Z" donor. I think it is Jags that Run that has the v8 swap kits. I began to go this route but fell in love with the Opel GT and decided to build it up instead.

If you look... there is even a partially completed one for $9500.

Man, What would someone as big as say, Jesse James say? Probably something along the lines of, "dude, you guys are total traders with no faith against your own cars."

 

[West Coast GT]

What would Jessie James Say?

What would Jessie James Say? This coming from a guy who built a lawnmower from a mustang, or a swamp buggy from a new VW bug? No question, he's got lots of talent, but what the guys in this thread are saying to you is your logic doesn't make sense. And what I'm hearing you say is, ya, but I can do this thing.

The dream is admirable. The logic is off. But, if we listened to logic all the time, the Wright Brothers would not have flown, the trans-continental railroad would not have been built, and a computer would never have been invented.

So, if your dream is to do something no one has done before, then go for it. But if your dream is an awesome car rivaling an exotic sports cars out of an Opel, then you're off track.

The question comes down to: Is it the process you're into, or the result?

Us older guys have seen plenty of ads for cars with these types of modifications. And the seller always says, "Hey, I put 30 grand into it". But in reality, the car's worth a couple thousand as parts, at most. An auction last year on eBay for a 450 SL Mercedes converted into a monster truck comes to mind. The guy talked about all the money that went into it. But I gotta tell ya, it was worthless, and I doubt he unloaded it.

So again, if your idea is to do something on one has done before, and you want to see if you can really do it, go for it. And let us all know how it goes. "Cause as negative as we can sound at times, we'll still be wondering. "Ya, but what if? What if he actually does it?"

 

[opelgtnitro]

thanx

Thanks guys, but when it comes down to it, My main goal is to perceive the opel as being a ferrari, not change the opel into a ferrari look-alike or equal performing vehicle. I'm just talking about an engine upgrade, some dress, chrome, show, and paint, and non-shalontly swapping some emblems on the car. After-all, the car WAS designed by the guy who later, or was it at the same time, wentto work for ferrari. And besides, you know it would be funny as hell when everybody thinks you really do own a rare ferrari. As far as sub-framing and all that goes, I have the resources to do it next to nothing, access to the shops and tools, and people that have knowledge in the field here. I actually have a subaru h-6 setup in my shop right now that I haven't checked as far as fit goes. If it will fit, that will be the motor I'll use. In all likeelyhood I'm going to either deal with the complexity of the engine and it's electronics, Or strip it FI setup and modify the manifold to except a holley bolt-on "throttle injection setup, which would still allow me to turbo charge. I'll try to keep you posted and let you know when I have pictures. -Colt

 

[houserc]

And besides, you know it would be funny as hell when everybody thinks you really do own a rare ferrari.

Try telling them it's an Opel! I think that is funny enough as it is. Just the blank "deer-in-the-headlights" look is hilarious at times.

 

[opelgtnitro]

I know,huh? everyone thinks it's a weird corvette kitcar, alot of people just stare. But like I said, when it's done, they'll nly get a glimps as I fly by them. -Colt