[Jo Anna]

So I pull into the parking lot at work, turn off the beauty, adjust the mirror, put on my lipstick, fix my hair, gather my stuff and put it into my brief case, grab my keys and just as I am about to open my door, I see a 6' tall stranger standing right there looking down into the car at me. I compose myself (slightly worried), open the door and ask if I can help him. (I work at a hospice home which hasn't opened its door for business yet...) and he says Hi my name is ______ and I own an Opel GT. I asked him if he was here on business and was this a coincidence and he says NO, I've been following you for miles...He said Pop the hood and let me see and so we go over the beauty from stem to stern. He is the original owner of a '70 GT and I sure appreciated the smile on his face. Happy and unexpected experience!
Is this the sort of thing I can expect now that I drive the beauty every day?
Jo

 

[baz]

just about i had a man follow me and say he had a gt (well he was driving it ) but its more of a worry for a man when they follow you as they only want to look at the car and you never get women following you to chat cars (well i have not had it happen to me )

 

[GTJIM (R.I.P.)]

Sheeeesh!

Is this the sort of thing I can expect now that I drive the beauty every day?
Jo

You drive one of the most exotic, beautiful cars ever made and you don't expect tall strangers to come over and speak to you - 'specially when they are driving one of "Beauty's" brothers or sisters???

 

[Jo Anna]

Yeah, it was a little worrisome as he was a total stranger (or as Gallagher would ask--whats the diff between a stranger and a total stranger????) and he wasn't driving a GT, else I would have understood immediately why he was standing there...his GT has a dead starter. Maybe seeing mine up close will get him off dead center and get his fixed! It would be fun to have a two GT caravan touring the Copper Country here!
jo

 

[GTJIM (R.I.P.)]

No stranger ....

Not a total stranger - he is obviously "family" - Opel Family!

 

[benncojr]

Does he need a starter? Has he looked for a starter? I think they are common and can be picked up at the local Auto Store.

 

[Jo Anna]

I told him about this site so maybe we'll get to know him here--watch for him--he's about 6'1"...
I like the "family " idea. Its certainly true!
Jo

 

[Dmcbrass]

Had a 71 Opel Kadett that I used to drive around Houghton. (1974-1976) It was amazing. Despite the +250"/yr snow falls and the steep streets in downtown houghton, I was never stranded. How do you keep a GT from rusting out in the U.P.?

 

[Gary]

I was driving my '75 Sportwagon in rush hour traffic last week when a girl in an SUV in the next lane started honking her horn. I looked over and she yelled "Nice car. I used to have one". For the next several minutes, each time we passed each other in traffic, she smiled, pointed at the wagon, and mouthed the words "I used to have one." Finally we both laughed and gave a thumbs up. I'm sure she had a tale to tell that night.

 

[Jo Anna]

390 inches of snow

Had a 71 Opel Kadett that I used to drive around Houghton. (1974-1976) It was amazing. Despite the +250"/yr snow falls and the steep streets in downtown houghton, I was never stranded. How do you keep a GT from rusting out in the U.P.?

Well, the answer is: put the GT away as soon as the snow starts in October. Just drove my beauty up Brockway Mt. Drive last nite (you remember?) and took shots of it overlooking Lake Superior at sunset. Awesome--and of course, if you remember the 50+ mile drive to this pinnacle then you remember the miles of tree tunnels and the winding winding curvacious roads that go from 55 to 20mph on the curves and then of course, the hairpins turns going straignt up or down depending on your direction. This road was made for a GT rally adventure. and of course, the end of Sept. is the most awesome time of year to do so. Then theres M-26 up there along the lake--up, down, up, down, curves, belly ticklers, beauty, water, rocks, Superior on one side, small mountain lakes on the other. Breathtaking.
So were you here to go to Michigan Tech Univ.?
Jo

 

[Dmcbrass]

Yes,
Mechanical engineering class of 1976. I've been amazed at how excited teenagers get about my opel GT. Several of them that we know have begged me to let them drive it. I think it's amazing that a car that was designed 40 years ago and manufactured 35 years ago turns so many heads. You definately have one of the premier spots to drive a GT. The road up to copper harbor is ideal. Little traffic and plenty of curves.

 

[Jo Anna]

Indeed! If you like shifting, hairpin turns, curvaceous hills so steep you can't see over beyond the hood (much like an amusement ride), stunning scenery, jaw dropping plummeting cliffs along the edge of the road and lots of reasons to shout "woo-hoo" then US 41 at its northern originating point is a must drive. And then there are the steep hills in Houghton and Hancock on either side of the Portage canal--streets so steep you would never take the Opel down one for fear of scraping the front end at the bottom of the hill where it dumps into a main thoroughfare. Makes for more amusing driving!
You ever get back here?
It isn't just the teens who notice--all the engineering students at Tech crane their necks...they do awesome design projects here and the Opel is a trend setter.
Jo

 

[Dmcbrass]

It's been several years since we were in Houghton. 1998 I think. My wife is from Gladstone so we get close on occasion. In the two winters I spent at Tech I never shoveled snow. The weight on my kadett with the 1.1L engine was so well distributed front to back that I could drive it anywhere. Used to stop halfway up some of the streets you mentioned, help people get unstuck and then proceed the rest of the way up the hill. I don't drive my GT in the snow because of the extreme amount of salt Virginia puts on the roads, so I don't know for sure, but my guess is that the GT won't handle snow nearly as well as the Kadett did.