Anyone have interest in Opels ? The GMC kind !
Discussion
A fresh project was needed.
The new job called for a 4am start to the shift which resulted in being finished and on the way home by lunchtime which I did not mind because the pay was very, very generous ( approx 5 times normal)) in order to encourage everyone to work with extra zeal to complete the contract before time !
The time from lunch until bed time was a real drag ,with nowhere to go and nothing to do, plus my eldest had just left school and he was in the same situation , bored to tears with idle hands, nothing to occupy his mind.
I was concerned that he would grow up with a bad work ethic and get into mischief like I did during WW2 so it seemed a new project was needed to occupy our time and minds, set some targets and ultimately give us some fun.
I had offered to do some car maintenance for the guys at the factory and as a result found my way to a scrap yard looking for parts when I spotted an OPEL GT 1900 sitting right up on top of the pile, waiting to be crushed. All the parts had been removed as is the procedure in Germany (EU ) prior to being squashed into a cube. When I asked if I could buy the remains ,the crane operator fell about laughing at my stupidity but soon became serious when I waved 50D-marks under his nose and suddenly came up with a pair of doors, bonnet and a pair of h/lamps. We ended up the best of mates because he was into big bikes ( another mechanic )
The moment I set eyes on the Opel I just knew it would make the most fabulous mini Corvette replica and aerodynamic racer. The trouble was , as far as I was aware there was nowhere to Drag-Race at all in Germany, Nederland’s or France at that time so it would mean a treck to Santa=Pod now and again ,which seemed an interesting prospect. Vacation and Race weekend combined.
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun and that applies to crazy Englishmen that want to build a dragster in a place with no track and no-one has ever heard of Drag-Racing , However the new project was adopted by the family with enthusiasm and we all got started.
The new job called for a 4am start to the shift which resulted in being finished and on the way home by lunchtime which I did not mind because the pay was very, very generous ( approx 5 times normal)) in order to encourage everyone to work with extra zeal to complete the contract before time !
The time from lunch until bed time was a real drag ,with nowhere to go and nothing to do, plus my eldest had just left school and he was in the same situation , bored to tears with idle hands, nothing to occupy his mind.
I was concerned that he would grow up with a bad work ethic and get into mischief like I did during WW2 so it seemed a new project was needed to occupy our time and minds, set some targets and ultimately give us some fun.
I had offered to do some car maintenance for the guys at the factory and as a result found my way to a scrap yard looking for parts when I spotted an OPEL GT 1900 sitting right up on top of the pile, waiting to be crushed. All the parts had been removed as is the procedure in Germany (EU ) prior to being squashed into a cube. When I asked if I could buy the remains ,the crane operator fell about laughing at my stupidity but soon became serious when I waved 50D-marks under his nose and suddenly came up with a pair of doors, bonnet and a pair of h/lamps. We ended up the best of mates because he was into big bikes ( another mechanic )
The moment I set eyes on the Opel I just knew it would make the most fabulous mini Corvette replica and aerodynamic racer. The trouble was , as far as I was aware there was nowhere to Drag-Race at all in Germany, Nederland’s or France at that time so it would mean a treck to Santa=Pod now and again ,which seemed an interesting prospect. Vacation and Race weekend combined.
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun and that applies to crazy Englishmen that want to build a dragster in a place with no track and no-one has ever heard of Drag-Racing , However the new project was adopted by the family with enthusiasm and we all got started.
The bodywork panels were all in pretty good shape,no welding or accident repairs were required. It just looked real scruffy being left to collect dust and dirt in the not so fresh air, the atmospheric pollution had played havoc with the paint but that did not matter. Main thing was the chassis and floors were all solid 
The next few days were a frenzy of activity making the body waterproof as it had to stand outside in all weathers and a more important point was that it could not be any sort of annoyance to the local people the German community will come down on you in a heartbeat if you litter the place with rubbish,old car parts etc, one is not even allowed to work in the street.So ,windows in and a quick paint job was order of the day. 
It also had to be a rolling chassis in order to hide it from view, so axles, wheels etc had to be sourced in one hell of a hurry as we did not want to offend anyone, ordinary people just did not do this type of thing in Germany.
Most time was spent on the trailer with a car cover between workshop time at the local Porsche dealers. We did custom (Martini) paint jobs for him in return for help on the project.
Most time was spent on the trailer with a car cover between workshop time at the local Porsche dealers. We did custom (Martini) paint jobs for him in return for help on the project.
During this part of the progress we used all sorts of custom paint methods that had not been seen in Germany before things like Metalflake, Lacing. Cobwebbing and Candy-apple. This created a great deal of interest and enabled me to get Tony into an apprenticeship in a body shop where he learned to be an excellent tradesman with really sharp skills. 
Before the race season got under way it was difficult to test and tune as there were no facilities available in the area at that time. By sheer coincidence a brand new motorway (autobahn) had just been completed right by our site and had not officially been declared open to the public, so a quite word with the man and "wham-bam" we had a track for a few hours before the opening celebration.
Photo testing on the A66
Photo testing on the A66
Now for a look at the mechanical aspect of things, the engine is SBChevy V8 from an OPEL Diplomat 4door sedan ,this engine is the same spec as the fuellie Corvette with 2.o2 valves and 10.25 comp ratio on a steel forged crankshaft, just about the highest spec engine in the Chevy catalogue at the time .We fitted a "Crane" performance camshaft and went racing for the first time 
Back then the race control used to let us stabilize the car by hand during a burn-out in the water box, as we were a bunch of wannabe novices but it got a bit dangerous as everyones BHP went up and the NHRA stepped in and outlawed the practice. Tony and I built a load of cars for other people and the racing really started to take off and get interesting 
Reply to Forzaminardi :- I am English but when that PRATT MP-PM Edward Heath signed us into the Maastrict EEC treaty in 1974 I decided to follow the money and become one of the first economic migrants and moved to Germany with the family.At the time it was a good decision and paid extremely well,but good things don't last.
The reference to WW2 troubles reflects that I lived and grew up around B'ham when Adolf was bombing the crap out of "The city of a thousand trades" and I thought it was time I went over and collected my compensation in my hand ( tax-free). I had not accounted for 450,000 Americans still being there.
photo :- changed the rear axle ratio to pick up some speed.
The reference to WW2 troubles reflects that I lived and grew up around B'ham when Adolf was bombing the crap out of "The city of a thousand trades" and I thought it was time I went over and collected my compensation in my hand ( tax-free). I had not accounted for 450,000 Americans still being there.
photo :- changed the rear axle ratio to pick up some speed.
Reply to Fleckers :- I raced that car to the end of that season during which time my son was training to pass his German driving test and obtain his first license. This was quite difficult for him because of the language problem,it helped that I started teaching him to drive at age7 but the test was too very high standards compared to the UK.He succeeded and came home full of glee brandishing a pass/cert, as I knew how much he relished the idea of getting started in racing I tossed him the GT ignition keys as a reward with the comment :- "You bend it you mend it!!"
Tony continued racing for the next few seasons,doing very well,winning a number of trophies and a couple of championships on the way. Ultimately the car ceased to be competitive plus we wanted to move up to a better machine So the GT was sold to an American soldier who we anticipated would race it at the local club, however he received army rotation orders almost the same day ,meaning the army would pay the cost to ship the car to the states, Years later he contacted Tony from one of the southern states to say the car was still performing very well and winning races, but he had to do a number of upgrades to keep it winning like a motor replacement to BB Mopar V8 and new rear axle.
Tony continued racing for the next few seasons,doing very well,winning a number of trophies and a couple of championships on the way. Ultimately the car ceased to be competitive plus we wanted to move up to a better machine So the GT was sold to an American soldier who we anticipated would race it at the local club, however he received army rotation orders almost the same day ,meaning the army would pay the cost to ship the car to the states, Years later he contacted Tony from one of the southern states to say the car was still performing very well and winning races, but he had to do a number of upgrades to keep it winning like a motor replacement to BB Mopar V8 and new rear axle.
Due to pressure from the green party concerning the environment and noise abatement the governing body of motor sport did a great job of issuing a [one rule fits all]muffler/silencer regulation for all none open wheel vehicles.
we fitted side pipes in order to comply and it was a disaster. What do you think about exhaust noise decibel level ?
photo :- side pipes [sounds like a vacuum cleaner, right !
we fitted side pipes in order to comply and it was a disaster. What do you think about exhaust noise decibel level ?
photo :- side pipes [sounds like a vacuum cleaner, right !
Had a lot of fun with Monza/Ascona and Mantas over the years but my own choice was the Opel Diplomat V8 (327cubic/inch Chevy),Not sure but I don't think they were sold outside of Germany, seemed be a flagship model, very well appointed , ideal luxo-barge for executives to cruise the autobahn.The engines were the very highest specification available from GMCo at the time ,equivilent to the "fuellie" Corvette,Ditto the IRS rear axle(useful for ring & pinion gears)
Photo ;- Rewards to Tony & his team mates for all the effort that season.
Photo ;- Rewards to Tony & his team mates for all the effort that season.
There comes a time when most enthusiasts realize that boredom is setting in. The current wheels have reached the end station, there is nothing to be gained in trying to extract any more performance from the existing race-car. So! the Opel GT had found a new home and I was free, yea free, really free to :- (Start a new project). Now Opel GT's are just a bit rare even in Germany plus it did not need to be complete or expensive.
Just imagine I have pulled the dust sheet off the new project there it is in all its glory, I am thinking of calling it "UGLY".
Just imagine I have pulled the dust sheet off the new project there it is in all its glory, I am thinking of calling it "UGLY".
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