My first car...revisited (73' Opel GT)

[Matt]

the interior on yours is much better than the one that was in mine. i love those cloth seats.

[Kochiro]

I had the interior re-done when I did the original restoration about 20 years ago. It looks much better in the video than it does in person. The guy who did it was recommended to us but he wasn't an automotive interior specialist like he claimed to be.

The seat foam wasn't re-done, there are many panel pieces that don't even cover the whole area they are supposed to, and there is lots and lots of glue that he got on the fabric areas that you can see which shouldn't be there.

It doesn't matter anymore though as it will all be coming out and will be replaced with modern fabrics done by someone who actually knows what they are doing.

[Kochiro]

Sorry this isn't a major update, or even one with pics, but I got some news that's been making me smile like a fool all day and I just had to share it.

First, I found an old railroad roundhouse where several of the bays have been converted into an automotive enthusiast garage with spaces for rent. I will be contacting the owner soon to find out the costs and if there is any space available.

In addition I have found a supplier in Germany that is making brand new, galvanized steel replacement panels to factory specs or better. So any of the panels that I need to have replaced can now be purchased from there rather than having to make tons of patch panels or resort to using fiberglass panels.

And what makes those two items even better is that through a series of referrals I found a shipping company that will ship my Opel GT from the ports in New York to me in Sweden, in a shipping container for just $1500. All of my previous quotes were at least 4 times that for container shipping. I have about 2/3 of that in savings so with some luck I may be able to have the car here in Sweden before the end of summer!

[JPizzle]

Something different is always nice! Looking forward to seeing some progress!!

[Kochiro]

Another minor update with no pics, but I will have some pics and videos to share soon. I just have to go through them. The car was moved over to my mother's new house and is finally in a garage. The battery had been stored outside the car and not on a trickle charger. So once it had been charged up a bit and a bit of fuel in the carb again, she started right up and was driven into the trailer.

There's now a slight leak in the fuel line leaving the tank and the brakes are a bit locked but those are to be expected and are things I will be upgrading/replacing anyway.

[Kochiro]

As promised, updated pics...(sorry for the iPhone quality pics, it's what my mother had on hand, I'm still in Sweden)

My buddy Brian showed up with his enclosed trailer for his son's racecar to take my Opel over to my mother's new house, she's gonna travel in style.

This is basically how I left her 2 years ago (hood and door closed of course), sitting on blocks on top of roofing material to prevent any nitrogen rot from the dying grass underneath.

Brian and my step-father Ray putting the battery back in place, it fits into that tiny gap between the radiator and the front edge of the hood.

Brian checking the coolant before starting her up.

Brian putting some air in the ancient bias-ply tires

[Kochiro]

removed as the video wasn't working for everyone, see the vimeo video below

[rice4life]

Video is private

Glad you're getting her back up and running!

[Kochiro]

Video is private

Damn, sorry about that. I guess that's what happens when you're up at 3am doing this kinda thing thinking, "I'm not that tired, I'll just upload a little video...".

It should be public now.

[rice4life]

"This video contains content from WMG and The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA), one or more of whom have blocked it in your country on copyright grounds. "

That was fast...

Maybe re-up it without music or anything.

[Kochiro]

"This video contains content from WMG and The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA), one or more of whom have blocked it in your country on copyright grounds. "

That was fast...

Maybe re-up it without music or anything.

Sorry about that, I figured it wouldn't be a problem since the channel isn't monetized. Re-exporting and uploading to Vimeo, will post the link once it's been processed.

[Kochiro]

Lets try it again...

[ame="http://www.vimeo.com/95641360"]http://www.vimeo.com/95641360[/ame]

[SliPsY]

So excited about this build, never seen this gem before.

[rice4life]

Wow, it looks great! Now get some lows

[Kochiro]

So excited about this build, never seen this gem before.

Thanks! However, I'm afraid you're gonna have to be patient for a little while longer. I need to save up about $2000 to be able to get it shipped to me here in Sweden. I have some items I'm gonna be putting up for sale to help fund the process but donations are always accepted.

Wow, it looks great! Now get some lows

Thanks, but if you look really close you can see all sorts of defects. As I said before it currently has a leaking fuel line and frozen brakes so those need to be addressed asap. There are some technical challenges with getting it low, but I will get it there, one way or another.

I will try to post as much content as I can in the mean time. As I said before I found a supplier of new galvanized sheet metal that I will be using to replace the bad panels, if anyone is interested I can also post pics of those parts and some of their other info. They have a few pictures of a cutaway car they made which is pretty interesting.