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Brings back memories! A friend of mine had a 71. He called me one day, that is in 84, and wanted me to go with him to buy a 74 Ontario orange Vette coupe. I got to drive the GT home. It was a about 70 miles each way. When we got back, I pulled the GT into his driveway and got out. I begged him to sell me the car. He would not part with it for 6 months. I finally paid him $500 for it. I was in love. I was 19 years-old at the time. It was flat black with the cool mag wheels, the 1.9 liter and the 4 speed trans, and black interior. I drove that car for 2 plus years before wrapping around a telephone pole. I never had any trouble with it except for the exhaust valve on number 4 cylinder would stick open. It would go about 1500 miles before it would hang up. All I did was change the oil, and that would cure it for another 1500 miles. That car got me laid several times. It lost me my virginity. God I miss that car. After killing that car, I found a 77 280Z. I ended up owning about 10 or 11 Z cars throughout my life after that. All first generation except the last one. A 81 ZX. Black, t-tops, 5-speed. Now I drive a minivan. Such is life.
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I owned a 1972 .It was the gold colored one with a 4 speed manual transmission. It was a fun car to own but then problems started creeping up. First problem was the wire harness had to be replaced. But that was covered by warranty. Then the gas tank started to leak, again covered by warranty. Then the engine would not idle when it got up to normal operating temperature. This was due to to the carburetor base would get to hot and warp. The carburetor and intake manifold were both made out of aluminum and Opel did not use a good enough gasket to keep heat transfer to the carburetor. Luckily I found someone who was able to make a gasket out of bakelite which solved the problem. I still have the owner's manual which is in excellent condition. Wish I still had the car.
I had a neighbour when I was a boy who had an Opel GT. It was a chocolate brown colour. As attractive as the car was, I didn't like the colour. If it was red, or a two-tone colour combination, it might've looked better.
They were under the radar for me. Like the Dino.....i am sure they are big bucks .......i always loved the 280Z because in the early 1980s, u could buy one for peanuts. By then thevafter market could sell u an intercooled turbo for it and all the other hot rod goodies. The u could go out and trounce disco era Moustangs, Camaros, Vettes, and lower tier Firebirds. Miss the goog old days. I wasva little contra and el cheapo in my hot rodding 20s. Alsonhad a 79 vette that insuper stock drag raced.
@@davidgauthier2661 I recently picked up a 1970 Opel GT in pretty good shape for $2,000. I need to go through the brakes on it. Prices are pretty reasonable and parts are available. Don't seem to be as expensive as the Datsun 240Zs.
I also had the Opel GT in yellow! I called it my poor man's Vet. * corvette...unfortunately it needed an alternator often. After a while it was costing money with the alternative problem. A young man kept asking if he could buy it and finally I let him have it. I can't recall what I sold it for. Many years have gone buy and I wish I still had it! I thought I was fabulous driving it all around ...wonder what happened to it...? So many years have passed and how I wish I'd kept that car! ❤
Fun fact about the Opel GT. In the final season of the original Get Smart tv series, the late comic actor, Don Adams drove a 1969 Opel GT as his personal car on that show. That car was beautiful and fast.
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I had a 1971 Opel GT. I had it for 14 years. I got rid of the stock Solex carb for a Weber. The stock exhaust was put in the rubbish bin, a header went in its place. This made more power from the 1.9 liter engine. It was a fast ( for its time) little car. Not quick by any means. But it was after mods a dependable car. It was fun to drive, and fun to race against a Lotus Elan. At 63 years old I would like to have another one…..
My father purchased a 1970 opel GT brand new. I grew up riding in the back storage area. My father owned his opel from 1970 to 2003. Great little car. I learned how to drive stick on this car during the 80s. Fun fun.
I had a 1970 GT in high school, and kept it clean and shiny, as the girls really liked it compared to the hulking muscle cars that my friends had, until one of my buddies got a 70’ Camaro. He completely stole my thunder, as it were. I was stuck on small sports cars, and sold it to get a Fiat X1/9. That car got me out of the small sports groove, but definitely taught me a lot about how to wrench on my stuff. When it ran, it was great fun, but I always missed my little “Corvette”. Those were good days back then’
I miss mine too! It was the yellow one...alternator problems a constant! But this 74 year old lady would love driving it all around today! Wish I had kept it in storage! ❤❤
Such a pretty little car. I only kind of remember them. I might buy a ‘72 Opel GT since I was born in October of ‘72 and the October birthstone is an opal.
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My aunt had one that she purchased new. Her previous vehicle was a Triumph GT6. The Triumph was a mechanical nightmare that overheated constantly and used so much oil that when she pulled into a gas station she filled the crankcase and checked the fuel level . It was also a freezer in the winter, even with the heater going full blast, and a sauna in the summer . The Opel was far more reliable/durable and with the optional A/C far more comfortable. With routine maintenance by a competent mechanic it easily passed 150k with no major engine or transmission issues. She kept it over twenty five years until it was rear-ended at a stoplight.
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I bought a used 1973 Opel Manta in 1976 for $800. I kept it for over ten years, until parts became hard to find. It was easy to work on, which was often necessary. Opel made a prototype electric car, using a 72 Manta. Great cars!
In 1972 my oldest brother traded in his 1968 Camaro for a new Opel GT. It was brick orange and looked beautiful. I was a sophomore in high school and he let me drive it a couple of times. I drove the Camaro too. Both were great cars. I wish we still had them.
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I see a few but am afraid I can't find parts. Thanks for watching and for sharing. Please subscribe if you haven't already and help us out. We can't tell if you are or not. Again, thanks for watching!
My brother’s girlfriend owned a yellow with black interior 4 speed 1970 Opal GT back in 1971. Whenever she came to our house she would give me the keys and I would take it out for a spin. I was 16 at the time and had a blast driving it. You brought back Great memories Boca Bros. Thanks
Thanks Randy! Memories man. My bro just left my house. 57 soon to be 58 in June. Just talking about the days gone by. Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for watching and for the comment. Please help us by subscribing if you haven't already. We can't tell who is a subscriber and who isn't. Thanks!
My dad had a ‘73 Opel GT. The top speed was 110 mph. It was a great cat, except when the cable went out to rotate the headlights when he turned them on. Dad had to take out The whole dash to reinstall a new cable. He had around 200,000K miles when he sized it
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I owned an Opel GT with manual transmission of course, first thing i did was to lowered the car (the right way) about 2 inch that change really improved the car handling, upgraded to weber carbs another excellent performance increase, and yes indeed the transmission did fail, so I upgraded the transmission and as most Opel GT owners will tell you after the installation the gear stick is higher and off set to the right so I adjustment the gear stick back to the center and reduced the height of the gear stick linkage, I drove the car for 3 years, man that car was blast to drive.
I owned 1970 Opel GT as a young man living in upstate N.Y. She was white with a red interior and was a really fun ride. Energetic, fun shifting and cornering, and I thoroughly loved the experience. However after driving her to Colorado several years later, I had to (reluctantly) trade her in. The car ran like a Swiss watch with zero mechanical issues but after suffering thru several brutal N.Y. winters with the accompanying salt used on the roads back then..the undercarriage and rockers were completely rusted out by the time I arrived in Denver and I was forced to trade her in. In 1975 I bought a brand new Triumph TR-7 and the nightmare REALLY began! But that’s another story. That Opel GT was the best little sports car I’d ever owned followed up by a really great Fiat 124 Spyder convertible. Fast forward til the fall of 1999 when I purchase a brand new red 2000 Mazda Miata I would own for 12 years of motoring bliss. I still think of that little Opel GT.
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As a kid and teen in the late 70's/early 80's, a father and son drag racing team lived on the street over from us. The father had a small block front engine rail, while his son had a '71 fiberglass Opel GT body on a tube frame that was set up like a funny car with the body lifting. He had a 355 race motor in it with a tunnel ram and it was tubbed out with some good sized slicks. I talked to him once in a while and he told me it would run 7.9's in the quarter! Every Sunday, while eating dinner with my family, they'd tune the cars up after racing Saturday and rev the engines up nicely. My sister and Mom would complain about the "racket" from those cars and say they wished they'd just shut them off, while my Dad and I would rebut this by saying NO!!! It's like the sweet sounds of our favorite songs! That race car is what really turned me on to Opels, but they would have to be tubbed out or at least have decent sized rubber on the back!
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These were sold at Buick dealers in Canada. My dad bought a 1971 as a Demo and kept it in pristine condition right up until around 2010 when it got t-boned when someone ran a red light. To say he was chocked would be an understatement.
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I remember as a kid in the mid '70s a guy in town had one that was mini-tubbed, I remember seeing the polished aluminum rear wheel wells. It also had a polished super charger poking through the hood. That car was awesome!
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My dad had bought two of these back in 1978. one was the 71 carbureted bright orange in color. And the rear-ended wrecked white one that was fuel injected for a parts car. I was just 14 years years old and when we went to my grandparents farm he let me drive the car up and down the Dead end road and I learned how to drive a four-speed manual shift. It did not take me long to figure out how to do donuts at the end of the road a half mile out of sight from prying eyes ! At that particular time my father was working for checker Marathon motors in Kalamazoo Michigan building taxi cabs and one morning on his way to work he blew the engine up trying to reach the 150 mph mark on the speedo .he said it threw the rod at 115 ! But that was a blessing in disguise for me because when I turned 15 he gave the car to me if I would fix it . And with help from my uncle and some friends I got it done in time to get my driver's license and I had a nice little 231 Buick V6 powered opel gt ! 😊
I am 59 years old and I use to own a open order 40 years ago and I loved that car I would love to find another one but that would be impossible but keep up the good work.
There are a lot of little cars around. It is a pity that they don't make Opel GT anymore. I sure would buy one especially since even now a Corvette is too expensive. Good day. Prettier and more stylish than a Honda, Kia and Smart car and also Volkswagens.
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It's a shame there aren't more original survivors. The Opel GT and the Pontiac Fiero mentioned are both great looking cars and I would love to have either of them. Or both
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My Dad almost bought one of these new back around 69, I remember thinking it was VERY cool. He wound up years later buying an Opel Kadett EXACTLY like the first one you showed here, same paint color and scheme. It wasn't the same. Somebody managed to jam a 350 V-8 in one of these?!?! Holy crap.
Some folks might call it a 'baby Corvette' but it was for the looks only. I dated a young lady that owned one and I think we spent more time trying to fix her car than I did trying to get out of it. At 6' 1" I wasn't all that tall, but it took some real contortions to get in and out of that car. She wanted me to drive once but I just couldn't figure out how I could get in the driver's seat. The worst part was when we tried to go somewhere on the freeway or at night. It had no power when there were two people in it and the headlights would always get stuck halfway open or closed. That's one car I'll never forget.
I had a ‘72 and it was a blast to drive. Got about 33mpg. Only problem was the distributer would loosen and the car would die. Got to where I would carry a screwdriver and just pop the hood tighten it back down and be on my way.
Thanks for the video. I love the GT and have had the pleasure of owning/restoring one over the last six years. I try to watch most videos that come out regarding the car and think y'all did a nice job on this one. What people don't know is that the Opel GT outperformed many other cars in their target market during their early production time period including the Porsche 914, BMW 2022, and Alfa Romeo 1750 Duetto. They were never meant to compete with "American muscle" but help usher in a new era of sports and personal cars... America wasn't quite ready for that, so it will always be compared to the Corvette and considered under-powered. Nice to see that the Opel GT has received a lot more love over the years as more people are recognizing the beautiful stylings of the unibody and the unique features. It's fun driving mine around town as it turns heads and people are constantly taking pictures of it on the road (most have no idea what it is). I've actually been flagged down a few times and it will draw a crowd in the Walmart parking lot :-). Thanks again for the video!
Had a '69 Strato Blue GT. Added headers later on. Fun car all around! My brother worked at a GM dealer and had the parts catalog and price list catalog so I was able to get replacement parts over the years. Finally, though it was hard to get body/accessory parts so I had to give it up. Had it for 34 years.
My grandfather was an executive for Buick in Flint. He retired in the early 1970s but his last job was to arrange for parts procurement for Opel cars being sold in America. A bit of trivia: My grandfather was responsible for the invention of the floor mounted dimmer switch that used to be used in cars for the headlights. His father was the chief Chassis Engineer for Buick and actually worked on the "Flint Buick" the first car Buick produced. The story goes that they were trying to figure out how to get headlights that could see far out but adjust closer for rough roads. Grandpa suggested using two sets of lights and a pedal switch to switch between them instead of individual switches. Great Grandpa had it installed and it worked. The rest is history, as they say.
I was never a vette guy, but I have always wanted an Opel GT. In the late 80's I saw a local ad for a '72. I came really close to buying it, but I instead moved away for school. In a small way I have never been sure if I made the right decision...
Well I have a 93 vette that just sits in the garage. Needs more work than I thought when I bought it. It be great to have the Opel GT as well. lol...Thanks for watching and for the comment. Please help us by subscribing if you haven't already. We can't tell who is a subscriber and who isn't. Thanks!
My sister had one. It was a mechanical nightmare, kept breaking down and leaving her stranded but she loved that car and took great offense at the "Baby Vette" nickname.
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I was in an accident in a GT back in 1970. I'm lucky to have survived and the damn thing folded up like an accordion. The windshield was breakaway and the police found my glasses about 100 feet down the road.
Well, back when I was around it only got the Baby Vette name lol title,been it got the Fender Kit on, without that fender kit, it really doesn't look like a Vette, but you can see how it could. That fender kit is what made it. Really cool cars the Opel, I nearly bought a 68 GT in 2005, it had the fender kit. Once in a great while you see one pop up for sale and usually needs some love and thankfully there are still parts for these cars in abondance and pretty inexpensive too. Also just found your channel, I subscribed and mashed the like button ❤ 👍 thanks!
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My brother Rodge used to own a "71" GT, that car was so quick. I thought it was turbo charged, but it would roll rubber with the best of them back in the day...🤣
As with the 240Z, when new, I was too young to drive let alone own any car, but at age 11 or so I appreciated the styling of both the Opel and the 240Z. When one would drive by the house, me and my friends would stop and stare. Great vid, actually forgot about the model and never knew much about it!
My best mate had a blue one that I often had to drive when he got too drunk. Enjoyed it. Was a bit more "civilized" than my Triumph TR-6. But the Opel could've used more power......
I owned a red/black interior 1970 Opel GT with the 1.9 engine for a year. I had so much fun driving it, but soon realized that it really didn't fit into my life that well, so I sold it to a friend and bought a 1971 Chevrolet El Camino SS. The Opel was a great experiment though and the girls really liked it.
@@ThisOldCarChannel The Saab Sonnet is definitely a great car to do a show on! There were 3 models: the first in the late 50’s, then the Sonnet 2 in the 60’s, but the one you’ll want to focus on is the Sonnet 3 made between 1970-74. I’ve owned several since 1983, they were great cars. People are usually shocked it’s a SAAB because it looks Italian or English, it’s a very pretty car with perfect sports car proportions. In typical SAAB fashion they were extremely well designed, and had a strong emphasis on safety features. They were front wheel drive to plow through Swedish winters. Lots of owners put in more powerful engines, although the base V-4 Ford engine is a real hoot and makes a fantastic sound.
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The Opal Cadette looks like a baby Chevelle. When I was a kid, I knew two people that had an Opal GT. One of them, the son of a friend of my mom's, was asked by his insurance company what model Opal he had and he replied "I don't know, it's just an Opal." He did this to keep them from charging him more for driving a sports car. I can't imagine this worked, but in the late 70s and with such an obscure nameplate, maybe it did.
The nameplate wasn't that obscure, it just was the founder's name 😉 Adam Opel AG, founded in Germany 1862. At times Opel was No.1 on Germany's market with classics like the Kadett, Ascona, Rekord and Manta.
Last year I found a 1969 with the 1100 engine. It had been sitting in a garage since 1984. It's fun to do drive but need some more tuning before it's perfect. Sold new in the US, so it lack anti-roll bars. Weight distribution is better with the 1100 than the 1900 engine. It sits further back. Only 60 bhp, but the car is very light.
@@ThisOldCarChannel, Parts are relatively easy to come by as the car has a strong underground following, especially in Europe. "The Opel GT Source" in California has everything you need to keep them going.
My parents had a friend who was a navel aviator. He imported one of these from Europe and I occasionally was allowed to drive it. It had a three carbureted inline six and it was a rocket. All the dash was in German and kilometers and as a sixteen year old I had little idea how fast it would actually go but it was never passed.
Woah..my dad had a blue one that I drove when I was 16. It cornered like nothing else on the road. Better than the Datsun 1600 he used to own👍 I think his was a 70 or 71 model.
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I love hearing about those vintage cars like the Datsun 1600/2000 roadsters. I remember going to the Datsun dealer drooling over them and wishing I had the money to buy one since I was still in school at that time. (Japanese cars of that era didn't survive very well up here in New England since the salt rotted them out quickly.)
Although too low to the ground for my height and weight, (6'5, 418 lbs), and I wasn't always this heavy, I always thought that the Opel GT was a Gorgeous Vehicle just like the Corvette!!! I never owned either, but I used to imagine owning one!!! A 1:64 Scale, Metallic Blue for my small Hot Wheel Collection would be nice though.
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@@TheChill001 barely worth anything as it is. One was just on auction site bringatrailer and I don’t think it broke $5k. I know a couple of people sitting on quite a few of them because they’ve been cheap for ages.
Yeah try and not butcher it too bad if it's a nice one ,but if it's a little ratty why not? Keep the clean ones as they are. They really could use an injection of about 100 more hp so you could keep up with traffic.
@jeeping_foodie Similar mods has been done since the 1990s in Germany. I've seen the famous C20XE 16 Valve Engine more than one time in a GT. From there it's just a small step to the Turbo C20LET 😃
![ลองสุ่มไอโฟน 990 โกงมั้ย? [ โกงมั้ยครับ ep.101 ] | DOM](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bfsWe0j492k/mqdefault.jpg)
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One of the most beautiful small cars ever made. The rear end is just about perfect
Absolutely I was a kid and these lil sports cars caught my eye even back then!!!
The GT was a beautiful small car. I'll probably never be able to afford an Avanti, but the GT might be attainable.
I had an orange 1973 Opel GT in high school…one of the funnest cars I’ve ever owned..
This car is absolutely beautiful
If this Opel was good enough for Maxwell Smart, it should have good enough for the USA!
The GT was sold here in Canada also and as a young kid saw quite a few. The 'baby Vette" got a lot of attention. Thanks for vid boys 👍
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Brings back memories! A friend of mine had a 71. He called me one day, that is in 84, and wanted me to go with him to buy a 74 Ontario orange Vette coupe. I got to drive the GT home. It was a about 70 miles each way. When we got back, I pulled the GT into his driveway and got out. I begged him to sell me the car. He would not part with it for 6 months. I finally paid him $500 for it. I was in love. I was 19 years-old at the time. It was flat black with the cool mag wheels, the 1.9 liter and the 4 speed trans, and black interior. I drove that car for 2 plus years before wrapping around a telephone pole. I never had any trouble with it except for the exhaust valve on number 4 cylinder would stick open. It would go about 1500 miles before it would hang up. All I did was change the oil, and that would cure it for another 1500 miles. That car got me laid several times. It lost me my virginity. God I miss that car. After killing that car, I found a 77 280Z. I ended up owning about 10 or 11 Z cars throughout my life after that. All first generation except the last one. A 81 ZX. Black, t-tops, 5-speed. Now I drive a minivan. Such is life.
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such is life.
Just picked up a nice little project 1970 Opel GT a few weeks ago. Need to work on the brakes before I can take it for a test drive.
I owned a 1972 .It was the gold colored one with a 4 speed manual transmission. It was a fun car to own but then problems started creeping up. First problem was the wire harness had to be replaced. But that was covered by warranty. Then the gas tank started to leak, again covered by warranty. Then the engine would not idle when it got up to normal operating temperature. This was due to to the carburetor base would get to hot and warp. The carburetor and intake manifold were both made out of aluminum and Opel did not use a good enough gasket to keep heat transfer to the carburetor. Luckily I found someone who was able to make a gasket out of bakelite which solved the problem. I still have the owner's manual which is in excellent condition. Wish I still had the car.
I had a neighbour when I was a boy who had an Opel GT. It was a chocolate brown colour. As attractive as the car was, I didn't like the colour. If it was red, or a two-tone colour combination, it might've looked better.
They were under the radar for me. Like the Dino.....i am sure they are big bucks .......i always loved the 280Z because in the early 1980s, u could buy one for peanuts. By then thevafter market could sell u an intercooled turbo for it and all the other hot rod goodies. The u could go out and trounce disco era Moustangs, Camaros, Vettes, and lower tier Firebirds. Miss the goog old days. I wasva little contra and el cheapo in my hot rodding 20s. Alsonhad a 79 vette that insuper stock drag raced.
@@davidgauthier2661 I recently picked up a 1970 Opel GT in pretty good shape for $2,000. I need to go through the brakes on it. Prices are pretty reasonable and parts are available. Don't seem to be as expensive as the Datsun 240Zs.
Maxwell Smart also drove a Gold Opel GT in the last series of Get Smart.
I also had the Opel GT in yellow! I called it my poor man's Vet. * corvette...unfortunately it needed an alternator often. After a while it was costing money with the alternative problem. A young man kept asking if he could buy it and finally I let him have it. I can't recall what I sold it for. Many years have gone buy and I wish I still had it!
I thought I was fabulous driving it all around ...wonder what happened to it...?
So many years have passed and how I wish I'd kept that car! ❤
Fun fact about the Opel GT. In the final season of the original Get Smart tv series, the late comic actor, Don Adams drove a 1969 Opel GT as his personal car on that show. That car was beautiful and fast.
Boca Brothers Classic Cars
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I had a 1971 Opel GT. I had it for 14 years. I got rid of the stock Solex carb for a Weber. The stock exhaust was put in the rubbish bin, a header went in its place. This made more power from the 1.9 liter engine. It was a fast ( for its time) little car. Not quick by any means. But it was after mods a dependable car. It was fun to drive, and fun to race against a Lotus Elan.
At 63 years old I would like to have another one…..
I'd love to have mine, should have just kept it in storage ...😢
I remember a couple of these beauties from my childhood in 70’s. Thank you for bringing back my memories Boca Brothers.👍👏👏
Glad you enjoyed it
Although it was a two seater, I was able to fit five in it. Two guys, three girls. The 70s was great.
I love these little cars.
My father purchased a 1970 opel GT brand new. I grew up riding in the back storage area. My father owned his opel from 1970 to 2003. Great little car. I learned how to drive stick on this car during the 80s. Fun fun.
When I was a teenager back in the 70's, the Opel GT was always known as a "Poor Man's Vette" not a " Baby Corvette"
I heard that in the late 80s from my stepdad. But we both loved those little cars !!
Looks Toyota 3000 GT
You’re right, they called it The poor man’s Corvette .
I remember it being called the K-mart corvette 😂
The video calls it “baby” rather than “poor man” to sound better.
I had a 1970 GT in high school, and kept it clean and shiny, as the girls really liked it compared to the hulking muscle cars that my friends had, until one of my buddies got a 70’ Camaro. He completely stole my thunder, as it were. I was stuck on small sports cars, and sold it to get a Fiat X1/9. That car got me out of the small sports groove, but definitely taught me a lot about how to wrench on my stuff. When it ran, it was great fun, but I always missed my little “Corvette”. Those were good days back then’
I miss mine too! It was the yellow one...alternator problems a constant! But this 74 year old lady would love driving it all around today! Wish I had kept it in storage! ❤❤
This was my first car bought it in 1979
Such a pretty little car. I only kind of remember them. I might buy a ‘72 Opel GT since I was born in October of ‘72 and the October birthstone is an opal.
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My aunt had one that she purchased new.
Her previous vehicle was a Triumph GT6.
The Triumph was a mechanical nightmare that overheated constantly and used so much oil that when she pulled into a gas station she filled the crankcase and checked the fuel level .
It was also a freezer in the winter, even with the heater going full blast, and a sauna in the summer .
The Opel was far more reliable/durable and with the optional A/C far more comfortable.
With routine maintenance by a competent mechanic it easily passed 150k with no major engine or transmission issues.
She kept it over twenty five years until it was rear-ended at a stoplight.
OH WOW!
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We heard a crash outside our shop. We got the job of a rear half of the Opal GT .
When we cut it in half it said Coors underneath .
I bought a used 1973 Opel Manta in 1976 for $800. I kept it for over ten years, until parts became hard to find. It was easy to work on, which was often necessary. Opel made a prototype electric car, using a 72 Manta. Great cars!
Right on! I had never heard of a Manta! :)
In 1972 my oldest brother traded in his 1968 Camaro for a new Opel GT. It was brick orange and looked beautiful. I was a sophomore in high school and he let me drive it a couple of times. I drove the Camaro too. Both were great cars. I wish we still had them.
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@@ThisOldCarChannel ok. I will.
I had a few of these, best cars I ever owned
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LOl..what bull...more reliable than your Fiat?
My brother's friend had one. Cool little car. I liked the way the hidden headlights worked....I was 12 or 13, didn't take much to impress me...
I had a 1971 model in high school, would love to still have it!
It always amazed me how my 6'4" tall Karate instructor could get in and out of his Opel GT. ;-)
My brother’s girlfriend owned a yellow with black interior 4 speed 1970 Opal GT back in 1971. Whenever she came to our house she would give me the keys and I would take it out for a spin. I was 16 at the time and had a blast driving it. You brought back Great memories Boca Bros. Thanks
Thanks Randy! Memories man. My bro just left my house. 57 soon to be 58 in June. Just talking about the days gone by. Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for watching and for the comment. Please help us by subscribing if you haven't already. We can't tell who is a subscriber and who isn't. Thanks!
I am a subscriber and love your informative and nostalgic videos. 👍
As a young person, I used to drive by one parked in a neighbours yard for years. I was always intrigued by the gorgeous design.
Oh wow!
My dad had a ‘73 Opel GT. The top speed was 110 mph.
It was a great cat, except when the cable went out to rotate the headlights when he turned them on. Dad had to take out The whole dash to reinstall a new cable.
He had around 200,000K miles when he sized it
Hey Bros, what a beautiful car the Opel GT. Not very fast but really sporty!😉
True that!
Bought mine 15 years ago '69 beauty. It trully is a lovely car
I always liked these as a kid but never knew anything about them.
Thanx for the history lesson :)
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@@ThisOldCarChannel You're welcome and i am !
I owned an Opel GT with manual transmission of course, first thing i did was to lowered the car (the right way) about 2 inch that change really improved the car handling, upgraded to weber carbs another excellent performance increase, and yes indeed the transmission did fail, so I upgraded the transmission and as most Opel GT owners will tell you after the installation the gear stick is higher and off set to the right so I adjustment the gear stick back to the center and reduced the height of the gear stick linkage, I drove the car for 3 years, man that car was blast to drive.
Awesome Nigel
The much overlooked and almost forgotten Opel GT was a cracker of a little sports coupe.
I owned 1970 Opel GT as a young man living in upstate N.Y. She was white with a red interior and was a really fun ride. Energetic, fun shifting and cornering, and I thoroughly loved the experience. However after driving her to Colorado several years later, I had to (reluctantly) trade her in. The car ran like a Swiss watch with zero mechanical issues but after suffering thru several brutal N.Y. winters with the accompanying salt used on the roads back then..the undercarriage and rockers were completely rusted out by the time I arrived in Denver and I was forced to trade her in. In 1975 I bought a brand new Triumph TR-7 and the nightmare REALLY began! But that’s another story. That Opel GT was the best little sports car I’d ever owned followed up by a really great Fiat 124 Spyder convertible. Fast forward til the fall of 1999 when I purchase a brand new red 2000 Mazda Miata I would own for 12 years of motoring bliss. I still think of that little Opel GT.
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Done!
My dad was a mechanic in the 70’s to early 80’s. He called these the poor man’s Corvette when I was a little kid.
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@@ThisOldCarChannel Been for a while. Love these. Be cool to see something on my 92 VW GTI 16v MK2 GTIs in general.
As a kid and teen in the late 70's/early 80's, a father and son drag racing team lived on the street over from us. The father had a small block front engine rail, while his son had a '71 fiberglass Opel GT body on a tube frame that was set up like a funny car with the body lifting. He had a 355 race motor in it with a tunnel ram and it was tubbed out with some good sized slicks. I talked to him once in a while and he told me it would run 7.9's in the quarter! Every Sunday, while eating dinner with my family, they'd tune the cars up after racing Saturday and rev the engines up nicely. My sister and Mom would complain about the "racket" from those cars and say they wished they'd just shut them off, while my Dad and I would rebut this by saying NO!!! It's like the sweet sounds of our favorite songs! That race car is what really turned me on to Opels, but they would have to be tubbed out or at least have decent sized rubber on the back!
I took a used one for a test drive, liked it very much. It is a wonder that I didn't destroy the engine on that test drive.
Wow! At 1:58 that car looks like a shrunken 69/70 Nova! I've always liked the look of these old Opels. Very cool toys!
I was about to post the same! Looks like a scaled down Nova.
Its an opel kadett b coupe
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These were sold at Buick dealers in Canada. My dad bought a 1971 as a Demo and kept it in pristine condition right up until around 2010 when it got t-boned when someone ran a red light. To say he was chocked would be an understatement.
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I remember as a kid in the mid '70s a guy in town had one that was mini-tubbed, I remember seeing the polished aluminum rear wheel wells. It also had a polished super charger poking through the hood. That car was awesome!
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My Mom bought one straight out of college; it was her first car and her only new car. 1972
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Ever since I was a kid I thought these were awesome!
I remember this car my uncle use to sell used cars and had a couple of them and sold out every time. People love the headlights and the sleek look.
I've always wanted an Opel GT
i loved my 71 opel 1900 manta blue w/ white interior manual shift a fun car and well put together
My dad had bought two of these back in 1978. one was the 71 carbureted bright orange in color. And the rear-ended wrecked white one that was fuel injected for a parts car. I was just 14 years years old and when we went to my grandparents farm he let me drive the car up and down the Dead end road and I learned how to drive a four-speed manual shift. It did not take me long to figure out how to do donuts at the end of the road a half mile out of sight from prying eyes ! At that particular time my father was working for checker Marathon motors in Kalamazoo Michigan building taxi cabs and one morning on his way to work he blew the engine up trying to reach the 150 mph mark on the speedo .he said it threw the rod at 115 ! But that was a blessing in disguise for me because when I turned 15 he gave the car to me if I would fix it . And with help from my uncle and some friends I got it done in time to get my driver's license and I had a nice little 231 Buick V6 powered opel gt ! 😊
why didn't Buick think of that!
I am 59 years old and I use to own a open order 40 years ago and I loved that car I would love to find another one but that would be impossible but keep up the good work.
Had one in High school fun car to drive.
There are a lot of little cars around. It is a pity that they don't make Opel GT anymore. I sure would buy one especially since even now a Corvette is too expensive. Good day. Prettier and more stylish than a Honda, Kia and Smart car and also Volkswagens.
Yeah , I remember those , thought how beautiful little corvettes that they were. Too bad, you never see them anymore...
I've not seen one on the road in over 20 years!
@@ThisOldCarChannel I daily drive one. They do exist, just are hard to find driving.
Always love the Kadett and the GT.
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@@ThisOldCarChannel I am subscribed and thanks for your good videos 👍
I remember when the Opal came out in the seventies. They were very sporty & popular!!! 👍
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@@ThisOldCarChannel I am subscribed!! 👍👍
I. remember when people could spell Opel.
It's a shame there aren't more original survivors. The Opel GT and the Pontiac Fiero mentioned are both great looking cars and I would love to have either of them. Or both
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My Dad almost bought one of these new back around 69, I remember thinking it was VERY cool. He wound up years later buying an Opel Kadett EXACTLY like the first one you showed here, same paint color and scheme.
It wasn't the same.
Somebody managed to jam a 350 V-8 in one of these?!?! Holy crap.
Some folks might call it a 'baby Corvette' but it was for the looks only. I dated a young lady that owned one and I think we spent more time trying to fix her car than I did trying to get out of it. At 6' 1" I wasn't all that tall, but it took some real contortions to get in and out of that car. She wanted me to drive once but I just couldn't figure out how I could get in the driver's seat. The worst part was when we tried to go somewhere on the freeway or at night. It had no power when there were two people in it and the headlights would always get stuck halfway open or closed. That's one car I'll never forget.
Very beautiful amazing perfect looking cars just love them all wow thanks friend
My friends and I called it the poor man's Corvette. It looked awesome!, and I've always wanted one.
I had a ‘72 and it was a blast to drive. Got about 33mpg. Only problem was the distributer would loosen and the car would die. Got to where I would carry a screwdriver and just pop the hood tighten it back down and be on my way.
Thanks for the video. I love the GT and have had the pleasure of owning/restoring one over the last six years. I try to watch most videos that come out regarding the car and think y'all did a nice job on this one. What people don't know is that the Opel GT outperformed many other cars in their target market during their early production time period including the Porsche 914, BMW 2022, and Alfa Romeo 1750 Duetto. They were never meant to compete with "American muscle" but help usher in a new era of sports and personal cars... America wasn't quite ready for that, so it will always be compared to the Corvette and considered under-powered. Nice to see that the Opel GT has received a lot more love over the years as more people are recognizing the beautiful stylings of the unibody and the unique features. It's fun driving mine around town as it turns heads and people are constantly taking pictures of it on the road (most have no idea what it is). I've actually been flagged down a few times and it will draw a crowd in the Walmart parking lot :-). Thanks again for the video!
Had a '69 Strato Blue GT. Added headers later on. Fun car all around! My brother worked at a GM dealer and had the parts catalog and price list catalog so I was able to get replacement parts over the years. Finally, though it was hard to get body/accessory parts so I had to give it up. Had it for 34 years.
My grandfather was an executive for Buick in Flint. He retired in the early 1970s but his last job was to arrange for parts procurement for Opel cars being sold in America. A bit of trivia: My grandfather was responsible for the invention of the floor mounted dimmer switch that used to be used in cars for the headlights. His father was the chief Chassis Engineer for Buick and actually worked on the "Flint Buick" the first car Buick produced. The story goes that they were trying to figure out how to get headlights that could see far out but adjust closer for rough roads. Grandpa suggested using two sets of lights and a pedal switch to switch between them instead of individual switches. Great Grandpa had it installed and it worked. The rest is history, as they say.
I was in the army, stationed in Germany and had just taken delivery of a new 1968 US spec Kadett when the GT was introduced. I was bummed out.
I was never a vette guy, but I have always wanted an Opel GT. In the late 80's I saw a local ad for a '72. I came really close to buying it, but I instead moved away for school. In a small way I have never been sure if I made the right decision...
Well I have a 93 vette that just sits in the garage. Needs more work than I thought when I bought it. It be great to have the Opel GT as well. lol...Thanks for watching and for the comment. Please help us by subscribing if you haven't already. We can't tell who is a subscriber and who isn't. Thanks!
You didnt.
@@pharronrhodes3792 I ended up now with 4 cars, one of which I consider to be as sexy. 1953 Studebaker Coupe. It did end up ok in the end
I had a '72 loved it!! Thinking bout trying to find one again
My sister had one. It was a mechanical nightmare, kept breaking down and leaving her stranded but she loved that car and took great offense at the "Baby Vette" nickname.
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Had the opportunity to drive one and almost bought it but it was pre internet 90s finding parts was the deal breaker
My sister bought a new 1973 Opel GT and it was a fun car but it did break down and leave her stranded a few times due to electrical issues.
I was in an accident in a GT back in 1970. I'm lucky to have survived and the damn thing folded up like an accordion. The windshield was breakaway and the police found my glasses about 100 feet down the road.
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I had one in 97....it was a fast lil fun car to drive!
Well, back when I was around it only got the Baby Vette name lol title,been it got the Fender Kit on, without that fender kit, it really doesn't look like a Vette, but you can see how it could. That fender kit is what made it.
Really cool cars the Opel, I nearly bought a 68 GT in 2005, it had the fender kit.
Once in a great while you see one pop up for sale and usually needs some love and thankfully there are still parts for these cars in abondance and pretty inexpensive too.
Also just found your channel, I subscribed and mashed the like button ❤ 👍 thanks!
The Opel GT was assambled in my hometown Bochum in Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany. ❤️❤️❤️
Thanks. Opel GTs were prone to rust so there aren't a lot of beauties available.
I always loved the look of the Opel GT.
The final season for "Get Smart' had an Opel GT. We missed them so much 😉
My dad had a 72 Opel GT.
He put 250K miles on his
That aluminum Buick 215 cube V8 would probably have been the best engine for this car.
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Sure Goober...a V8 in an engine bay that hardly fit that little four.......go sober up///
Ooh, another small thinker that has to resort to insults and name calling to get their point across.
@@valengreymoon5623 Sure Chief Greymoon--I would let you on my thread but you don't have a "reservation".....LOL.....
@@chadhaire1711 Such a snappy comeback for someone with no imagination. No wonder it took ya a few hours to think of it.
The GT looked like a Corvette from the front, and a Ferrari 250 GTO from the rear.
Ironically the 240Z was an obvious copycat as well
My brother Rodge used to own a "71" GT, that car was so quick. I thought it was turbo charged, but it would roll rubber with the best of them back in the day...🤣
As with the 240Z, when new, I was too young to drive let alone own any car, but at age 11 or so I appreciated the styling of both the Opel and the 240Z. When one would drive by the house, me and my friends would stop and stare. Great vid, actually forgot about the model and never knew much about it!
My best mate had a blue one that I often had to drive when he got too drunk. Enjoyed it. Was a bit more "civilized" than my Triumph TR-6. But the Opel could've used more power......
Will you do a video of the Opel Manta? I drove one in high school driver's ed .Great driving car.
Friend owned one for years.
I never knew a manta existed until I did research for the video? Noted. Thanks for watching and the comment! Boca Brothers
Just FYI. This is my favorite channel. Thank you
Wow, thanks!
I have one sitting in my driveway and sadly rusting away. One day. One day.
I owned a red/black interior 1970 Opel GT with the 1.9 engine for a year. I had so much fun driving it, but soon realized that it really didn't fit into my life that well, so I sold it to a friend and bought a 1971 Chevrolet El Camino SS. The Opel was a great experiment though and the girls really liked it.
Great video. I never looked at this car and saw "Corvette", although I can see why others did. I always thought they looked like the old Saab Sonnet.
Thanks Russel. Let me lookup that Sonnet!
@@ThisOldCarChannel The Saab Sonnet is definitely a great car to do a show on! There were 3 models: the first in the late 50’s, then the Sonnet 2 in the 60’s, but the one you’ll want to focus on is the Sonnet 3 made between 1970-74. I’ve owned several since 1983, they were great cars. People are usually shocked it’s a SAAB because it looks Italian or English, it’s a very pretty car with perfect sports car proportions. In typical SAAB fashion they were extremely well designed, and had a strong emphasis on safety features. They were front wheel drive to plow through Swedish winters. Lots of owners put in more powerful engines, although the base V-4 Ford engine is a real hoot and makes a fantastic sound.
Another awesome video! I had a neighbour when I was a boy who had an Opel GT. As attractive as the car was, I didn't think it was a "Baby Corvette".
Thanks Jason!
So many miles. Four years of bliss. Near top of the wish I had kept it list.
Such a cute car 🤩
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The Opal Cadette looks like a baby Chevelle. When I was a kid, I knew two people that had an Opal GT. One of them, the son of a friend of my mom's, was asked by his insurance company what model Opal he had and he replied "I don't know, it's just an Opal." He did this to keep them from charging him more for driving a sports car. I can't imagine this worked, but in the late 70s and with such an obscure nameplate, maybe it did.
The nameplate wasn't that obscure, it just was the founder's name 😉
Adam Opel AG, founded in Germany 1862.
At times Opel was No.1 on Germany's market with classics like the Kadett, Ascona, Rekord and Manta.
I used to own a Opel GT
Last year I found a 1969 with the 1100 engine. It had been sitting in a garage since 1984. It's fun to do drive but need some more tuning before it's perfect. Sold new in the US, so it lack anti-roll bars. Weight distribution is better with the 1100 than the 1900 engine. It sits further back. Only 60 bhp, but the car is very light.
I found one in South Texas. Tempted but wouldn't know where to find parts! Have fun with it Tomas!
@@ThisOldCarChannel, Parts are relatively easy to come by as the car has a strong underground following, especially in Europe. "The Opel GT Source" in California has everything you need to keep them going.
My parents had a friend who was a navel aviator. He imported one of these from Europe and I occasionally was allowed to drive it. It had a three carbureted inline six and it was a rocket. All the dash was in German and kilometers and as a sixteen year old I had little idea how fast it would actually go but it was never passed.
Woah..my dad had a blue one that I drove when I was 16. It cornered like nothing else on the road. Better than the Datsun 1600 he used to own👍 I think his was a 70 or 71 model.
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I love hearing about those vintage cars like the Datsun 1600/2000 roadsters. I remember going to the Datsun dealer drooling over them and wishing I had the money to buy one since I was still in school at that time. (Japanese cars of that era didn't survive very well up here in New England since the salt rotted them out quickly.)
Although too low to the ground for my height and weight, (6'5, 418 lbs), and I wasn't always this heavy, I always thought that the Opel GT was a Gorgeous Vehicle just like the Corvette!!! I never owned either, but I used to imagine owning one!!!
A 1:64 Scale, Metallic Blue for my small Hot Wheel Collection would be nice though.
I had an Opel GT and throughly enjoyed it. Even as a dolphin.
I had a 1972 in orange. Sooo beautiful.
Such a shame that it was so under-powered. 😕
Every once in a while you can see one at the drag strip they used to be popular there
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Seems like a good candidate for a restomod. Think about putting a modern turbo 4 cylinder in one of those?
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@@TheChill001 barely worth anything as it is. One was just on auction site bringatrailer and I don’t think it broke $5k. I know a couple of people sitting on quite a few of them because they’ve been cheap for ages.
Yeah try and not butcher it too bad if it's a nice one ,but if it's a little ratty why not?
Keep the clean ones as they are.
They really could use an injection of about 100 more hp so you could keep up with traffic.
@@TheChill001 because they're worth so much now? It would be a fun tinker toy if you found a ratty one and had something to Frankenstein it with.
@jeeping_foodie
Similar mods has been done since the 1990s in Germany. I've seen the famous C20XE 16 Valve Engine more than one time in a GT. From there it's just a small step to the Turbo C20LET 😃