Donor Car – Opel GT 1973

Jumping in head first....

Generally, once my wife and I come to an accord about what we want, her natural impatience takes over until it materializes. Truth be told, she and I make a great team. I have the creativity, the grand ideas and the literal vision of the end product. She has the wherewithal, the relentless perseverance and the organizational skills to get us there.

Such was the case with the “donor car”. We began discussing different types of vehicles and their pros and cons. Now, obviously, the final decision was mine, as she knows nothing about cars, but since we are in this together, I always value her input and ideas. What I was looking for was a lightweight car. I have always liked the classic muscle cars and wanted something that would make a statement and generate some interest. When a friend of mine suggested an Opel GT, I knew that it would be the perfect car to fulfill my vision. The Opel GT is lightweight, weighing in at a mere 2100 lbs and is wonderfully aerodynamic. I also knew just how hard it would be to find one with the body in good shape and a “donor car” price tag attached to it. Nonetheless, I told Tamera that I thought this would be the perfect car, and the race was on. We searched high and low, from one coast to the other on Craig’s List, Ebay, and any other source we could find.

A couple of weeks went by, and I will admit that I reluctantly began to believe that I might have to pick another car. Refusing failure, day after day, Tamera scanned the internet. For her it is like a challenge. Don’t tell her she can’t, because she can, and she did. She found our “donor car”. It was a 1973 Opel GT, in good condition. It had just a few minor dents and dings, was a decent price, considering it was a classic and was still running. Unfortunately, it was also in Oregon. I knew that by the time we shipped it to Texas, the cost would be more than we were wanting to pay for a donor car and suggested that we bide our time and continue to look. Luckily for me, she wouldn’t hear of it. We had found the perfect car and there was no way she was letting it get away. Less than two weeks later, there it was, sitting in our driveway, an orange, 1973 Opel GT, in extremely good shape. I now had my donor car, along with several books on the Opel GT.

We wasted little time once the car arrived. Our first step was to strip the car. Bolt by bolt, nut by nut we dismantled the car, bagging and labeling every step of the way. I quickly realized that I needed more metric tools and now find myself with more metric labeled tools than American standard ones. It worked out well, since we also have a 1999 VW Jetta TDI. So now I have two German made cars , nicely complimenting my two German dogs (Dachshunds).

Storage of parts has become a bit of an issue. Luckily for me, I have a wife who not only believes in this project, but who also can and will do whatever it takes to help make it a reality. She has found room for car parts under bathroom sinks, windows wrapped in sheets leaning against bedroom walls, and even in her kitchen. The worst issue of all, though, is that the Jetta can’t fit into the garage anymore, and, with winter approaching, the morning commute to work is all the worse for it.

Wrapping up I will say the one con of the Opel GT is parts availability. GM no longer makes these parts and many will have to come from Europe and will be hard to find. It is a con that I am happy to accept, since 99 percent of the maintenance parts will be eliminated with the conversion to electric. Also, I have an “excuse” to buy more tools. And what guy wouldn’t love that?

Goodies Aquired:
63 piece metric socket tool set

On a side note…When the car first arrived we had one of those moments where we knew we made the right decision. A moment when any and all doubts were completely erased. Neither of us knew that the Opel’s insignia was a bolt of lightning. How cool is that?