OPEL GT : THE BABY CORVETTE

Since Opel wasn't equipped to build cars on a small scale (the plan was to build 20,000 a year), the Opel GT's sexy, flowing mono coke body was built by Brissoknow and Lotz in France. Up front, the independent suspension consisted of a set of unequal-length wishbones, a transverse leaf spring and tubular shock absorbers. In back of the OPEL GT, a solid axle was located by trailing arms and a panhard rod, and coupled to coil springs and tubular shocks. Considering all the thought that went into the location of the engine, it's surprising to learn that the Opel GT's weight distribution is nowhere close to ideal. 54 percent of the car's weight is over the front wheels, with only 46 at the rear, resulting in heavy understeer.
Production of the Opel GT began in 1968, and while only a handful of these very early cars were built, they are out there. From the start, the car was powered by either a 1.9-liter inline four-cylinder, or for the truly budget-conscious, a 1.1-liter four. It also bears mentioning the confusion regarding the correct model year for an Opel GT. These cars were sold through Buick dealers in the United States. In those days, Buick's model year ran from September to September, so a car sold in September of 1970 would have been titled as a 1971. Germany's model year ran from January to January, meaning that there was an awful lot of confusion about what parts and equipment were available on which years.

The Boca Brothers participate in the Amazon Influencer Program.

[jamesstuart]

One of the most beautiful small cars ever made. The rear end is just about perfect

[realitywithmj]

i have an Opel since 1971 and it has over 2 million miles. nothing has ever broken and the only thing that i do is change the oil and give it a tune every 10k miles. great car that i will never get rid of.

[wrigman]

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…..

[richthomson]

I had an orange 1973 Opel GT in high school…one of the funnest cars I’ve ever owned..

[glnnchrstphr]

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.

[bruceh]

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 👍

[daleswensen]

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"

[stephensavic]

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.

[TheGreatZantello]

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 ! 😊

[jeroenvandend]

Bought mine 15 years ago '69 beauty. It trully is a lovely car

[deanevangelista]

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!

[Eric]

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.

[briansauer]

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!

[selimpullu]

I remember a couple of these beauties from my childhood in 70’s. Thank you for bringing back my memories Boca Brothers.👍👏👏

[bryanbrowning]

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’

[williamegler]

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.

[djkenny]

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.

[shaunmcinnis]

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.

[Oonagh]

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.

[charlie]

Hey Bros, what a beautiful car the Opel GT. Not very fast but really sporty!😉