Snake45 Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 (edited) I bought this sad little AMT '69 Opel GT at a flea market for $4. All the “important parts” seemed to be here (and are) except the hood. I have an unbuilt reissue kit and can jack the spare hood from that, so that's covered. I'll do something with it, but what? I have two ideas. Both would be curbside shelf-sitters—would look good on the shelf but I'm not getting into heavy chassis detailing. 1, Gasser! Something like—though not an exact model of—this: (Unless decals are available—then I could actually DO that.) I'd stuff a blown small-block Chevy in it and paint it that nice bright Testor lacquer flaky blue. 2 . Street cruiser/canyon carver: Lowered and raked a bit, smoothed & dechromed, biggest wheels and tires I can fit to the widest edge of the stock fender openings—maybe even some of those goofy little “pro touring” wheels and tires. No strong vibe on color of this one yet, possibly the same Testor flake blue as idea #1. Something sorta kina like this: Vote now! Or give me another idea. I love a (minor) challenge and hate to see good styrene go to waste. Edited October 12, 2014 by Snake45
Mackvision Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 Personally,i'm diggin' the Gasser idea,they were neat little cars on the dragstrip!.........................Mark
Ace-Garageguy Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 Either idea would make a great model. The gasser would be far easier, as the front suspension would be a simple tube-axle affair, and the rear is pretty much in the ballpark already. The "canyon-carver" would take a lot more work to get a believable looking stance, as the inner wheel wells would have to be re-worked considerably to stuff all that rubber under it and keep it low.
chunkypeanutbutter Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 Canyon cruiser/street machine. Please have reasonable width tires on it, don't make it goofy! Maybe some Cragar Super Tricks/ Centerline dragster wheels... Blue metalflake with two white stripes going up the hood to the back... OR! Make it look like a wannabe Shelby Daytona Coupe
jbwelda Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 SCCA racer. sort of like that canyon carver but more believable with period correct wheels, lowered down into the weeds, ditch that stupid motor and maybe build a weber carbed V6 from the reissue kit, or as you say just curbside. basically throw away all that carp and get back to reality. jb
Snake45 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Posted October 12, 2014 SCCA racer. sort of like that canyon carver but more believable with period correct wheels, lowered down into the weeds, ditch that stupid motor and maybe build a weber carbed V6 from the reissue kit, or as you say just curbside. basically throw away all that carp and get back to reality. jb The thing has the V6 in it and I have plenty of Webers from AMT Corvette kits. I'm not against putting an engine in it but I'm not gonna get into a bunch of chassis re-engineering and detailing and so forth. I'll prolly utilize the big rear axle that's with it now either way I go, one way or another.
cobraman Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 I love the red one with the 5 spokes. Very sharp ride.
Stuntman Mike Posted October 12, 2014 Posted October 12, 2014 Since the hood is missing, how bout doing something different? http://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/late-night-capsule-1968-73-opel-gt-do-you-think-it-ran-when-parked/ With a little trailer and a tow vehicle this would be quite an interesting build on the shelf IMO.
Snake45 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Posted October 12, 2014 Since the hood is missing, how bout doing something different? http://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/late-night-capsule-1968-73-opel-gt-do-you-think-it-ran-when-parked/ With a little trailer and a tow vehicle this would be quite an interesting build on the shelf IMO. As I said in the OP, I have a hood--will be sourcing the second hood from an unbuilt kit in the stash.
Snake45 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Posted October 12, 2014 You guys are great! I really appreciate all your input! That yellow roadster is cool, but it would take more effort than I want to put into this "fast n easy" project--and I'm afraid it would look a little "too Miata" when finished. After sleeping on it last night, this morning I woke up with a plan: Go Gasser, and then build my reissue in a nice factory metallic blue, something along the lines of Mopar B5 Blue. Not much if any gingerbread on the Opel body to wipe off for a clean, modern look, and with the kit wire axles, I can set it up to swap between factory wheels/tires and something a little bigger/racier/more modern as the mood strikes me. Even thought of a great source for a hood lump: Revell '67 Chevelle Pro Street. I've accumulated a couple of these over the years cheap, just for parts. Decided to see if anyone make decals for that Jim Oddy gasser above. Didn't find any, but DID find some for a K.S. Pittman Opel. Little more complicated, but Hmmmmmmm..... However, in researching, I came across several more photos of both the Oddy and Pittman Opels. Both of them had the rear wheel openings WAY enlarged. Not sure I wanna do that. I know me...couple years from now, I'm likely to look at the thing and think, "What was I THINKING, butchering up that semi-rare kit like that?" and want to rebuild it something closer to stock-bodied. So my next move is to see how big a slick I can stuff in the stock wheel opening, maybe with a little bit of jacking, and see how that looks....this might be a good chance to use up some Centerline/Super Trick wheels. I don't particularly like that type of wheel, but I think they'd be appropriate for this early '70s gasser....
Snake45 Posted October 13, 2014 Author Posted October 13, 2014 (edited) Okay, I found a couple different kind of slicks that will just barely fit inside the body wheel openings. With an inch or two of jacking for clearance, they'll look the part for the purposes of this build. There's interference on the inside of the fenderwell, either the interior or the chassis, but that's not a big deal--I have a Dremel and I'm not afraid to use it. Thinking of maybe using the wheels from the flip-nose '57 Vette gasser kit. They look sharp--would they be appropriate for early '70s gasser use, or are they from a later period? Next step: Disassembly and paint stripping. The body seems to be broken at both the A and B pillars on the left side, but that's not a big deal at all. Edited October 13, 2014 by Snake45
JTalmage Posted October 13, 2014 Posted October 13, 2014 2 . Street cruiser/canyon carver: Lowered and raked a bit, smoothed & dechromed, biggest wheels and tires I can fit to the widest edge of the stock fender openings—maybe even some of those goofy little “pro touring” wheels and tires. No strong vibe on color of this one yet, possibly the same Testor flake blue as idea #1. Something sorta kina like this: Vote now! Or give me another idea. I love a (minor) challenge and hate to see good styrene go to waste. This one!!!! holy BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH this one!!!
DonW Posted October 13, 2014 Posted October 13, 2014 It's got to be the gasser! Either way it'll need tubbing.
Snake45 Posted October 13, 2014 Author Posted October 13, 2014 Well I've got 3 votes for gasser and 4.5 votes for street/canyon carver. (I gave jbwelda's post a half vote in this direction.) Think I'm gonna try to go gasser or gasser-ish with this one, and canyon carver-ish with the new reissue.
unclescott58 Posted October 13, 2014 Posted October 13, 2014 2 . Street cruiser/canyon carver: Lowered and raked a bit, smoothed & dechromed, biggest wheels and tires I can fit to the widest edge of the stock fender openings—maybe even some of those goofy little “pro touring” wheels and tires. No strong vibe on color of this one yet, possibly the same Testor flake blue as idea #1. Something sorta kina like this: Vote now! Or give me another idea. I love a (minor) challenge and hate to see good styrene go to waste. You can make that 5 votes for the crayon carver. Scott
tubbs Posted October 13, 2014 Posted October 13, 2014 Stan, get a pro street willys and stick the engine and chassis under it. paint it yellow and sit it low... at least that is my idea for my opel,.... when I get one..... know where I can get one Stan.... hehe....
ChrisBcritter Posted October 15, 2014 Posted October 15, 2014 (edited) I'll throw in a third possibility - Team Tinyvette's LeMons racer: (Images from Team Tinyvette on the 24 Hours of LeMons forum) Edited October 15, 2014 by ChrisBcritter
Snake45 Posted October 15, 2014 Author Posted October 15, 2014 I kinda like that, except for the wing and the decals/graphics. Of course, without those, it wouldn't be what it is, would it?
hjracing Posted October 15, 2014 Posted October 15, 2014 I vote for the opcion 2. Those was very good cayon carvers machines!
tubbs Posted October 15, 2014 Posted October 15, 2014 PRO STREET!!GASSER!!!PRO STREET!!GASSER!!!PRO STREET!!GASSER!!!PRO STREET!!GASSER!!!
Chuck Most Posted November 23, 2014 Posted November 23, 2014 I wouldn't recommend stuffing a small block V8 in one, unless you're into the idea of spending several hours test fitting, trimming, test fitting, trimming, etc. .
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