Thank you to Benoit
Cohort Pic(k) Of The Day – Opel GT
– Posted on November 18, 2019
Thank you to Benoit
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Here’s the one my dad had in the 1970s:
Is it wrong that I dig the vinyl top?
Seems top change the profile considerably
Yes…
Uncle Tim had a yellow one as a very used car into the early 80s. Having been born in 1977 I do have faint memories of it and it’s the car I think of every time I hear “Old Yellow Car”.
Somewhere in a pile of rubber and steel
Thee’s a rusty old shell of an automobile
And if engines could run on desire alone
That old yellow car would be driving me home
There’s the seat where poor Billy threw up in his date
And where Larry and Sally could no longer wait
There was no road too winding and nowhere too far
With two bucks of gas and my old yellow car
Maybe it subtly led me to a Buick badged Opel?
Always had a soft spot for this beautiful and unique little car. They called it the min-Corvette. I’ve seen too many of these molested with a V-8 swap and tack on body kits with tacky ground effects and garish paint jobs. Nice to see a survivor.
Well, I’m one of those guys who has thought of molesting one, except with a 3800 Series 2 to keep it in the family.
An Opel in its native habitat? I always had soft spot for these too.
That looks like a French registration, so sort of native for these. IIRC the body was built in France
One of my Dad’s favorite cars he had, and the mental image of him getting in and out of an Opel GT with his 6’3” bodybuilder build he had back then is something I always chuckle at. It’s probably why he had back problems, not his sports injuries!
I see why he liked it though, the styling is peak GM and I love the all mechanical sideways flip headlight mechanism. His had western turbines with oversized RWL tires that he said rubbed and limited steering travel, but it looked even more Corvette like with them.
Great shots from the photographer! Pontiac Banshee design roots are really prevalent in these low angles
I still think this is Europe’s Mini Stingray, and really great looking.
One guy is our club has one, as tribute to growing up in Germany in the 1970s. In 70s orange. Splendid!
One of the prettiest cars of its era. The drab colour of this one masks its cheerful personality.
This is a little jewel, made for Opel by a small, extinct coachbuilder. There is no bootlid. In my area in Aarhus there are two which appear on special days, not obviously special calendar days so much as their rare emergence makes the day special. This is poetic little car, like a dolphin or mermaid. They radiate beauty.
Brissonneau & Lotz was a pretty big company, but their activity was mostly in rail equipment. They built most of the metros in Paris. They’re part of Alsthom now.
Not afraid to say I dig it…. it was a little mermaid. Saw these a lot around north Texas in the 70-80s. They had some faults but nothing that couldn’t be easily remedied.
These take on a totally different vibe in a dark color. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in anything besides a 70s bright color.
The First Gen came out during my adolescence and lasted long to define the first half of the 70’s. I don’t think any car evokes that period for me, better than these.
Death Trap.
Well, there’s that.
I have a 71 complete matching that I just picked up. Ready to do a complete restore.
Wanting to some research and opinion poll or suggestions.
What would you guys do to make it it better but yet keep it close to original?
Restoring a 1970 Opel GT1900 now