1968 Opel GT 1900: Erhard Schnell's Symphony in Steel and Speed

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Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 30

@stefanpaege2046 3 ай бұрын

As a six year old in the summer of 1969 I started school as a pupil in 1st grade in Berlin, Germany & one of my teachers had one of these GT‘s in bright red. How we envied & admired that fella…

@jamesellsworth9673 3 ай бұрын

This was an aspirational car for me back in the day!

@TheSockMonkeyGuy 3 ай бұрын

I always liked Opels. I had a 1974 Manta in the late '70s and early '80s. Loved that car.

@spokanefut 3 ай бұрын

In 1974 I bought a '69 GT 1.9 off a muscle car dealer's back lot for cheap because it had been traded in, poorly hot-rod modded, and they just didn't know what to do with it. I got a knowledgeable local actual mechanic to work on it and sourced OEM parts for it myself from salvage yards (Solex carb, etc to replace the adapted Carter AFB it came with). It was a much better runner after that and pretty good handling. Some magazine referred to them as the "Steel Stingray". Mine continued to have electrical bugs and I finally sold it after a year or so. If I found one now, I'd drop in a BMW K1200LT bike motor and it would be an absolute screamer, plus be even lighter. Ain't 20/20 hindsight great?

@retrocarchannel 3 ай бұрын

Thank you very much for your informative and interesting comment.

@LucidDreamer54321 3 ай бұрын

At one time, I had six Opel GTs - one from each model year 1968-1973. I eventually sold five of them and kept the rare 1968 car with 1.1 liter engine. I was temporarily storing the car in a building on my father's property while I was moving to a new house. The car got stolen during that time. My father's homeowner's insurance refused to pay because the car didn't belong to my father.

@afterhourshotrods6882 3 ай бұрын

I've always liked the Opel GT since I first saw one in '70. I'd like to find a nice rust free one and drop an all aluminum LS in it!

@stejer211 3 ай бұрын

While screwing up the weight distribution... do Muricans even know other engines than the LS?

@johnnyfreedom3437 3 ай бұрын

I drove my first car in 1969, I was 14 years old. I work at an old fashioned Car Wash and I got to drive every car manufactured in the late sixties and early seventies about 60 ft! Got in trouble for spinning the tires a few times, but other than that it was one hell of an experience for a young kid!

@retrocarchannel 3 ай бұрын

Now there's something to remember, it was a fun youth, that's cool.

@budgetaudiophilelife-long5461 3 ай бұрын

THX RETRO,🤗 My brother actually had one used in in the 70s😎💚💚💚

@davidbarnsley8486 3 ай бұрын

There is a channel with a guy doing a full restoration of one these It’s very good and it shows how cheaply they were built and how susceptible to rust they are

@modelermark172 3 ай бұрын

This is a flip in the script! usually, it was American designers taking styling tips from their European counterparts. But it's an attractive concept car that actually made it into a bona fide production run. For scale enthusiasts, this is available in a variety of diecasts, and even a 1/25th model kit form by AMT that is STILL available; most recently as a "Hot Wheels" version, but still may be built as a stock Opel GT. Thanks for sharing this! 34th Like.

@RReese08 3 ай бұрын

The Opel GT was a cute car and decent value for the money here in the US. I remember that in maybe the mid to late 1970s somebody tried to make a sport car over here based on the Opel GT. They took the body shell and cut off the front and rear quarter panels and replaced all that with different body panels to widen the car I think an extra 4-5 inches (500-750 mm) overall. I saw a picture of it I think in a car magazine advert, maybe an article. The result wasn’t very attractive and I think the company or person responsible failed - for good reason. Besides US federal safety regulations and other issues that doomed the GT, its future was bleak anyway. About five years after importation of the Opel GT ended in the US, Mazda introduced the Miata, an economical yet sporty and excellent sports car. It was an instant hit and remains in production to this day. But that’s another story. Also - CONGRATULATIONS for reaching 7,000 subscribers! Keep improving your videos and growing the channel! 😀😀😀

@NotthatNeil 3 ай бұрын

Wow, was there really only 5 years between the Opel GT and the Miata? They seem like they’re from such different times.

@brucebeauvais1324 3 ай бұрын

@@NotthatNeilHe’s wrong. The last GT was 1973 . The NA Miata debuted for MY 1989. If one thinks about design timelines , the designs are separated by about 20 years after the design was approved and locked.

@RReese08 3 ай бұрын

@@brucebeauvais1324 You’re right, I was wrong. And I blame being up late, drunk and taking lots of drugs for the mistake. What I shoulda said was the Mazda RX-7. It was first imported into the US in 1978. People went crazy over it.

@NotthatNeil 3 ай бұрын

@@RReese08ah, ok. That’s easier to believe. No harm done.

@RReese08 3 ай бұрын

@@NotthatNeil Thanks, I appreciate it. 🙂 And I just want to warn the kids here about the dangers of sleep deprivation, drugs and alcohol - DON’T DO SLEEP! It gets in the way of all the drugs and booze that you’re consuming!! 😜😜😜

@hobbyfarmer62 3 ай бұрын

Always hoped to by one when I was stationed in Germany closes I came was a 1977 Opel Manta which was fun to drive, it shared a very similar engine with the GT in 1.9.

@jeffwier696 3 ай бұрын

We called them poor mans Vettes. I owned a '69 with a 1.9 ltr.. I thoroughly enjoyed the car, except for the carburetor, which was an SU (piece of garbage). I wasn't aware of the history of the car much. Thanx for another great video!

@datathunderstorm 3 ай бұрын

Great videos - I’m hooked. May I suggest you do one on the Mazda MX-3…?!! It was based on the running gear of the Mazda 323 Lantis of the same era and a version had a small V6 engine in it. A car worthy of your attention, methinks! 😊👍🏾

@JebusHypocristosX 3 ай бұрын

My mom had one of those. Great little runabout.