Detroit used to know how to make a car look good. What happened??



Around the time Opel was putting out this gem, GM was toying with the idea of putting a wankel in the vet. Imagine if they had just made that connection with the Opel GT?

 

Oh Crit,

 

BTW we got about another 5 inches and its still snowing

 

here's ya one ray

http://jalopnik.com/5302019/opel-gt-...train/gallery/

http://www.4x4offroads.com/1972-opel-gt.html

 

funny that you says that. You know the guy in charge of the body of the 1973 Opel GT also did the 1973 (C3) Corvette too? So GM DID have that connection lol.

P.s. You guys like my new Avatar? I filled a rotor's hollow pockets with rubbing alcohol and lit it on fire and took a picture.

 

oooooo preeeettttyyyyyyy.

 

i know its a boinger. But its a very very cool boinger.

my new ride, 1967 Ford Bronco

 

I got a corner light, grill emblem, rubber radiator mount, map light bulb, and a cruise control switch (to tinker with) all for $15 at that 'U Wrench It' about 1/2 mile after PAP North. Good stuff.

And anyone remember Jim Albert with the red S4 convertible? The one we made a 'fusable link' on his window motor wiring? I stopped by there and got the car running. After cleaning and rearranging the plugs to their right places, grounding a loose oil pressure something wire, checking for fuel and spark, it turns out it was just hardcore flooded... So it runs fine now, but the clutch is toast, and I think that might be too big for me alone to do. Anywho, productive day. Excited for the Jan meet, too, even though I won't be in an rotary...

 

Clutches aren't bad - pretty easy really. Remove the starter, driveshaft and shifter, drop the tranny, change the clutch.

 

Nice bronco. The bronco guys are a good group of people too.

 

Pretty sure you're thinking of the 1968 Corvette, first year for the C3, same body design they were still using in 1973. Coincidentally, 1968 was the first year for the Opel GT as well. That said, maybe someone did work on both in 1973, but he can hardly take credit for the body designs.

I always liked the looks of the GT (my uncle in Germany used to have an Opel Manta he flat drove the wheels off of).

I must correct Ray, though - Detriot did not make the Opel GT. The bodies were built by a French coachbuilder under contract, and Opel made the chassis and drivetrain in Germany.

So, sorry Detroit fans, there still hasn't been one worthwhile car to come out of that wretched locale. As much as I like the Ford Model B and the original Mustang, that'd be Dearborn, not Detroit :-D

...and the Corvette is made in Kentucky, so don't start that sh*t with me either

Cheers,
Troy

 

1967? That was before you were born, right Zach? It's not your granddad's Oldsmobile but it sure could be your granddad's Bronco. Nice Find!

Now that you mention it Troy, this really doesn't look like something Detroit or Deerborn or even Kentucky would be capable of:



The design of that Opel GT was pure sex. Unfortunately the chassis and engine were pure Opel, nothing more that a nice body on a clunker four banger with the drive of a '67 Bronco, it handled about the same way this thing does:



Why didn't some enterprising American see the potential of a wankel and a racing suspension in that car???

 

Actually, weren't they made in St. Louis back then?

 

It actually was my Grandfather's Bronco. He left it to me when he passed this past July. He bought it new off of the showroom floor. Original Ford 289 V-8 with 91k miles. 3-speed column shift.

 

Looks pretty good for 40 years of PA winters! Thats gonna be a nice project, she looks like a keeper!

 

Two 12A equivalents for sure, even with the V8. Bring it down to the Jan meeting on 1/5/10 and park it with the 12A'S.

 

That is definitely cool and original If you need any parts or have any questions about it let me know - I met some guys back in the day when we used to go 4 wheeling that have a few of these. Although theirs were not this nice when they started their restorations. Looks like a very solid foundation to start with. Congrats!

 

you're so right, I have no idea where I had read the same guy did both but it was definitely wrong, although a lot of people say that from the cowl back ,the C3 vette and Opel Gt looked VERY similar.

 

Both owe a lot to The Mako Shark concept car designed by Larry Shinoda under the direction of GM styling chief Bill Mitchell. The Mako Shark first appeared at the Detroit Auto Show in 1961 as an precursor of the 1963 C2 Corvette, but was rebodied for the show car circuit in 1965 - in this form it was a bit of an exaggerated preview of the 1968 C3 'vette. My guess is the designer of the Opel GT borrowed from the styling concept "Mako Shark II" car, which accounts for the uncanny resemblance.

Or at least that's my take on it as an aficionado of fine automotive design.

Then again, one could argue that it's a French rip-off of the Ferrari GTO (or some similar Ferrari design), and that ultimate credit goes to Pininfarina or Scaglietti -- but I'm taking a more Anglo-centric point of view.

 

Hey Troy, are you coming out to the OGTA meet on Jan 5th?

 

Those early Corvettes were the king of the road. Now GM can't even make one without a leaking roof:

http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/30/auto...cnnw/index.htm

 

I would be happy with ANY Corvette. So long as it ran.

 

That's the plan. Haven't decided yet which car I'll drive - had the 8 last time, I think it's gonna depend on the weather.

I'll keep working on Girod and see if I can drag him along too.

See ya there!

 

See, there is the problem.

 

Here's the '69 Corvette Stingray, there never was a better looking one in my opinion:



Although I could live with the introductory '63 Stingray, so way ahead of it's time we still haven't gotten there yet:



And here's how close GM came to figuring it all out back in 1973, a two rotor:

http://www.carstyling.ru/cars.1973_C...Two-Rotor.html



And a four rotor:

http://www.carstyling.ru/cars.1973_C...r%20Rotor.html