Opel - Rick-O-Sound connection

[schoolside]

I was the unfortunate owner of an Opel for about two weeks before I decided to abandon it on the side of the road in '72, now I'm regretting not peeling off the insignia's. I'm wondering, What is the connection to the Rick-O-Sound logo?

[electrofaro]

Nothing... the Blitz (lightning bolt) refers to a famous and popular Opel model called Blitz - the original logo's actually half of the Blitz logo... it's kind of mirrored into a lightning bolt.

I drive and Opel and they are definitely better left at the side of the road - I'll never get an Opel again - I work at Customer Service of a large german automotive company (no, not Opel) and just have to say Opel's Customer Service is non-existent.

Still, I don't want to see them go bust - it wouldn't be good for competition if they went and never returned!

[beatlefreak]

I drive and Opel and they are definitely better left at the side of the road

[bassduke49]

I understand that they are not great cars, but I LOVED the looks of the Opel GT; like a miniature Chevy Sting Ray!

[jingle_jangle]

The GT was a pretty good (and VERY popular!) car for its time, and for my money a better-styled car than the ridiculous and now-dated-looking Sting Ray of that era. However, like most small cars of the '70s, it wasn't built to last much beyond about 75K miles without major work being needed. They did last well until 50K, though. Hilarious when you consider that Miatas typically last 175K as long as the oil is changed regularly, and the cam belt--unlike most of the '70s cars--can go without destroying the valves. Consider that, at 80mph, the Miata's engine is humming along at 4K RPM.

Dwight, if you bought your Opel GT used, and are judging it by contemporary standards, let me say that there are VERY few '70s imported cars that hold up under use and scrutiny, and if you're going to play in that pen, you'd better really know your cars, inside and out, or be the principal money behind your mechanic's new boat.

I had a couple of FIATs back then, purchased new, and after my experiences with the first, I should have never bought the second. Duh. Brand loyalty? The first went until about 22K before needing head work and a new clutch, and lasted until 38K before I said good-bye, exactly one week after the last payment of $52.44 per month! The second, purchased four years later, stranded me more times than I can count--and I built cars back then and could turn a wrench with alacrity and savvy. It was traded after two hellish years and 40K, on a German-built Ford Fiesta that went 120K before the upholstery gave out and I bought my first new SAAB, never to look back.

The GM "J" body (which includes at least one Opel sedan) has been their mainstay in a very successful presence in the Brasilian market, for the last 30 years. Two Opels are sold there as Chevrolets, and until recently (when Chevrolet down-sized and up-qualitied) were far superior and more efficient by any criteria you could choose, to their North American counterparts. These were tough cars that, in the 25-year-span from 1975 to 2000, went from basic and unbreakable to comfortable, compact, well-fitted and-finished and unbreakable. The level of interior finish and attention to detail, along with NVH control and handling, never failed to impress me when I got behind the wheel of one on the bad two-lane roads of the countryside or the tooth-powdering cobblestones of smaller cities and towns. There is only one controlled-access freeway in the entire CONUS-sized-country, and it runs from Rio to Sao Paulo. The rest is 2-lane roads, state-maintained, for the most part--a real test bed for durability.

[shamustwin]

I loved the look of those Opel GT's. Drove one once. As I recall, they were very tight on leg room for the driver!

[bitzerguy]

I had a bright yellow '71. I am 6'-1" and had no legroom issues. The pedals were offset to one side however, and getting in and out was an exercise. The headlamp switch was uber-cool, a lever you swung back and forth rolled the hidden headlamps over on center pins (instead of flipping them up) and turned them on. I had over 125,000 miles on mine when it finally gave up the ghost. The rear suspension tore out of the unibody at the front mounts at a train crossing and was quite unrepairable. The only openings in the body shell/unibody were the hood, headlamps, doors, and under the engine bay.

The only motor-work I ever had to do was change the starter. It took a week and a half of swearing and bruised body parts in the drive to get the job done. I never had any other issues with it. Not like my '68 Triumph GT6, which I spent all my spare time playing with carburetors, clutches and brakes... The Opel wasn't nearly as quick and nimble as the GT6 (nicest true sports car I have owned) but it was a lot of fun and easily an attention getter.

[ricardo_vicente]

Still, I don't want to see them go bust -

My old home town of Bochum has already lost one major employer with the closue of the Nokia plant. If Opel goes under too, it's going to leave the place like a ghost town. The region is still reeling from the death of the mining industry, and now this.

[jingle_jangle]

Ah...TR6s and Brit cars in general...I could write a book that no one would read on this topic. I feel a kinship and empathy with the British motor industry and the way it went the way of the dodo when confronted with the Japanese juggernaut. It was mostly cultural, IMO.

The TR6 was "developed" in the classic British car way--by hanging bits and bobs on an obsolete chassis in an effort to contemporize it and stall for time until their TRUE "sports car of tomorrow" hit the show stands. That was the TR7, and that's all she wrote. Do you see where I'm going with this?

BUT the TR6's motor was a stump-pulling lump. The reliance on multiple plumber's nightmare carburetors and (later) a fuel injection system that was catalog-bought, along with Mr. Lucas' intermittent electrical system, meant it was quirky and desirable to enthusiasts who enjoyed dysfunctional automotive relationships, and was the kiss of death to anyone wanting reliability and a car that had a high driving time to repair time ratio (dt:rt).

All my Brit cars and bikes except the Silver Shadow and the Jag sedan I drive now, had a dt:rt ranging from 1:3 to about 1:16. Eyetalian cars, too, now that you mention it.

German cars... the sedans just leave me cold. Too, er, Teutonic.

However, I quite recently drove a top of the line Porsche Cayenne twin turbo. For a half-mile and two stop lights on an empty Sunday morning road.

My God.

[cjj]

Ah...TR6s and Brit cars in general...I could write a book that no one would read on this topic.

I'd probably give it a look. I've owned severa MGs over the years. Always fun to drive and those SU Carbs, yeah, they took nearly constant tweaking, but with the little venturi flow meter thing I had, balancing them was pretty easy. Just part of the "fun" I guess. Lucas electrical system? Uh, yeah...

[schoolside]

Well, the Opel was 37 years ago and I didn't have it long enough to know what model it was or remember that ultra cool hood insignia, my next car was a SaaB 96, 2 cycle. That one lasted a whole summer before the engine seized. I now have a Miata (90) with 22k trouble free miles, a second gen (88) RX7-turbo II with 50k, a 2000 Land Cruiser and an Aprilia Scooter. Sorry to say it but I like cars made in Japan. Even the Italian scooter cost more to maintain.

[shamustwin]

Yes, Opel pedals off set. Knew I remembered something odd.
Had an MG that spouted fire from the tailpipe. Always good for a laugh when other drivers waved at me in panic.
Our British friends could produce pretty ones, though!