bought a roadster thing

Ok folks so I just bought a car that was, as the story goes , built by a man at the indianapolis gm plant in spare time. It was built a while ago and it actually ran and drove but its been sitting for 8 years now. It got taken apart when a new owner got it and decided he wanted to put a sbc in it. They cut the front sheet metal off and pulled the motor and thats as far as they got. It has a hand built body and frame and uses a 1969 opel gt drivetrain and axles for power. I nabbed the whole thing minus engine for a smokin' $300. This is big for me cuz I've been planning this car since I was 15. My big issue is that the engine is missing and the Trans will need gone through (sitting and wasn't turning well). I'm trying to decide if I'm gonna use the opel drivetrain and find a motor or if I should change to something else. Ideas? I don't have a lot of welding equipment but I can have it done. Also does anyone know where there might be an opel motor? Looking forward to the insight yall might have!

Trying to post pix but it says there is a security token missing???

Its nice to see something other than the normal engine in a rat (sbc or Ford) but the problem there will be parts or engine in your case ... I guess thats why people uses the chevy engines,, parts are every place and does not have to be the same year to enter-change or match with each other .. Ford is'nt as easy

But different is good if you can score another opel.. go for it .. I havnt seen it but for $300 Id say the body will be worth that .. maybe poke around for a entire donor car or truck of some kind while you search for an opel ...this way you will have options JMO


as far as tokens ?????? maybe re-size your pics to smaller or others are using photopocket

pics

oh yeah, waiting for pic of this, gotta be interestin' looking[P

Later

" hand built body and frame" sounds interesting. Can't wait to see the pics. [cl (You may have to downsize them or something. )

Opels are pretty rare these days. Finding a good one may cost more than a little V8. Or you could look for a s10 or ranger 4-banger drive train. Heck, any cheap 4-banger with a trans for that matter. Us old dudes think everything has to have a big V8 in it, but it ain't so...

I think the pix are on here. I had to resize. Thanks yall! [cl there is a donor car on Craigslist but I think it's the small motor. I was hoping for a little more than 65hp lol. There really isn't enough room in the car for a v8 because it's just so small. I have an inline 6 and a 5 speed and I looked into putting it in there but the problem is that by the time I redo the trans tunnel there will be no leg room. Right now it has good leg room and all the pedals are easy to access. I had contemplated a mazda 13b rotary engine and trans but I haven't yet found one.

Probably never find an Opel. I'd go with a 2.3 Ford or 2.5 Chevy S10 engine. With a 5 speed it would be a fun little ride even with a 4 banger.

I'm contemplating that but I wonder if it's going to be too heavy. I wonder if a motorcycle engine could work?

Mazda rotary

Any ideas on where to find a used one and how wide yhey are? I have 22" between frame rails and 24" from firewall to grille shell

I would agree to scrap the idea of an Opel or other unusual engine and just hit the wrecking yard with a tape measure and start looking at more common rear wheel drive cars . 24 inches in length isn't a lot, but some Toyota or similar rwd car might have one that short. You can always inset the firewall a little too.

I kinda like that little bugger ! You could do a lot with it with a little imagination. Good luck and keep us posted.

Don

I think it is kinda' cute. A windshield will be needed, but that is minor. As has been said, there are lots of 4-bangers out there that don't take up much space. An old Toyota Hemi would look cool. Little 4 - or 5-speed, and you are cruisin'. Keep it simple.

Camo King said:

I'm contemplating that but I wonder if it's going to be too heavy. I wonder if a motorcycle engine could work?

Click to expand...

If an Opel 1900 fit in there, I see no problem with most 4-bangers that are plentiful these days.

Also, if I see the back of the cab correctly, the panel leans forward. You could change that, and gain a bunch of room for you.

hey Im just playing with your picture

I would really like to stay carb'd but I haven't seen many of those lately. Most have been scrapped I fear. I was hoping for a drop in but I may have to change it if parts are gonna be so hard to find. Maybe a turbo motor could find its way in there. [ddd[ddd

Love the photochops!! I had always thought a hood would make the car much more pleasing to the eye but that just confirms it! A top will likely end up happening as well. Thanks for taking the time to retouch the pix!

Sat a sbc oil pan in there for a size comparison. Also to see if it was possible lol

GM 60* V6 from a S10 or camaro from the late 80's early 90's is about the smallest RWD engine/trans that I can think of. Early s-10 versions should (my guess) have a carb and an ignition that that will will work without a computer.

I found this pic on the internet. The holley 2 barrel should give you an idea how small these motors are

80 malibu also has a v-6 in it... I think a v-6 would be the way to go ..

Flipper_1938 said:

GM 60* V6 from a S10 or camaro from the late 80's early 90's is about the smallest RWD engine/trans that I can think of. Early s-10 versions should (my guess) have a carb and an ignition that that will will work without a computer.

I found this pic on the internet. The holley 2 barrel should give you an idea how small these motors are

Click to expand...

I had forgotten about those. I had a couple of S10's, an 82 and a 84, both had this engine with a 2bbl carb and HEI with a 5 speed behind them. Crane used to make a nice camshaft for them, I think Edelbrock had a 4bbl intake, too. Pretty peppy engines in the S10 body, with a cam to wake them up they are real peppy. My experience with them is that some have an oiling problem with the rod bearings, while others will run 100,000 + miles with just regular maintenance. Buddy of mine had a Blazer he bought new, put 150,000 on it with no problems, My 84 S10 I built the engine twice because it spun #3 rod bearing both times at about 50,000 miles. Crapshoot.

If you get one of these, get the matching trans, as it has a different bolt pattern than the 90 degree or the small block V8.

small and peppy

I have a 94 geo tracker 4cyl and a 5 sp trans. Quite peppy and very dependable. Coming up on 350k miles. Motor was gone thru at 110k