Opel Prep for West Coast 2017 (Page 1 of 4)

A co-driver would have been nice. Thanks to nearly simultaneous transmission failures in my car and my co-driver's car just before the start of last year's rally, I ended up driving the rally in a different vehicle, solo. Going in a convoy worked nearly as well for navigational purposes but if you can talk someone into accompanying you, that's probably better overall.

Secret to success? Bring something interesting and semi-reliable (reliable enough that you spend more time driving than repairing, but not enough so you don't get points for creative repairs), and hit all the checkpoints. Late starts mean late arrivals which means missed checkpoints and later starts the next day. Most importantly, have fun.

The one on the east coast is actually powered by a Geo Metro three cylinder. I think it's even turbocharged now.

Okay, fine. If that's how it's got to be, I'm the two-stroke SAAB guy.

To add to what has been previously mentioned, try to book hotels and stuff ahead of time if you are traveling to the start of the rally. Or at the very least figure out where you are staying that night before you hit the road. We kinda went by the seat of our pants the first go around and it lead to a lot of headaches and frustration when we pulled into a random city absolutely exhausted from the drive and had to struggle to find a place to sleep.

Also, its worth it to book the "base camp" hotels each night if you can. Dragging a broken-ass car across the countryside is a lot more fun when there is a group of similarly foolish individuals to hang out with on the other side.

Codriver. For sure.

I was out there on my own and I'm pretty sure every day I lost at least 2 hours each day to "Sitting still desperately trying to get navigation to the next checkpoint" or "driving off into the wilderness because Waze/Google Maps decided that no signal meant they could just drop the route altogether" or simply checking/posting to Facebook. Having a second set of eyes and fingers to tend to the electronic needs of the event is pretty damned important even if you're not chasing points.

I also missed a checkpoint because the local parking situation was so positively atrocious that the only reasonable way to get it would have been to drop off a runner and orbit the block.

It's also tougher to get points for being funny/amusing on your own.

And then there's the "being so completely frazzled from driving" bit.

Book your hotels in advance. Preferably as soon as you know you're signed up and have the hotel list from Steve. Maybe even book some cancellable rooms before that. It's no bueno to get into a town where some other event is happening and discover that there isn't a single hotel room available. This happened to several teams in Memphis - there was some absurd Garth Brooks concert doubleheader thing  that literally took over the city. I actually walked into my hotel and the first thing the receptionist said was "Sorry we're full, so are all our other affiliates, and I don't have any other recommendations". "Ah, but I planned ahead and made a reservation" was the magic phrase. Some of the teams that didn't reserve in advance actually drove part/all the way to the next morning's first checkpoint to find a hotel.

If the last checkpoint of the day is a good place to eat dinner, make sure you find out when they close and plan appropriately. If you fail to do this, you will arrive 2 minutes after they close. After your GPS sends you on a 10 minute tour of driving the wrong way down one way streets.  I'm looking at you, Hank Williams Burger Bar.

When a meter maid sees you eyeing up an empty space and shakes his head at you, drive on.

I've got the Opel in the shop now, it's been in pieces for 3+ years, I found out that it needed a clutch on my trip back from the DMV. Put a new clutch in but never finished the reassembly.

I don't know much about carburetors so I'm going to be installing a wideband sensor into my crusty eBay header to make sure I'm tuning it reasonably safely.

Or: I don't know much about carburetors, so I might retrofit it with an Iron Duke TBI and Megasquirt.

The rusty 1-1/2" exhaust didn't excite me, nor did it mate with the eBay header, so I ordered a bend kit which was only available in 2-1/4".

Progress is being made on the exhaust system. I used a resonator from a '97 Ford Explorer in there, and it will be finished off with an unbranded (flowmaster knockoff?) muffler leftover from a friend's Mustang project.

I hope in six months this will be reasonably roadworthy and tested. Can't always get Opel parts in a pinch.

It came with a Solex, but I have a Weber from an Opel GT. I'm sure the Weber would do well, and I'll probably carry that as a backup.

I have all the Megasquirt gear laying around unused, seems like a neat thing to do with it, but I would need to make/modify the fuel system.

It might be an inch too much poke on the tailpipe, but I'll leave it there until I gouge my shin on it. Still need to finish one weld and install some hangers, then the exhaust should be done. Header and intake are bolted on solid. Need to find the carb gaskets which I should already have somewhere and temp up a fuel system. I have a new mechanical pump installed on the parts car that I could retrieve, but I have a mechanical pump delete plate and oil pressure safety switch already installed on this engine, so I might as well finish off the electric pump install. Waiting on a couple parts arriving tomorrow, but it should be nearly ready to start.

Does that thing have siamesed intake ports?

My spare engine looks suspiciously clean, maybe it's rebuilt... I thought this engine was seized, but it was actually the trans it was attached to that was seized. I've never run it, but maybe I should. I'll poke an endoscope into the cylinder and see if it has the high or low compression pistons. According to the stamps on the block, there should be a high compression engine in the Kadett now, and this "spare" engine should be low compression. Maybe if it's low compression I'll get a little TD03 and put some boost to it.

Mercedes thinks I should install these Chevy seats in the Opel.

It lives!

It's leaking coolant, no driveshaft, and the clutch cable isn't connected. But it runs!

https://youtu.be/V3A8GFUysyQ