IcemanG17

I just got back from racing with "Team Tiny Vette" in thier 1969 Opel GT painted to match a C6R, complete with stickers!

Since it last ran in 1985 and had parking tickets from 1982 still in the car along with copious amounts of various animal feces....it was a LONG build and I was very lucky to be offered a seat by the team owners....

It was quite different to race an 1700lb car with 85whp compared to the 928 which is 2800lbs and 195whp...but the car is TINY...you could thread the needle in little tiny spots I would never attempt in the 928....it was a true momentum car and you had to PLAN your passes WAY in advance....since just barely lifting the throttle would ruin any plans of a pass....

Fridays practice went well...the car handles well with good brakes and okay power.... I went out 1st on Saturday and was doing pretty good right up until the 3rd gear synchro let go and locked into 3rd gear....luckily we were able to change the trans in just over 1 hour...I have NEVER seen a trans SO small.... After a driver change we had some problems with penalties and the day ended on a down note...

Sunday was MUCH better.....I went out third, the car ran great all day and we did not get a single penalty! We managed to finish 6th in our class and 68th overall (120 cars)...which isn't bad since we only really raced for 1 full day...

While I do have my own opinions about how "penalties" and "BS" laps are doled out at Lemons, which is why I will not race the 928 anymore.....I did have a great time as a driver for a different team.....not being a team owner-captain reduced my stress level so much that I could relax, drive and have fun....I am also quite proud of my FTD for the weekend in the car...

dp35

I know where there's a Yamaha R1 motor that's just dying to power that awesome little beast.

IcemanG17

THAT WOULD RULE................................ Hmm...you would be a great addition to the team too..... since motorcycle engined cars always fly through BS it might work.....tempting....VERY tempting...... send me an email!!!!!

BTW metronome or the Honda z600 weren't there this weekend???

race911

Glad it all worked out pretty well! Sorry I had to leave in a rush after I got the 993 loaded up, but I had to return a phone call..............and we know how THAT goes at Thunderhill with ATTs lack of cellular service.

But about bike engines. Can't imagine a 1L Yamaha would work at all at that weight, considering the 1.3L I've got in the Radical hardly pushes it down the front straight with ~1400lbs.

analogmike

I always liked the Opel GT. Had an Opel Manta until someone stole it and rolled it off a cliff. I popped out the windshield and drove it home with goggles. Someone bought it for parts (engine mainly). That car had the worst traction ever, truly one-wheel drive, even with no power it would spin one wheel badly.

mark kibort

thats a great looking car! they should slam it and put that motorcycle engine that was powering that "honda or mini" ? last time we were there. you can easily get about 125rwhp out of those hot bike engines now.

IcemanG17

the easiest "cheater" answer is to install a miata engine and trans.....get a decent 1.8L 5 speed that puts down 115-125whp and the car would be MUCH faster.....the problem is it would get killed at BS inspection..... Right now it dyno's 87whp-102 torque.....no sense spinning past 5500 since it just falls flat on its face past that....

Still it was very interesting driving it compared to the 928....I would say the 928 is far easier to drive...mostly due to its automatic and power....so you don't really need to "plan" passes...and the 928 rarely got passed....maybe once per hour....vs every few minutes in the Opel.... I would say 1 hour in the Opel is about as tiring as 2 hours in the 928...but it was much hotter this weekend vs the last race in the 928....

However the Opel is just a super cool car.....