Categories: AUTOMOTIVE

Vintage Opel GT: The Fuel Leaks Problem

The shady “curb-stoner” had his $1500 and I had my 1973 Opel GT in “as is” condition. The little Opel GT was the size of a modern Miata, had the styling of a Corvette, and fit me like a glove. Best of all, it was a blast to drive. After a few laps of the Kmart parking lot to get used to driving a stick shift, I unleashed a 15-year old Opel GT on an unsuspecting world. I went down every twisty road in the neighborhood and blasted around every corner in my youthful enthusiasm. Of course, my parents were following me home in the family sedan, so my enthusiasm had some practical limits. One of those limits was the amount of gas in the tank. When my parents bought me the car, it didn’t have much gas in the tank. In a car as fun as an Opel GT that had to be corrected. I stopped at a neighborhood gas station and filled it up all the way to the top so I could see the gas just below the gas cap.

Then, I drove home to park victoriously in the spot in front of our family’s townhome. It was a great moment. I jumped out and walked over to where my parents had parked the family car. Together we walked back to admire the low slung sports car that now graced our humble abode. Simultaneously, we noticed prodigious amounts of fluid dripping from the rear of Opel GT’s curvaceous body. What was it? I felt it my hands. At first, it seemed like it was flowing like water. Then the drips slowed. I sniffed my hands and took a big step backwards. It was gasoline. It had dripped from somewhere near the gas tank, near the turn signals and brake lights and hot exhaust. And, yet, I was not original recipe or extra crispy.

It was a scary moment. Once we were convinced that the car had leaked all that it would, we opened the windows and gave it an hour or so to evaporate. Then, we took the plywood that separated the fuel tank and spare tire area, pulled out the spare tire, and I crawled into a gasoline vapor filled space to look for the problem. It turned out that the fuel tank vent lines were all dry rotted and cracked and had prodigiously leaked the gasoline. We took out a section of hose and went to the auto parts store to find similarly sized fuel lines. Then, I spent the rest of the evening sweating in a confined space, swapping out fuel lines, and inhaling regular unleaded. It was miserable and I was fortunate to be skinny college kid. But, once it was done and once the little Opel had air out thoroughly, I could zoom around the neighborhood again. I’d like to revise my personal academic history and blame my horrible performance in Calculus classes on my Opel GT, but I remember being a pedestrian when those advanced classes were kicking me around.

Since this is a real and bona fide safety problem, anyone buying an old Opel GT should be sure to check these fuel lines and replace them as a precaution. I’d also suggest that other old cars may not be immune to these sorts of problems. Since fuel vapors can cause cancer, brain damage, and plenty of other health problems, this is an area where an abundance of caution and preventive maintenance is important. Fortunately, fuel lines are relatively inexpensive to replace. If you are the new owner of a vintage Opel GT, the Opel Forum at OpelGT.com has some important threads dedicated to this fuel tank vent line issue and the necessary repairs.

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Once I made the necessary repairs, I was able to return to roaring around the neighborhood. However, fuel problems with my Opel GT returned to haunt me a couple of times. Once I was blasting down the rural roads surrounding the University of Florida and the car developed a little burble. It often did this just to remind me not to drive like an idiot. I pulled over, got out and inspected the car. I didn’t see anything in the engine compartment. But, when I looked under the car, I noticed that there appeared to be some fuel dripping from a narrow hose under the car. I took it to a mechanic who specialized in decrepit sports cars for college kids and professors. Although a loose spark plug was the cause of my burble, the mechanic replaced the remaining fuel lines on my Opel GT for a very reasonable price.

This allowed me to continue zooming about in my old Opel GT until graduation and beyond. I didn’t have any more fuel problems until my first week at my first “real” job. My Opel GT seemed to be leaking fuel from the fuel pump underneath the engine. At least, I saw gasoline dripping from the pump one drop at a time. Of course, as a newly minted college graduate, I was imbued with confidence that can only come from a B.A. in Liberal Arts and Sciences. I simply ordered a new fuel pump. Of course, it was just a tad taller than my old fuel pump. But, no matter, I just swapped it right in and smugly thought I was a mechanical genius. Yet, the few extra millimeters of pump height were just enough to bring the fuel pump into contact with my rack and pinion assembly.

On my second or third day of work, I was invited to an important “all hands” meeting at my new employer held at a hotel just down the street. I was one of the last people to leave the office. I walked out to my car alone. When I got down to my Opel GT in the parking garage, I was shocked. My Opel GT sat alone in a huge puddle of gasoline. The fuel pump had ruptured and allowed much of the gasoline in the tank to leak out. I didn’t know what to do. I called my dad. Finally, he arrived and we opened up the car, put it in neutral, and just pushed it far out and far away from the puddle. Then, I got in, said a little prayer, started it, and drove it to a nearby mechanic’s shop. I parked the old Opel GT on an incline to keep some gas in the tank. It was late and we were exhausted by the time we got home.

But, the worst was yet to come. While I was able to drop by and arrange for Opel GT repairs the next morning, I had ruined my only dress shoes and didn’t have the time to go get any new ones. My only pair was soaked with gasoline. Of course, I thought the smell would disappear. But, I was wrong. I ended up wearing the shoes to work for the rest of the week. My new co-workers thought I was weird, wondered why I smelled of gasoline, and avoided me like the plague. People asked me about the “gasoline shoes” for years. I really began to wonder if my Opel GT would be up to the rigors of a daily commute.