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Pigeon-Rat - Opel gambler build

1966 Opel rekord mounted to 1990 Nissan pathfinder.
Overview Gallery Discussion
ashman said:
Had a busy day today so didn't get as much done as I'd hoped, but got some of the front end torn down.
View attachment 301538

Noticed a little weirdness with the accessories in this truck.
View attachment 301539
The a/c compressor and the power steering pump are mounted on opposite sides, then the lines routed back to the other side. Seems like a dumb layout. :confused::dunno:
Click to expand...


Probably because that engine is mostly used in right hand drive cars , and is just adapted to left hand.
 
So, this build has a name now. After explaining what I was doing, Amber says, "so, you're making a pigion-rat!"

... um, I guess I am.
QAxJWP5.jpg
 
I'm confused, is it "pigeon-rat" or "pigion-rat"? :what:



:haha:
 
ashman said:
Had a busy day today so didn't get as much done as I'd hoped, but got some of the front end torn down.
View attachment 301538

Noticed a little weirdness with the accessories in this truck.
View attachment 301539
The a/c compressor and the power steering pump are mounted on opposite sides, then the lines routed back to the other side. Seems like a dumb layout. :confused::dunno:
Click to expand...

Way too organized get chopping!!!!
 
20190514_194228.jpg
Finally had time to pull the opel in and start tearing it apart.

Not sure if you guys realized this baby is deluxe!
20190514_201323.jpg
:cool:

20190514_203611.jpg
Interior all cleaned out.

Next up was taking off the fenders. What a pain in the ass! There were multiple bolts across the top, front, bottom, and up the A-pillar. There was even one up behind the dash. Even after finding all of those, there was one more bolt I couldn't figure out how to get, so I had to cut through it here.
20190514_222313.jpg
The cowl is part of the firewall and doesn't appear to come off. I still have no idea how I'm supposed to access that bolt but at least it's off.

20190514_222958.jpg

I ran out of time at that point. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have time to remove the other fender and the doors, then start bracing it up for cutting. I'm not sure if I'll have to pull the drivetrain or if I'll be able just cut the body off of it yet.
 
I had too many other chores to deal with today, so I didn't get to work on the opel at all, but I did make a nice discovery.
I'm hoping to be able to use the current headlights to keep it looking "stock" if I can, but the chances of them still working seemed remote.
20190515_220010.jpg

However, nice surprise, the lenses are just covers.
20190515_220024.jpg

The lenses bolt to the front of the car, and the headlight housing bolts to the back of the lens. This means I can put whatever bulb I feel like using behind those lenses and hopefully get nice bright lights, that look like stock headlights. :saweet:
 
I got to work on it for a few hours tonight and made some good progress.
20190516_220722.jpg
I got the fenders and doors removed, along with the steering column and everything removable in the dash.

Tomorrow I'll start bracing it up. I'm thinking like this:
opel bracing.jpg

Initial cutting should be started Saturday. I'm thinking like this:
opel cuts1.jpg

and
opel cuts2.jpg

At the moment I'm planning on leaving a good amount of the floor in the back with the body. The opel is about 12" longer behind the rear wheels than the pathfinder, so I want to leave some extra floor until I decide where I want to have them mate up.

I'm also going to try to keep some of the structure around the engine bay so I can maintain the grill area for now. I fully expect to have to cut it off once I try to mate them together, but I want to see where things land before I decide where the cuts need to be.

That reminds me, I'll need to add a brace along the bottom of the front wheel wells in order for that to work. :thinking: Meh, if it doesn't work out, I'll just cut the grill support area out and add it back to the pathfinder as needed.
 
I'm hopeful that I can pull the body off of the floor and leave the drivetrain intact so that it can still be rolled out of the way.
 
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