raiders garage - Page 2 - Snowmobile Forum: Your #1 Snowmobile Forum

DSMtuner · 12-23-2004, 02:56 PM

Nice Opel and unique sleds, but I have to say, I don't agree with doing a 125mph speed run in traffic. Just think about what happens if you blow a tire or loose controll.. At least do it on a empty street at night. Just my 2c, not trying to be a dick.

ArcticKid · 12-23-2004, 06:09 PM

Hey Raider,
Got a pic of the back of your car? It looks sweet

Raider44TT · 12-23-2004, 08:52 PM

DSMtuner, i agree with you, not the brightest thing to do, but in the fall, there are way way too many deer to attempt at night. if not for the brand new tires, or the antiswaybars it never woulda been possable, let alone even try. no offense taken, as i look back now and feel like homer "DUH, stupid"

heres a pic of the GT right after completion

Raider44TT · 12-23-2004, 08:58 PM

oh yeah, the GT has blue dots in the tail light lenses now, looks wicked at night.

heres a engine shot of the rebuilt 2.0 engine. the origional blocks are pretty beefy, and you can bore then .090 over, bore the small end of the rods out to accept chevy wristpins, and use flattop 265 V8 chevy pistons to up the displacement from 1.9 to 2.0. i had a weber on this motor too but got to playin around a little too hard one night and missed 3rd gear, spun a main bearing and now have the origional low comp engine back in there with all the horsepower mods. the 2.0 was stock minus bore and weber carb, this origional low compression motor would have smoked it now.

i have some before pics of this car too, and a exhaust clip if anybody care to hear, would probably be easier to email than to post, i know we can post videos on the opel forums but not sure about here.

G-ForceJunkie · 12-23-2004, 09:03 PM

Nice stuff man!

now you just gotta drop a 5.0 in that Opel...

Raider44TT · 12-23-2004, 09:24 PM

now your talking ford stuff cuz i know you dont mean the 305 chevy, as thats almost as bad as a ford to this GM boy. too much cutting to fit V8s into these cars, most who start V8 swaps never finish. cars never handle well due to way too much weight in the front vs. the rear, rear axle explodes, body twists, brakes become inadequate, ends up costing over 10,000 to make it all work. alot of people like doing the 2.8/T5 swaps, and the 3.4 camaro/firebird engines with the T5, as they are 60 degree V blocks, and fit with minimal cutting, plus there is lots of aftermarket support for these engines, where as opel is very limited, can be costy too if you dont have the right connections.

i can scan this little cutout from hotrod magazine where a man by the name of Ron baker put a ZZ502 big block into a GT with a full tubular chassis, 570 HP. sounds like a 9 second car to me!!!

Raider44TT · 01-06-2005, 11:56 AM

i have some pictures of it in the sunlight, they show up alot better with this camera in the daylight.

Raider44TT · 01-06-2005, 11:58 AM

the raiders "footprint" left in the snow

Raider44TT · 01-06-2005, 12:00 PM

trying to show a individual track from back

Raider44TT · 01-06-2005, 12:02 PM

trying to show individual track from front

Raider44TT · 01-06-2005, 12:04 PM

a better interior shot of the sled showing seats, sides, and the floors

rgoers · 01-06-2005, 12:26 PM

That Opel is a blast from the past! Haven't seen one around where I live in many, many years. My only comment on the speedo shots is "dude, you're red-lining it!"

I remember when the raiders came out. I thought they were pretty cool, but always wondered what would happen if you tip it. No chance to bail out in one of those...

Raider44TT · 01-06-2005, 04:53 PM

that poor opel has been through hell, luckily they have a factory under rated redline, its seen 6,700 before, the valvetrains give out around 7K, stock bottom end is good for short bursts to 8K. they're nifty cars, lots of fun.

as for the raider, if you can managed to roll a raider, your among THE craziest snowmobilers. at 40 you can turn to a full lock and it just whips around the way you came from without lifting a ski or track. in one instane, i tipped it on its side 2 years ago, going around a 180 degree curve ( oblonged oval trail basically) and i hit a big patch of ice and slung the rear end sideways till it dug in the sod and flopped it on the side. i was probably lucky to not get hurt, and luckier to not scratch the sled anymore than it already is. hard to tip, probably will never do it, but if you do you probably will be hurt as you had said.. thing i like most about it is the way hit handles and how warm you stay, nothing like snowmobiling in a sweatshirt, jeans, tennis shoes with a nice helmet and gloves.