Opels driver their ‘his and her’ vehicles

Downtown Car & Bike Roll-ins conclude Sept. 12

NEW ULM -- Craig and Dolly Opel of New Ulm drove their favorite "his" and "her" cars to the New Ulm Car & Bike Roll-in on Minnesota Street Saturday.

Craig Opel has owned his 1940 Chevrolet Business Couple since 1969.

"My best friend owned it in high school in the early 1960s," he said. "My brother owned it after that until I bought it. It was owned and built as a hot rod by a parts manager at the Willmar Chevy dealer in 1958. The owner's dad owned a machine shop."

Opel said the Willmar owner installed a 283 Chevy engine, Isky cam, three two-barrel carburetors, posi-traction rear end, Corvette four-speed transmission, traction bars and original straight axle on the burgundy Chevy with black and white tuck and rolled interior.

"I was told it ran the quarter mile in 15 seconds," he said. "I converted it into a street rod in 1977 and had it painted Chevy truck Wheatland Yellow and stripes by Eckel. I added a 1972 Chevy Nova sub frame and new Chevy 350 crate engine."

More recently, Opel added a tilt-steering and an aluminum radiator with electric fan and Chevy S10 five-speed transmission.

Dolly Opel said she can't drive the 1940 Chevy because the front seat won't go forward far enough for her to reach the pedals, so she drove the Riptide blue 2024 Camaro convertible, believed to be one of 11 built with all the options.

"It's the last Camaro convertible. We found it online in Sauk Centre," said Craig Opel. "General Motors decided to discontinue the Camaro after 2024. They only produced 12,870 Camaros in 2024. They're thinking about bringing the Camaro back in a couple years."

The Opels retired in New Ulm after living is a number of places across the country including the Twin Cities, Texas, Maine, Ohio, and Connecticut.

Craig Opel said he began working raising hogs on a friend's farm while in high school.

"The hog barn was where the New Ulm Walmart store is now," he said.

Opel later worked in the corporate business world in a number of places across the country.

Roll-ins including DJ music conclude for 2026 from 3:30 to 8 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 12 on Minnesota Street. The Simply Made Right and Momma Maria's food trucks will be available. DJ music continues until 11 p.m. at the B & L Bar.

For more information, visit https://www.newulm.com.