Kadettenclub!

Ha.  I guess if a Kadett is dynoed in the forest and nobody posts on the forum about it, did it even happen?

Car is a legit joy to drive now.  Can't wait to get a track day in soon to see what needs to get adjusted due to the 20 new HP.

In reply to alex_vendler :

It happened. I can verify it. Power was Uuuge. PERFECT dyno session! Everybody knows it.

...anyway, I have some pics of your recent steering upgrades too. Stay tuned for another exciting forum post.

Since I'm the official historian of Team Opile, here I am to document the momentous occasion of the steering column finally being non-terrible!

The Kadett has one of those annoying steering setups where the entire column and steering wheel is skewed at a jaunty angle, such that the right side of the steering wheel was a few inches closer to the driver than the left side. The column was basically straight and pointed inwards towards the centerline of the car, and it intersects the rack at that same angle. The pinion gear of the rack is angled also. It's all really annoying.

Alex set about working on a fix for this, since the one universal complaint that everyone had when driving the Opile was "fix the dang crooked steering" (after "OMG this is slow"). Of course the answer is always Miata, so an NA column was procured and schemes were hatched. Alex removed the pinion shaft from the Rallye parts car, took some measurements of the stock column length and NA Miata column length, and worked out where an additional joint would need to be added.

I don't remember exactly what he did, and neither one of us took pictures, but suffice it to say that the Miata column now bolts to the cut-off end of the original Opel column. The thin steel flex joint, which Ferdinand Opel used in lieu of a rag joint, has been kept. The Miata U-joints attach aft of that now and the firewall pierce point has been shifted outwards. The column used to pass through between the brake and throttle pedals, but now lands between the clutch and brake.

He made some quick adapters to bolt the column up to the under-dash area, and boom - instantly better steering. The column is straight, the old thin-rimmed wheel is gone and a smaller diameter aftermarket wheel is in its place. Alex made a custom horn button on the lathe, and the most impressive thing might be the fact that the stalk switches all work. So now the Opile has turn signals, headlights, wipers, horn, and ignition switches all from a Miata. There's a key now! It's like a real car.

With the amazing newfound power - literally 76hp to the wheels - and the much more natural steering ergonomics, it's now easy to hustle this thing around our industrial side street "test track." It burns the inside tire at will. Terror, your name is Opel Kadett.

The Miata stuff attaches just to the right of the "flexible steel ring coupling," using some manner of welded-up adapter dongus. Forgive us for not photodocumenting properly. We regret the omission.

The old toggle switch mounting holes on the dash have been rendered redundant...well, all but the fuel pump selector switch that is.

Oh, and just because, here are a few pics of the rear end looking fetching with its newly applied Kadett script badge, and reinstated rear bumper.

As someone who has a 67 keimencoupe rallye I love reading all you guys have done with your cars and the lemons racing.  Just curious for the Brazilian overhaul what ballpark were you in cost wise with machining and parts ?  Trying to weigh beefing up the 1.1 sr I have or shoehorning in a LNF from a solstice gxp that's sitting in the garage.  

dutch32 said:

As someone who has a 67 keimencoupe rallye I love reading all you guys have done with your cars and the lemons racing.  Just curious for the Brazilian overhaul what ballpark were you in cost wise with machining and parts ?  Trying to weigh beefing up the 1.1 sr I have or shoehorning in a LNF from a solstice gxp that's sitting in the garage.  

Glad to be of service!

Alex can chime in with detailed costs, but I believe it was less than $500 for the FULL BRAZILIAN. That's used pistons/rods, new bearings, new rings, cylinder boring, crank grinding, and balancing. I'm about to do another one here as well so I'll document everything. The engine, I mean!

Any reasonably sized 4-cylinder, like an Ecotec, will be a tight fit in a Kadett.

In reply to Duder :

Thanks !  And yes I know the 2.0 turbo will be tight. It was probably going to be cut out inner fenders and tube the front end with coil overs and a new trans tunnel.  That's why I was asking about you guys' cost for the Brazilian.  There isnt a ton out there about the 1.1 performance wise.  So when I saw you guys racing and upgrading them I've been following along.  I have a spare 1.9 and front subframe suspension etc from my 70 kadett rallye but there isnt a ton more potential there.  

In reply to dutch32 :

How about a V6? A 60-degree mill like the 3100s might be able to fit in the shock towers- not nearly as powerful as the ecotec, but 170 horsepower and 200lb+ feet of torque in one of these would be pretty absurd.

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

Yea I've thought about it but I have the 2.0 turbo and 5 speed (ecu,tps)  all sitting in my garage and it's the same basic engine they used in the euro spec opel gt in 2007-2009.  And fighting between making it a time attack style car with the 2.0. Or a vintage racer with the original motor hopped up.  Just trying to figure which gets it on the road quickest and is the most potential fun 

$500 is about right for the "Brazilian" bottom end. The head with Honda valves and springs was a grand but that could be much cheaper depending on your abilities and access to tools.  The even larger valves from a Honda k engine will fit I think and that would max the potential of the head. 

There is quite a bit more power on the table here with my motor even. Next move will be a digital ignition so I can have a more accurate timing curve. My cam is still very mild as well.  I'm betting that over 80 whp will be an easy goal to reach. 

My car is weighed down with a Lemons legal 0.125 wall cage and 16 gallon fuel cell. Also, because Lemons, I have to run "giant" 15" wheels and they are heavy. Thing is, even with all that, it's still very fun on the street and feels just right for what it is. A Kadett with a thinner wall 4 point rollbar and 13" lightweight wheels would be fabulous with 80 whp.  I'm betting you could get it to 1500lbs with a bit of work.  So I guess my vote is keep the stock lump and go Brazilian. 

Watch this space because I have a few suspension and brake upgrades coming soon. 

In reply to alex_vendler :

Right now I have a set of vintage 13 inch american racing libres on it.  But it sits much higher than your car.  Only potential issue would be lowering it on the 13 inch tires as to get it low( like yours) im not sure if you could do it without shackles on the front spring and that would hit the smaller diameter wheels.  I will have a cage aswell so I can compete in the vintage class races around here (ohio).  And I will definitely keep watching for suspension updates!  The transverse leaf makes the whole suspension a bit different to mess with.  

On the topic of swaps, the fore-to-aft length of any common engine will likely be the major fit issue. The engine bay and inner fenders are wide enough, but the nose is really short on these cars between the firewall and radiator. If you tucked the radiator under the slam panel it would give a few more inches but that would be just as much metalwork, or more, as cutting a relief into the firewall I think.

I did some quick measurements last year and I think a Miata 1.6L would fit, just barely. The 1.8 is longer but I don't remember by how much. A Ford 1.0L EcoBoost 3-cylinder might be cool to play around with if you could find a wrecked Fiesta parts car. BMW/Mini has a turbo three now too in the latest generation Cooper. Those are both transverse though and you'd have to get creative with engine mounts and bellhousing adapters.

I'm shooting for about 85 whp / 100 bhp with my upcoming TurboBrazilian build. I would vote for playing around more with the 1.1 before you give up on it!

There are a few options for lowering springs available. Check Opel GT Source. Also, you can use lower ball joints with a longer pin to lower the car. Finally, post pictures! 

I'm going to try re arching and adding tot the rear leaves to see if I can make a set that are stiffer and lower.  Rear of these cars is too soft. 

In reply to alex_vendler :

I will definitely do that.  I haven't been making much progress of late but am hoping to get moving now.   I've gotta finish getting my 70 kadett rallye together for an event at the end of this summer then the 67 is up to bat.  I have a spare front crossmember and everything that hooks to it from a 1.9 car so I may stick that under the 1.1 in the 67 if it all lines up. 

In reply to Duder :

i think seeing what you guys have done im deffinitely going to give it a crack messing with the ohv brick. and see if i can get it close to what you guys have.  i dont need it to be a rocket ship but id like to have a bit of fun driving it like an idiot. though if i start hooning it i may have to try and find a spare 1.1 and head etc. Pic is the 67 the day i brought it home. 

Duder if that rallye had disc brakes in the front and the rear leaf springs and axle are in good shape then you guys should swap them into the race car.  If it is a 67 rallye with disc brakes then it is a later year production car which had a stiffer (read "much" ) set of leaf springs and it should have 3.89 or 4.11 rear gears in that axle.  May limit top end but there's not alot of top end to be had with a 4 speed and you might aswell get to whatever your top end is a bit quicker 

Axle swap is next in line on the race car. With the new 7250 rpm redline and 205 50 15 tires, it's geared to go about 120 mph right now and that's totally stupid. With the Ralley's 411 gear that will drop to a bit and make it better for sure. 

I did not know the rear spring rates in the Rallye were stiffer. That's good news.  I'll report back when I get into it. 

In reply to alex_vendler :

The early rallye in 67 had 4 wheel drums the later ones in 67 had front disc and a stiffer leaf spring in the rear. I'm not certain of which axle ratio it is because I believe you could get either.  I think the L kadett had 3.18 or 3.44 gears stock but can't remember for sure.  Regarding the k series honda valves they're a 35 MM intake and 30 mm exhaust.  I was asked around and was told by a company that builds race motors from these to go with 34 mm intake and 30 mm exhaust.  But I'm not sure stem length or diameter for the k series 

In reply to Duder :

Instead of a turbo have you given any thought to one of the small superchargers like an AMR 500.  Since there really wont be a ton to be gained up top and to avoid the lag issues. The supercharger might be fun for a street car those AMR's can be set up to run from 6-15 psi dependent upon pulley used and are designed for small (1.0-2.2 liter) engines.

dutch32 said:

In reply to Duder :

Instead of a turbo have you given any thought to one of the small superchargers like an AMR 500.  Since there really wont be a ton to be gained up top and to avoid the lag issues. The supercharger might be fun for a street car those AMR's can be set up to run from 6-15 psi dependent upon pulley used and are designed for small (1.0-2.2 liter) engines.

I'm sure a small supercharger could be fun on one of these, but I'm kind of a turbo guy... in so many words. I've worked as an engineer for "one of the major turbo manufacturers" for the past 15 years. The turbo I selected for the 1.1L is a teeny tiny little guy that should respond very well on one of these engines. Plus it should make more power for the same boost as a small blower. It's not exactly this one but it's very close... catalog page link

dutch32 said:

Duder if that rallye had disc brakes in the front and the rear leaf springs and axle are in good shape then you guys should swap them into the race car.  If it is a 67 rallye with disc brakes then it is a later year production car which had a stiffer (read "much" ) set of leaf springs and it should have 3.89 or 4.11 rear gears in that axle.  May limit top end but there's not alot of top end to be had with a 4 speed and you might aswell get to whatever your top end is a bit quicker 

I've already nabbed the disc brake setup from the Rallye for my red L. The race car already has discs, and Alex has upgrade ideas there too. But the Rallye for sure will donate all of its useful running gear. We may save the engine and trans as spare cores, but the ultimate fate of the body shell hasn't been decided yet.

Here's what I've found so far regarding valves. Alex used the Honda B16 valves in his head build, but had to shorten the stems and have new grooves ground into them for the keepers. I need to measure some of the stock Opel valves for length because I haven't been able to find that in any of our documentation.

In reply to Duder :

Makes sense just figured I'd bring that up I've been thinking about that little blower just because it seems a little less complicated and you can pick them up for under $200.  

In reply to dutch32 :

No worries, thanks for the tip! That AMR 500 looks like a cool little machine for a small engine like these. Apparently it's made by Aisin, maybe for a Kei car?

In reply to Duder :

From what I've found it's for Subaru Kei cars there's also a 300 cfm version.  When you are boost pressure how if at all do you plan on reinforcing gaskets etc that weren't designed for higher pressures?