My Mechanical Design Prof in college had a thing for these. He had a coupe, a wagon and that one that looked like a little corvette (can't remember the name right now) . This was in the mid '80s, and I thought he was nuts, thinking "how could he like these things, they're pieces of drek!" Now they just seem cool, like many old cars I used to hate.
Nope you should like it!
Very cool!
In reply to 4cylndrfury:
I'm thinking S2000 engine transplant, a little lowering, and Panasports with wider tires. 
You should throw an Ecotec into it and find some opel engine badges from Europe.
That little Corvette was the "GT," right? A friend of mine had one and a guy here at work recently restored one.
I always liked the Opel GT's and started a rotary swap project with one that never got completed. 
Im liking the ecotec idea, keep it continent correct
AN F22, K series, or SR20 would also be in my brainstorm soup. Panasports would be killer, but BBW never looks bad on anything...
I like the Manta better for a 2-door, but Kadetts are cool too. A friend of mine had a Manta in high school. It had a foot pump for the windshield washers. At 50 mph you could barely squirt your own windshield, but at a stop light you could hose down the car behind you.
Yeah, the GT was the midget Corvette one (some will argue that the C3 Vette was a big Opel GT). Friend of my father's had one when I was a kid. It was pretty good looking for a tiny underpowered car.
That may be the cleanest Opel Kadette on the planet. 
I used to have a '67 Opel Kadette station wagon, with the 1.1 liter engine. It was absolutely the rustiest car I ever owned - I couldn't use the driver's door because it would fall off the car if I opened it. Even so it was a fun little car.
OLIVERRRRRRRRRR!
chuckles wrote: That little Corvette was the "GT," right? A friend of mine had one and a guy here at work recently restored one.
Yes the mini-vette was an Opel GT. Which was still in production till GM ran itself into the ground. You have probably driven the new one.
but I am willing to bet it had a different badge on the hood. 
After driving a Solstice GXP daily for a couple years, I have to say that I don't really like the Ecotec (I know I'm probably in the minority here). In my car at least, it was a rough running, noisy (not good noise either) engine that sounded like a UPS truck. I'd stick with the S2000 engine myself, but to each his own.
What isn't there to like about old opels? 60's american styling scaled down to small car sizes with a bit of teutonic twist.
I'll take my Kadett in wagon form thank you
The first house my wife and I rented together in 91 or so had one of these in green with wood paneling next door. I asked that man every day if he was willing to sell. I have needed one since then.
In reply to ditchdigger:
Yeah, I'd prefer a wagon or a Manta myself, but I'm seriously tempted to make the trip to go look at this one. That's the root of my problem, and one of these days I'm going to confess it on this forum in hopes of getting some help. And I probably won't get any, since we are all inablers instead of therapists. 
ditchdigger wrote: I'll take my Kadett in wagon form thank you
That looks just like the one I used to own (although without all the rust.) In many ways it was a horrible little car, mostly because my particular car was so worn out, but I still liked it.
I am still kicking myself for not buy OldOpelGuy's Kadett a few years ago when he was moving. He wanted a pittance for it too. Stupid stupid stupid stupid.
Back in the day, when it was fashionable, I really wanted to build a pro-street Cadet wagon with a 340 mopar in it. I don't know why the mopar, but it just seemed right, and I'm not really a mopar guy. I had a pro-street Pinto wagon (with wood panelling!!!), and thought the Cadet would be cooler.
I wouldn't mod it, but I would buy it, drive it, sell it for what you paid in a few years, that's a seriously clean/cool old car, I'd rock it in a heart bump...
In reply to Raze:
You know, I'd do that too, but a couple years here in the rust belt and it would be junk. Someday I'm going to live somewhere where I can drive a cool car all year round.
What do you guys think this car is worth? I wonder what the reserve is and if it will sell or not. I've found that often cars like this don't sell because the reserve is too high, but who knows.
In reply to bravenrace:
You just need to park it in the garage for the winter How's NE Ohio these days, I lived up in Canton, worked in Akron for 6 months a few years ago, then I transferred back down south
I noticed the seller has flipped the air cleaner lid, to get that muscle car sound when he steps on the gas.
One thing I remember about that little 1.1 liter engine...I had to fix the starter in mine, and to get it out it was easiest to unbolt the engine mount and lift the engine slightly. I was able to lift the engine with one hand while I grabbed the starter with the other.
Even though this car has very low miles and is super clean, I would imagine the market is very limited...I suspect bidding won't reach the reserve price, whatever it may be.
In reply to Raze:
I have too many vehicles that require that already! What I need is a nice, year around daily driver.
How's NE Ohio? Well, the job market sucks, the roads are falling apart, and they are spending billions on freeway sound barriers that in a couple years will look hideous. I'll never figure out how they can spend a million dollars a mile for these fugly things to block sound for people that moved into their homes knowing that the freeway was there, and then they let the roads get so bad you need two feet of suspension travel just to drive on them. You know, they could just plant pine trees (duh).
Fortunately I have a secure job I like, but my CRX really doesn't like the roads. The weather has been good this summer, but hot and humid. It's starting to cool off recently. Last winter was a bitch. Really bad.
I live east of Akron in Tallmadge. I never intended to live here, but met my wife in college. She graduated a year before me, and got a job that she loved in Akron. She's still there 24 years later. So I ended up staying here so that I didn't pull her away from that job to one she might hate.
I kind of wish I had insisted on moving somewhere else way back then, but it's all done now!
This area isn't really that bad. There's a ton of culture and arts, but the constantly changing and unpredictible weather really screws with my sinuses. I am definitely retiring somewhere else. Just curious, where did you work?
Historic rally car... historic rally CAR... HISTORIC RALLY CAR!!111!!1!11
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