Barn Find 1970 Opel Kadett 1900 L Wagon
If you research the Opel brand, it’s mind-boggling as to how many versions of the Kadett you’ll find. The Kadett “B”, which this car is based on, was hugely popular in Germany, selling 2.6 million units. You could buy these at your Buick dealer in the U.S. in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and yet you almost never see one of these today. Well, now you see one, a 1970 Kadett 1900 L wagon, located in Onalaska, Washington and available here on craigslist for $1,500 OBO.
The Opel Kadett “B” (which came after the “A”) was introduced in 1965 and was larger overall than its predecessor. Production would run through the 1973 model year. One of the many engines offered over its run was the 1897cc (aka 1900) Camshaft in Head (CIH) 4-cylinder engine. This little powerplant was good for about 90 hp. The basic car was known as just the Opel Kadett, but if you wanted a little nicer interior and some exterior bling, you went for the Opel Kadett “L” like the seller’s car.
The seller’s Kadett looks to have been sitting a long time and has layers of dust and dirt to prove it. The owner doesn’t help his case by the use of blurry, dark, and generally poor photos. From we can see is a 50-year-old car with its fair share of rust, particularly in the hatchback area. What is concerning to me is the pics showing the gas tank propped up on its side in the back. Is that really where they mounted them and with no protection from obstacles stored for transport? The seller says the interior is rough, so we’ll take his word for it. The car is said to be all there, and you can coax the engine to turn over, but it doesn’t run.
You might be surprised to know that General Motors owned Opel for 88 years, from 1929 to 2017. A brand that was as common in Europe as Chevy is in the States. And yet GM didn’t make a big effort to peddle the makeover here. If you found another of these Kadetts in really good condition, NADA says that $5,000 is top dollar. This one, however, would set you back a small ransom to restore it. Perhaps serving as a donor for parts is a more financially-viable alternative.
Auctions Ending Soon
1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1Bid Now6 hours$7,100
2003 Porsche Boxster SBid Now7 hours$6,250
1966 Lincoln ContinentalBid Now9 hours$500
2000 Jaguar XJ8LBid Now4 days$1,250
1977 Datsun 280ZBid Now5 days$275
Comments
Little crusty, tailgate area shows some concerns, says it’s a stick though. Decent little cars, transportation….
I won’t bore everyone with my Opel stories again (yay,,,knock it off) but had several and all good cars. While I said Germans have the best parts network, this may be a bit of a stretch. With as popular as the Opel was over the world, SOMEBODY got to have that left front brake caliper. It may cost you more than the car, but you gotta stop. Again, there wasn’t much choice then, and the Opel fit the bill for many, and it was still RWD, like a real car. If you’re into these, I doubt you’ll find one any better. Nobody kept an Opel once the front suspension rusted clear of the unibody. Might want to check that here, was a big problem with Opels. Still a neat find.
I went and looked at an Opel wagon (’66?)
that had an 1100 engine.It was in really good shape,
with an excellent interior,but wouldn’t get out of it’s
own way.I think they were asking $600 for it.
I passed on it,but my IDIOT redneck neighbor
ended up with it.One of his buddies ended up totaling
it by smashing it with his lifted F250.
We owned an Opel sport wagon and the engine threw a rod. No big deal the mechanic just bolted it back together no major damage done!
Quite interesting to observe that by 1970 this was the face on the US Kadetts – the provided link shows how Kadetts would look like in Europe ’65-’73. The
front here looks to be what was known as the Olympia in the old world.
https://www.finn.no/car/used/ad.html?finnkode=191645126
The one in your link is what was given to me by my music teacher for FREE! A 1970 bare bones coupe, white with a red vinyl interior. I learned to drive a stick in that car. The stick IIRC was long/tall like a skewer you might use to cook a marshmallow over a campfire.
Looks like a twin to the one in “Sugarland Express” remember the scene???
CL price reduced to $750!
This one has been on Cl forever…
Ubiquitous in the day up in the NE. A teens eye was good for spottin it’s sexy brother “the mini vette” (’68/73 GT) who w/13 inch tire seemed 100MPH @ 45…
I’d go for this 1 instead as I need a lill waggy for DD~
I wish I can recall the exact details, but this is my foggy memory.
A national car magazine (Car & Driver? R&T?, etcc) wrote a SCATHING review of this car, when new— about 1970, with suggested profanities throughout.
It was regarded as landmark in the magazine world, prompting lawsuits and advertiser boycotts, because up until then – the mags were lapdogs to say nice things to keep advertisers happy.
Somebody on here most know the full story. I just recall being fascinated by the bunisness story and firestorm it created when the magazine basically called the car a piece of crapola.
Here is an article about the controversy:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/the-opel-kadett-asassination-by-car-and-driver/
Fascinating story (to me at least)
i had one of these Wagon with auto, A/C, 1.9 engine, white with red interior. It was good hauler and decent MPG. The only problem i has with it was an engine overhaul-$1500 for a $500 car! I kept for four more years after that. It rusted out! I was a great servant. I was able to sell the engine, trans. & the A/C for $1000! Too bad they don’t make cars like these anymore!
I had a 1971 1900 I found out that it had been in an accident and should have been scraped. I drove it 80.000 miles on 4 cracked rings. it had at least 248.000 miles on it. I had it rebuilt using the original pistons and stock rings. The engine had got so hot in the accident that the cam got soft. There was not stock cam available so I used a toque cam. The last Kadett had about 4000.000 mile on the original motor.