Rallye ‘Round: 1968 Opel Kadett Rallye 1900
The machine has yet to be invented that can measure my desire for a 1968 Opel Kadett Rallye 1900. It’s really the car that got me started on my long and expensive journey on the road of loving unusual small cars. This example is listed on eBay with a current bid price of just over $1,000, but the reserve isn’t met, of course. This car is located in Salina, Kansas so hopefully the shipping charges would be fairly reasonable for buyers in almost any area of the US.
There is such a cool, rugged-but-good look to this car, in my opinion. I promise not to use the word patina after this one time. I’m not a fan of the red painted wheels, but that’s easy to fix. The body looks great but there is some rust to deal with. In some of the photos I can see rust holes underneath, which makes me worry that there’s a fair amount hidden in the cracks and crannies. The seller does mention that this “car was pulled from a field in Texas with an excellent patina and the usual rust areas.” This car was “pulled from a field in Texas”, which can be both good and bad, preservation-wise.
But, man, what a car! Opels were sold through Buick dealers in the US and at the time they were the second best selling import after the Volkswagen Beetle. That’s pretty impressive at a time when Japanese cars were just starting to flood the US market. I think that it’s fairly coincidental that another hot little Opel is being sold at Buick dealers, but it’s badged as a Buick Regal.
The seller says that this car has “been partially pieced together and is in running and driving condition – although it is still very much a work in process. Never meant to be a show car restoration, this is a fun little weekend driver to show off at the local small town cars & coffee.” I would want this car to be a jewel box so that means stripping it out, doing the bodywork and paint, mechanicals, interior, and every other detail to make it look and function like new. Of course, in doing that, unless a person does 90% of the work him/herself, they would be upside down in no time. But, when you’re dealing with one of your dream cars, the monetary value doesn’t usually play as big of a role as the satisfaction of doing the job right and ending up with with a vehicle that you absolutely love. You can see the rust on the floors and in other areas by looking at the photos provided, and kudos to the seller for providing so many photos.
AC!! I did not expect to see that. The seller says that this is a dealer-installed AC unit. This engine is the 1.9L inline-four with a touch over 100 hp. That’s a very decent amount of power for a car this size, and here’s a YouTube video showing a similar car in action. The price of this car when it was new would have been around $15,000 in today’s money, give or take. Oddly enough, that’s probably what a nice one is worth today, so if you can do a lot of the work yourself, this would be one fun little project. This auction also includes a 1969 Opel Kadett L parts car. Are there any Opel Kadett Rallye 1900 fans out there?
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Comments
What a dream little car. Yes, I share your affection for these as well. No, I don’t need another project! Good luck resisting this one, Scotty…I predict you lose if it stays inexpensive enough!
Don’t forget these mini clunkers reappeared as rebadged Isusu’s in the 80’s.
Not exactly. After German-built Opels priced themselves out of the mid-70s market, GM/Buick stuck Opel labels on Isuzus which shared the same body shell as a down-market Opel.
The 1900 which followed this Kadett was a much better and more modern car.
My first car! Well, not quite as mine was a new 1968 Kadett fastback and it was the basic bare bones model. If I recall correctly it had a 1,100cc engine of about 50hp but man did I lust after one of these which arrived at the dealer just a couple of months after dad bought me the 68. Drove it like it was stolen: a couple of clutches and a set of tires in the first year. I bought a 55 BelAir to restore and replace the Kadett.
This (well, one exactly like it) was the car my dad had when I a young child. He sold it in 1974 to buy a brand new Chevy Monza, which was a far inferior car in my then 5 year old eyes.
A neighbors son had an Opel 2 door wagon the same color gold as this car
I rode in it many times. Peppy and easy on gas. 1972-74.
I was offered one just like this,in Gold –
for FREE,but I passed on it.Why?
….tell me about your mother.
I had a car like this in the mid-70’s only red and black. It really was a fun, dependable car, but several shortcomings. For a 1.9 it had not much power, didn’t get the best mileage, sorely needed a 5 speed. The Solex carb was nothing but trouble and I refitted it with a Pinto carb, with better results. I can’t imagine this motor turning an A/C compressor, and with the belt off, it’s probably stuck anyway. The foot pedals were funky, and the seats were pretty miserable, as well. The “rallye lights”, while cool looking, did little, if nothing. The front stubs for the front suspension tend to rust as this is a unibody. I had several Opels and all were good cars. There were better sports sedans out there. Couldn’t come close to a 2002. Great find.
Omg I had one of these, White with a red gut 1.5 later changed it out for 1.9, I had a blast with it, It reminded me of a min. Nova, Be live or not it was a chick magnet lol
Omg i had the same Opel same color combo and yes it was a chick magnet. I also took out the 1.5 to a 1.9 and your going to laugh my name is Mike also. As i drove this lil Kadett it reminded me of a 68 Nova i had a lot of good times in her with my girlfriend.
I’m only about a hour and a half from Salina, Kansas and I wouldn’t make the trip if he gave it to me, never liked these when new, just a boring econo box of the times. JMHO take it or leave it.
I drove through Salina in mine in 1970 on my road trip/move out west from Milwaukee and then a swing down to Ft. Lauderdale for a job. A guy went past me, turned around and came back to give me a 6 pack of Coors beer, only sold in Colorado then. I thanked him and continued west out of Salina in my green Opal Kadet Rallye
My 1st car was a 1968 Opel Kadette Rallye. Silver with matte black hood and stripes. With the 1.9 engine revving and stirring the stick shift you could persuade yourself you were going fast! Mine had a dealer-installed A/C, which I took out. Still have fond memories. It was just different enough that we were a match…
my first one was a 1968 fastback with the 1.9 l. great car, great gas mileage, got me through college, put 125k on the clock before buying a orange 1971 rallye, then a 1974 Manta.
I almost was rear ended by one of these in wagon form. The driver was not going to stop in time. So he cut the wheel to the right and barrel rolled it down a small inbankment. The driver popped out almost before the car came to a complete rest. Picked up the windshield/weatherstrip assy. that had popped out. And stuffed it back through the hole so that it was resting on the dashboard, passenger seat and hood. Asked our help to help push him back up onto the road. As he drove away I noticed police officer uniforms in the back seat.
The doors opened and closed and it looked like the windshield could have been popped back in. One tough little car!
Australia similar years had the Torana XU1GTR 160hp 202 fantastic car very similar shape
My younger brother had this car in a red color in the early 70’s, he routinely ran over new Vega GT’s with it. He also put up a pretty good show against a Canadian who was running a Ford Lotus GT and often ate up Mercury Capri 2 litres and Porsche 912’s. Little brother was a Holy Terror on the roads and I soon got used to him passing me in my Mazda 1800. Within 30 seconds he’d be a small blip far off in the horizon,all but vanishing completely. He ran a modified Opel G.T. manifold & carb on it and an Ansa exhaust he salvaged off a God Only Knows What ! In later years he terrified many with his Porsche 914-6 and a variety of Alfa Romeos, Scary Kid !
My Father was a BUICK Dealer for a long time in Baytown Texas and was one of the first to carry Opel’s I remember trying to put one on a Bear front end machine in 1961 it was set for Buicks big body. HA HA not a good idea we had to get a wrecker to lift it out! PS DAD was not a Happy Camper!!!PLEASE keep the Barn Finds coming I would miss looking at them every Morn and My wife would not have anything to complain about(I have brought more than one home to Ogden Utah)!!!
my 70 Rallye
Wonder if the elephant from the adds is still around???
From a couple of angles.
Looks like a mini 72 chevelle.
These are rare in Europe, a long time since I´ve seen one, and this looks complete and original. How you´d want it.
They were good rally cars in their day, not Escort fast (never developed as far). Rally prep might be a way to go with this car, easy to tune and light.
Where these sold New in the states Holden used that engine in the 1974 Torana but they were an abject failure they had them manufactured in Asia so they suffered severe reliability problems
Seen a few of these here in the city back in the 1970’s.
My dad bought a baby blue 1968 kadet new, garaged it, washed/waxed to excess,but the thing I remember most (I was ten) was some sort of ongoing electrical problem that left us stranded more than once. It was first new car he ever bought, traded it in for same color 1973 Toyota Hilux.
Bought a new red/red Kadett L 1100cc w/4spd. 1966, Biloxi Buick dlr. hung a Buick A/C unit under dash…passenger side for me. Good thing wife was 5′ tall…with knees jammed against it. I kept the revs up all the time. Took FTD at my 1st autocross..New Orleans SCCA…parking lot with it. Kinda stunned SCCA sporty car guys. It was a good handler but 2nd gear synchro failed twice. Top speed was about 87 and I ran it flat on the highways. Sure wish I had it back. Bought a Tiger next.
I had a yellow ’68 Kadette 1900 4-speed fastback and my Dad had a yellow ’70 Kadette Rallye 1900 4-speed. What a pocket rocket it was with less than 20 pounds per horsepower. Great fun blasting down the mountain roads of East Tennessee!
My aunt had a green 1970 Kadett L station wagon. First car I ever saw with a blue and yellow California license plate.
Many adventures in that car. It was a four speed, No a/c, not good in the California Central Valley, and AM radio. In 1974, she switched cars with my dad, a 1967 MGB GT, so he could paint it like a smoked silver. Of course that took an eternity and while it was in our possession, one of my sister’s friends backed into the drivers door. One yellow door later we were back on the road. He painted the car and put slotted wheels on it with slightly wider tires, looked fantastic and gave the car back to my aunt who had recently married. They traded the Opel in 1975, for a slightly used 1974 Chevrolet Cheyenne pickup in the same awful green that the Opel started out in. My new uncle informed me that the whole time my aunt owned the Opel, she had never once changed the oil. Surprised that the car lasted as long as it did with no oil changes for five years. I guess just add oil when low, then go. Anyway always was a fan of Opel. My brother had a 1971 Opel GT, I wanted a 1973 Manta Luxus.
Man all out of blocks to put by mini portable house!
Sorry only like the opal GT
My first ex-brother in law bought one new…..man he ran it hard….I rode shotgun in it many a time….car held together better than my sister marriage….he also had an early MGA which didn’t run and I could have it – but alas my dad wouldn’t let me or help drag the MGA home…something the sis mentioned as she’d like to have one….he became a Hari Kishner a few years later…fun guy though….
I always preferred the look of the Opel Mantas, they were larger and more refined in many ways compared to the older smaller Kadetts. Came close to buying one when I was car shopping back then (within a few hundred dollars) but ended up buying Mazda 1800’s instead. The Opel Manta 1.9 was definitely faster but I was swayed by the Italian styling of the Mazda in the end.
me too bussy to built a manta so nice car I love it
My Dad in his cheap-o used car days in the 1970s had one of these he bought for a cheap commuter to drive into the city. Pale yellow, Dont recall it being called a Kadett,, just Opel Rallye. Seemed to go okay and as a young teen would sneak it out onto country roads when left unattended,, had a scary incident trying to drift it around corners but survived just fine. Only major problem was clutch went out in it, but after many years it finally was parked as it started leaking oil badly. I was too young/not trusted to work on it and our go-to mechanic friend said too much trouble to replace all the seals/gaskets. It finally was sent to 12 mile auto wrecking in Gresham Oregon.
But I thought it was a decent car except the color.. my dads co-workers did not agree and one day placed a bumper sticker on it “This car is NOT abandoned”
Neighbor had one virtually identical but an orange-ish color with the same stripes. They owned a MACCO auto body/paint shop, famous for quick cheap paint jobs. Painted it dark Red, within a year or so the red was peeling off in sheets revealing ZERO PREP, no sanding, no priming, nothing….just revealing the old faded orange with the black strips. Hilarious! UGH!!
I guess in 1972 that was an “early version” of a vinyl wrap !!
My fellow Airman, Mark, bought one of these new (’68) while stationed at Hahn AB in Germany. We drove it around Europe for 3 weeks,camping all the while.
What a great car. It’s the car that got me going on German engineering and my 50 year love affair as a BMW mechanic/collector/vintage racer.
dq
Back before I even knew how to drive a car with a stick, I picked apart a 70 Opel Kadett Rallye to rebuild a Kadett coupe with body damage I was given by my music teacher. I should have reversed the swap and put the powerplant from the ho-hum coupe into the Rallye. Both cars sat behind a hedgerow at my parents house to obscure my scattered project. I learned to drive on the Opel coupe before burning out the clutch.
My First car was a 69 Rallye. I still have the special tool I needed to change the water pump. I was 16 and it would be a few years before I learned I was a Truck Guy. I wasn’t sad to see it go, I don’t want one for my collection but it is good to see them as collectable.
Worked my way thru school at a small car repair shop in the early 70s. These engines had coffee cup sized oil filters.
By the time most owners got around to changing their oil they had a rod knocking. Swapped in a lot of junkyard motors.
Peppy car, I liked them.
I had one just like this in ’77, same color and markings. Except it had the smaller 1100, and the front fenders were somewhat “distressed” by the previous owner in a collision. I paid the princely sum of $75 for the indestructable little German marvel.
a ’67 Rallye Kadette was my second car after rolling my pieced together Morris Minor, I still have the special tools that were only available from Buick that I needed when water pump ceased to pump then less than a hundred miles later had to replace cylinder head due to prior water pump issue.never understood the reasoning behind the oddball fasteners that held it together unless they felt only the Buick service departments were worthy of any needed repairs
The 1970 Kadett Rallye 1.9 was my first car and still have it. When I drive it I call it my time machine. Lots of power, very good in the corners (rack & pinon with wider tires) and get a lot of looks when I drive it to Reno for Hot August Nights.
This car made my bucket list!
Wow! This was my first car too… Gold with flat black rally racing stripes. Great memories.
Same as mine.
My grandfather had a 1967 1/2 opel rallye he bought in germany while in the service and had it shipped back to the states. We are looking into selling it since his passing, it definitely needs restoration after sitting for so many years.
Dawn Fry–I would be interested in that ’67 if it is located somewhere within a few hundred miles of Nashville. The Opel club has one of its staunchest supporters down the street from me in Chapel Hill, Tennessee and I’m sure he has the means to restore it to a high standard. His restored Opel GT is sitting in a nearby garage at the moment.