1967 & 1968 Opel Commodore Projects
Do you have a hankerin’ for a winter project? Do you have a lot of room and a lot of skill in restoring cars? Do you like unusual (at least in the US) German cars? If so, than this pair of 1967-1968 Opel Commodores may be for you. This project pair is listed on eBay in Crimora, Virginia with a buy it now price of $8,500 for both, or you can make an offer. The 1968 Commodore GS Coupe with a 4-speed shown above is surely the more desirable car, but it’s not in the same solid condition as the red sedan is in. There is rust to repair in sections of the car. But then again, other parts look pretty solid and they say that the “quarter panels, fender corners near the head lights, trunk floor etc are all good!” Thanks to Dominic Ortiz for submitting this great looking pair of Opels!
In a three-part series, the Commodore A was made from 1967 to 1971, the Commodore B was made from 1972 to 1977, and the final series, the Commodore C, was made from 1978 until the end of the line in 1982. I personally think that this early design, the A series, was the purest form and also the most interesting of the three. The photos in the eBay ad are a little confusing, which version of the 1967 Commodore S Sedan is the one that’s actually for sale?! The first photo shown of the red 1967 sedan, parked next to a wagon, is a complete car that looks like it’s in really nice condition. But, when you read the ad text, and see the last few photos, they mention that the car is in fact “dismantled but rolls around, to prep it for new paint.”
And, good news! It “comes with all parts. Chrome and glass is in excellent shape (and rubbers around them also!)”. The seller “bought it from his mechanic. Drove it from storage place to storage place before dismantling. Engine ran strong (“Yeeeehaw!”, and tranny shifted flawlessly. Power glide transmission has been rebuilt already.”
Now that is one interesting grille and front end, in general. I can’t imagine that the headlights are easy to find, but there have to be a few Opel aficionados in the Barn Finds community that would know about parts availability.
The interior of the 1968 GS Coupe looks like it’s pretty complete and would do well with a thorough cleaning. Although the seats appear to be mainly in good condition, you can see that the tops of the back seat are disintegrated due possibly to sun and/or rodent damage. And, having tarps on the seats is rarely a good sign, as is rust on the door sills.
The red sedan, on the other hand, is in pieces as the seller mentions. Why the whole dash had to come apart in order to paint the car is beyond me. It must have been in line for an engine-out repaint because the engine appears to be out now.
And, here is the engine for the 1967 S Sedan, a 2.5L inline-six. This 2.5L engine would have had about 129 gross hp when new. It’s backed up by a two-speed Powerglide automatic.
The 2.5L inline-six with twin-carburetors in the 1968 GS Coupe would have had around 140 gross hp when new. The GS Coupe needs a full restoration but the seller says that parts are available on eBay and elsewhere. It sure would be a great project for anyone with a love for these cars, especially with the GS Coupe being such a rare car with only 1,500 of them being made, according to the seller and not many others, if any, in the US. Have any of you owned a Commodore A? Which one of these two projects would you take on?
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Comments
possibly you could get parts in germany and mexico. gm sold these cars in mexico from 1968 to 1972. opel rekord for 4 cylinders and opel fiera for six cylinders excellent german mechanics! very reliable cars but very expensive parts indeed! the two door version quiet sporty looks but very slow performance in four cylinders. and in six cilinders quite fast but brakes were not enough.
I can get you as many of these as you want here in Mexico for a fraction of this price.
They are cheap.
Cheaper down there because they were imported. As far as I know, they were not imported directly into the US.
Please send links….
Scotty sent me a link for another “Dopel” a 1900 wagon, and while searching for other Dopel’s”, I saw these. I had several Opel’s, all good cars, and I probably would have looked into the wagon, except for one thing,,,parts. Like tuneup, shocks, that stuff. I went on Ebay, which usually has all kinds of stuff like that,, ( someone had a fuel shutoff for my ’66 Suzuki K10, for heavens sake) but all I could find for Opel’s, was an air filter, so might want to think about that. I like that motor. It looks just like the 1900, only 2 more cylinders. They should have put THAT in the Manta! These,,no thanks.
Also listed on Craigslist with $5400 for the coupe, and $3500 for the sedan. I just saw the ad the other day.
https://harrisonburg.craigslist.org/cto/d/1968-opel-commodore-coupe-25l/6321901641.html
https://harrisonburg.craigslist.org/cto/d/1967-opel-commodore-4-door/6321847954.html
I’d love to have the wagon that’s parked next to the sedan.
These are right down the road from me. If anyone wanted me to take a look, Id be happy to.
Just up the road from me too. Alas no spare time to take a look. Last year or so ago I saw a couple of Opels sitting in a parking lot in Staunton. Probably the same owner.
Although not the same coupe. The one I saw was in much better shape. It was there along with a Manta and a GT.
Or for parts you can import the parts not like Opel but Chevrolet Opala from Brazil were it was produced from 1968 to 1992.And also have many steel parts with minors money to spend
My first car was the Brasilian version of these, the Chevy Opala. It was a ’72 coupe with 4 speed manual and a 250cid L6.
I’ve got a Opel 2-door wagon with this body, but it’s the 4-cylinder version and therefor called “Rekord”. The wagons are named “Car-a-Van” (Caravan).
I changed the headlights cause I didn’t like the look of the original square lights.
Parts are easy to find in Europe, for example here http://www.opel-classic-parts.com/de or here https://www.o-t-r.de/.
The 4dr is not 99% Rust free. I started that project and the reason it never went anywhere from the tear down and transmission rebuilt, was because the extensive rust under the fender flanges, headlight buckets and the cowl. These cars are tough to take apart, alone to get real parts for. It has been some time now, but I do not recall the car driving that well as he states. The GS coupe is cool, but I’m afraid like most of his stuff, the rust has had a big impact on that car
Saw this one on the street in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico last year.
Got on a little late. I’ve always loved this model in coupe form and managed to find one in India. One door glass was a sheet of plastic, managed to source one in Germany with difficulty and help from a friend. The glass was hand-carried in a flight about 18 years ago. Now she is complete.
The rear curved lines are beautiful, similar to the famous Coke bottle shapes of Americana in the late 1960’s. Love them.