It NEEDS saving. Nowadays is so rare! That is a testament of the everyday car that were the "life" companion of us at the time! This looks good, is a bit rusty but... Salvageable! And... Being a normal version, to me, makes more sense in saving it! More nostalgia effect! Hoping to see a restoration on it! ❤
@@00kirbyd mh, pretty much existinted. Especially 3 doors and in Life spec, quite rare even back in the day! For example, here in Italy, are pretty much totally gone. The last I saw in the street was more than 20 yrs ago...
@@gabrielep9938 unfortunately Italians are some of the worst drivers in Europe so it's no wonder. Nice people, horrible drivers - to each other and no mechanical sympathy for cars.
It could be considered an investment to fix it up especially if it becomes more of a rarity in a decade or so. Also, it saves buying a new car, and that can be a real consideration for people.
Remember so many of them on the road in the 90's, along with Novas. Those engines leak everything from everywhere but are incredibly simple and reliable, with nothing too difficult to fix on them.
It’s a great car. No need to spare the front discs. Spares for Opels are cheap as chips, that’s why we love them. I would rescue this car any day, they don’t all have to be GSI ❤
You still have lots of parts available in the market from Daewoo Lanos and Daewoo Nexia since it is based on Opel Kadett. Good luck with restoration! I'm owning Daewoo Lanos :)
I had one of these, mine was a silver one from 1988 and it was in terrible condition BUT it ran forever. In the US we got these as the "Pontiac LeMans" and that's what mine was, an 88 LeMans LE. I bought it for around $250 from some druggie and it had over 300k miles on it at the time but it ran surprisingly well all things considered
Man, I was used to seeing C, D and E Kadetts EVERYWHERE. But I think the rustbugs took them all out. They're so rare nowadays. I don't know that this one is worth it tho...
Hope he dicides to have it fixed, I'd like to see the videos :) Like someone said below, it's just a regular economy car and these tend not to be taken care of.
Owned a 1988 SRi in the same colour, for 10 years. Very reliable. Sills and rear arches are notorious for rot. One trick to fool MOT tester was to fit the plastic skirts from a GTE ( if you have the 2-door) which concealed the rust.
I love the Kadett E, or the Mk2 Astra as it was here in the UK. My first 3 cars were Mk2s! First one was a basic 1989 1.3 Merit - which I crashed into a police car three months after I past my test... That was replaced by a Belmont - the saloon version, a posher 1990 1.4 LX (I notice that this 1.4 has fuel injection, I don't think Vauxhall offered the injection 1.4 until the Mk3 was released in 1991 as my Belmont was carburetted). When I say posher, it had a tilt/slide sunroof, central locking and a 5th gear! But I crashed that too (20 year old me wasn't a very good driver...) and then I got my favourite Mk2 - not the 2.0 GTE with the legendary Red top engine and digital dash, but the 1.8i CD - the posh one! I loved that car. But these cars were the easiest car to steal in their day - my Merit was broken into with a screwdriver but I scared them off before they could take it and then someone tried to steal the CD but couldn't. However, the locks were so poor, the would be thief managed to unlock the car with a screwdriver, ripped the cowling off, but couldn't hot wire it, stole 10p and then locked the car again with said screwdriver! The lock still worked and I never replaced it! So I can understand if Daniel wants to mend this - first car and all. They are special cars to me. But rust was a big issue - both my Merit and CD had the back end go but got it fixed. I had to get rid of the CD in the end as I had gotten a Vectra B and couldn't store it. In fact, I still have a (then brand new) fuel tank and exhaust in my shed (though they've been there for more than 20 years so may not be any good but I do have a brand new OEM rear view mirror! Not sure why... Good video as always. :)
Hearing that engine reminded me of my dad's old 1985 Vauxhall Cavalier estate, those engines always seemed to sound the same no matter what car they were put in... :P
"I am looking for mayonnaise, I think you guys know that", made me laugh out loud! In North America we usually call it "chocolate milk". Greetings from Canada.
Out of the hundreds of motors I have had in my time, I only ever had 3 GM branded, a big n beastie 3.3 litre Vauxhall VX I bought for £10 back in 2000, a disgusting rotten Vauxhall Carlton and a Bedford CF panel van, the VX was spotless like factory but had an alarming thirst, the Carlton I was talking to me mate leaning on the open boot panel not hard and it disintegrated into rust and dust, we found that despite undersealing in place and paint all original not one panel on that car was safe and had completely rusted from the insides out :( The Bedford van was a hoot, talk about baby A team but was never as fun as a MK1 or 2 Ford Transit (best Transit aside from the MK2b LWB I used for work, was my MK1 camper van, that thing was loaded, American mag slot wheels, stainless roof ladder, flared arches, fully heated and insulated with a decent cooker, even had a shower and up front it had a Ford Essex 3.0, thing would cruise nicely at 70/80 but got there swiftly and was so good on petrol). I went off Vauxhalls a lot when my father's Vauxhall Commander Cavalier after the dealer had replaced his complete braking system he was tootling about down a mild hill and it was foot to the floor and the dealer forgot to reconnect the handbrake and so old mans motor ended up in side of someone's house... I said to him, never had that with a Ford matey, indeed one of my south London nicknames was Cortina Man or Captain Cortina as for my 2nd hand motor business I would buy the ragged nasty stuff at car auctions wiser men avoided quite often grabbing a £5 Cortina. My view was if it started, if it drove and if it stopped I didn't care and a few hours cleaning and tidying, swapping some good tyres and making sure brakes were good it would go up on the local estate on the side of the road big signs in windows few hundred pounds and because the word went around I never sold a dangerous car, didn't last long before someone bought it either.
Thanks for the shoutout! Must make more of those hammers :) also, its not that rotten for this car, you would not belive how rotten a daewoo racer we have parted out 15y ago. we donated the car to the fire brigade for testing the metal shears... the car collapsed when they cut the roof :D
i would try to save it,, yes its not a GSi but these low spec models were thrown away back in the day because they were low models, if you can make it safe enough i think you said the next inspection would be 8 years,, even if Daniel has to spend 2K maybe 3k euro that still cheap motoring,, i would take out that broken windscreen that is a odd how is cracked maybe some rust in bulkhead or pillars that has allowed flex,, all best
Hvis der ingen der gemmer de almindelige så vil alle glemme at der findes hverdags modeller..... Som vi snakkede om uden for netto så blev jeg næsten altid spurgt om min 900 4 dørs var en turbo, hvad jeg er meget stolt over den ikke er..... Hvis han ikke vil reparere den kan du evt offentligtligtgøre hvad det vil koste at lave den
there was a time i loved that time era Opels, specially C model Ascona. and A Vectra, f astra, e kadett.. But that rust is sickness in those here in Finland aswell 😢
I had one but it was the wagon version Club. 1.4i very good engine and gearbox. Very reliable and robust loved it while it lasted. And the seats where great the had very good side bolsters!
I owned one in the 90s, and it also failed MOT and as too expensive to fix. It had crusty rusty rockers as well, but other than that it was in perfect technical condition. I loved the car, very economic to drive.
My first car was a 1986 Mk2 Vauxhall Astra Merit. It had some rust on the rear arches and the drivers door, but structurally it was fine. Mind you it was only about 15 years old at the time. I replaced it with a 1999 Peugeot 306 L Diesel.
I understand why your friend would like to fix that Kadett E 1.4 his 60 horses feel not weak in that little car. But change the timingbelt and the waterpump, it is a interference engine. The valve cover gasket and rust are state of the art. I worked in a opel dealership, when that little car was new. I feel that car, but now I prefere my Golf MK1 Cabrio.
Great cars they were my late dad had one in 1991 an E reg 1986 1.3 it ran on 4 star leaded petrol and would do 120mph if you thrashed it , sadly rust killed them off , it was sold to the scrap man in 2004 but not bad it made it to 18 years old.
I owned a pretty special one a few years ago. It was a base model station wagon with the smallest gasoline engine but it had power steering and ABS. Weird. I always wondered who configured that car in this spec. I also have a 1969 Mercedes 200D W115 with power steering, AC and a sunroof. It is still in my posession. And, according to the original data card issued with the car, it left the factory that way. That is beyond crazy because all those options cost an absolute fortune back in the day (the power steering alone was almost 1000 Marks). While the upgrade to the 220 Engine was less than 500 Marks. I would really like to travel back in time to ask the original owner why he (or she) did that.
I recall that the reason this period Opels used to rust like crazy was because they used cheap, poor quality Dutch steel for these coupled with the then water-based paint they started to use. But as usual for Opels, joints and suspension parts are bulletproof for long time, as are the engines (at least mechanical wise), clutch and gearboxes.
My classmate back in the 90's had a Kadett 1.8 GT. In two years it was stolen 5 times and everytime he got it back. These things were way to easy to break into and start.
On the surface, car looks to be in good condition, but it's always the bottom side rust killing them. Interesting project, I hope it gets repaired and back on the road :) I'm Finnish and my dad bought new Opel Kadett E 1,6 sedan in 1988, Club trim level in which had these same wheels, and body coloured mirror housings. It was white like the Kadett in this video. He kept it for 7 years, mostly car worked fine, was nice to drive, etc. but already during that time it started rusting, for example small pinholes in the front wings, between the turn signal light and front wheel well. Rocker panels started also rusting, as there were "vent holes" underneath from the factory, but also most likely dirt went inside the rocker panel. Probably not the best design... Might be contributing factor why the Kadett in this video has so rotten rocker panel, altough admittedly, it's typical place for rust in completely sealed panels as well. I recall one place where Kadett E collected dirt and started rusting was somewhere underneath / behind headlights, so might be good idea to check that too. Dad's car also had some electrical issues, headlight switch had to be replaced because original one became unreliable, making lights disappear randomly. Brake light switch had to be replaced as well because brake lights stopped working, Ignition cables from distributor to spark plugs were replaced also once because engine started "jerking" in some situations. This 1,6S engine (carburated 1,6 SV type, 82hp if I recall correctly) had somehow weak timing belt system, as the car died on the road twice because timing belt failed prematurely. Luckily it was non-interference engine, so no engine damage, but of course it's still bad situation when car dies on the road and has to be towed to a shop.
A friend had an Astra LXi estate, basically a GTE. It was a great car. I had a MkI Astra SR which was fun. This one should be saved, not many left now.
I had a Kadett E GSI with the 20SEH engine (130 HP) - not as fast as the 16V C20XE. but it had a lot of torque. It had rust problems just below the pedal area, but this looked better...
I remember when these were new. Hell I even remember when the Kadett D was introduced. The E was a great car when it launched, but last time I spent time in one was in the mid-0s, taking 50km drives mostly on motorways, in a 4 gear 1,4i sedan. It felt old, and ill equipped for the motorway. To not strain the car we kept to around truck speeds, and still it felt like the driver was punishing the car sometimes. I love seeing them, because many have been lost, but I couldn't see myself spending much money fixing one tbh. We'll see what the owner says..
Not as rusty as I expected for it's age. my friend had a few of these, we changed the sill on a 1986 model as it had gone at the back and been filled badly.
That was my favourite era of Vauxhall Astra (Opel Kadett) I live just down the road from the Vauxhall Astra factory here in Ellesmere port, but the Opel could of been built in Belgium perhaps ?
I have a 91' one, Beauty model variation, 2nd owner since 2004 and LPG converted since 2005 with a lot of miles, still drives every other week in 2024. Mine was also stolen before i bough it. Mine's also a 1.4 but with a pierburg 2E carburator, and 5s, no bloody kat. Now drinks a bit of oil, possibly valve seats or piston rings. Its much more confortable both inside and driving than newer vehicles. My other car is a Zafira A. Fuel consuption even on carburated ones is only worse on urban cycles, on the road is ok. Windscreen, i changed mine in 2010?, i think it was less than 80€ plus the special silicon, but a pain to replace (i did it myself). Heater core i got one also cheap, around 30€? autodoc, but had to remove central console to replace it. There's a mod that can be done for the central air ducts also output heated air. Usually rear mudgards rust, rear door-window, behind the spare and around the headlights are the worse spots. That rear axle hole is strange, must've been some weak factory weld/plugged water drain. Mine is fine, but where i drive or drove, we dont salt roads. Front shocks are a pain to change but do improve a lot the handling. Good or original top strut bearings/bush do last more (those are ok), i find that they usually go bad after 5 years. Front CV Axles boots are the same. I've very slightly modded my front brakes to use daewoo nexia's ventilated rotors. That one could use a valve cover gasket. As for head gasket, taking sparks out should be enough to find possible issues. At one time (before 2017), mine drove years with a minor head leak (coolant) into a cylinder, and when it finally gave in, i was able to drive another 150km to arrive to destination (did remove that plug and refill the coolant circuit with water every 10km or so) - did not warp the head or did any other damage. Most likely if it is weak idling or shaking, theres a bad plug or cable.
Noticed possibly missing a vacuum hose to the heated air intake valve body over the exhausts or maybe thats already plugged in the other end (did that on mine once the valve leaked). Beware, this is an interference engine - ask me how i know :D Headlight bulbs do improve if two relays are installed (one for main other for high beams) 1.4 Models with kat models were 60HP. Non-KAT (
It will be interesting to find out what happens to this car, as its future depends entirely on how much sentimental attachment the owner has to it, and how much he's willing to pay for that. I can understand the attachment though. I'm 2 years into an extensive welding and mechanical rebuild project on a vehicle that's not even remotely economically viable, but to me it's totally irreplaceable so I'm doing the work anyway.
My 1990 Mk2 Vauxhall Astra failed it’s MOT in 1996 due to rust. Need both sills replacing, just a few months out of the Vauxhall anti perforation warranty!
Rust is just the worst thing to have deal with, thus none of mine have any. And when you have an attachment to a car, well that is all that really matters You can not take your money with you when you go, but you can sure make it happy when you want... I think new cars now are just appliances, while the older ones had character, does anyone else see that? Thanks for the video, that fuel pump thing brought back so many memories...
I totally agree... I feel a strong connection with my cars and the mechanical things.. but I try my best not to get attached in the way that makes it impossible to sell them or even scrap them.... when that happens It tends to be a burden for folks...
@@SeasideGarage I too feel a strong connection with my cars, all 12 of them, sadly I just love how they make me feel. Mercedes SLK55 AMG, BMW Z4M, well what else can I say, not rich just a car guy, and to see rust / cancer on a car really hurts to see. You get a big thumbs up from me for doing what you do...
If this was Daniel's 1st car he probably wasn't a motoring journalist then. Being one now may be influencing him to try and save it? I suspect it failed it's MOT for rust before it was parked. Saving it is really not viable but if he has a budget of about 20k Krone I guess you could consider it. I don't know what your commercial hourly rate is. It would certainly try your patience. Did Desperate Dan comics reach Denmark?
I'm willing to bet any Opel from the 80s or older still running around in Scandinavia these days will with 99% certainty have had some form of rust repair on it, but usually its handled before it reaches this stage though. Should it be fixed I would also recommend parking it through the winter months, better used for joyrides and icecream in the summertime
I'm not sure if this should be saved. The issue is, is the body still strong enough? How much more hidden rust is there? This could concertina on impact and no amount of love for a car is worth that. Of course you're the one standing next to the car, so I'll be awaiting your final verdict. 🙂
I really like those cars - they were WAY ahead of the competition when new - but there's 2 things you missed on your checks 1 - there's absolutely no sign of any actual maintenance or repairs having been done for a LONG time - on a car that rusty you'd expect some repairs already - the lack of those suggests it's not been used for LONG periods and that most of the rust has been picked-up "stationary" 2 - a reason to repair it - the engines are bulletproof but not uncommon - the interior is nice - the rest is, I would say, knackered... Still - if he's got the money, DO IT
Very nice to see, does anybody know who was the designer of this OHC engines? The CIH engines were design from General Motors in the 60 tes but this one has an Aluminum head.
26:30 18 = 20 = 21. The *nominal* voltage is always 18 V (5 cells at 3.6 V), the absolute max when fully charged is 21. The marketing department of some companies just decided to say 20 instead of 18, and now we see 21, I reckon it won't be long before Dewalt starts calling their batteries quantic or some other bullshit
5 digit odometer. In the 90's. As if Opel knew these were not built to last. My Renault 4 has a 6 digit odometer (and it takes a fucking long time to drive 100 000+ km in one of these)
It's going to cost €€€€ to get this oldtimer fixed at a garage and you will keep finding things that are wrong with it during ownership (I know this, because I own an oldtimer myself). You can probably find a really nice E Kadett for around € 5-6k (not a GSI), so I would junk this one and save up for a nice specimen.
What he COULD do, is scrap this one. It will hurt. But there is too much rust to make it feasable. But maybe keep it for spares. And then spend a couple of years hunting down another Opel Kadett in much better shape (perhaps an import) and then driving that one. He would kind of have his old car. And as time goes by his old car would donate parts for the newer one.
I miss my first car. A LADA 1200S from 1988. And recently I just said goodbye to my first van. A Peugeot boxer. I cried for an entire weekend with that one.
Safe Opel engines from that time: C16SE, C16SEi, C16NZ, X16SZ, X16SZR, 18NT, 18E, C18NE, E18NVR, C20NE and X20SE. All 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 engines will be dead if the cam belt fails.
I've had over 50 cars in 40 years of driving having done @1 million miles. I like cars. I have nostalgia for cars but I don't get attached to them. I can move one on or scrap it if needs be not a bother to me. I am realistic - I know my old 1800 Landcrab was lovely but the idea of running one now would just be laughable
if you fixed that car at half the average garage hourly rate , then it would cost over £1500 UK, perhaps you could just simply sell Danuel a car from your collection, meaning it's only worth fixing if he was doing it himself.
When I was a teenager you could buy these for as low as 500 euros. They were very solid cars, were good to drive, gave no trouble, except for... the rust. Pristine cars got scrapped even with the slightest need of welding, something I felt bad about even then. I grew up in the Netherlands where from the facelift all engines were fuel injected, and I'm pretty certain that from that point a 5-speed was standard too. GSI got thrashed by the boy racers but just a 1.6i GT was a really nice car to drive. Very underrated car imho, although a Golf II was much better in build quality and rust proofing.
Aqui no Brasil,🇧🇷 esse carro e feito pela Chevrolet, temos um modelo único,IPANEMA, que e basicamente o Kadett wagon,duas e quatro portas,versão GSI ESPORTIVA, e conversível,muitos carros brasileiros foram inspirados no carros da Opel,por exemplo,O ascona aqui é chamado de Monza,tenho um esta no meu canal do RUclips,e tive um Caravan,que e uma perua do Opala,um derivado do Opel C,foi fabricado ate 1992 E o Monza ate 1996 no Brasil 🇧🇷
It all comes down to how much will cost to repair this car as opposed to what it's really actually how much good examples are selling for in good registrable condition what it's true value not what a price guide will tell how much people pay for them that's the true value of a vehicle l will give you an example five years ago l paid aud $1500 for 1997 Toyota Hilux as usual in Australia older Toyotas appreciate so today l couldn't go out and buy a 1997 Toyota Hilux for aud $1500 l would actually pat aud $5000 to aud $6000 for one and in the five years of ownership l have spent about aud $2000 on repairs which a lot of the work l have done myself and includes a complete service new tyres and a complete exhaust system the registration inspector didn't like that and also l needed to replace the number plate light and that was for tge inspection but one thing no rust problems because in Australia 30 year old cars don't rust but newer Chinese built vehicles do
Theres a fairly large community around old Opels in north Europe, veteran clubs etc - also including fairly 'everyday' 60s, 70s and 80s models. But that said the rust here is pretty bad tbh
It NEEDS saving. Nowadays is so rare! That is a testament of the everyday car that were the "life" companion of us at the time! This looks good, is a bit rusty but... Salvageable! And... Being a normal version, to me, makes more sense in saving it! More nostalgia effect! Hoping to see a restoration on it! ❤
They are no longer common but not THAT rare across Europe.
@@00kirbyd mh, pretty much existinted. Especially 3 doors and in Life spec, quite rare even back in the day! For example, here in Italy, are pretty much totally gone. The last I saw in the street was more than 20 yrs ago...
@@gabrielep9938 unfortunately Italians are some of the worst drivers in Europe so it's no wonder. Nice people, horrible drivers - to each other and no mechanical sympathy for cars.
@@00kirbydNonsense.
It could be considered an investment to fix it up especially if it becomes more of a rarity in a decade or so. Also, it saves buying a new car, and that can be a real consideration for people.
You can use many parts from Daewoo Nexia
Remember so many of them on the road in the 90's, along with Novas. Those engines leak everything from everywhere but are incredibly simple and reliable, with nothing too difficult to fix on them.
It’s a great car. No need to spare the front discs. Spares for Opels are cheap as chips, that’s why we love them. I would rescue this car any day, they don’t all have to be GSI ❤
Or GTE (astra)
Den er alligevel meget sjov! Den var jo virkelig en af hverdagens helte i 80’er 90’erne! ❤
You still have lots of parts available in the market from Daewoo Lanos and Daewoo Nexia since it is based on Opel Kadett. Good luck with restoration! I'm owning Daewoo Lanos :)
When you opened the door, I could smell the interior from here.
my favourite car I had stolen was a 1.2 OHV Astra base model. 55hp,4 speed, single door mirror and no clock,loved it.
You shouldn’t steal cars.
@@jabbejokker you got me
@@rodneyhull9764
Aren’t I funny😉
Lovely to see a old Kadett. I have a red Kadett D caravan that i drive daily ( not winter, the salt will eat it up here in mid Sweden😅).
I had one of these, mine was a silver one from 1988 and it was in terrible condition BUT it ran forever. In the US we got these as the "Pontiac LeMans" and that's what mine was, an 88 LeMans LE. I bought it for around $250 from some druggie and it had over 300k miles on it at the time but it ran surprisingly well all things considered
Man, I was used to seeing C, D and E Kadetts EVERYWHERE. But I think the rustbugs took them all out. They're so rare nowadays. I don't know that this one is worth it tho...
Hope he dicides to have it fixed, I'd like to see the videos :) Like someone said below, it's just a regular economy car and these tend not to be taken care of.
Owned a 1988 SRi in the same colour, for 10 years. Very reliable. Sills and rear arches are notorious for rot. One trick to fool MOT tester was to fit the plastic skirts from a GTE ( if you have the 2-door) which concealed the rust.
Iv owned a few of these mk2 Astra here in England. That’s in good condition for a 34 year old Astra. I’d be happy with that.
The 1.4i came with the 5-speed originally. 😉
I had one back in the 90s.
I love the Kadett E, or the Mk2 Astra as it was here in the UK. My first 3 cars were Mk2s! First one was a basic 1989 1.3 Merit - which I crashed into a police car three months after I past my test... That was replaced by a Belmont - the saloon version, a posher 1990 1.4 LX (I notice that this 1.4 has fuel injection, I don't think Vauxhall offered the injection 1.4 until the Mk3 was released in 1991 as my Belmont was carburetted). When I say posher, it had a tilt/slide sunroof, central locking and a 5th gear! But I crashed that too (20 year old me wasn't a very good driver...) and then I got my favourite Mk2 - not the 2.0 GTE with the legendary Red top engine and digital dash, but the 1.8i CD - the posh one! I loved that car. But these cars were the easiest car to steal in their day - my Merit was broken into with a screwdriver but I scared them off before they could take it and then someone tried to steal the CD but couldn't. However, the locks were so poor, the would be thief managed to unlock the car with a screwdriver, ripped the cowling off, but couldn't hot wire it, stole 10p and then locked the car again with said screwdriver! The lock still worked and I never replaced it! So I can understand if Daniel wants to mend this - first car and all. They are special cars to me. But rust was a big issue - both my Merit and CD had the back end go but got it fixed. I had to get rid of the CD in the end as I had gotten a Vectra B and couldn't store it. In fact, I still have a (then brand new) fuel tank and exhaust in my shed (though they've been there for more than 20 years so may not be any good but I do have a brand new OEM rear view mirror! Not sure why... Good video as always. :)
Hearing that engine reminded me of my dad's old 1985 Vauxhall Cavalier estate, those engines always seemed to sound the same no matter what car they were put in... :P
"I am looking for mayonnaise, I think you guys know that", made me laugh out loud! In North America we usually call it "chocolate milk". Greetings from Canada.
Haha! you guys got chocolate milk !? How unfair!
Out of the hundreds of motors I have had in my time, I only ever had 3 GM branded, a big n beastie 3.3 litre Vauxhall VX I bought for £10 back in 2000, a disgusting rotten Vauxhall Carlton and a Bedford CF panel van, the VX was spotless like factory but had an alarming thirst, the Carlton I was talking to me mate leaning on the open boot panel not hard and it disintegrated into rust and dust, we found that despite undersealing in place and paint all original not one panel on that car was safe and had completely rusted from the insides out :( The Bedford van was a hoot, talk about baby A team but was never as fun as a MK1 or 2 Ford Transit (best Transit aside from the MK2b LWB I used for work, was my MK1 camper van, that thing was loaded, American mag slot wheels, stainless roof ladder, flared arches, fully heated and insulated with a decent cooker, even had a shower and up front it had a Ford Essex 3.0, thing would cruise nicely at 70/80 but got there swiftly and was so good on petrol). I went off Vauxhalls a lot when my father's Vauxhall Commander Cavalier after the dealer had replaced his complete braking system he was tootling about down a mild hill and it was foot to the floor and the dealer forgot to reconnect the handbrake and so old mans motor ended up in side of someone's house... I said to him, never had that with a Ford matey, indeed one of my south London nicknames was Cortina Man or Captain Cortina as for my 2nd hand motor business I would buy the ragged nasty stuff at car auctions wiser men avoided quite often grabbing a £5 Cortina. My view was if it started, if it drove and if it stopped I didn't care and a few hours cleaning and tidying, swapping some good tyres and making sure brakes were good it would go up on the local estate on the side of the road big signs in windows few hundred pounds and because the word went around I never sold a dangerous car, didn't last long before someone bought it either.
Thanks for the shoutout! Must make more of those hammers :) also, its not that rotten for this car, you would not belive how rotten a daewoo racer we have parted out 15y ago. we donated the car to the fire brigade for testing the metal shears... the car collapsed when they cut the roof :D
i would try to save it,, yes its not a GSi but these low spec models were thrown away back in the day because they were low models, if you can make it safe enough i think you said the next inspection would be 8 years,, even if Daniel has to spend 2K maybe 3k euro that still cheap motoring,, i would take out that broken windscreen that is a odd how is cracked maybe some rust in bulkhead or pillars that has allowed flex,, all best
Hvis der ingen der gemmer de almindelige så vil alle glemme at der findes hverdags modeller..... Som vi snakkede om uden for netto så blev jeg næsten altid spurgt om min 900 4 dørs var en turbo, hvad jeg er meget stolt over den ikke er..... Hvis han ikke vil reparere den kan du evt offentligtligtgøre hvad det vil koste at lave den
there was a time i loved that time era Opels, specially C model Ascona. and A Vectra, f astra, e kadett.. But that rust is sickness in those here in Finland aswell 😢
I had one but it was the wagon version Club. 1.4i very good engine and gearbox. Very reliable and robust loved it while it lasted. And the seats where great the had very good side bolsters!
I owned one in the 90s, and it also failed MOT and as too expensive to fix. It had crusty rusty rockers as well, but other than that it was in perfect technical condition. I loved the car, very economic to drive.
My first car was a 1986 Mk2 Vauxhall Astra Merit.
It had some rust on the rear arches and the drivers door, but structurally it was fine. Mind you it was only about 15 years old at the time.
I replaced it with a 1999 Peugeot 306 L Diesel.
I understand why your friend would like to fix that Kadett E 1.4 his 60 horses feel not weak in that little car. But change the timingbelt and the waterpump, it is a interference engine. The valve cover gasket and rust are state of the art.
I worked in a opel dealership, when that little car was new. I feel that car, but now I prefere my Golf MK1 Cabrio.
Great cars they were my late dad had one in 1991 an E reg 1986 1.3 it ran on 4 star leaded petrol and would do 120mph if you thrashed it , sadly rust killed them off , it was sold to the scrap man in 2004 but not bad it made it to 18 years old.
I owned a pretty special one a few years ago. It was a base model station wagon with the smallest gasoline engine but it had power steering and ABS. Weird. I always wondered who configured that car in this spec.
I also have a 1969 Mercedes 200D W115 with power steering, AC and a sunroof. It is still in my posession.
And, according to the original data card issued with the car, it left the factory that way. That is beyond crazy because all those options cost an absolute fortune back in the day (the power steering alone was almost 1000 Marks). While the upgrade to the 220 Engine was less than 500 Marks. I would really like to travel back in time to ask the original owner why he (or she) did that.
I recall that the reason this period Opels used to rust like crazy was because they used cheap, poor quality Dutch steel for these coupled with the then water-based paint they started to use. But as usual for Opels, joints and suspension parts are bulletproof for long time, as are the engines (at least mechanical wise), clutch and gearboxes.
Sounding very crispy holy moly time for bridge
My classmate back in the 90's had a Kadett 1.8 GT. In two years it was stolen 5 times and everytime he got it back. These things were way to easy to break into and start.
Please save the Kadett! ❤️❤️❤️
On the surface, car looks to be in good condition, but it's always the bottom side rust killing them. Interesting project, I hope it gets repaired and back on the road :)
I'm Finnish and my dad bought new Opel Kadett E 1,6 sedan in 1988, Club trim level in which had these same wheels, and body coloured mirror housings. It was white like the Kadett in this video.
He kept it for 7 years, mostly car worked fine, was nice to drive, etc. but already during that time it started rusting, for example small pinholes in the front wings, between the turn signal light and front wheel well. Rocker panels started also rusting, as there were "vent holes" underneath from the factory, but also most likely dirt went inside the rocker panel. Probably not the best design...
Might be contributing factor why the Kadett in this video has so rotten rocker panel, altough admittedly, it's typical place for rust in completely sealed panels as well.
I recall one place where Kadett E collected dirt and started rusting was somewhere underneath / behind headlights, so might be good idea to check that too.
Dad's car also had some electrical issues, headlight switch had to be replaced because original one became unreliable, making lights disappear randomly. Brake light switch had to be replaced as well because brake lights stopped working, Ignition cables from distributor to spark plugs were replaced also once because engine started "jerking" in some situations.
This 1,6S engine (carburated 1,6 SV type, 82hp if I recall correctly) had somehow weak timing belt system, as the car died on the road twice because timing belt failed prematurely. Luckily it was non-interference engine, so no engine damage, but of course it's still bad situation when car dies on the road and has to be towed to a shop.
A friend had an Astra LXi estate, basically a GTE. It was a great car. I had a MkI Astra SR which was fun. This one should be saved, not many left now.
I had a Kadett E GSI with the 20SEH engine (130 HP) - not as fast as the 16V C20XE. but it had a lot of torque. It had rust problems just below the pedal area, but this looked better...
My MK2 Astra slid into a lamppost on the B pillar. The whole thing looked like a boomerang.
That was a eight legged beast indeed!
And now I can't find it... Im afraid to go back there! no more videos!
@@SeasideGarage Sorry but he will jump out when you least expect it!!
I remember when these were new. Hell I even remember when the Kadett D was introduced. The E was a great car when it launched, but last time I spent time in one was in the mid-0s, taking 50km drives mostly on motorways, in a 4 gear 1,4i sedan. It felt old, and ill equipped for the motorway. To not strain the car we kept to around truck speeds, and still it felt like the driver was punishing the car sometimes. I love seeing them, because many have been lost, but I couldn't see myself spending much money fixing one tbh. We'll see what the owner says..
Not as rusty as I expected for it's age. my friend had a few of these, we changed the sill on a 1986 model as it had gone at the back and been filled badly.
That was my favourite era of Vauxhall Astra (Opel Kadett)
I live just down the road from the Vauxhall Astra factory here in Ellesmere port, but the Opel could of been built in Belgium perhaps ?
Oh yeah, we just "live with it" 😂
@13.42, Caliper slides were known to cause problems & many motor factors stocked them back in the day
I have a 91' one, Beauty model variation, 2nd owner since 2004 and LPG converted since 2005 with a lot of miles, still drives every other week in 2024. Mine was also stolen before i bough it. Mine's also a 1.4 but with a pierburg 2E carburator, and 5s, no bloody kat. Now drinks a bit of oil, possibly valve seats or piston rings.
Its much more confortable both inside and driving than newer vehicles. My other car is a Zafira A.
Fuel consuption even on carburated ones is only worse on urban cycles, on the road is ok.
Windscreen, i changed mine in 2010?, i think it was less than 80€ plus the special silicon, but a pain to replace (i did it myself).
Heater core i got one also cheap, around 30€? autodoc, but had to remove central console to replace it. There's a mod that can be done for the central air ducts also output heated air.
Usually rear mudgards rust, rear door-window, behind the spare and around the headlights are the worse spots.
That rear axle hole is strange, must've been some weak factory weld/plugged water drain. Mine is fine, but where i drive or drove, we dont salt roads.
Front shocks are a pain to change but do improve a lot the handling. Good or original top strut bearings/bush do last more (those are ok), i find that they usually go bad after 5 years. Front CV Axles boots are the same.
I've very slightly modded my front brakes to use daewoo nexia's ventilated rotors.
That one could use a valve cover gasket. As for head gasket, taking sparks out should be enough to find possible issues.
At one time (before 2017), mine drove years with a minor head leak (coolant) into a cylinder, and when it finally gave in, i was able to drive another 150km to arrive to destination (did remove that plug and refill the coolant circuit with water every 10km or so) - did not warp the head or did any other damage. Most likely if it is weak idling or shaking, theres a bad plug or cable.
Noticed possibly missing a vacuum hose to the heated air intake valve body over the exhausts or maybe thats already plugged in the other end (did that on mine once the valve leaked).
Beware, this is an interference engine - ask me how i know :D
Headlight bulbs do improve if two relays are installed (one for main other for high beams)
1.4 Models with kat models were 60HP. Non-KAT (
Yup... its fallen off!
It will be interesting to find out what happens to this car, as its future depends entirely on how much sentimental attachment the owner has to it, and how much he's willing to pay for that.
I can understand the attachment though. I'm 2 years into an extensive welding and mechanical rebuild project on a vehicle that's not even remotely economically viable, but to me it's totally irreplaceable so I'm doing the work anyway.
Would love to see a before and after with a good engine bay clean!!
My 1990 Mk2 Vauxhall Astra failed it’s MOT in 1996 due to rust. Need both sills replacing, just a few months out of the Vauxhall anti perforation warranty!
Rust is just the worst thing to have deal with, thus none of mine have any. And when you have an attachment to a car, well that is all that really matters You can not take your money with you when you go, but you can sure make it happy when you want... I think new cars now are just appliances, while the older ones had character, does anyone else see that? Thanks for the video, that fuel pump thing brought back so many memories...
I totally agree... I feel a strong connection with my cars and the mechanical things.. but I try my best not to get attached in the way that makes it impossible to sell them or even scrap them.... when that happens It tends to be a burden for folks...
@@SeasideGarage I too feel a strong connection with my cars, all 12 of them, sadly I just love how they make me feel. Mercedes SLK55 AMG, BMW Z4M, well what else can I say, not rich just a car guy, and to see rust / cancer on a car really hurts to see. You get a big thumbs up from me for doing what you do...
I had an 87 Astra back in the day. The metal was so thin I’m sure they were made out of baked bean tins
That's more crispy than a packet of crisps
If this was Daniel's 1st car he probably wasn't a motoring journalist then. Being one now may be influencing him to try and save it? I suspect it failed it's MOT for rust before it was parked. Saving it is really not viable but if he has a budget of about 20k Krone I guess you could consider it. I don't know what your commercial hourly rate is. It would certainly try your patience. Did Desperate Dan comics reach Denmark?
I'm willing to bet any Opel from the 80s or older still running around in Scandinavia these days will with 99% certainty have had some form of rust repair on it, but usually its handled before it reaches this stage though. Should it be fixed I would also recommend parking it through the winter months, better used for joyrides and icecream in the summertime
I'm not sure if this should be saved. The issue is, is the body still strong enough? How much more hidden rust is there? This could concertina on impact and no amount of love for a car is worth that.
Of course you're the one standing next to the car, so I'll be awaiting your final verdict. 🙂
That would be a no from me, i know most things are fixable but all that is going to add up, i cannot see the windscreen holding up to removal
I really like those cars - they were WAY ahead of the competition when new - but there's 2 things you missed on your checks
1 - there's absolutely no sign of any actual maintenance or repairs having been done for a LONG time - on a car that rusty you'd expect some repairs already - the lack of those suggests it's not been used for LONG periods and that most of the rust has been picked-up "stationary"
2 - a reason to repair it - the engines are bulletproof but not uncommon - the interior is nice - the rest is, I would say, knackered...
Still - if he's got the money, DO IT
Brazil made these until 1998. Very popular car around here
Very nice to see, does anybody know who was the designer of this OHC engines?
The CIH engines were design from General Motors in the 60 tes but this one has an Aluminum head.
6:40 Looking at this I would say it is way too far gone... I could be wrong but it looks like it needs a complete new floor!
Vauxhall Astra MK2 in the U.K
I had a mid 80's astra gte a long time ago I've not had a GM car for a long time now
26:30 18 = 20 = 21. The *nominal* voltage is always 18 V (5 cells at 3.6 V), the absolute max when fully charged is 21. The marketing department of some companies just decided to say 20 instead of 18, and now we see 21, I reckon it won't be long before Dewalt starts calling their batteries quantic or some other bullshit
5 digit odometer. In the 90's.
As if Opel knew these were not built to last.
My Renault 4 has a 6 digit odometer (and it takes a fucking long time to drive 100 000+ km in one of these)
Thanks
If it was a GSi or Cabriolet it might have been worth saving but if it was my car i wouldn't bother tbh.
It's going to cost €€€€ to get this oldtimer fixed at a garage and you will keep finding things that are wrong with it during ownership (I know this, because I own an oldtimer myself). You can probably find a really nice E Kadett for around € 5-6k (not a GSI), so I would junk this one and save up for a nice specimen.
It's returning to nature. I'd allow it to complete its journey. It's hardly an expensive classic.
5 speed were standard on the British Astra even on the earlier 1.3 engines
If it didn't have so much rust it would be worth it, in this condition it has a great donor.
Camshaft problems were known in Norway. Some bad steel issue,. Needed changing on warranty.
I had a D Kadett, the previous model. A few lobes on that camshaft were completely flat.
Need to check it... :)
What he COULD do, is scrap this one. It will hurt. But there is too much rust to make it feasable. But maybe keep it for spares. And then spend a couple of years hunting down another Opel Kadett in much better shape (perhaps an import) and then driving that one. He would kind of have his old car. And as time goes by his old car would donate parts for the newer one.
I miss my first car. A LADA 1200S from 1988. And recently I just said goodbye to my first van. A Peugeot boxer. I cried for an entire weekend with that one.
Just a note, these engines are 'safe' engines if the cam belt goes
non interference - my uncle had one in a Cavalier I believe and it was just fit a new cam belt and away you go
Safe Opel engines from that time: C16SE, C16SEi, C16NZ, X16SZ, X16SZR, 18NT, 18E, C18NE, E18NVR, C20NE and X20SE. All 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 engines will be dead if the cam belt fails.
@@NATOLLorg i can confirm 1.4's will bend valves if cambelt fails
I've had over 50 cars in 40 years of driving having done @1 million miles. I like cars. I have nostalgia for cars but I don't get attached to them. I can move one on or scrap it if needs be not a bother to me. I am realistic - I know my old 1800 Landcrab was lovely but the idea of running one now would just be laughable
Allways wanted a astra gte it's called in the UK.. The kadet gse in Europe with digital dash board
if you fixed that car at half the average garage hourly rate , then it would cost over £1500 UK, perhaps you could just simply sell Danuel a car from your collection, meaning it's only worth fixing if he was doing it himself.
Hunne e modelle de vil kør en tur!
egg model Rocket Kadett!
When I was a teenager you could buy these for as low as 500 euros. They were very solid cars, were good to drive, gave no trouble, except for... the rust. Pristine cars got scrapped even with the slightest need of welding, something I felt bad about even then. I grew up in the Netherlands where from the facelift all engines were fuel injected, and I'm pretty certain that from that point a 5-speed was standard too. GSI got thrashed by the boy racers but just a 1.6i GT was a really nice car to drive. Very underrated car imho, although a Golf II was much better in build quality and rust proofing.
Aqui no Brasil,🇧🇷 esse carro e feito pela Chevrolet, temos um modelo único,IPANEMA, que e basicamente o Kadett wagon,duas e quatro portas,versão GSI ESPORTIVA, e conversível,muitos carros brasileiros foram inspirados no carros da Opel,por exemplo,O ascona aqui é chamado de Monza,tenho um esta no meu canal do RUclips,e tive um Caravan,que e uma perua do Opala,um derivado do Opel C,foi fabricado ate 1992
E o Monza ate 1996 no Brasil 🇧🇷
Save it change a clutch on them 15 min
Yes I have even removed the flywheels for skimming through that bellhousing service cavity.
You did not remove the tire you removed the wheel 😅
Yea.. the rim was stuck to it....
Eu tenho um Kadett 1990 in Brasil
How to talk your self out of fixing a car
ha! :D
It all comes down to how much will cost to repair this car as opposed to what it's really actually how much good examples are selling for in good registrable condition what it's true value not what a price guide will tell how much people pay for them that's the true value of a vehicle l will give you an example five years ago l paid aud $1500 for 1997 Toyota Hilux as usual in Australia older Toyotas appreciate so today l couldn't go out and buy a 1997 Toyota Hilux for aud $1500 l would actually pat aud $5000 to aud $6000 for one and in the five years of ownership l have spent about aud $2000 on repairs which a lot of the work l have done myself and includes a complete service new tyres and a complete exhaust system the registration inspector didn't like that and also l needed to replace the number plate light and that was for tge inspection but one thing no rust problems because in Australia 30 year old cars don't rust but newer Chinese built vehicles do
It is too late to save this one.
Hvem elsker ikke en gammel kasket specielt D model.
Throw it away, NOW! Nobody puts money in a car like this. Oh, the radio is still useable😭
I do ❤
These cars are definitely worth saving. On a long trip where towns are far apart I would trust the reliability of this car over most new cars.
Theres a fairly large community around old Opels in north Europe, veteran clubs etc - also including fairly 'everyday' 60s, 70s and 80s models. But that said the rust here is pretty bad tbh
@@ItsJustMe-e7h It's just not worth the money and it will never become a classic car!
@@ItsJustMe-e7h And if you will save it then "seaside garage" is not the place to be. Because then it becomes only MOT ready and that's not enough.
Ingen tvivl om manden er dansk 😂😂😂😂
I can not over the head forstand what you mean
I'm surprised so many people want to see it saved, I find nothing interesting about that car.
Rust is the worst enemy. Amything else can be fixed/swapped.
Nincs menthetetlen autó,csak gyáva szerelők.
I remember seeing this everywhere as a kid. It is a VERY bland looking car.
ive saved way worse than that..
Sorry not in my view. From the start a boring and ancient construction in its time. Bread and butter and nothing else.