Post by coggers on Apr 4, 2009 21:13:03 GMT
Had this for about ten years now..
I bought this Kadett back in '98 as a spares or repair car . I had a Chevette at the time so thought I could make one good car out of two but the Kadett was much , much better than the Chevette ,pretty solid shell - was full of zeibart - inner wings were ok , chassis rails spot on , floor pretty good so I broke the Chevette and kept most of the half decent bits then started work on the Kadett..
Don't have a pic of when I first got it but it looked a bit like this one
Same colour but if you can imgaine that ^^ with rusty steels , rotten wings and a rusty front panel you've just about got it .
Real problem areas were the front panel which was really really bad so I sourced a complete panel through the now defunct 'opel group' owners club. think I paid £70 for it and pretty sure I bought it off Alistair
July 2000
and afterwards...
The passenger a post wasn't the best so managed to find a Chevette repair panel...
It had the wrong , later wings fitted so I bought a pair of pattern wings from Hadrian panels for £25 each I think.
Also needed a tailgate so found a decent Chevette in a Hexham scrapyard . Got a decent door off the same car if I remember rightly..door + tailgate £10 each
Bought a house that needed more work doing to it than the Kadett so it got left for a year or two..
So in January 2004 work started again..
Gearbox out and reconditioned
Clutch,starter + rear crank seal waiting to go in..
And that was it for another year..
So early 2005 I stripped all the suspension , sourced some lower springs and cracked on again..
New and old spring
Suspension all replaced , new springs , new axle ( a brand new Chevette one bought from Speedy Spares in Brighton. £75 ) .
While the trailing arms + panhard rod were off I got them powder coated black then replaced all the bushes with Superflex ones (crap phone pic )
New axle , all brake lines and cables replaced , and an Ashley exhaust fitted
Had a few probs trying to source the master cylinder but eventually tracked a LHD cylinder down in Birmingham . Had to block a port off and bend the pipes round a bit but it does the job..
Had to put the old halfshafts into the new axle so replaced the bearings at the same time.
Also had the brake back plates powdercoated , replaced the shoes,cylinders +drums while I was on..similar story on the front , new calipers,discs,bearings + stainless flexi's fitted..
Wasn't sure what to do with it bodywise , had ideas to make an HS spoiler fit the front and stick a Black Magic one on the rear..
But decided against that and I think I made the right choice
The car had been sitting outside for a few years now and the weather was starting to take its toll so I had the outer sills,back arches and rear lower corners replaced ( think it was early '06)
I bought this Kadett back in '98 as a spares or repair car . I had a Chevette at the time so thought I could make one good car out of two but the Kadett was much , much better than the Chevette ,pretty solid shell - was full of zeibart - inner wings were ok , chassis rails spot on , floor pretty good so I broke the Chevette and kept most of the half decent bits then started work on the Kadett..
Don't have a pic of when I first got it but it looked a bit like this one
Same colour but if you can imgaine that ^^ with rusty steels , rotten wings and a rusty front panel you've just about got it .
Real problem areas were the front panel which was really really bad so I sourced a complete panel through the now defunct 'opel group' owners club. think I paid £70 for it and pretty sure I bought it off Alistair
July 2000
and afterwards...
The passenger a post wasn't the best so managed to find a Chevette repair panel...
It had the wrong , later wings fitted so I bought a pair of pattern wings from Hadrian panels for £25 each I think.
Also needed a tailgate so found a decent Chevette in a Hexham scrapyard . Got a decent door off the same car if I remember rightly..door + tailgate £10 each
Bought a house that needed more work doing to it than the Kadett so it got left for a year or two..
So in January 2004 work started again..
Gearbox out and reconditioned
Clutch,starter + rear crank seal waiting to go in..
And that was it for another year..
So early 2005 I stripped all the suspension , sourced some lower springs and cracked on again..
New and old spring
Suspension all replaced , new springs , new axle ( a brand new Chevette one bought from Speedy Spares in Brighton. £75 ) .
While the trailing arms + panhard rod were off I got them powder coated black then replaced all the bushes with Superflex ones (crap phone pic )
New axle , all brake lines and cables replaced , and an Ashley exhaust fitted
Had a few probs trying to source the master cylinder but eventually tracked a LHD cylinder down in Birmingham . Had to block a port off and bend the pipes round a bit but it does the job..
Had to put the old halfshafts into the new axle so replaced the bearings at the same time.
Also had the brake back plates powdercoated , replaced the shoes,cylinders +drums while I was on..similar story on the front , new calipers,discs,bearings + stainless flexi's fitted..
Wasn't sure what to do with it bodywise , had ideas to make an HS spoiler fit the front and stick a Black Magic one on the rear..
But decided against that and I think I made the right choice
The car had been sitting outside for a few years now and the weather was starting to take its toll so I had the outer sills,back arches and rear lower corners replaced ( think it was early '06)