79' Opel Kadett C Build - Built Show Smash to Road Rocket

Dorno

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Hi Folks,

Some of you may or may not remember my blue '78 Kadett Coupé that got smashed on the way home from "Built" show in Titanic Exhibition Centre a few years ago. Was a great show but on the way home a pensioner pulled across the dual carriage way in front of me in a Ford Mondeo. Long story short after stint in Antrim Area, The Royal and then the Ulster I made it home with a head injury, 14 breaks, 6 Titanium Plates, 25+ Screws and a written off Kadett. Not the Sunday afternoon I'd had in mind but sure these things happen. Good news is I'm sweet now although a bit creaky/still at times.
As a wise man once said "I'm not as good as I once was, But, I'm as good once as I ever was" =)


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The Kadett was Written off CAT A which means it was to be crushed and never to be repaired. Fortunately though I did manage to salvage some parts from the car that were important for the c20xe conversion I had in it. (Back Axle, Driveshaft/Gearbox etc.)

I spent the months after the accident recuperating and eventually returned to work 6/7months later. (I'd left a Teaching post in St Malachys the year before to be self employed so not ideal to be off for 6 months)

It took me a year after the accident to find a replacement Kadett, which wasnt bad going considering theyre now like hens teeth. Randomly this one was sitting at the side of the road near Dungannon and thankfully hadnt been advertised online otherwise there would have been the whole owners club bidding on it. Thankfully the guy selling it was sound and we struck a deal even though I gave what I thought was really strong money for it. 4 years later I realise it was buttons compared to what they sell for now.

IMG_3672.JPG


I couldn't have found a better example, completely original 1.2s RHD coupe with 70k miles. Bodywork was really solid from what I could see.
It was so clean I was almost reluctant to strip it. Id always planned on rebuilding the Blue coupe into a Works Style build so now I had the perfect shell. It was almost too good to take apart but I had to remind myself. Its a build for me and a car I'll never sell so why would i preserve it for someone else when ill never part with it.

Work Began and I got it stripped back to just a rolling shell and dropped it off at Steven Wisharts place (Wishart Motorsport Fab) Anyone in the rally world knows who he is and the standard of his work. Wishart produced an awesome full 6 point cage and and tubbed the rear arches to accept the Grp4 Wide Arch kit I had picked up. Heres a couple of photos of his handywork:

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After Cage and Strengthening bits welded into the chassis legs, turrets, floor, crossmembers and a small unexpected inner sill repair I dropped the car off to get blasted. (Arse about face really but we were pretty confident she was solid!) Oh and wishart also fitted a replacement roof skin to complete the webasto sunroof delete!

Got the car blasted with Alan Harkness in Ballymena as he has a reputation for having a lighter touch than most. Thankfully only a few tiny issues that are super common in these old opels. A bit of pitting round the window rubber areas in the back window, a small patch on the front window where it meets the scuttle panel and a once inch square patch pitted in the footwell. All things we could have left but weve come this far and I wanted the car to be immaculate. Thankfully the previous owner(one owner from new) had injected the sills and cavities with wax which had helped the car avoid the normal pitfalls of sills and inner wings. My uncle Seamus who's possibly the most experienced welder in the country landed over to help with the smaller repairs and to weld in the seat rails.

PHOTO-2021-07-08-16-40-42 2.jpg
PHOTO-2021-07-08-16-40-42 6.jpg


So that brings us to the current state of play, The car is now with Colm Quinn to get prepped and painted. Colm took the car back to bare metal and fitted the Grp4 Arches for me.


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Was getting frustrated as the car had been with Colm since the start of December there and it took him till March really to lay hands on her but now that he has I'm super impressed with his
attention to detail and how particular he is not to overlook anything. Even down to making sure he used seam sealer basically anywhere that two panels met. He used counter sunk rivets so he could fit the arches without leaving the usual open rivet shapes in the paint. Pleased so far and hopefully he will be laying colour on it next week.

PHOTO-2022-06-24-18-37-39.jpg


Engine wise, I have Jonny Law building me a new C20xe for it.
Spec is as follows:

Bored out 2.1
Forged Rods and Pistons with compression ration to suit.
Cams/Solid Lifters
Ported/Polished Head
Bottom end standard only Polished crank and better bearings.
Set of 45 Webers Rebuilt by the one and only Roy Brown (these were actually on the Xe in the blue coupe but had been filled with fire extinguisher powder and needed a serious rebuild and jetting.
We reckon if completely fit and healthy we should be tickling 240bhp on the dyno.

Yeah I know, way more power than you need in a biscuit tin like the Kadett but sure its nice to have.


The Blue coupe had an Xe on 45s and made about 180 or so, which was plenty and great fun considering all the car weighed but this should be a little livelier and offset the weight of the cage.

Heres a couple of Photos of Jonny putting the bottom end together:

Screenshot 2022-07-09 at 10.26.10.png
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More Photos will follow as the project progresses for anyone who may be interested.

I think its important to also acknowledge that I appreciated the well wishes of everyone that got in touch when the accident happened. I've seen it mentioned in the Build Show thread and appreciate the comments from folks saying they loved the car and hoped I was alright. Thanks.

Here's to a new chapter, a new Kadett, and the fact that I'm now worth more in scrap value than my car lol

Stay Tuned....

Ronan
 

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Rigger

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Wow! That's some intro, and sorry to hear that you got smashed up like you did.

Metal getting banged and dinged in bad as it is, more so with an old classic like your blue Kadett.

That said, its material - and I bet your family were more concerned with you, your health and recovery, rather than the car.

Hope the rest of the build comes along, looks like its going to be a good one.

240Hp? Should be good for a laugh off the light ;)
 

Jamie-g

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Messages
2,387
Hi Folks,

Some of you may or may not remember my blue '78 Kadett Coupé that got smashed on the way home from "Built" show in Titanic Exhibition Centre a few years ago. Was a great show but on the way home a pensioner pulled across the dual carriage way in front of me in a Ford Mondeo. Long story short after stint in Antrim Area, The Royal and then the Ulster I made it home with a head injury, 14 breaks, 6 Titanium Plates, 25+ Screws and a written off Kadett. Not the Sunday afternoon I'd had in mind but sure these things happen. Good news is I'm sweet now although a bit creaky/still at times.
As a wise man once said "I'm not as good as I once was, But, I'm as good once as I ever was" =)


View attachment 367859View attachment 367858

The Kadett was Written off CAT A which means it was to be crushed and never to be repaired. Fortunately though I did manage to salvage some parts from the car that were important for the c20xe conversion I had in it. (Back Axle, Driveshaft/Gearbox etc.)

I spent the months after the accident recuperating and eventually returned to work 6/7months later. (I'd left a Teaching post in St Malachys the year before to be self employed so not ideal to be off for 6 months)

It took me a year after the accident to find a replacement Kadett, which wasnt bad going considering theyre now like hens teeth. Randomly this one was sitting at the side of the road near Dungannon and thankfully hadnt been advertised online otherwise there would have been the whole owners club bidding on it. Thankfully the guy selling it was sound and we struck a deal even though I gave what I thought was really strong money for it. 4 years later I realise it was buttons compared to what they sell for now.

View attachment 367863

I couldn't have found a better example, completely original 1.2s RHD coupe with 70k miles. Bodywork was really solid from what I could see.
It was so clean I was almost reluctant to strip it. Id always planned on rebuilding the Blue coupe into a Works Style build so now I had the perfect shell. It was almost too good to take apart but I had to remind myself. Its a build for me and a car I'll never sell so why would i preserve it for someone else when ill never part with it.

Work Began and I got it stripped back to just a rolling shell and dropped it off at Steven Wisharts place (Wishart Motorsport Fab) Anyone in the rally world knows who he is and the standard of his work. Wishart produced an awesome full 6 point cage and and tubbed the rear arches to accept the Grp4 Wide Arch kit I had picked up. Heres a couple of photos of his handywork:

View attachment 367865View attachment 367867View attachment 367869
View attachment 367870View attachment 367871View attachment 367873

After Cage and Strengthening bits welded into the chassis legs, turrets, floor, crossmembers and a small unexpected inner sill repair I dropped the car off to get blasted. (Arse about face really but we were pretty confident she was solid!) Oh and wishart also fitted a replacement roof skin to complete the webasto sunroof delete!

Got the car blasted with Alan Harkness in Ballymena as he has a reputation for having a lighter touch than most. Thankfully only a few tiny issues that are super common in these old opels. A bit of pitting round the window rubber areas in the back window, a small patch on the front window where it meets the scuttle panel and a once inch square patch pitted in the footwell. All things we could have left but weve come this far and I wanted the car to be immaculate. Thankfully the previous owner(one owner from new) had injected the sills and cavities with wax which had helped the car avoid the normal pitfalls of sills and inner wings. My uncle Seamus who's possibly the most experienced welder in the country landed over to help with the smaller repairs and to weld in the seat rails.

View attachment 367876View attachment 367877

So that brings us to the current state of play, The car is now with Colm Quinn to get prepped and painted. Colm took the car back to bare metal and fitted the Grp4 Arches for me.


View attachment 367878View attachment 367879View attachment 367880

Was getting frustrated as the car had been with Colm since the start of December there and it took him till March really to lay hands on her but now that he has I'm super impressed with his
attention to detail and how particular he is not to overlook anything. Even down to making sure he used seam sealer basically anywhere that two panels met. He used counter sunk rivets so he could fit the arches without leaving the usual open rivet shapes in the paint. Pleased so far and hopefully he will be laying colour on it next week.

View attachment 367881

Engine wise, I have Jonny Law building me a new C20xe for it.
Spec is as follows:

Bored out 2.1
Forged Rods and Pistons with compression ration to suit.
Cams/Solid Lifters
Ported/Polished Head
Bottom end standard only Polished crank and better bearings.
Set of 45 Webers Rebuilt by the one and only Roy Brown (these were actually on the Xe in the blue coupe but had been filled with fire extinguisher powder and needed a serious rebuild and jetting.
We reckon if completely fit and healthy we should be tickling 240bhp on the dyno.

Yeah I know, way more power than you need in a biscuit tin like the Kadett but sure its nice to have.


The Blue coupe had an Xe on 45s and made about 180 or so, which was plenty and great fun considering all the car weighed but this should be a little livelier and offset the weight of the cage.

Heres a couple of Photos of Jonny putting the bottom end together:

View attachment 367890View attachment 367891

More Photos will follow as the project progresses for anyone who may be interested.

I think its important to also acknowledge that I appreciated the well wishes of everyone that got in touch when the accident happened. I've seen it mentioned in the Build Show thread and appreciate the comments from folks saying they loved the car and hoped I was alright. Thanks.

Here's to a new chapter, a new Kadett, and the fact that I'm now worth more in scrap value than my car lol

Stay Tuned....

Ronan
Alright big lad. About time you were on here. I can’t wait to see the finished project.
 

McFall1984

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A car can always be replaced as they say,
Glad to hear your mended and back in a Kadett, look forward to progress bud 👍
 

IL

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Cracking Job, can recognise wisharts fabrication a mile off, subscribed to this one..

Jonny builds a good engine too 😀
 

Dorno

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Dorno
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Wow! That's some intro, and sorry to hear that you got smashed up like you did.

Metal getting banged and dinged in bad as it is, more so with an old classic like your blue Kadett.

That said, its material - and I bet your family were more concerned with you, your health and recovery, rather than the car.

Hope the rest of the build comes along, looks like its going to be a good one.

240Hp? Should be good for a laugh off the light ;)
Thanks lad! Should be nice to get it finished! Once it’s painted then I’ll get stuck into the rebuild!
Alright big lad. About time you were on here. I can’t wait to see the finished project.
Ha first post. Have been lurking for many’s a year and thought I’d post now that I’m getting on with it a bit. Took a while to
Figure out which email was linked to which account lol
A car can always be replaced as they say,
Glad to hear your mended and back in a Kadett, look forward to progress bud 👍
Thanks! All good here! Won’t settle till this is finished! 😁
F u c k yes. I had the white nova at built with the xe in it, my heart went out to you when I heard and seen the pictures but glad you got out alive. Subbed to this oneView attachment 367894oh and welcome along btw 😬😂
Ah what a weapon! I stood and admired this for god know show long! Must see it in person some day!!
 

Dorno

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Dorno
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Cracking Job, can recognise wisharts fabrication a mile off, subscribed to this one..

Jonny builds a good engine too 😀
Ha Wishart is nothing short of a magician! Tidy work as always.

Jonnys a good cub! The xe in Willy Carey’s escort is pushing 300bhp reliably! Which is a testament considering how he’s been driving it this last while lol
 

Dorno

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I’d not heard about the accident, what a mess! Glad you’re around to build another!
Me too lad me too! Was always grateful in general but it does change your perspective on things. Never sweat the small stuff anymore. 👌🏻
Wow that really shows you what a modern car can withstand compared to a classic.

Awesome build!
Might as well be sailing about in a biscuit tin! But the cage will stiffen her up for sure. policeman said to my dad that the only thing that stoped it from crumpling further in round the cabin was the fact we had the RedTop in it. 🤣😂 which basically means “engine swap everything” it’s for safety! Lol was funny as he was always saying “what you need a RedTop in that for” 😂
 

salster

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that was some smash and your body took some smash as well, what sort of speed were you doing?.
 

Cossers

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I remember looking at that car at the side of the dungannon cooks town road….I nearly bought it!

Epic build and glad your recovered somewhat 👍🏻👍🏻
 

Dorno

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that was some smash and your body took some smash as well, what sort of speed were you doing?.
50mph which is hard enough to hit the drivers Door of a Ford mondeo! Lol
I remember looking at that car at the side of the dungannon cooks town road….I nearly bought it!

Epic build and glad your recovered somewhat 👍🏻👍🏻
Ha that’s exactly where it was. Gave £6.5k for it at that stage and thought I’d been bent over but so glad I started the build with such a clean shell. Glad you didn’t snap it up! I’d likely still be looking! 😁
 

Dorno

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To be fair, the passenger compartment actually looks pretty good, albeit steering wheel might have thumped a bit.

The rest is always designed to crumple
It was the steering wheel that broke my face. But yeah it held well all things considered! Thank God for redtops! Lol

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FM155

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Some dozey old cunit wrote my mate off in similar sounding circumstances and he was on a bike. Mate saw him waiting at a side turn, made eye contact with him etc and so was certain he'd seen him but pulled out across the road anyway. Mate was trying to brake and thought he'd go behind him aiming for the hedge rather than the car and then the old bloke stopped dead so mate hit the rear wheel / quarter panel and got launched out over the top of the car like the bloke from the circus in the human cannon. Luckily he lived and has basically got a mirror image injuries on his right side to mine on the left now too, we'd make one able-ish bodied person between us lol.

Love the build and the fact you got that new donor car, looks like a fantastic car now. These were always a fantastic handling car out of the box, way better than an Escort.
 

Dorno

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Some dozey old cunit wrote my mate off in similar sounding circumstances and he was on a bike. Mate saw him waiting at a side turn, made eye contact with him etc and so was certain he'd seen him but pulled out across the road anyway. Mate was trying to brake and thought he'd go behind him aiming for the hedge rather than the car and then the old bloke stopped dead so mate hit the rear wheel / quarter panel and got launched out over the top of the car like the bloke from the circus in the human cannon. Luckily he lived and has basically got a mirror image injuries on his right side to mine on the left now too, we'd make one able-ish bodied person between us lol.

Love the build and the fact you got that new donor car, looks like a fantastic car now. These were always a fantastic handling car out of the box, way better than an Escort.
Jesus sounds rough! Any wonder they tell folk to look twice incase they miss a bike!

Ha they did have a great reputation and handle well with minor mods but ye daren’t say that too loud or you’ll wind up the Ford lads. I do have to admit though I do have big love for a Mk1 Mexico. The Kadetts had shocks all round and disk brakes etc. not a leaf spring in sight. If it was good enough for Walther Rohrl then I’ll be alright lol
 

FM155

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They were in a different league tbh, don't get me wrong, Escorts are fun and they can be made to handle but Chevette's, Kadett's, Ascona's & Manta's could all handle properly. Much like the Sunbeam's too but hobbled by the Lotus lump being unreliable in it's day.

I'd have a Mk1 or Mk2 of any sort if the opportunity arose too though.
 

stevieturbo

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It was the steering wheel that broke my face. But yeah it held well all things considered! Thank God for redtops! Lol

View attachment 367950View attachment 367949

I guess it's of an era before collapsible columns ?

May not make a huge difference but perhaps something to look into for the new project unless the cage goes forward of the bulkhead to secure that part of the structure too
 

AMG

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You struck lucky with that donor, would always have liked a Kadett Coupe.

Good to see you are recovered from the nasty smash, just a bit of a set back!!

I'm heading over to VBOA show at the end of the month so if you need any bits collected let me know.
 

Dorno

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Dorno
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You struck lucky with that donor, would always have liked a Kadett Coupe.

Good to see you are recovered from the nasty smash, just a bit of a set back!!

I'm heading over to VBOA show at the end of the month so if you need any bits collected let me know

Would like to get over to VBOA but only just back from Goodwood there so had to choose between the two! Wouldn’t mind a CWP with a better ratio for this Manta A axle here but they’re scarce enough.

Appreciate you offering!
I guess it's of an era before collapsible columns ?

May not make a huge difference but perhaps something to look into for the new project unless the cage goes forward of the bulkhead to secure that part of the structure too
Aye def not collapsible. It was me moving forward that hit it although the column was completely bent in the middle. I do have a dash bar that the new column will be mounted to the cage rather than the dash so should buckle the column before the cage. But here if it happens again the collapsible column will be the least of
My worries 😂🤣
 

Dorno

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Jeez they’ll let any aul riff raft in here now

Arches are a nice touch, tell us colours!
Lol Behave! All shall be revealed soon enough! And we’ve def discussed the colours in Connor’s house lol
 
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