Just last Tuesday, I found myself deeply intrigued as I devoured every word of The Strange Illusion of the Chevrolet Hatch. I hadn’t even reached the final paragraph of Dave’s article before I felt that very familiar – but entirely illogical – need to own one myself. And preferably right now! Peculiar and odd classics, like the South African Chevrolet Hatch, often have that effect on me; as I’m sure they do on many of our readers too.
Of course, shortly after, reality started to sink in. Sourcing one would needless to say have to start in South Africa. Where they are probably far and few between these days. Then shipping it to Europe. Then the hassle of registering a car in Europe which was never sold in Europe. And let’s not even start on sourcing spare parts for it. Naaah, much too difficult for what is essentially just a Viva HC made to look like a Kadett City. And so I did the only sensible thing and turned my thoughts to the familiar sight of an Opel Kadett City.
After all, much as those oddities possess a profound attraction, it will of course be known by every loyal ViaRETRO follower, that the entire editorial team has an equally profound appreciation of yesteryear’s daily workhorse heroes. The mass-produced family saloons, hatchbacks and estates which served us well on the daily commute until we unceremoniously traded them in for a newer model. The bread and butter models which used to be everywhere, but have now become all but extinct.
The Opel Kadett C is nothing if not such a model.
Post World War II, Opel reintroduced the Kadett in 1962 as the smallest car in their model range. Both the Kadett A and the later Kadett B proved popular as reliable and cheap means of transport, but by late 1973 it was time for the third incarnation of the Kadett to make its entrance. The new Opel Kadett C was a fresh new design, and much as the preceding Kadett B was a charming little thing, I think most will agree that the Kadett C was a much lighter and more elegant design altogether. Mechanically though, not much changed as the Kadett C relied largely on the same chassis and engines as those of the last Kadett B’s (this was to make the C the last rear wheel drive Kadett). At introduction, the Kadett C was available as either a 2-door or 4-door saloon, a 3-door estate which according to Opel tradition was marketed as the Caravan, and not least the sleek and sexy Coupé. Not surprisingly though, the saloons proved the most popular making up for approximately 63% of Kadett C production through its six-year lifespan.
However, the Opel Kadett C was of course just one element of GM’s global T-car platform as already explained by Dave last Tuesday. This meant that by 1975, Vauxhall launched their own version of the T-car for the UK and right hand drive market. But while the Chevette was fundamentally based on the Kadett C, they made quite a few alterations including their own engines and that distinct shovel nose design which they first aired with their sporty Firenza HP, and which was subsequently to become Vauxhall’s signature for the remainder of the decade. But Vauxhall went even further when it came to the rear of the car as they designed and developed a hatchback body for their Chevette. This was the shape of the Vauxhall Chevette at launch and it was only a year later that the saloon and estate versions much more reminiscent of the Kadett C joined the Chevette line-up. But it was clearly a two-way relationship between Opel and Vauxhall, as sheetmetal for the hatchback was shipped from Ellesmere Port in the UK to Bochum in Germany, and thus the Opel Kadett City was born in mid 1975 to compete against the recently launched VW Golf and the Ford Fiesta which was to be launched the following year.
The Opel Kadett City was well received by the public, and even though it couldn’t match the popularity of the more modern and front wheel drive Golf, the City still soldiered on until Kadett C production ended in July 1979 to make way for the new Kadett D, which was of course front wheel drive but also a hatchback design like the City had been. By this time approximately 263,000 Kadett City’s had been produced making up for more than 15% of Kadett C production.
So does that make the Opel Kadett City a familiar sight? Well, I still remember when it used to be, and I also remember being quite fond of the design back then. To a very young me, it seemed much more interesting than the regular saloon version. But sadly, most of them have of course suffered the same fate as most other hardworking family cars from the sixties and seventies. Yet, I suppose that at least on these latitudes, it still is a familiar sight compared to the South American Chevrolet Hatch. So I wonder if it’s possible to find one?
I’m guessing my chances would have been best if seeking one out in its mother country, but seeing as I’m currently sat in Denmark while writing this, I figured I’d have a quick look locally. And hey presto! this little sweetheart popped up. A 1977 Opel Kadett C 1.2 City in a charming and very period pale yellow. Annoyingly, the pictures in the advert are tremendously poor. It truly fascinates me how people seem to think pictures like this will sell their car, but it’s often the norm when trawling through internet classifieds. For what it’s worth, we have borrowed the pictures from the advert to share here:
The private vendor has been just as frugal with his written word, but in fairness, while the ad is short and to the point, there’s still some good information to extract from it. Apparently the Kadett City has recently been treated to new brake calipers, a new set of tyres and a fresh Danish MOT as well. He goes on to explain that the car always starts, it drives nicely, it’s 98% original (whatever that means?) and that everything on the car works as it should. Interestingly, he also says that the Kadett City has had the same owner since 1980 – that’s a full 40 years of ownership of a 43 year old car! Surely there’s an excellent story to be told there…
You can find the full advert here: 1977 Opel Kadett C 1200 City
This little Opel Kadett City is up for sale at what seems to be a very reasonable D.kr. 35,000, which currently equates to Euro 4,700 or £ 4,200. While the vendor readily admits that it’s not perfect, he does claim that it’s in overall good condition. With a fresh MOT and at that price, what could possibly go wrong…? I’m certainly tempted to make this little City a familiar sight in my own private garage. But what say you dear ViaRETRO reader?
With our Saturday instalment of Prime Find of the Week, we’re offering our services to the classic car community, by passing on our favourite classic car for sale from the week that passed. This top-tip might help a first-time-buyer to own his first classic, or it could even be the perfect motivation for a multiple-classic-car-owner to expand his garage with something different. We’ll let us be inspired by anything from a cheap project to a stunning concours exotic, and hope that you will do the same.
Just remember – Any Classic is Better than No Classic! We obviously invite our readers to help prospective buyers with your views and maybe even experiences of any given model we feature. Further to that, if you stumble across a classic which you feel we ought to feature as Prime Find of the Week, then please send us a link to primefindoftheweek@viaretro.co.uk