Opel Kadett 'L' ?

[BurntVillage]

I was the proud owner of a 1960's (ok, can't recall the exact year) Opel Kadett which I remember having the letter 'L' appended to the name. I called it my 'Kadettel'

Anyway, for the life of me, I cannot find this car on the Internet anywhere. I'm looking for a picture of it. It was a 4 cylinder, I bought it in 1971, and was a 3 door car with a small trunk/hatch back. It was not a fastback. The engine was the simplest one I have ever seen.

If anyone knows which model I am searching for and has more information, I'd appreciate a clue.

Thanks-
Pat

[baz]

is it like this shape ?
1970 Kadett Rallye - Opel Photo Gallery

[BurntVillage]

Originally Posted by baz is it like this shape ? 1970 Kadett Rallye - Opel Photo Gallery

Thanks for the picture, but that's not it. It was boxier in the back. I've seen pictures of the station wagon, but unless those pictures are of a stretch version, it was not that long. Maybe someone knows the specs on the approximately 1965 wagon? How long was the wheelbase?

Pat

[baz]

have a search in the photo section theres some shots of a 64 kadett in there some place i just dont have time to search right now , i think every gt must be in there as i have been through a load of pages of them , just not found many kadetts

[BQS4]

You mean like the blue one in the attached picture?

[ggl]

How about this one ?

File:Kadett B 2 door fastback sedan Rothenburg.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Some better pics here

http://www.carhistory.no/page.php?14.2

[BurntVillage]

The best picture I have found so far is this one:

http://www.geocities.com/steve_atlondonuk/astra2.jpg

I am beginning to think my memory has failed me on this car. I remember the back end as being taller than the usual fastback, but it might be an old age thing happening here. Mine - not the car. I'm a lot older than the car I'm looking for! It was my first car and I wish I had kept it!

Pat

[baz]

thats a much later kadett "D"

have a look here for earlier ones

Opel Kadett - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Opel_Kadett

[BurntVillage]

By pointing me to the Wikipedia entry, I did get a little closer to solving my mystery. Here is a quote:

The first Opel Kadett after the war appeared in October 1962; 649,512 cars were built until July 1965. It was later called the Kadett A. In addition to the standard saloon there was an L (luxury model), a coupé, and an estate (called Caravan). The new Opel OHV engine was available as 1.0 with 40 hp (30 kW) and as 1.0 S with 48 hp (36 kW).

So my Kadett "L" was the Luxury model of the 1965 Opel Kadett A. I think it may have been marketed as the Buick Kadett in the USA. I'm still going to keep looking. Thanks for all your help so far.

BTW, the color of that quoted text was the approximate color of the car.

Pat

[GoinManta]

The L was used on all of them.. I have a Chilton somewhere that shows a 69-71 L Hatchback. They were slightly different than the ralleys but not by a lot. About 2 years ago I stripped one. I will try to scan the picture tommorrow.

Look here:

eBay Motors: Opel : Kadett L (item 320360690823 end time Apr-22-09 12:40:14 PDT)

Even has the 1.1L AND A/C !

Charles

[GTJIM]

Originally Posted by GoinManta Look here: eBay Motors: Opel : Kadett L (item 320360690823 end time Apr-22-09 12:40:14 PDT) Even has the 1.1L AND A/C ! Charles

Sold for $2,500 - I guess Kadett prices are starting to rise!

That is a Kadett 'B' Coupe' - also known as a "Kiemen" (sp?) because of the 'Gills' pressed int the panels behind the rear windows - only the earlier Kadett B Coupe's had these.

[BurntVillage]

I think this may be the car; found it on that Norwegian page that I cannot read but the dates etc. look correct.

http://www.carhistory.no/e107_plugin...Kadett_a_5.jpg

[GoinManta]

Thats a 62-65 Kadett A Caravan.

I know the car you're talking about..

Opel 60´s & 70´s Club

Not knowing the year.. check this site out for pictures.

Opel 60´s & 70´s Club

There is also this page:
http://www.opelgt.com/forums/introdu...t-ls-1-1l.html

[tekenaar]

Originally Posted by GoinManta The L was used on all of them.. I have a Chilton somewhere that shows a 69-71 L Hatchback. They were slightly different than the rallyes, but not by a lot. About 2 years ago I stripped one. I will try to scan the picture tommorrow. Look here: eBay Motors: Opel : Kadett L (item 320360690823 end time Apr-22-09 12:40:14 PDT) Even has the 1.1L AND A/C ! Charles

. . . one of the most obvious differences is the rear window . . . concave for the LS and Rallye, convex for the L coupes.

[kwilford]

Originally Posted by BurntVillage I was the proud owner of a 1960's (ok, can't recall the exact year) Opel Kadett which I remember having the letter 'L' appended to the name. I called it my 'Kadettel' Anyway, for the life of me, I cannot find this car on the Internet anywhere. I'm looking for a picture of it. It was a 4 cylinder, I bought it in 1971, and was a 3 door car with a small trunk/hatch back. It was not a fastback. The engine was the simplest one I have ever seen. If anyone knows which model I am searching for and has more information, I'd appreciate a clue. Thanks- Pat

Did it look anything like these? They're both former Kat McCoy's Kadetts, the brown one is a 72 that was brought in from Colorado, and the white one is (IIRC) a 71 that was bought through Gil of OGTS out of California.

Hmm, the "attach files" button isn't working tonight. Anyone know a Moderator who can fix this?

[kwilford]

Well, we're back on the air , so here are the photos

[BurntVillage]

Originally Posted by kwilford Well, we're back on the air , so here are the photos

Those are some beautiful Opels, but mine was not a sedan. It definitely had a hatchback. I am so confused now I don't know where to look next. But I'm pretty sure from reading that I had a 1965 or 66 Buick / Opel Kadett A, Luxury model, that had a hatchback and not a trunk. It was a sub-compact car. I am going to pore through all my old photographs to try to find a picture of it.

When I lived in Maryland, there were some real cold winters. I'd run a light bulb on a long extension cord out to the Kadett to keep the oil warm enough for the engine to start in the morning. I thought I'd just throw in a little tid-bit about the car to keep my memories going. This was my starving graduate student car.

[baz]

i think the shape you are talking about is known as a caravan / estate / sportwagon / shooting brake / touring depending on maker , a hatch back is more sloped and like a sedan in shape but the rear has a full opening instead of a trunk / boot

this may help folks find what you want

is it this shape btw

http://www.opelgt.com/photopost/show...php/photo/9823

[wklopf]

If you're looking for a Kadett A, there is one on ebay right now! Bill

eBay Motors: Opel : KADETT (item 260406831711 end time May-14-09 15:01:07 PDT)

[BurntVillage]

Originally Posted by baz i think the shape you are talking about is known as a caravan / estate / sportwagon / shooting brake / touring depending on maker , a hatch back is more sloped and like a sedan in shape but the rear has a full opening instead of a trunk / boot this may help folks find what you want is it this shape btw Kaputt2_jpg - Opel Photo Gallery

This is the estate wagon, right? If you could picture this car with the back end shortened, to just behind the back wheel, then that is the approximate look of my old car. I don't recall the hatch in the back coming straight down, as in perpendicular to the roof; there was some tilt outward from the roof to the bed.

Thanks for the attempt though - lovely car. And I'd love to have the one on ebay but living in Alabama would make getting it problematic.

[ggl]

Originally Posted by BurntVillage This is the estate wagon, right? If you could picture this car with the back end shortened, to just behind the back wheel, then that is the approximate look of my old car. I don't recall the hatch in the back coming straight down, as in perpendicular to the roof; there was some tilt outward from the roof to the bed.

What you're describing sounds like the Kadett "City"

Carhistory dot no: Opel Kadett (orange car, 3rd from the top)

but that was in the mid/late 70's and there was no Kadett A/B that looked like that one, methinks your memory is playing tricks on you

[Petri H]

This is a fascinating guessing game. I would also place my bets on Kadett C City from 70's. However, here is one new fastback for you i.e. Kadett B Olympia from late 60's. This has, however, a longer tail than what you described.

[BurntVillage]

That picture of the "City" gets my vote too. Now - how did I manage to buy one used in 1971? Fascinating mystery, to me anyway. A friend of mine also looked at the picture and agreed we have found my car - almost. She is holding out for the correct color!

Too bad we get old and memories fade. I'd like to run across that car again!