wot 2 do with a '72 Opel Diplmat?

[yellowglasses]

so i'm sitting here,... wondering if i should do with this '72 5.4L v8 opel diplomat.
is worth a ground up restoration, or should i consider othe options like selling or driving it til' it drops?
thoughts?

[nobody]

is this car in the United States? Can you tell us any more about it like original motor and a few other details?

[yellowglasses]

Well,
this car is located in Ontario Canada, and yes, its seen winter driving. (I don't know if it was orginally a southern car, but its been here for the last several years). The car is probably a class 3, meaning that its a daily driver but in dire need of restoration. All parts appear to be here, but rust on the body indicates that the body parts have some major rust- a good quality bodyman would probably put $3 to $5k in work to get it ready for paint. That would be metal replacement, not bondo. the interior is fairly good shape showing some wear and a couple minor rips. the vinyl roof is tattered around the sunroof area and more than likely the sunroof metal will be rusted once you take the vinyl off.
i have seen many a newer car in worse shape than this- i'm quite surprised on how well the body is- no major dents and rust where you'd expect it.
does that help?

[nobody]

Ok does it have the original motor in it? I guess the next question is what are you thinking of doing with it?

[yellowglasses]

i'm under the impression it's all orginal, and that includes the engine
as to wot i'm doing with it? i don't know- that's why i'm posting
if it was a southern car, i would be leaning towards a complete restoration, but it's seen winters so i might move on to another vehicle for my next restoration and dump this car, unless there are important reasons why the opel diplomat, despite its' condition, should be restored?
I know that anything can be restored, but that comes with a price and sometimes it's better to count your loses and move on.

[nobody]

The car looks fairly clean in the pic you showed, so I don't know what to say. Do you have any pics shwing how bad the problems are?

[GTJIM]

The Diplomat is quite are rare beast by now - it has survived over 30 years.
If you love it - then consider what a "mutha" of a LowRider it would make.
To someone out there in Opeldom it is the car they have always been looking for ( for stock restoration ) So if you don't want to love it yourself then please try and find someone who will care for it on into the next 30 years!

[Manfred]

Hi there
do you still have your Diplomat? Do you still want to part with it? I am living in Canada but grew up in Germany and did my Apprenticeship in a Opel Garage. I had various Opels during my younger years. I had a Record P2, a Rallye Kadett, a Ascona 1.9SR, and a Diplomat 5.4ltr which I had imported into Canada. I sold it in 1989 (unfortunately) and now would like to have another one. In my car collection is a 1970 Triumph GT6, a 1970 Fiat 850 Spider(unrestored), a 1975 Mercedes 280SE, and a 1977 Alfa Romeo Spider.

Please let me know
Manfred
mwicht@westman.wave.ca

[2 Fast 4 U]

restore it and DO NOT CHANGE any thing keep it original, or sell it to Manfred, I think he would take nice care of it.
I would like to buy it, but I'd have to ship it over seas and import it [and I don't have the $$$ for the shipping and restoring ]

[hallgeir]

My opinion is that the car should be saved one way or another. Partly just because it is a Diplomat 5.4 V8, and it looks to be original, at least at the outside. There aren`t to many of them around these days. I think that is a car which is among top 5 of many classic car collectors wishing list. I would love to have it of I had the possibility, but I haven`t.

[Rionart]

Guys,
The Diplomat owner posted a couple of times over a year ago, he has never answered the PM I sent at the time, and I haven't seen posts from him since, so I think we are wasting effort and bandwidth debating the car until the time the owner decides to re-appear...and good luck if you want to buy it...you'll have to beat me to it..