A bit of information about Opel Cars in the UK for petrolheads

macabethiel · 26-03-2020, 00:42

Back in the 1960' & 1970's much like Ford Germany remember the Taunus anybody ?
Opel as a brand had completely different models to Vauxhall and competed for the UK market separately.

Opels were imported at Harwich Docks where they were stored outside in huge car parks for distribution by the UK Dealer Distributors owned by General Motors of the USA.

The UK Opel Offices were believe it or not a shared facility with Frigidaire (also GM owned at that time) due to the relatively low number of Opels sold in the UK . The combined Head Office for Opel / Frigidaire was actually part of an old Army Camp in Edgware - the Opel Offices were a flat roofed building with steel Crittal windows - it looked like a glazed air raid shelter.lol

Just like Austin marketed the Nash V8 Metropolitan for American Troops based in the UK Opel imported the Opel 1900 GT in LHD only for the Yanks. As they were imported as LHD they were not delivered by Car Transporter but the Selling Dealership had to collect in person. I have fond memories as a 20 year old student having to go to Harwich and collect a couple of new Opel GT's. They were a stunning looking motor in 1968 but the handling did not match the looks as they were based on the old Opel Rallye Kadett A floor pan.

Today they are fast becoming a relatively expensive classic - we used to retail them for around £2500 - free of VAT for US Troops stationed here.

solarman216 · 26-03-2020, 01:01

My dad had a Taunos sadly cannot remember much about it other than he rated it highly, Rick

Wallace · 26-03-2020, 07:55

Lovely little cars, I don’t know a great deal about them but though they were Ascona based.

Mike

panelbeater · 26-03-2020, 08:53

merks were imported into harwich and i had the job of repairing damaged new imports in the workshop there.it was not big damage but a lot of shipping dings and scratches.
i remember that the workshop was as clean as anything i had ever seen in the trade.it was kept spotless,not by me the repairer but a team of guys that cleaned up after me.my wages were top notch as well.
mind you the repairs had to be 100 0/0 as they were new unreg motors.
my problem was getting to and from in the foggy winter as roads were crap in them days.

macabethiel · 26-03-2020, 11:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wallace

Lovely little cars, I don’t know a great deal about them but though they were Ascona based.

Mike

The Opel Manta GTE (B chassis) shared the same floor pan /platform as the Ascona B famous in its Rally Guise they were a brilliant chassis in the day.

The Opel GT 1969-1975 had transverse leaf on the front suspension with coil springs on the rear being a live solid axle arrangement with torsion bars. It had rack & pinion steering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoR1-4jyG0I http://<br /> <br /> https://www.you...?v=mFZMA3JkTz0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f71cGaQ9V-Y

26-03-2020, 00:42	#1
macabethiel Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Derby Vehicle: Freelander & Jeep GC 3.0 Posts: 4,415	A bit of information about Opel Cars in the UK for petrolheads Back in the 1960' & 1970's much like Ford Germany remember the Taunus anybody ? Opel as a brand had completely different models to Vauxhall and competed for the UK market separately. Opels were imported at Harwich Docks where they were stored outside in huge car parks for distribution by the UK Dealer Distributors owned by General Motors of the USA. The UK Opel Offices were believe it or not a shared facility with Frigidaire (also GM owned at that time) due to the relatively low number of Opels sold in the UK . The combined Head Office for Opel / Frigidaire was actually part of an old Army Camp in Edgware - the Opel Offices were a flat roofed building with steel Crittal windows - it looked like a glazed air raid shelter.lol Just like Austin marketed the Nash V8 Metropolitan for American Troops based in the UK Opel imported the Opel 1900 GT in LHD only for the Yanks. As they were imported as LHD they were not delivered by Car Transporter but the Selling Dealership had to collect in person. I have fond memories as a 20 year old student having to go to Harwich and collect a couple of new Opel GT's. They were a stunning looking motor in 1968 but the handling did not match the looks as they were based on the old Opel Rallye Kadett A floor pan. Today they are fast becoming a relatively expensive classic - we used to retail them for around £2500 - free of VAT for US Troops stationed here.

26-03-2020, 01:01	#2
solarman216 Off road maniac Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Bexhill on Sea Vehicle: Y60 Patrol Me, 3 ltr Mrs Posts: 17,319	My dad had a Taunos sadly cannot remember much about it other than he rated it highly, Rick __________________ Ex banger racer now off road maniac Lokka on the front with manual hubs Diff lock on rear 3 inch SS straight through exhaust Manly winch bumper with 13000 lb winch 10 spike ground anchor, with multiple straps and blocks Super strong body cills capped with scaffold pole 20% stronger springs all round aggressive off road tyres on wheels so just swap. Aim to get stuck and be completely self sufficient in extraction, love getting muddy, 2ft deep is good but rare.

26-03-2020, 07:55	#3
Wallace Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Middlesex Vehicle: '97 Terrano II 2.4 Xtreme Posts: 368	Lovely little cars, I don’t know a great deal about them but though they were Ascona based. Mike

26-03-2020, 08:53	#4
panelbeater Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: clacton on sea essex Vehicle: nissan terrano 2 2.7 tdi Posts: 1,625	merks were imported into harwich and i had the job of repairing damaged new imports in the workshop there.it was not big damage but a lot of shipping dings and scratches. i remember that the workshop was as clean as anything i had ever seen in the trade.it was kept spotless,not by me the repairer but a team of guys that cleaned up after me.my wages were top notch as well. mind you the repairs had to be 100 0/0 as they were new unreg motors. my problem was getting to and from in the foggy winter as roads were crap in them days.