Opel Kadett C

[ArmyOfOne]

1977 Opel Kadett C Limousine
All original interior and exterior (missing rear bench seat)
13B Bridgeport
Holley 600 with Racing Beat Intake Manifold
Home made Headers with long primaries and collector (extractors)

Engine makes 250 HP and 139 Ft pounds of torque.

Car being built up for drag racing looking to run in the 11 second range all motor.

[travellinbob]

Awesome car!!! these cars are the same pretty much as the aussie Holden Gemini and they take to drag racing quite well. Please keep us up to date with how well you do on the track.
cheers, micahel.

[ArmyOfOne]

The car is running great and I already tested against an M3. From a 50 kph roll up to 10Krpm in second and third gear. He was already 5 cars behind me so I know once the diff is in this is going to be a monster.

[t2rew]

thats a wicked car. are you taking it to the nurburgring ??

[ArmyOfOne]

No this car will be used for mild autocross and drag racing until I get my full drag racing suspension installed.

I am looking to build one of the fastest rotaries in Europe. Preparing everything for the car to run 7s in the quarter. But first I have to school some guys and gals out here on the autobahn. That and getting the license to run in the 7s here is a pain in the backside. You basically have to work yourself through all the categories and do 6 runs at each level. Then you can get the nitro/ supermodified license. lol.

[t2rew]

i think there is a similar thing here to get your licence's. you should have fun getting them.


please come over for rotorstock on the 28th may. we need to see this in the flesh

ill buy you a beer :guinness

[ArmyOfOne]

Make it 2 pints and I'll see what I can do.

[Gman]

I'll chip in for the other beer :cheers :Viking

[t2rew]

so its sorted :Laugh see ya there

[MikeLMR]

what rear end setup are you going fit ? sounds interesting !

[ArmyOfOne]

I am looking to install a Ford 9 inch or an 8.8 from a Mustang GT. 4 link suspension from Competition Engineering and a nice set of Mickey Thompson DOT Slicks.

BTW I just received a beautiful gift from a new buddy... 2 Turbo II rotor housings and a Turbo II transmission that needs to be rebuilt. The rebuild issue is not really a problem since even If I got a good one I would have rebuilt it before racing it anyway. I am going to use the 2 new rotor housings to build a nice Peripheral Port. I am expecting to get somewhere around 320-325 HP at the wheels. I am going to need it if I want to set the european all motor rotary record.

Does anyone happen to know what the fastest times are with the different porting types here in europe?

[dubber91]

sweet car man! sounds like a right trooper!

[yoeddynz]

armyofone... I hope you see these questions;

I'm in NZ right now, coming back to england in sept and planning to build a chevette with a rotary. This will be my third chevette (last one a 2.3 litre) and I'm looking forwards to it- ideal cars for the conversion.

I'm wondering some things..did you mount engine to cross member or straight to chassis rails ?
Was there enough room in the transmision tunnel for the bell housing and around the clutch/slave cylinder ?
where did the gearstick end up - behind or in front of existing hole ?
great cars- I wish you the best of luck !
cheers
alex

[ArmyOfOne]

Well the engine is mounted directly to the chassis and after shortening the shifter mechanism by 4 inches it still ended up further back than the stock location. Quick tip. Use an SA oil pan, cut the stock engine mounts on the crossmember, do not cut the original transmission mounts(they line up perfect) and the top of the transmission tunnel will have to be widened and made taller.

Good luck and welcome to the rotary GM machines thread. :cheers

[yoeddynz]

thanks for reply.
first question.. whats an SA oil pan ?
next question.. why do you need to make the trans tunnel higher ? is that to clear the clutch lever etc ?

I thought I might get away without having to mod the tunnel as the rx7 boxes seem quite small...maybe kaddets have smaller tunnels...?(I dont think so..)

alex.

[MikeLMR]

an SA sump is a Mk1 (very early) Rx7 sump (I presume)

Trans tunnel probably needs to be higher as rotary boxes sit very high in the car as the crank exits the centre of the engine and not at the base as in a piston engine. The box in my 323 is quite high as my engine is sat over the steering linkage.

[yoeddynz]

ahhhhh. I see. didnt think about that. but over all the box is still fairly compact (well compared to the tall old zf one I had in my last chevette...)
I've just asked on chevettes.com and yep - kadetts and chevettes are the same tunnels. So it might be out with the angle grinder then...

and moving onto sumps. Does a 12a sump fit a 13b ?

[MikeLMR]

no a 12a sump will not fit a 13b one, they are shorter and depending on the year the front covers are different where they meet the sump

[yoeddynz]

so its out with the grinder...
Armyofone - where exactly does the sump foul the cross member?
..and what did you do about the clutch- did you change pedal box to a hydraulic
clutch arrangement ?

[ArmyOfOne]

Well what I meant by SA was a first generation RX-7 oil sump. The reason I had to make the tunnel taller was that I am running a carburator setup and I was trying to get it as level as possible. Also I wanted to keep the driveshaft angle in check.

As to the clutch hydraulic cilinder... I used the stock pedal box but I modified it. I welded on a piece of steel to the top of the pedal, I then welded a box that holds the cilinder in the opposite direction than the stock RX-7, then I drilled a hole on the new metal on the pedal and installed a pin to actuate the master. I then ran my clutch hydraulic line through the firewall.

There is no getting around having to cut the firewall so just get used to the idea. You had asked where the sump will end up in relation to the crossmember, the sump ends up in front. I found out that MOROSO back in the USA makes a reversed sump with the actual sump at the rear, this could help bring the engine towards the rear and even lower in the frame. With that sump you could probably use the stock engine mounts but you will have to move the parking brake handle and fabricate a new transmission crossmember.

For me none of this matters anymore because I am building it up as a full racing chassis for this coming summer... can you say peripheral port nitrous?

keep the questions coming I will gladly help out. just keepin´it real... real fast.

[yoeddynz]

cool- thats a simple mod for clutch. I was going to see if I could run the clutch cable in an 's' so it comes up towards the actuation lever and bolt a bracket to bell housing. But the cable will be to short i think (plus lots of friction..). Yours is a fine idea.
Is the rotary heavier then the 1.2 you took out?
alex

[ArmyOfOne]

Its a little heavier but not much. It the engine were moved about 10 cm further back the cars balance will be perfect.

[yoeddynz]

Using the first gen sump with its pan at the front where abouts does the pan sit? -does it sit behind the crossmember or above it?

I wonder if its possible to turn the sump around 180 degrees and modify the the pick up pipe. From what i remember the sump bolt pattern is evenly spaced.

Some aussies fit the engine above and in front of the cross member using a seperate engine crossmember. This leads to a very high and forwards weight- not what i want.

I'm still trying to find a nice rust free chevette in the uk...

alex

[yoeddynz]

Hey there army of one..I now have a rusty rx7 with apparanty a good 12A and box etc. And I've just bought a 12A to IDA manifold here in NZ. And today I just won an auction on a chevette HS rear axle-good for 200bhp and more or less bolts in.

So now all I need is a good chevette hatch. But i'm looking....

Now for 24 hours of flying

[ArmyOfOne]

Well the money is in the bank and I can finally start building this beast. I will keep you guys posted.

As for fun on the Autobahn... lets just say that none of the local 911s or M3s will ever try to get in my way again. I topped the car out at 275 kph, 5th gear @ 9k RPM. Lots of fun.

[yoeddynz]

Awesome! good work. 275 kph! wicked.
I'm gonna run the stock nikki carb for now on standard ports so I reckon maybe 135Bhp. So maybe 225-235 kph?

I love the look of kadetts- much nicer front than chevettes I think.
And left hand drive..you have much more room for a better exhaust.
very clean!