I promised a few pics of the Kadett from when i first got it so here goes.. I've changed the prices from British pound notes to NZD so you guys can see how comparable ( or not ! ) the prices are...
i've owned it since mid '98 . I had a chevette at the time which was off the road , i saw the kadett for sale at a garage i used to deliver car parts to . I had a bit natter with the owner and it was a spares or repair car , so i put it on his ramp , had a poke around at it and discovered that it was really better than the chevette i had which was quietly rotting away in my back garden... I offered him $54 (cos that was what i'd genuinely paid for the last chevette spares or repair car..) and he took it ! I took it straight back to the garage where i was working and it only failed the MOT on wiper blades and a front number plate - bargain.. At the time Kadett C's were going for about $900. Unfortunately i don't have a pic from when i first got it but these are the first pics from when i really started to get some proper work done on it..Can't quite make out the date on the tax disc but it's probably about 99 or 2000
Front panel replaced ( cost $180 from the owners club ) and the n/s A post too..
I replaced both front wings , $65 each i think ( it had the incorrect later ones fitted) , got a better 2nd hand tailgate and drivers door , $25 each from the scrapyard
Then a new house meant i didn't get anything done for a few years so 2004 i cracked on again..
Gearbox out and reconditioned .
Clutch , rear crank seal and starter waiting to go in
i stripped all the suspension and had it shotblasted , powdercoated or painted.. got a brand new axle , 50mm lowered springs , all the suspension bushes replaced with superflex poly ones and replaced all the spring rubbers with better 2nd hand ones..(apologies for some of the phone pics )
Replaced all the brakes with the exception of the servo.. had trouble sourcing a master cylinder but eventually traced a brand new LHD one down , had to block a port off and bend the pipes round a bit but it does the job.
had to put the old halfshafts into the new axle so replaced the bearings at the time. also had the brake back plates powdercoated , replaced the shoes,cylinders +drums while I was on..similar story on the front , new calipers,discs,bearings + stainless flexi hoses fitted..
Trouble with the car sitting outside (no garage you see
) was that the lovely North East weather ( we live about 10 miles from the North Sea...
) was beginning to take its toll . Although the car was full of zeibart ( rust proofing fluid - bit like waxoyl ) it was starting to pop through in one or two places..so....
had the o/s outer sill/arch/rear lower corner replaced ( the inner sills and arches are still in great condition )
the n/side had a sill done a few years ago so i just had to get the outer arch/lower corner done
and that takes it up to last summer i think . Since then i seem to have spent a lot of time gathering up all the daft little things that i know i'm going to need when i eventually get it painted . I've changed my mind so many times about what i was going to do with it but i just want it low , clean , smooth with a few chrome bits n pieces on it .. I think ;D
I was never happy with the suspension height so i got an even lower set of springs from Germany ..
A bit happier with that but i still think it could be just a little bit lower - might have to get the grinder out ;D
Fitted some Vauxhall Nova gas rear shockers - they're 30mm shorter than the kadett ones.. (replaced the standard bush with a poly one )
had to get a bit of welding done in the boot floor ( i
really should buy myself a mig ! )
Been on the lookout for a decent bonnet for a while too as the front lip wasn't the best on the original one
So i found a good one but unfortunately it's off the later model so it's a bit different - it still fits though . Since then i've decided to have a fibreglass one made instead because i want to have the right shape one . A friend of mine can make me one for about $260
And this was how it looked back in March of this year (just a quick mock up to give myself a bit of inspiration to get the thing finished more than anything..)
Found a Bill Blydenstein manifold for it
Its a great fit but didn't mate up with the ashley system i had fitted so i've sold the ashley and i'm going to get a stainless system on it soon
i bought a set of these seats off Ebay to go in..
but i've since bought a Recaro interior to go in .
And these are a few pics of the last work i did , basically i removed the front wings cos they'd got some surface rust on them so i'm busy grinding,priming and re-fitting before it goets painted..
and these are some of the aforementioned stashed away goodies waiting to be fitted..
some brand new front bumper brackets
powdercoated bumper brackets and bonnet catch
Chevette HS centre console
Electric window motors
Bullet mirrors and chrome door handles
Still undecided about the wheels , had some 13" 4 spoke revolutions on which everbody liked but they just didnt fill the arch enough for my liking and they didn't have much dish
then i got some Opel Manta 14" rims which filled them a bit better
and then i got some modernish 15's which again filled the arch much better but they ain't got no dish !
So now I'm definately going for a set of 13" deep dish Minilights with 175/50/13's
And i think i'm just about up to date !
So jobs to do are -
prime both front wings and re-fit .
get stainless exhaust fitted
fit alarm and central door locking
get the thing into the paintshop
get the thing out of the paintshop
refit all the 'nice' stuff - bumpers , glass , lights ,mirrors ,handles etc
replace the sagging , stained headlining with a nice black one
get the interior re-fitted..
9 years and counting.........
Probably a cool thing to do in a land with no holdens though. Edit: No offence to holden gemini owners 
) was that the lovely North East weather ( we live about 10 miles from the North Sea... 
