It was November 1988 when the enthusiastic motorsport enthusiast Thomas Scheid deregistered his beloved Opel Rallye 2.0 E. His daughter Julia had just been born. That’s why he decided to renounce his great passion in order to be able to devote himself to his new job as a family man.
He always knew: “One day I’ll get the C-Kadett out of the garage again.” But that’s not all: Until then, he didn’t just want to keep the Opel sports car with rear-wheel drive in good shape – he wanted to make a comeback in the distant future he completely rebuild it. Engine, transmission, body with all attachments, everything new. Namely: only with original parts. without exception.
The Opel Kadett C has many faces: The name of Thomas Scheid’s model is Opel Rallye – the type designation did not refer to the progenitor Kadett.
“We were just fans. What reputation the C-Kadett would one day achieve in the classic scene – we never thought about it.”
In 1979, Thomas Scheid bought the Opel Rallye 2.0 E, nine years later he canceled it. For the comeback, the Saarlander completely rebuilt the Kadett – using only original parts.
Rev counter and speedometer are objectively drawn in the field of vision. To check the oil pressure, fuel level and water temperature, you need to look towards the center console.
The last C-Kadett rolled off the assembly line in Bochum in 1979, and the official dealers were obliged to continue offering spare parts for another twelve years. So Thomas Scheid immediately started collecting at the end of the 1980s: whether bumpers, exhaust pipes, fuel pumps, lightbulbs, steering wheels, clutch and brake discs, spark plugs, he bought everything new. And stored it in the original packaging.
Did he already suspect back then that his rally cadet would one day become a cult car? “I where,” assures the Saarlander. “The Kadett C-Club Kaiserslautern was founded in 1985 and I was part of it. A few years later I became First Chairman and I still am today. But we were just fans. Whether our car would retain or increase its value, what reputation the model would gain in the classic scene – we never thought about that.”
Rare cadet fleet
During the years that the Opel Rallye slumbered until it was resurrected, Thomas Scheid worked on dozens of Opels, preferably Kadett. For his own fleet, but also for friends and club members. The garage and basement of his home are currently crammed with “17 or 18 bodies”, the owner of the house doesn’t know that exactly. Almost all rarities. A four-door B-Kadett Olympia, for example. Or a 1600 C-Kadett Coupé with Berlinetta equipment – “probably the only existing example in this absolutely untouched condition.” Or a 1200 Kadett City from the J-series with matt black painted strips.
Thomas Scheid currently has “17 or 18 bodies” deposited around his home, including numerous rarities. The Peugeot 205 is the exotic of the collection, which otherwise focuses on models with lightning.
Until recently, Thomas Scheid managed hospital kitchens and helped set them up in some cases. “Here, too, my passion was tinkering in test kitchens – everything had to be 100% there, too.”
“I’ve never missed electric windows or electronic assistance systems, I’ve never needed more cars than Kadett C,” says the Saarlander.
Every component is new: It is probably the only Kadett C that can claim to be built in 2021.
Five years ago, he began to put his ambitious plans to rebuild the Opel Rallye into action. First, the car was completely “stripped” – down to the body shell. And then rebuilt. screw by screw. Without exception with freshly unpacked goods. Thomas Scheid took the 2.0 liter engine completely apart, sent it to the immersion bath and put it back together again. In 2018 it went to the paint shop, then it was screwed, drilled, milled and welded.
passion versus reason
In September 2021, the master mechanic applied for an H license plate for his plant – for what is possibly the only C-Kadett in the world, for which 2021 can rightly be given as the year of manufacture. Basically it is a new car. Where does the perseverance come from, this meticulousness that has allowed him to prepare and then implement this revival over the years? Thomas Scheid can only shrug his shoulders like anyone who is asked to explain something that cannot be described with pure reason: there is obviously true passion at work here.
The everyday athlete: At the time, Thomas Scheid paid 13,500 German marks for his two-liter rally car – including five gears, limited-slip differential and alloy wheels.
E for injection engine: The unit delivers 110 hp at 5,400 revolutions per minute, which catapults the car to a top speed of 189 km/h.
It is the incomparable driving experience that continues to inspire Thomas Scheid. “No other car in this price class offered and offers more driving pleasure,” he is certain.
“If I had to buy all the parts in the current classical scene together, I wouldn’t have gotten away with less than 40,000 euros.”
And his far-sightedness paid off: “If I had had to buy all the parts in the current classical music scene together, I wouldn’t have gotten away with less than 40,000 euros,” he is convinced. Buying them together over the years was much cheaper. “The bills that I have saved amount to around 5,000 Deutschmarks. With the amounts that I can no longer document, I should be able to double that.”
Comeback in the anniversary year
The revival is now perfect – just in time for the milestone birthday of the C-Kadett, which celebrated its world premiere 50 years ago. He would have liked to have celebrated the comeback of his Opel Rallye at the big meeting of the Kadett C-Club at the end of April. But the car stayed in the garage. “As the organizer of the event, you have a thousand other things to do on this day.” We are all the more pleased that this special rally cadet is celebrating its premiere with a photo shoot for the Opel Post.
Thomas Scheid is no longer on the move as quickly as he was back then. His masterpiece should remain with his family for generations to come. Daughter Julia, for whom he was shut down, is to inherit him. She is now 34 and has a grandson who could develop the same passion as her grandfather.
The world car celebrates its 50th birthday
Four faces of the Kadett C meet the current successor, the Astra Electric.
The company presented the Opel Kadett C to the public 50 years ago. 1.7 million copies alone were produced between 1973 and 1979 in the former Opel plant in Bochum. Developed on the so-called T-platform from General Motors, the so-called “T-Car” rolled off the assembly line around seven million times worldwide – under different brand names.
In South America, for example, the Opel Kadett was called Aymesa or Grumett, in Asia Saehan, in South Africa Chevrolet, in Australia Holden, and in the USA the C-Kadett was known as the “Chevette”. This made the Kadett C the first Opel to be at home on every continent in the world. In this country, the Kadett C presented itself in a variety of body variants that had never existed before.
The offer included two- and four-door notchback sedans, a three-door station wagon, a coupe and a “fastback” called Kadett City with a hatchback. In addition, the elegant equipment line “Berlinetta” for the coupé and “Berlina” for all others. The Opel tuner Baur built a special convertible sedan, the Aero. A C-Kadett delivery van also drove down the streets, and in Asia and South America pick-ups rounded off the wide range.
With victories in Monte Carlo and Portugal, the rally legends Walter Röhrl and Rauno Aaltonen caused a sensation, especially in the yellow and black GT/E. Clear lines, large windows, sporty, but still equipped with a decent loading capacity and affordable – all this made the third generation of the Kadett so attractive.
June 2023
Text: Eric Scherer, photos: Alex Heimann