The Kadini coupe!

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gemsince88
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The Kadini coupe!

Post by gemsince88 »

That’s what I'm thinking of doing. It’s going to be a TX coupe with a Kadett C2 front. I've had the idea for a while now and have collected a few parts for the front-end conversion. The only thing left to get is a bonnet and if worst came to worst I could convert a Gemini bonnet.

I was waiting for a suitable car to come up for the right price and today I picked this up.
Imagetxkadett 001 (Medium) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr
Imagetxkadett 002 by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr
Imagetxkadett 003 by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr
Imagetxkadett 004 by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr
It happens to be the same colour as my first Gemini. Its called Persian Sand and I hate it. The only thing I liked about it on my first TX was that it disguised some of the rust. I've always had a thing about green Geminis but never owned one so this one is going to be green.

The interior is pretty sad. :(
Imagetxkadett 005 by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr
Imagetxkadett 006 by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr

I'm thinking of going a burgundy interior :P or maybe not. :roll: I'll see what happens.

This is the Kadett C2 front panel I had imported. A big thanks go to Alymac for this. He picked it up personally in Germany, transported it back to the UK and sent it on to me.
Imagetcproject 032 (Medium) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr

These are the guards, grill and lights I bought off GEMWRC. Darren had the same idea but I ended up with the parts.
Imagekadett 005 (Medium) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr
Imagekadett 004 (Medium) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr

This is sort of the look I'm going for. Maybe a slightly darker green.
ImageCopy of 129042010056groen by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr

Now this project wont be properly started for a while as I need to finish the TC first but I probably wont be able to leave it alone and few bits and pieces will probably be done before then.
Last edited by gemsince88 on Sun Jul 16, 2017 12:32 am, edited 4 times in total.
ratrod66
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Post by ratrod66 »

looking forward to seeing this in the works........ :D
1978 TD wagon "project"
1980 TE Sedan "parts car/for sale"
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gemsince88
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Post by gemsince88 »

I pulled the front guards off this afternoon as I was keen to see how much rust was hiding under them and I want to use them on the TC.

I saw this rust coming through when I bought it and was anxious to see how much was left on the other side.
Imagetxkadett 005 (Small) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr
Imagetxkadett 003 (Small) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr

The rusty bits!
Imagetxkadett 012 (Small) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr
Imagetxkadett 011 (Small) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr
Imagetxkadett 010 (Small) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr
Imagetxkadett 009 (Small) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr

A few holes in this sill but not too bad.
Imagetxkadett 002 (Small) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr
Imagetxkadett 001 (Small) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr

Mainly surface rust this side.
Imagetxkadett 006 (Small) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr
Imagetxkadett 007 (Small) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr

A bit of a dent to iron out.
Imagetxkadett 014 (Small) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr

Next I'll paint the rust with converter or zinc spray to slow it down and tarp it up until I finish the TC.
Imagetxkadett 008 (Small) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr
Last edited by gemsince88 on Sun Jul 16, 2017 11:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
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gemsince88
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Post by gemsince88 »

Some of the people I have spoken to about the Kadett C2 front end were not aware that the C2 front panel is different to the C1/Gemini front panel. Also that the C2 headlight and indicator would not fit on a C1/Gemini front panel. So here are some pics to show some of the differences.
Imagetxkadett 019 (Small) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr
Imagetxkadett 020 (Small) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr
Imagetxkadett 021 (Small) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr

There’s no indicators or parker light cut outs as the C2 has the indicators next to the headlights and the headlights have integral parker lamps. The holes for bumper brackets are smaller and higher up as the Kadetts have skinnier bumpers. I'm not sure whether to import the skinny bumpers or mod the panel for Gemini bumpers.


The holes for the top grill mounts are in different spots.
Imagetxkadett 025 (Small) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr

The main difference is the distance between the headlights and the width of the grill. The top of the panel follows the curve of the headlight, which would cause problems when trying to put these lights on a Gemini panel.
Imagetxkadett 026 (Small) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr
Imagetxkadett 027 (Small) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr


The positions of the pads for the rubber stops on the bonnet are in different spots too.
Imagetxkadett 022 (Small)u by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr

One small problem is that the C2 panel was only ever made to have the bonnet release on the left side. I think even RHD Kadett C2s had left side release cables.

I have two options. I could find a suitable catch spring and install a left side cable or I could cut this part from the Gemini and weld it into the Kadett panel. Probably go the second option but I'm not sure. My welding is crap!

There were a couple of things that I thought a TX would make this conversion easier. The first was that the chassis number is stamped on the inner guard and not the front panel so no worrying about restamping. The second was that the radiator support is the same.


One thing to be aware of with this conversion is that the whole lot is not ADR approved. I had a chat to a friend of mine today that does blue slips and also a Gemini enthusiast from way back. He said that R32 Skylines come into the country and pass without changing the headlights that are not ADR approved so this would be no different. As long as the lights work and not point to the sky he would pass it.
Last edited by gemsince88 on Sun Jul 16, 2017 11:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by gemsince88 »

Since I borrowed a few parts from this to finish GEM77A it was still sitting uncovered filling up with rain. So before I covered it up today I put the brakes and the cooling system back together with new fuel in the tank and went for a spin around the block. You know, so the motor is turned over and the brakes don't seize. That's my story anyway. :) Only crunched reverse once going for second. :oops:

Parked it back up and painted a few bits with zinc spray then covered other bits with oil to slow the rust and covered it up.

It will stay like that until spring when the weather is better and I have money to spend on it. Hopefully I'll have my carpal tunnel fixed by then too so I can hook into it when spring comes. In the mean time I have already put the feelers out for a C2 bonnet. Should be interesting trying to get a bonnet imported.
Last edited by gemsince88 on Sun Jul 16, 2017 11:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by gemsince88 »

This project has been put on the back burner for a little while since the TC sedan got mangled but I'm still thinking and tinkering with different ideas.
I was originally going to put a twin cam Opel motor and box in but they're not the best and expensive. Then I was given this!

Image

A whole 2.6 Rodeo ute! It was running but with a bad knock. It turns out the big end bearing on no. 2 had disappeared completely which rooted the crank. Not to worry I can get another crank then get the whole thing rebuilt cheap. I kept all the wiring and ecu so I will integrate it with the TX wiring when I eventually get to that point.

The plan is to use a diesel box and rear axle with my ZZR LSD and turbo Piazza brakes.

I have a Kadett C2 bonnet sourced too. It's just a matter of getting the cash for it. One day! :roll:
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moley
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Post by moley »

Are you going to put the flares on it as well? The gt/e kits are awesome
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gemsince88
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Post by gemsince88 »

Nope no flares. Not at this stage anyway.
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Re: Holden Kadett coupe?

Post by gemsince88 »

And one day I'll get to this too!
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Re: Holden Kadett coupe?

Post by gemsince88 »

Right now that the Reaper is on the road I plan to actually do something with this.
It has now assumed the position in my garage and I think the first thing I will tackle is the front end.

The name is more than just the combination of Kadett and Gemini. As I will be building this car for my son Kadyn, and probably wont finish it until he learns to drive, the name of the car is part of his name too.

I will try and fix some of the pics previously posted and new ones to follow.
Turbocoupe75
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Re: The Kadini coupe!

Post by Turbocoupe75 »

Don't tease without some pics !!
#Turbocoupe75
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gemsince88
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Re: The Kadini coupe!

Post by gemsince88 »

Not much to see at the moment.
How it sits now.
ImageDSC_0402 (Medium) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr
ImageDSC_0403 (Medium) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr
ImageDSC_0405 (Medium) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr

The C2 front panel I had imported.
ImageDSC_0406 (Medium) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr

The C2 guards. The 2 black ones in the centre.
ImageDSC_0408 (Medium) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr

The C2 grille.
ImageDSC_0409 (Medium) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr

The brand new RHD H4 Kadett headlights. I got these from Japan of all places.
ImageDSC_0407 (Medium) by Justin Sherwood, on Flickr

There's some C2 indicators floating around somewhere.
I think the first thing I'll tackle is taking the front panel off and putting the C2 panel on. There's a few issues with the bonnet catch and release cable so I may have to graft part of the original rad support in.
I am not sure how much time I can put in to this at the moment as the doctor suspects I have had a minor heart attack and I need to take things easy. Having said that it's not a too strenuous exercise to drill and weld.
Last edited by gemsince88 on Sun Jul 16, 2017 11:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
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gemsince88
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Re: The Kadini coupe!

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Fronts off! Nothing special about a Gemini with no radiator support panel so no pics. I might put some up later.
Now to graft part of the tx rad support into the c2 rad support. Kadett c1 had left and right hand drive bonnet release setups so did every t series Gemini but not the c2. It was either find all the left hand drive release bits with a custom cable or cut and shut. Going with the later.
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moley
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Re: The Kadini coupe!

Post by moley »

Not good about the heart but good to see it happening. We must all be starting up again
Coupe rebuild number 6..
viewtopic.php?t=44564
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gemsince88
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Re: The Kadini coupe!

Post by gemsince88 »

Thanks.
The doctors didn't find anything wrong even though the symptoms were typical heart attack. The pains I was getting afterwards slowly went away so I thought "f*#k it!" and decided to go flat out again.
I was going to cut things up this weekend but I need to go see a mate so it will have to wait.
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