OPEL MONZA 3.0E
RUN BY Aaron McKay OWNED SINCE May 2022 PREVIOUS REPORT n/a
The Opel Monza, a long-wheelbase fastback with sleek lights, split-rim-style alloy wheels, a 178bhp straight-six and a limited-slip differential, is a tantalising blend of American personal car, muscle car and 1980s sporting GT.
I found this 1983 pre-GSE ʻA2ʼ example, finished in White Gold with wide, brown velour seats, in the classifieds and immediately got excited at the idea of having it alongside my sharp-suited BMW 325i and as a replacement for my even more straight-laced Vauxhall Omega. The owner had only just bought it at auction, but sold it to me – at a loss – for £2500. It needed work but was mostly solid and felt like a pretty straight car.
There was also a reported sprinkling of stardust, because the Opel had been owned by a film production company for the past few years. With Ghosts by Japan and Run to You by Bryan Adams playing in my head – the radio didnʼt work – I took the scenic route back home to London from Cambridgeshire. Stuck in D, with arm on the windowsill and smooth tunes coming out of the exhaust (if not the speakers), I thought to myself: ʻWhat a bargain!ʼ Of immediate concern were the brakes, which rumbled even under a light foot, and there was an ominous creaking at the rear. I also found that the horn didnʼt work, and the interior fan could deliver only the full-blast setting four and no others. But the flash foglights, wind-open sunroof and cam-in-head 3-litre ʻsixʼ worked a treat. After a couple of weeksʼ cruising around with it, I started shopping for parts and took it to Billy Allen Autos in Twickenham for a look-over, hopeful that it might be ready for the Le Mans Classic run in a couple of months.
I had already enjoyed an enlightening conversation with Derek Thompson at GM6 Spares, the Penzance-based specialist for the big six-cylinder Vauxhalls and Opels of the Monzaʼs era, and, as well as inviting me to the informal club (a friendly WhatsApp group chat), he gave me the run-down on what to expect. Most of what he warned about was echoed in Twickenham, as Billy listed on his initial report: rust on the rear chassis legs, a disintegrating rear radius arm and broken rear spring, worn shock absorbers, weak brakes, knackered door pins and leaks from the coolant expansion tank as well as the exhaust (including the manifold). When the advice came that the rear axle would probably have to come off for the rear suspension arm, Derekʼs warning about perished fuel lines made the case for that job to go on the list, too.
I immersed myself in the German and
