Opel Corsa 1991 Classic

Nearly40

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/vintagecars/2869266,

Am looking for advice, my son is looking at a Opel Corsa 1991 on Done Deal, he wants a classic car with small engine, it looks lovely and sounds good, but I dont know enough about old cars to go ahead yet, can anyone advise would it be a good buy, I cant find another one to compare them. thanks.

carchaeologist

Thats a Corsa A, the facelift model. I had one, still have it actually. That one looks clean, if a bit strong in price. They are getting quite scarce nowadays.
There is better driving cars out there IMO. Corsas were a bit archaic compared to similar small cars of its era, particularly the later ones like the above which were technical dinosaurs compared to the MK3 Fiesta, Toyota Starlet and Peugeot 106.

Still though, if he likes it and it drives well it should be a grand little car. Haggle the price though!:)

mk1esc

at that price it will be still there....saying that if the rally lads get it it will never be the same again .....good little car but you would want to check wih an insurance company will they insure it for him, alot of them wont take cars over 10 yrs old these days....he wont get classic car status yet until the car is 25 yrs old and he wont get classic car insurance til he is 25....
if he is interested in it get him to drive it first as the pedals may be close together for womens feet as i found that when test driving a newer corsa for my missus...we didnt buy it for that reason

good look

benny_cakes

I Had one identical to that for a few years & have got loads of these ready for the NCT years ago, and there are a few things to check out:

(1) - Rust......they rust on a lot of places.....(a) - behind the headlights, (b) the chassis rails under the floors, (c) under the front bumper, (d) the rear chassis about where the rear springs sit....be sure and examine the car underneath with a flashlamp and a big screwdriver....this is an absolute must.

(2) - there can be an issue with these jurking when taking off from a stand still...sometimes this can be only due to needing a new set of points properly gapped but sometimes this is caused by spark scatter from the distributer due to wear in the distibuter shaft (these engines have points ignition).....the solution is to replace the distibuter unit or else get the distributer shimmed, but that takes someone handy with a lathe to do this.

(3) - check these engines for blowing as they can at high mileage

(4) - the waterpumps can be a bit weak but are very easy to replace and are very cheap.......overtightening the fanbelt as often happens doesnt help the situation....if the fanbelt can be turned 45deg then its tight enough.

(5) - squelling fanbelts is another very common problem......generally replacing the fanbelt helps but in general its down to wear in the pulleys....so its usually a case of live with it and leave well alone....lads tighten fanbelts very tight in an effort to solve the problem but as per above this can effect the waterpump.

(6) - Seized front brake calipers - another very common problem.....the runners on the front brake calipers sieze up.....freeing them out with a but of elbow grease and some copper grease helps in the short term but replacement is the only real long term solution.

(7) - and if the clutch happens to be dodgy....it can be replaced in 30minutes without taking out the gearbox.....if only modern cars could be like that!

(8) - change the points at every service (6,000 miles) and gap them properly!

VanhireBoys

A good write up there !

I had a Nova 1.3SR (who didnt...?) and she rotted under the battery tray !

When it rained my feet would get wet.. There is supposed to be a tray with a spout under the battery

The back chassis rails where the springs are mounted is a favorite rot spot !

Its the only car I saw where the steering column is not in line with the brake pedal.. afaik the LHD Corsa is not like this

There is a bar that runs under the dash from the brake pedal to the servo which is on the left.. The brakes are not helped by this design

Stone age technology .. ergonomically inferior but a great simple wee car !

My Hero Dave Metcalfe who is no longer with us unfortunately
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApQBDfh_UGg

emmetmurphy

VanhireBoys wrote: »

A good write up there !

I had a Nova 1.3SR (who didnt...?) and she rotted under the battery tray !

When it rained my feet would get wet.. There is supposed to be a tray with a spout under the battery

The back chassis rails where the springs are mounted is a favorite rot spot !

Its the only car I saw where the steering column is not in line with the brake pedal.. afaik the LHD Corsa is not like this

There is a bar that runs under the dash from the brake pedal to the servo which is on the left.. The brakes are not helped by this design

Stone age technology .. ergonomically inferior but a great simple wee car !

My Hero Dave Metcalfe who is no longer with us unfortunately
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApQBDfh_UGg

Thats just crazy dude I had a mini as well !

carchaeologist

You can press the brakes from the passenger side, not fully, but enough to freak the driver!!

emmetmurphy

carchaeologist wrote: »

You can press the brakes from the passenger side, not fully, but enough to freak the driver!!

I would seriously advise against this, I had a friend once who did this and the driver crashed into a dog

carchaeologist

emmetmurphy wrote: »

I would seriously advise against this, I had a friend once who did this and the driver crashed into a dog

I'm not surprised, iv scared a few lads in my time!

Nearly40

Thanks lads for the advice, all very helpful.
I'll be sure to get the neighbours dogs out of the way, will learn from your advice emmetmurphy.
I rang about the car, am going to see it on Saturday, I will be definitely haggling with the price, but his heart is set on it, so will be hard to not go for it.
The fact it has an NCT is giving me a good feeling about it, so we'll see.

Rob Nulty

emmetmurphy wrote: »

I would seriously advise against this, I had a friend once who did this and the driver crashed into a dog

What type of dog was it Emmet?

emmetmurphy

I think he said it was one of those big black ones

Rob Nulty

emmetmurphy wrote: »

I think he said it was one of those big black ones

Thats probably a bulldog or somethin.

emmetmurphy

Are they black Rob?

Nearly40

emmetmurphy wrote: »

I think he said it was one of those big black ones

Jeepers thats scary, lucky enough my neighbours only have brown dogs, should be ok so...

GL scrappy

As was said above, your son may have problems getting insured on a car of that age, it would make sense to check that before buying.

Nearly40

GL scrappy wrote: »

As was said above, your son may have problems getting insured on a car of that age, it would make sense to check that before buying.

Thanks GL scrappy, I think I have that sorted, with him as a named driver. Its not too cheap as hes only nearly 18, but have to start somewhere. :pac: