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A new big brother for my car collection. Monza GSE


Jessopia74
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Some might have seen the car for sale on FB, or perhaps know some of history. 

But as I was home from work, so it came up at the right time. And in my mind I purchased it for the right money since these are another very undervalued Opel.

I have always liked the Monza GSE but never had the pleasure of owning one, so it adds to my collection of Mantas/Ascona . It’s got some issues and needs some work as they all do. I have already sent the car straight to Adrian Thomas for a shake down and he will be doing all the jobs on this one for me due to time & total lack of experience on this model. 

Will add pics as I go on, but I don’t intend to do much of a change to it, apart from the wheels 😉
 


 

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Edited by Jessopia74
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2 hours ago, Jonathan Pounsett said:

She looks nice @Jessopia74👍. What’s wrong with the wheels?

I never had a Monza but did have a Royale Coupe (LLB 500V) I always wondered what happened to her.

 Ice wheels, Ac ones. 
But will look even better on a set of my custom rims I think 😁😎

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hi jess. 

yes excellent cars and mechanically (engine wise and injection) virtually identical to our 4 cylinder versions.

i have a few spares left from my senator days so will have a root around.

main issue with these cars is water leaks into the ecu down the side of the footwell  due to corrosion( or poor repair to corrosion) of the strut top/ inner wing area. many a car was scrapped due to this. the inner wing is double skinned onto the heavier guage strut top mount area and was a moisture trap. the rusted area was then frequently just welded up as a single layer thinner guage repair with no structural strength.the under area has a heavy guage 'triangular' reinforcement that hold all the weight and gives rigidity, without this the inner wing opened up and rolled the outer wings over creating big gap between bonnet and wing and untimately collapsed.

rest of the car has the usual issues to sills and rear inner wing fronts.chassis areas usually ok .can rust on rear chassis by rear spring top mount and lower rear arms corrode by spring seats.

nothing a seasoned manta owner will be frightened by  thou !

just check repair quality in these areas if its had any .

 

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2 hours ago, cam.in.head said:

hi jess. 

yes excellent cars and mechanically (engine wise and injection) virtually identical to our 4 cylinder versions.

i have a few spares left from my senator days so will have a root around.

main issue with these cars is water leaks into the ecu down the side of the footwell  due to corrosion( or poor repair to corrosion) of the strut top/ inner wing area. many a car was scrapped due to this. the inner wing is double skinned onto the heavier guage strut top mount area and was a moisture trap. the rusted area was then frequently just welded up as a single layer thinner guage repair with no structural strength.the under area has a heavy guage 'triangular' reinforcement that hold all the weight and gives rigidity, without this the inner wing opened up and rolled the outer wings over creating big gap between bonnet and wing and untimately collapsed.

rest of the car has the usual issues to sills and rear inner wing fronts.chassis areas usually ok .can rust on rear chassis by rear spring top mount and lower rear arms corrode by spring seats.

nothing a seasoned manta owner will be frightened by  thou !

just check repair quality in these areas if its had any .

 

Cheers👍 Adrian is very experienced with the Monza and as it’s his job doing the restoration he should get it done pretty quickly. He’s already identified a couple of scabby bits, but the car did have an extensive rebuild in its past (got the pictures etc) so it’s not bad, just a bit tired from its prime days. Got the log book already, only 1day! And still registered as an auto. Mechanical parts not worried about, especially injection as know the LE-Jetronic system well. Obviously just extra 2 cylinders to contend with. Will check condition of ECU right away as that is a concern !  If you got bit you want rid of, just D`m me and we can come to an agreement I am sure mate.

 

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Couple of pics on the transport truck. 
MOT history is quite good, but we have a bit of a list started for work to be done.

Quote

Hia bud, had a look over her yesterday, Things that don't work - Horn Rear wiper Heater blower Steering box leaking out of what looks like bottom seal Rust wise - Back panel Front sunframe where it attaches to chassis rail o/s rear mount starting to go crusty and swell O/s inner wing/wing rail

 

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yeah the ecu lives in the same place as on a manta and can easily get wet if water comes down the side. 

quite hard to see on the drivers side (easier on the passenger ) but you can look (or feel ) up the side and check as far as you can reach/ see. the area is awkward to repair with the dash in place if it needs doing as its usually high up where they rust,and not any easier with the outer wing off either as its behind the triangular reinforcement. not saying yours will definately be bad there but it is known.    

if the inner wing tops need any work i would strongly reccomend removing outer wings and then you have better acess to the area.

on mine which was only just starting to lift in 1994 when i bought it .i removed the entire section of visible inner wing at the side of the strut tower forward to the bulkhead divider and up to the wing mounting rail.  then repaired ANY slight rust or imperfections on the thicker reinforcement section underneath it. mine was not that bad at all back then ,in fact better than i thought but wanted a long lasting if not permanent repair. then i replaced the section of inner wing i had removed with 18 guage galv. this area is as good now as it was in 94. other carltons/senators have rotted badly in this area.

regarding parts . i should have some rear lights,front cd lights,gaskets,various engine parts and a brand new passenger side inner wing.its on ebay at the moment with a reserve of £400 but can do you a better deal. 

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3 hours ago, cam.in.head said:

yeah the ecu lives in the same place as on a manta and can easily get wet if water comes down the side. 

quite hard to see on the drivers side (easier on the passenger ) but you can look (or feel ) up the side and check as far as you can reach/ see. the area is awkward to repair with the dash in place if it needs doing as its usually high up where they rust,and not any easier with the outer wing off either as its behind the triangular reinforcement. not saying yours will definately be bad there but it is known.    

if the inner wing tops need any work i would strongly reccomend removing outer wings and then you have better acess to the area.

on mine which was only just starting to lift in 1994 when i bought it .i removed the entire section of visible inner wing at the side of the strut tower forward to the bulkhead divider and up to the wing mounting rail.  then repaired ANY slight rust or imperfections on the thicker reinforcement section underneath it. mine was not that bad at all back then ,in fact better than i thought but wanted a long lasting if not permanent repair. then i replaced the section of inner wing i had removed with 18 guage galv. this area is as good now as it was in 94. other carltons/senators have rotted badly in this area.

regarding parts . i should have some rear lights,front cd lights,gaskets,various engine parts and a brand new passenger side inner wing.its on ebay at the moment with a reserve of £400 but can do you a better deal. 

Cheers, Adrian (who is doing the work) does own a Monza and is very thorough. Once he strips down I guess we will know what we need for sure, but 100% from what I could see the Wing needs to be replaced. Told they are same as the early Senator too? 

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early senator,royale,viceroy im pretty certain all are the same .just 100% check shape around front by indicator to be sure as its a while since ive played with early cars.

plus. front wings are very hard to find for them now. if it can be repaired may be an option !

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1 hour ago, cam.in.head said:

early senator,royale,viceroy im pretty certain all are the same .just 100% check shape around front by indicator to be sure as its a while since ive played with early cars.

plus. front wings are very hard to find for them now. if it can be repaired may be an option !

Yeah, on the hunt ! 

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5 hours ago, ®evo03 said:

Take it they are not available at Halfords, any links? 

Are the centres new or resalvaged? 

They are CNC from forged T6 billet mate. BBS bolt pattern, so plenty of drum/lip options. You just can’t salvage them to made a proper job of it and welding up old Alu rims is a grey area.Plus with any decent amount of power, need something that you know is certified. I am not even sure on how insurance companies would see modded rims. 
‘These have been CAD drawn and modded prior to manufacture, hence the cost. 
I am looking at a 1piece option, 4Stud for 15/16” options, but there is a lead time to the CAD , model, prototype etc before we get to finished rim.

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Don't know where home made came from, but thought they where original centres used, to avoid copyright issues, maybe? 

Are they certified? If not, would it not be in the same boat as said mentioned methods above with insurance issues? 

Can understand the price as have billet wheels myself, at 1k per corner, makes kerbs a no no, and they are highly sort after by JDM market, not available as they where produced by nismo back in the day for a Japanese tuning company for a very limited edition, model, and now long out of  production. 

As for 5 studs Opel, I've one less wheel nut, and happy 😉

 

Edited by ®evo03
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2 hours ago, ®evo03 said:

Didn't mean home made, but thought they where original centres used, to avoid copyright issues, maybe? 

Are they certified? If not, would it not be in the same boat as said mentioned methods above with insurance issues? 

Can understand the price as have billet wheels myself, at 1k per corner, makes kerbs a no no, and they are highly sort after by JDM market, not available as they where produced by nismo back in the day for a Japanese tuning company for a very limited edition, model, and now long out of  production. 

As for 5 studs Opel, I've one less wheel nut, and happy 😉

 

1 less nut behind a wheel is good in my book 😂

Yes, they are Certified, just not TUV 

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