Opel Ascona C: Dieer’s dream classic car costs only 150 euros

He generously ticked: automatic (1662 marks), power steering (1100 marks), metallic paint in beryl green (E color code 345, 492 marks), central locking (371 marks), and 25 marks for the glove compartment which can be unlocked. locked should’ fail too.

Faded bumper, bumperless replacement door, prime wheel arch, dent, rust in center of driver’s door. Save or Slay?

Does Georg Heintz have to justify such a big purchase for himself? Does the usual “That’s my last car too” fall out? How proud is he of his car? I don’t know, I never met Heintz – born in 1912. One thing is certain: In April 1986, the Gandlgruber car dealer in Munich-Schwabing handed over a new car with registration number MH 5970.

29 years and 104,776 kilometers later rusty, shabby, ridden. The typical life of a sensible car: at some point, no one wants it anymore, and then it makes sense to push a trusted car to the press. Two senseless people intervened: owner Stephan Timmer, who couldn’t bear it and would even give it away. And I, who understand Timer well. Come on, Stephan, here you have 150 euros and I’ll take care of it. You can’t even get a night in a luxury hotel for the money!

My plan: to convert a pathetic car at a fair price and to show myself and the world how little money you have to spend on a classic car with an H plate. But first I got this wheelbarrow. If you usually travel with your first coat, in an antique car or in a new rental car – what a revolt fun it is to bake with rusty doors and flapping antennae! Anarchist thought: “If I gave that one the right of way, he would definitely brake, because he can see that I wouldn’t care about fender damage.” I will never. But I can

Condition 2015: Leather steering wheel accessory without horn, cable dangling from empty radio slot.

First I call my Ascona the “chair”. You know it: When you sit in a limousine, the seat cushions and springs loosen slightly, like a comfortable armchair. Not my Opel Ascona. He was hard as a wooden chair when he entered. Maybe partly due to worn seats.

But most importantly: With a solid suspension and quite precise steering, the C-Ascona – front-wheel drive or not – is surprisingly enjoyable in corners. Not even in the developer specs, that should make sense. How much he is, only really seen today. Dirk Branke, Jan Horn and other AUTO BILD colleagues who test new cars every day, are very enthusiastic. Back then, the Ascona used to be right behind the Passat, but now, compared to newer cars, it comes out on top: light, narrow, efficient, clear, perfect for long trips. A clean engineering car.

Condition today: original steering wheel, period radio, repaired plastic surface.

Ascona and its former competitors are the antidote to, say, the current Nissan Juke or Toyota C-HR. With playfulness and neglect of practicality, they took the place of the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz. This made the somewhat bland Ascona C alluring again.

After all, it’s pretty clear why young people think of a straight-lined box with large windows, a DIN radio slot and a linear high-speed naturally aspirated engine as an antique, even if we still find it difficult in middle age. In the long run, however, neither the 510 liter trunk nor the cheap plastic of the Ascona C impressed me, but rather the people I met or knew through. previous owner; wonderful colleague Lars Busemann, to whom I am very grateful for his help and improvement.

The rust spots have now been welded, the rear door has the bumper again, and the Ascona has an H plate.

And then the boys and girls from the Ascona C group, who came to visit me at some point and were always helpful with tips and spare parts. I love working on my own cars, but I think that’s what classic cars are all about, or indeed any community hobby: doing what you love together and making friends. If you preserve cultural assets and have fun driving: all the better. And it has almost nothing to do with money.