1991 Opel Sentator B 3.0i 24V Photoshoot & Test Drive

[cawimmer430]

Today I shot an interesting car that is seriously on the verge of becoming extinct: a 1991 Opel Senator B 3.0i 24V. This second-generation Opel flagship was only produced from 1987 to 1993 and throughout its short production life struggled to sell in large numbers.

This particular car is a 1991 model and pretty well-equipped. It has 150,000 km behind it and the current owner recently bought it for a mere 800,- Euros from the original owner, who babied it and took good care of it. And still the car developed numerous mechanical problems, and most worriedly rust (more on that later). When the current owner bought it the car had suspension issues, a faulty steering system and some engine running issues - and I am probably leaving out a few more problems because by now I've forgotten them! 

Opel Senator As and Bs are a rare sight on German roads, so I jumped at the opportunity to photograph this car at a beautiful location in Southern Bavaria directly next to the Chiemsee. The new owner is a diehard Opel fan and owns an Opel Senator A1 and a facelifted (not-running) A2, both with the 3.0 inline-6 engine. He now has three Senators with this facelifted Senator B.

Let's start with some snapshots. My test drive impressions will be at the end. 


Exterior shots and details. At first glance the car looks very clean and well-preserved. But - it suffers from serious rust issues if you look closely. Although I am not much of an Opel fan, I have to admit that this is a pretty handsome and stately vehicle. It's extremely understated, a tad boring but also handsome. It definitely looks like an upscale sedan from the early 1990s.
























Typical 1990s executive sedan interior - a little boring and drab. The interior on this Senator has held up well. The digital tachometer is something to get used to - and during my short test drive with the car at night this aspect bothered me (I am simply not used to this...).














3.0 C30SE 24V inline-6 engine with 204-horsepower which helps this Senator B reach 100 km/h in less than 8 seconds. Not bad.








Serial killers rejoice! The trunk is big enough for you to hide a few bodies and also store your chainsaw.




The specific tires that this car came with are no longer produced, which is a problem for owners.






Again, do not be fooled by the clean exterior. All Senator Bs suffer from rust issues because Opel's factory rust-proofing (even at the time) was non-existent. Here's the proof. And these are just the areas I could take snapshots of. A lot of rust areas were off-limits to my smartphone camera because they're in difficult-to-cleanly-photograph areas! As you can see there are some serious rust issues on the car.

The next TÜV inspection is in January 2018 and the owner knows that this car will fail. He is considering restoring the car, especially since he already replaced so many parts and fixed up the car as best as he could. But if it will become too expensive he'll just junk it. It's not an easy situation. On the one hand this is a rare car nowadays because most have rusted away or been trashed through daily driving. On the other hand it could be a money pit because spare parts are extremely difficult to come by and the rust issues make a dedicated restoration only worthwhile if money and parts are abundant, neither which is the case. Thankfully he's part of a passionate Opel Fans community and they help each other out with tips about spare parts, and that's how he managed to find and acquire the parts which he needed to get the car in running condition.














Behind the scenes of the photoshoot...




The shoot took about three hours, and when I was finished the owner offered me the chance to drive it.

Let's start with the engine; impressive. An inline-6 is pretty special these days and I was amazed by the smoothness and response as well as the sound of the engine. At low RPM the motor is almost whisper quiet but when you gun it (which I was encouraged to do!) it rewards you with an aggressive and sporty snarly sound. The engine response was instantaneous and it worked well with the automatic transmission.

Speaking of transmissions, the 4-speed automatic, which I was expecting to be slow and power-sapping, did an amazing job. Shifts were smooth and quiet - it would put the Mercedes-Benz 4-speed A/T of the same period to shame with their clunky yet somehow endearing shifts. I assume this is some kind of GM-sourced automatic transmission. It was great!

Acceleration was brisk and effortless. The digital tachometer took a lot of getting used to, and at the end of my 10-minute test drive I had, naturally, not adjusted to it. But hey, at least the digital tachometer has been working problem-free since 1991! Bonus points here! This is not a slow car and it accelerates very nicely.

Now, the car requires a suspension fix at the rear, so cornering on these tight roads was a bit tricky and I didn't push it too hard because I didn't feel comfortable with the soft ride. Body roll was pretty hefty and I didn't feel confident enough to take corners at brisk speeds, even though the steering feedback was pretty decent. The brake pedal felt a little mushy but the brakes were responsive and effective.

The car's age became apparent through dashboard rattles and squeaks. In fact the rear seats were also squeaking as was the rear suspension. Throughout the test drive these sounds were very penetrant reminding you that this is a car which still requires a lot of work.

Space wise, the car is roomy but I didn't like the driver's position even after adjusting my seat. I'm 6'4" and I felt a little cramped and not ideally seated behind the wheel. The driver's seat will only slide back and down so far and it puts me in an uncomfortable driving position. Other cars from this era which I have driven, mainly 1980s and 1990s Mercedes', do a much better job in the driving ergonomics department in my opinion.

Overall, it was a fun short 10 minute drive. This is not my cup of tea, but testing all sorts of cars from behind the wheel is always fun. More power to those who like these cars and keep them on the road!

[93JC]

Speaking of transmissions, the 4-speed automatic, which I was expecting to be slow and power-sapping, did an amazing job. Shifts were smooth and quiet - it would put the Mercedes-Benz 4-speed A/T of the same period to shame with their clunky yet somehow endearing shifts. I assume this is some kind of GM-sourced automatic transmission. It was great!

Probably an Aisin-Warner 03-71LE, similar to the one used in rear-drive Volvos and Toyotas of the time, and the Jeep Cherokee and Comanche.


Very handsome car. Shame about the rust.

[shp4man]

My wife's Swiss uncle had one of those.

[Raza]

Someone paid you money to take photos of that?

[mzziaz]

Oh, love those Senators

[cawimmer430]

Probably an Aisin-Warner 03-71LE, similar to the one used in rear-drive Volvos and Toyotas of the time, and the Jeep Cherokee and Comanche.

Ah, interesting. I'm surprised they didn't use a GM transmission (if it truly has an Aisin-Warner tranny). To my knowledge GM makes good automatic transmissions; even BMW used them during the '90s!

Very handsome car. Shame about the rust.

Yep, it's a very elegant design from the time. Understated but elegant. The problem was that Opel was way behind its German rivals at the time. Even Volkswagen offered rust-proofing from the factory, but Opel didn't. The Senator doesn't even have airbags - at a time when Mercedes was offering them in the late 1970s and early '80s. The car, despite its qualities, was in effect hopeless outclassed and outdated before it even reached the market, and this is why it sold poorly and why they have pretty much disappeared from the roads here. 

[cawimmer430]

My wife's Swiss uncle had one of those.

The Swiss have always had unusual buying habits when it came to cars. That explains it. j/k

[cawimmer430]

Someone paid you money to take photos of that?

Well he's a true car enthusiast after all and loves his latest purchase. Plus, I'll probably have two versions of the finalized photo available; one without rust, and one showing the true condition of the car.

You meet the most interesting people at classic car events. I'm glad that there are people out there with a passion for cars which were not very good or are unloved, and this includes cars like the Yugo, the AMC Pacer, the Trabant, Alfa Romeo Arna etc. These were horrible cars, but they are a piece of automotive history and somehow deserve some love, IMO.

[cawimmer430]

Oh, love those Senators

Are they still common in Norway? Were they ever popular up there?

[mzziaz]

Are they still common in Norway? Were they ever popular up there?

No, not really. And the few that ended up here, most have probably rusted away a long time ago.

There used to be this saying: "All cars rust, but Opel has the Rekord" 

For some reason, I do have a soft spot for the biggest Opels, like the Senator, Monza and Commodore.

[cawimmer430]

There used to be this saying: "All cars rust, but Opel has the Rekord" 

Oh my god, that would even be funny in German (and makes sense)! 

[giant_mtb]

If those are "serious" rust issues, then 80% of the cars around here have "super serious holy shit" rust issues.

[cawimmer430]

If those are "serious" rust issues, then 80% of the cars around here have "super serious holy shit" rust issues.

There's more on the underside of the car. Plus with that "little" rust it would still fail the TÜV. They take the roadworthiness of a car very seriously here.

[CJ]

I would imagine that it's okay to have different tires on the vehicle, no? Just a different model of tire?

[cawimmer430]

I would imagine that it's okay to have different tires on the vehicle, no? Just a different model of tire?

Definitely. It was just an interesting tidbit of information which the owner gave me.

[93JC]

Ah, interesting. I'm surprised they didn't use a GM transmission (if it truly has an Aisin-Warner tranny). To my knowledge GM makes good automatic transmissions; even BMW used them during the '90s!

I just happen to know that some of the big Opels had that series of Aisin-Warner transmission in them only because the Cherokee used (roughly-speaking) the same one.

As I recall GM didn't start building their own 4-speeds in Europe until the 1990s, at a factory is Strasbourg.

[cawimmer430]

I just happen to know that some of the big Opels had that series of Aisin-Warner transmission in them only because the Cherokee used (roughly-speaking) the same one.

As I recall GM didn't start building their own 4-speeds in Europe until the 1990s, at a factory is Strasbourg.

So this car may not have a GM transmission because GM didn't have a 4-speed A/T available at the time? 

[93JC]

GM Europe didn't have their own 4-speed. At least, I don't think they did until the early 1990s. GM North America had been building four-speeds for a long time.

[Soup DeVille]

So this car may not have a GM transmission because GM didn't have a 4-speed A/T available at the time? 

In Europe.

They did of course have the 700R4 in NA.

[93JC]

And the 200R4.

[cawimmer430]

Ah, got it!