I’ll admit right off of the bat that I was way off of the deep end when I found myself pawing through Mercado Libre for cars. If you aren’t familiar with the site, it’s essentially Mexico’s Craigslist, and among the normal pieces are the rare treats that we simply didn’t get north of their border, like the Duster and Aspen based Dodge Super Bees and the Dodge Diplomat coupe-based Dodge Magnums, complete with 360s and four-speeds. The muscle car era may have died for us in the early 1970s but nobody really bothered to translate that message into Spanish. Since I’ve already hit my quota of malaise Mopar junk for the month, I decided to paw through the Chevrolet file, hoping to find one of the Mexican market Monte Carlo SS’s to torment Nutting with. Instead I wound up finding this surprisingly clean Chevrolet Opala Fiera SS coupe for sale for an as-translated price of about $5,800 USD.
The Opala is based on the Opel Rekord that was sold in Europe, but for Mexico, American engines were used: The 153ci four-cylinder from the Chevy II, and the 250ci straight six that Chevrolet used for just about everything in the 1960s and 1970s. We are just taking a guess, but we think the Opala is about comparable with a Ford Maverick for size, maybe just a touch smaller. This particular Opala has the 250 six, hooked to a three-on-the-tree manual. When was the last time you ever saw that? Imagine this clean little beast with a turbocharged six and a hunkered-down, rally meets street machine theme! It’s off of the beaten path by a country mile, but there is something about this little car that is interesting!
Mercado Libre link: 1970 Chevrolet Opala Fiera SS
I had a couple of Opel Rekord’s when I lived in Germany. Good little cars. Shame to have a Chevy label hung on one though…German engineering (though a very basic car) is far superior than what GM would do in the states.
I see Monaro here. They knew how to put 350’s in these cars. Probably will match up for mounts also. Try buying a Monaro for this price.
That was my first thought too. That C-pillar and rear guard line are unmistakeble.
I know that they exported HT-K-G Monaros to South Africa where they lived on a long time after local production died off, so maybe Argentina too? Would love to know more
The back looks similar to an Opel Manta. Now that car would be cool here in the good ole US of A!
Pretty cool. Mini Chevelle! Good luck getting it here. GM would have done a great job with that car here with all the right stuff.
Older that 25 years…would actually be fairly easy to bring through the border. Just have all the paperwork lined up and maybe know a little Spanish and you should be alright!