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Opel Rekord Series B | |
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Overview | |
Manufacturer | Opel (General Motors) |
Production | 1965–1966 |
Assembly | Germany: Rüsselsheim |
Body and chassis | |
Class | Large family car (D) |
Body style | 2/4-door saloon 3-door estate 3-door van 2-door coupé 2-door convertible (Karl Deutsch conversion) |
Powertrain | |
Engine | |
Transmission | 3-speed manual 4-speed manual included with six cylinder engines and optional with others GM "Powerglide" 2-speed automatic optional with 1900S engined version |
Chronology | |
Predecessor | Opel Rekord Series A |
Successor | Opel Rekord Series C |
The Opel Rekord Series B is a large family car that was introduced in August 1965[1] by Opel as a replacement for the Opel Rekord Series A and stopgap until the delayed Rekord C was ready for sale. Produced only until July 1966, it shared the wheelbase and 1,696 mm (66.8 in) width of its predecessor, but the front and rear panels were restyled to give it a more modern appearance.
Previous Rekords were noteworthy for combining eye-catching new bodies with a robust four cylinder engine[citation needed] that dated back to 1937. By the 1960s the old engine was outdated, being replaced in the Rekord B by a newly designed inline four cylinder with a unique camshaft in head (CIH) configuration. This design, developed by Opel's parent company, General Motors, in Detroit, integrated the camshaft into the cylinder head, but aside rather than above the valves, making it still an overhead valve (OHV) rather than an overhead camshaft (OHC) engine. The unconventional valvetrain nonetheless offered a performance-boost for the Reckord, and was offered in a range of three displacements from 1,492 cc (91.0 cu in) to 1,897 cc (115.8 cu in). As the engine was developed further during the later 1960s, 1970s and 1980s increased torque was seen, resulting, along with the design's durability and inexpensive manufacture, in it surviving into the mid 1990s fitted to the Rekord B's distant successors, the Omega and Senator.