Opel P4

Opel
Opel P4 (special sedan)
P4
Production period:	1935-1937
Class :	Small car
Body versions :	Limousine , convertible sedan
Engines:	Otto engine : 1.1 liters (17 kW)
Length:	3340 mm
Width:	1425 mm
Height:	1640 mm
Wheelbase :	2286 mm
Empty weight :	755 kg
Previous model	Opel 1.2 liters
successor	Opel Kadett

Opel P4, built in 1936

Spare wheel on the right fender

Suitcase instead of trunk

The Opel P4 was an automobile of which Adam Opel AG built 65,864 units between September 1935 and December 1937 at the main plant in Rüsselsheim am Main . The vehicle had space for four people (4P, P4 ) but had no trunk. Technically, it was based on the predecessor Opel 1.2 liter , but was slightly different on the outside. After two years, production was phased out in favor of the first Opel Kadett, presented in 1936 .

price

The price of the P4 (standard model) was 1650  Reichsmarks (RM). At the turn of the year 1936/37 the car was offered at a "winter price" of only 1450 RM, and special and convertible sedans - initially offered for RM 1880 - adapted to the reduction. With an average monthly income of RM 250, the car was affordable for a wide range of people. Together with the equally powerful, more modern (but also more expensive) Kadett, it was considered the first "Volkswagen". The fact that the Volkswagen developed by Ferdinand Porsche was enforced was a political issue: the position of American companies in Germany, which was already dominant in the field of light trucks with the Opel factory in Brandenburg , established in 1935, should not be extended to the passenger car sector.

Body and chassis

"Rolling chassis" of the P4. In the background the cutaway model of a Kadett's body

The chassis is a ladder frame made of U-profiles. The wheels are suspended on leaf-sprung rigid axles with hydraulic shock absorbers . The four brakes are operated via cables, both with the brake pedal and with the handbrake - with a lever in the interior. The steel disc wheels carry tires measuring 4.25 × 17.

The two-door body made of wood and steel was placed on the frame, and the door windows could be lowered with a hand crank. Only the front and rear windows were made of toughened safety glass ("Sekurit").

Originally only two colors were available, gray and dark blue, each with black fenders. The middle part of the roof in the standard and special sedans consists of a permanently installed plastic insert. The convertible sedan's collapsible top is made of light gray canvas with a glass rear window. When closed, it is held in position by bows inserted into the body frame and attached to the windshield frame with two clamps.

The instrument panel is fitted as standard with two large, greenish illuminated instrument dials with speedometer , odometer, fuel gauge and oil pressure gauge , as well as switches for lights, windshield wiper and the fiddler equipped. The backrests of the front seats, which can only be adjusted when the vehicle is stationary, can be folded down. There is interior lighting and an interior rearview mirror, an open glove box and two door pockets.

The electrical system is fed by a 6-volt alternator, the battery is installed under the hood, which can be opened on both sides. The starter is operated with a foot switch. The dimmer switch is also located in the left footwell. At the rear of the vehicle there are two lights that contain the taillight, brake light and license plate lighting. Two additional " cat's eyes " were only required by law after the model was launched, as was a blue indicator light for switched on high beam. Retrofitting was mandatory. The petrol tank is installed below the rear wall, it holds 25 liters. The vehicle is 3.34 m long and weighs 755 kg without special accessories.

engine

The water-cooled and side-controlled (SV) four-cylinder engine with a displacement of 1.1 liters, based on the Opel 1.2 liter , became something in the P4 with a 67.5 mm bore and 75 mm stroke ( 1.2 liters : 65 mm / 90 mm) designed to be less long-stroke . The power was 23 hp at a speed of 3400 rpm. The top speed of 85 km / h was designated by the factory as the continuous speed and the P4 was therefore classified as " motorway-safe ". The SV engine was installed in the Opel Kadett until it ceased production in October 1940. In the Soviet Union, the Moskvich-400 went through several stages of development and, in the mid-1950s, formed the basis for the 45 hp (33 kW) engine of the Moskvich-407 , which had an enlarged bore, higher rated speed and OHV valve control (overhead valves ) almost doubled the original output.

The engine power was transmitted to the rear wheels via a single-disc dry clutch , unsynchronized gearbox , cardan shaft and differential ; the shift lever, cranked backwards, sat directly on the gearbox ( middle shift ). The downdraft carburetor , which was highlighted as particularly innovative in the advertising and manufactured by Opel under a license from the US manufacturer Carter Carburetor , had an acceleration pump . The consumption of petrol with the very low octane number 72 was 8-10  l / 100 km.

Equipment variants

As variants, Opel offered a convertible sedan and a special sedan for RM 1,880. Both models could be recognized by the spare wheel on the right fender instead of the rear and the fold-out luggage rack at the rear, on which a free-standing suitcase, offered as an accessory, was attached with leather straps. A watertight container could also be screwed onto the luggage rack, which accommodated standard suitcases and had piping attached to the body . In contrast to the standard model with a three-speed gearbox , which incidentally came as standard without a bumper and without a fuel tank level indicator, the convertible and special sedan had a four-speed gearbox. From 1937 the three-speed transmission was installed in the convertible sedan.

A small delivery van based on the P4 was also offered at a price of RM 1,890.

In 1935, Opel achieved a total production of the four-cylinder P4 models, its predecessor, the Opel 1.2-liter , built until September 1935 , the Opel 1.3-liter (until October 1935) and Olympia (from April 1935) as well as the six-cylinder Opel "6" 100,000 vehicles, making it the largest automobile manufacturer in Europe.

Individual references, footnotes

1. ↑ With only little German in-house production of motor fuels, petrol stations generally offered petrol with the lowest possible octane number that would still guarantee knock-free ratings in normal operating conditions.

Web links

Commons : Opel P4  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files