Heres my project you guys may be interested in its an 83 gemini wagon running a rover/buick 215 alloy v8,
celica 5 spd and custom 16x9 superlight rims

Lookin' sexy already! Can't wait to see it on the ground.

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thats one cool wagon mate, are Gemini wagon a common during theyre time over there? thats the 1st time Isaw one, back in P.I. the sedan and coupe where common before but not anymore when I came back last year.

the gemini's were far more common in australia and were rebadged
as holdens however they were designed in japan and it seems holden plagurised the design for the torana and the commodores styling,
which were a size class above this but have remarkably similar lines,
the tg model which i have would be one of the more common models to get hold of where as the earlier models are nigh on non existent in nz now,
But by all means these never sold like a toyota dx corolla for example which every man and his dog has over here.
I'm trying to push it towards a jdm/euro style although my engine choice
is pretty yank

The wagon looks pretty tuff...

I reckon the TE-TF-TG shape was penned by the boys at Isuzu (using the existing Opel-designed glass-house and roof) with some input from Leo Pruneu, the chief of Holden design. The Gemini was such a large seller in Australia that the Japanese couldn't ignore GM-H's input and GM-H wanted it to look like a Commodore!

The Commodore was, by and large, styled by Germans with only minor detail difference by Holden (although the drivetrains were 100% agricultural Holden and the interiors were pretty much all Holden as well), so in no way did the Commodore styling copy the Gemini.

As with all this though, at the time (and at any time, really), General Motors were trying to get together a corporate design language, so it stands to reason that the Camira, Gemini and the Commodore all share similar styling cues.

Interestingly, and this is something you may have found, but the Gemini wagon was even more Opel than the regular Geminis. The Gemini sedan and coupe, in Australia at least, used Isuzu-style doors which although outwardly similar to the sedan and coupe doors on the Opel Kadett, had the square-style interior door handles and the rocker-style door lock in the same handle. The Opel's doors had a Commodore-style door handle and locks up on the window sill (like most cars).

But the Gemini wagon in Australia had Opel-sourced doors - they had the switches and handles as described on the Opel above and as a result the winders were too close to the deeper Isuzu-designed dashboard. Aussie wagons and vans had stubby window winders so the driver or passenger didn't whack their hand against the dashboard. My panelvan doors even have Opel symbols on the handles!!!

This is all pretty useless information, but it at least explains why the coupe and sedan have different handles to the wagons and vans for no apparent reason!

I've only ever seen one photo of a Gemini wagon on a Japanese website and I'm not sure it was even a photo from Japan. Did they actually make a Japanese wagon can anyone confirm?

If so, I wonder why Holden didn't use the Isuzu-designed door bits... unless of course the Japanese wagons used Opel bits as well.

Useless.... I'll leave you alone now.

thats the most inteligent post i've seen in ages,
and correcto mundo on the japanese wagon front they are super thin on the ground over there,
had a mate hero' an naoki tell me that they had only seen one over there themselves they had owned zz/r's though
and they happened to rock up and stay at my dads backpackers ,
they went ballistic when i rocked the covers off the car that i had at that time which was also a sedan with the g200w piazza motor in it,
funny guys though i suspect they find it hard to find room for there projects

The reason for the Gemini wagon sharing more similarities with the opel versions is relatively simple - Japan never built/recieved the wagon for their home market.

Ive only ever seen photos of one, a kermit green TD wagon that was for sale in a Nostalgic Heros magazine. It was actually privately imported into Japan from australia. To my knowledge the Gemini/Kadett fronted wagons in RHD were only sold in Australian markets. Ive only ever seen Chevettes in other markets [hideous looking things they are] like the UK. Even uglier considering its the horrid Opel OHC motor....yuck.

Love the colour/wheel choice, silver isnt really common on Geminis down here [ZZ/Z aside].

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[F3ARED] 76 Isuzu Gemini Coupe - forged G180z, EFI, 525hp Turbo, 6years and still building...

Daily 78 Isuzu Gemini Sedan, stock G161z, Rodeo EFI, 500hp roller, 157rwkw. Fun

thats the original colour reapplied in two pot with a miniscule amount of blue pearl over it,
its mercury silver,
although you seem to dislike the chevettes i have owned three chevette
wagons and found they handle a little better due to a more even weight distribution and could see myself putting a rotary in a chevette hatch for a club car at some stage,
the older dark eye models are tougher looking than the later bug eyes
and with decent set of wheels you can't beat there tough stance

having wrecked many gemini's (about 60-70 wagons/vans) i know them inside out, apart from the doors (opel/vauxall derived) the tailights are hella, rear boot light opel derived (commodores use this light to this very day) and there is a aperture infront of the internal mirror for said light, as well as under EVERY bonnet on all models(also boot in sedans) so i am led to believe that the internal pressings were copies of the original kaddett design

some glass in the ones i have had came from the UK as well

funny thing i just found out.....i had a look at a one owner TE van, and she had some brand new door window seals, they were 2 piece (upper/lower) and they came in original ISUZU packaging! tho i know for sure that japan never had them, it explains y most of my vans/wagons had 2 piece seals, i always thought they were just cut and shut

on the back of the door handle surrounds they have the opel symbol too

on the TE model onwards van/wagons if you remove the fuel tank cover and look on the LHS where the rear bracket of the bumper mounts, you will notice a gas axed section.....this was holden's solution to accessing the 2 bolt brackets quickly on the assembly line, as the original opel style (and TD) bumpers were single bolt

there is more in my head but i am tired....

cheers

Sexy wagon! Any newer pics?

cheers man not currently as i have been working on my other projects of late,
will post some up when i get the new motor sitting in there cheers

that looks sex. how u gonna squeeze the tyres inside the guards though?

excuse the 2mp phone cam tires are 205s so stretch a bit diff is narrowed by 5omm and is a borgwarner 78

another project of mine

Naice!

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That looks evil. I love it.

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My JNC: 1983 Subaru GL wagon
My JNM: 1979 Yamaha XS Eleven

Agreed. That green sucker looks wicked. And I want it.

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a bit of a change in direction for the wagon,
215 is out due to low volume cert rules in nz,
going instead to a 3.8l v6 (buick) and a t5 gearbox,
also adding a little huff down its throat with a turbo of some description to be added at some stage

Wow. Most people here in the States, due mostly to its absence over the last 40 years, don't know that the 90 degree 3.8 liter V6 Buick is a derivative of the aluminum 215 V8, which just happened to be the very first production turbocharged car. Oddly enough, Turbocharging is what really made the 3.8 liter V6 popular. The later belt driven supercharged cars were the last of the breed, as far as performance goes.

Looking really great! I can't wait to see it with the front assembled!

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92 Honda Civic - 65 Ford F100 V8