If a vintage car looks this good, it is also fun to drive this beautiful-looking classic. The Opel Rekord is Remko's favorite. Not just because of the beauty. But mainly because his father bought the car in the 80s in a very neglected state and could not resist the temptation to start this time-consuming project. The decision to purchase was made quickly; the piggy bank was not used, as the price of only 62,50 Dutch guilders - despite the neglected condition - was almost a bargain. In his working life, his father was a mechanic in a body shop, so the skills and knowledge of restorations were amply present.
An important role in hobby life
Remko says: “Now that my father is no longer with us, the Opel Rekord has become much more meaningful to me. People will understand that he will never leave again; the admiration for it is also emotional. The long lifespan of this Opel has been proven. My father discovered the car in Boerakker, where the owner had stopped it due to a gearbox defect. The repair was a piece of cake, but repairing the voracious rust in the sheet metal took some time and energy. It was an art to find parts in original condition. After many wanderings, my father found a few reasonable fenders in Zeeland. Fortunately, the 1200 cc engine was fine and 100 percent original. The Opel would have been a training car in its car life, with the color being very neutral and therefore a bit boring: gray. The color black in combination with the white roof is now breathtakingly beautiful.”
No more expensive than a small car!
This is how the Opel Rekord P1 was launched on the market, with attention to economy, but also to space, panoramic view and sustainability. The elegance and comfort are almost self-evident. It is a car that was designed according to the requirements of its time. The Opel driver wanted more! He wanted space, comfortable chairs in which he could sit relaxed. And large panoramic windows so he could easily see the traffic and quietly enjoy the landscape.
Remko's treasury
In addition to his prized possession of the black two-tone Rekord P1, there are a number of gems in his collection – two Opel C Kadetts, one of which was his very first car, as well as an Opel Manta and a '57 Rekord. It is clear that Remko has foresight; his Opels all have a future.
Unmistakably an enthusiast
That Remko is undeniably an enthusiast is clear from his collection. His preference is for German elegance, a sentiment one can have with a car. Despite the high price of restoration, the warm feelings associated with it are priceless when you talk about emotion.
Remko knows how to deal with vintage cars; cherish and above all enjoy. You can also enjoy the special stories every month Auto Motor Klassiek; All you have to do is take out a subscription and that's a piece of cake. Especially because as a subscriber it is even cheaper than in the magazine shop, with the added assurance that the trade magazine will be delivered to your doorstep every month.
My father had an Opel 1964 license plate GG-1500-04 in 05, which looked exactly like an Opel Record, but the chrome decorative strip on the side ran in an arc and not in a V-shape. He then bought an Opel Record B from 1966. Opel was a very popular brand in the 60s.
Unfortunately for the writer, but this is no Opel Rekord. It is the Opel 1200 (there was also a 1500), an economy model of the Olympia-Rekord P1 that was built from 1960 next to the more expensive Olympia-Rekord P2.
You can recognize this model by the single, sloping decorative strip. The Rekord P1 had a kink at the rear wheel. The Opel 1200 and 1500 were replaced in 1962 by the Kadett-A.
Such a beautiful P1 inevitably brings back memories of mine.
A 1,5 liter from 1958. Still driven for 1963 years from 3. When I 'brought it away' to one of the infamous demolition yards on the R'damseweg along the Schie, the petrol had just run out when it rolled down the dike.
I've been there many times in the past, at Joop de Groot's car scrapyard!
Don't know if that was Joop de Groot's scrapyard. There were 2 iirc and there was a third at De Zweth for a long time. The scrap yard where my Opel was rolled had a few large, mean-looking dogs behind the fence after closing time. And you had to jump between the cramped rows to avoid the oil puddles.
My father had one for 6 weeks because the previous car had already been sold privately and the new car arrived 6 weeks later due to delivery time. Great for transport in between, but the handling was not exactly praised at the time.
Beautiful example, by the way, Remko, and a very nice original Dutch license plate. Given its history, I understand that this car does not leave the building for sale. Have fun with it.
My father bought a black Opel Rekord Olympia in 1960, license plate VP-05-81. I actually only know that car from photos because I'm from 1960 myself...
My father was quite Opel minded. From the early fifties Rekord Olympia. In 59 a P1 Rekord 1500, in 62 or 63 a Rekord P2 1700 and his last Opel was a Rekord A coupe with the 2600 cc six cylinder and a manger floor shift in 1965. License plate ES 29 99. I had just gotten my driver's license and was allowed to drive it regularly. A remarkably fast car for that time: a top speed of 170 and 0 to 100 in about 10 seconds. I was allowed to take it to Spain in 1968, with my girlfriend, now my current wife and another couple.
I still think back to that car with nostalgia...
In the autumn of 1963 my father bought his first car, a gray-green Olympia Rekord 1500, with olymat, so a semi-automatic. License plate BD-75-92, in our view therefore baptized Brave Daan. Brave Daan served us faithfully for three years, with holidays to the south of France and Carinthia, Austria. and Ticino, Switzerland. Less than 50 hp brought us, a family with 4 children in the back seat and full camping equipment in the trunk and on a roof rack, the Gross Glockner and the Swiss Alps. So I have very warm memories of this good and beautiful car.
I myself had an Olympia -Rekord P1 from 1957, a nice car, but the major disadvantage of that car is that you often bump into the window pillar with your knees when getting out.
My father bought the square Record A successor (1963-1963) without panoramic windows in 65. As a child I always found them very ugly.
But what I did do at the time as a 5-year-old was to constantly look through the side window from the back seat to discover a beautiful 50s Opel and other winged 50s cars parked along the roads.
Thanks to the ugliness of our Opel Record A, my love for 50s models arose (and remained)
My father also had an Opel Rekord A Station from 1962, beautiful car metallic blue with roof rack and white walls, beautiful chrome decorative caps, lots of chrome license plate, I remember HP -67-23. A beauty. Don't know if anyone still has it now. Beautiful memories.