A few years ago, Erwin Roosink bought an almost written-off matt black Opel Rekord 1700 from 1971. And what do you do when you are a big fan of the television series Dukes of Hazzard? Right. Then you give that Opel the looks of the orange Dodge Charger from 1969.
By: Max the Warrior
The doors have the number 01 on it. And there is the Southern-Cross flag on its roof. And of course the robust bullbar. Mayor, JD (“Boss”) Hogg and Sheriff Rosco from the series are missing. Also the name Dodge by the way. It is therefore a European variant of this well-known American series. It's childhood sentiment for Erwin. “I've watched the Dukes of Hazzard series 100.000 times. Really a big fan. And then I came across this car. I thought it looked like the Dodge Charger from the series. The Opel Rekord 1700 also has that robustness of the Dodge. It was completely matte black, I think the last color you give a car. But it was tough. ”
Restoration
Fortunately, Erwin is handy. A new gas evaporator and radiator have been installed. The 1.7 engine was clearly at the end of its latin. A six-cylinder Opel Senator now growls belligerently. It was quite a job to put in that big block. The radiator had to be moved. The chairs really need to be replaced. You are not sitting, but hanging in the Opel. He is therefore looking for original and especially good Rekord chairs. The exhaust is striking. It's underneath. Erwin made it himself. “I made that exhaust myself. He misses two dampers. That way you get the nice six-cylinder sound. ”
The Opel Rekord 1700 has been repainted twice. The first time with paint from the hardware store. But it quickly discolored and became dull. Rust also came. Among others in the front fenders. Those are really the weak spots of the Opel Rekord. The second time Erwin started spraying with good car paint. In the spray booth. The Opel Rekord 10.000 now drives about 1700 kilometers a year. With his wife. Fortunately, she doesn't have to struggle through the windows, like in the television series. The doors of the Rekord are easy to open.
Read other articles about Opel Rekord:
- Opel Rekord E2. Plush, no fuss with the better equipped Opel
- Opel Rekord
Or:
- Opel Commodore GS - a very beautiful one
- The Opel Kadett B. Success number of Opel.
- The Opel Olympia A: the sympathetic luxury brother of the Kadett B
If only it were a compartment! In any case, the Opel Rekord, like the Dodge Charger, is a follower of the Fuselage style, cars that resemble jet engines, so with “open” and heavily chromed front and rear and very clean, slightly convex side surfaces.
The Senator engine is neatly done. It looks like the front axle has not been modified, because the Rekord now leans on its front axle and that is not beneficial for the driving characteristics. Just mount the front springs of a Commodore and it drives a lot finer.
Not only the front screens are sensitive to rust. The Achilles heel is in the tail. Due to the short box beams to the left and right of the trunk, drainage hoses run from the ventilation flaps next to the rear window. The chance that water will get into those bars is great. In addition, three layers of sheet metal are spot welded together in a typical Opel manner. All Rekord-C are more or less rotten or re-welded there.
Furthermore beautiful and rightly that this iconic Opel model is popular again. They are therefore no longer for sale for little money.