Opel Kapitan - 1951, a restoration story

Meet “Ruby” February’s Vehicle of the month.  A 1951 Opel Kapitan, this is a pretty rare sight in the UK, and like so many cars of it’s age it’s had a very chequered history having spent much time in India (1952) as a chauffeur driven car for the foreign office, eventually returning to the UK in the 1990’s.  Restorations are of course usually a labour of love and this one is no exception.  Ruby has benefitted Pistons from Cyprus, 6V to 12 V conversion, rear wings from Switzerland various rare car parts from Germany and South Africa along with a chance trip to Frankfurt to an Opel parts sale in a multi-storey car park.

Fred’s German improved during the course of reaching out to fellow car enthusiasts across Europe searching for various parts for the car, Google Translate & ebay truly played their part in this task.  A lovely example of the dedication and passion that lies behind these historic gems, thank you for sharing Fred and well done.  

The other good news is that Fred, like so many other enthusiasts, sat down with a box of photo’s and documented Ruby’s history on a www.FactsDisc.com allowing passers by and fellow enthusiasts to see the story too.

Read the restoration journey of Ruby the Opel Kapitan in full here