Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Beyond Borders (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/beyond-borders/)

-   -   Vintage & Classic Cars touring around our village in the Netherlands! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/beyond-borders/199695-vintage-classic-cars-touring-around-our-village-netherlands.html)

We have moved to the more rural parts of the Netherlands. That means we are still exploring our new stomping ground. It also means we are still finding new things to do, meeting new people etc. The other day I noticed an article in the local newspaper about an upcoming oldtimer rally right here in our neighbourhood.

It was organised by a local classic car club and our local Model Car Museum. I dit not know we had a local Model Car Museum or a local Classic Car Club for that matter. The museum is only 7 km away from our village.

It claims to have 7000 model cars and also sells a lot of models.

http://www.minidome.nl/homeSengels.html

So definitely something we have to go and see, in the autumn on a rainy Sunday afternoon. We have lovely summer weather at the moment and then I want to be outside! On my bicycle or in one of my cars.

We live in a village called Spijk. It is tiny, less than 900 people live her. Together with 11 other little villages it is known as the Gemeente Lingewaal. Gemeente is Dutch for Council. So from a governmental and political point of view these 12 villages are one. They merged quite some years ago. And early next year we will merge with two more small towns. Gemeente Lingewaal will cease to exist and our Gemeente (Council) will be known as West-Betuwe.

Apparently, this local classic car rally has been going on for two decades. This was the 20th edition. It was known at the Gemeente Lingewaal Tour. So it was a bit of a special occasion, it being the 20th time it was run, but it would also be the last one, as Gemeente Lringewaal will be no more in 2019. The organiser promised to continue next year, but it will be on a different name and most likely it will need to set off from a different location too. In the past years they always started at the Council hall. Again, next year, this building won’t be our Council hall. Hopefully the building will still be there. As you will see, it is a very nice location.

It was only a few days before the event was to take place I found out and the admission had officially closed. So I called the organiser and we were admitted without any problems. You pay a small fee, lunch and dinner are optional.

The format of the rally was as follows:

09.30: Cars start arriving at the starting location
11.30: Departure
12:30: Lunch location
14:30: Coffee/Tea stop at one of the sponsors, Boer B.V.
17:00: Finish at a local restaurant for some refreshments.

I have been working hard to get my Alfa Romeo Spider ready. See http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-do...ml#post4420203 so we were all ready to rock!

My wife and me arrived promptly at 09.30 at the venue. It is a mere 12 minute from where we live, driving on a beautiful rural dike road along the river Linge. One of the prettiest rivers in the Netherlands. The weather was splendid with temperatures expected to reach 30oC in the afternoon. Which means when you are in an open sports car, lots of sun block, sunglasses and hats!

On arrival there are marshall to help park the cars. So we parked the Spider and strolled over to the organizer booth, to check our registration and pick up a goody bad. Everybody got a nice Rally Shield to put on their car, route description, lunch vouchers, some classic car magazines and various flyers from the sponsors.

Free coffee and tea for everybody, those attending and the public.

First order of the day: Attach the Rally Shield. The easiest on the Spider is to attach it to the Registration plate. That is illegal, but I don’t think the cops would mind too much.



Cars kept arriving. A very nice Spider Series 4, which is the variant that came after mine. I have never seen it in this metallic blue colour. I’m pretty sure that is not original. It was an original Serie 3 colour though and it looks good on this model too.

A nice Mercedes Pagoda, creme. Loverly colour for these huge sports car.



As you will see there were quite a few American cars too. I don’t know to much about them, but I like photographing them. Very photogenic cars they are!



They had some very nice music, courtesy of a little live band. They were actually very good, very appropiate background music.



See how nice this location is? You are looking at what is the normal entrance to the city hall!



When there is a Classic Car event, there will be some Mini’s. There were in fact three. None of the earlier models with the hinges on the outside. This guy had done away with the traditional doors all together. Whatever floats your boat.



More and more cars kept arriving. The interesting thing on these sort of events is, that car wise, just about anything goes as long as it is 20-25 year old. As you will see some much older cars turned up as well.







I am not a hundred percent sure, but I think this was the engine from a (T) Ford.
Look at the leather V-belt and the little oil dispenser on the right.



Not sure how these really old-oldtimers drive, but they sure look pretty!



When we lived in Kansas City I often looked at classic pickups. Never got around to actually owning one. Would have been pretty cool! Who knows, there are still quite a few of these around, all over the world.



An event like this will bring out all sorts of cars, from just about any manufacturer and era.



A bit of Dutch pride; One of the earlier Donkervoorts. This is, to date, a privately owned car company, and their cars still look a bit like these. In essence very similar to the Lotus 7, although powered these days by Audi engines I believe.

Many years ago I was invited by the owner and founder, Joop Donkervoort, to come and visit his workshop, then still in Loosdrecht. Very interesting.



A very rare car. I thought it was a Fiat 850, which would be a rare car these days. But it is a Neckar 850. Derived from the Fiat 850. According to the owner it is a totally different car from the Fiat. He pointed out some 20 odd details that were different. This is a 1966 car with less than 100K on the clock and the only one in the Netherlands!



Another piece of Dutch Car history; Daf. It still has quite a big group of followers and enthousiasts. Everybody loves a Daf. Very nice, innocent, sweet little car. It’s owner and designer was the guy that pioneered the CVT or course.



A very American car:



And on car like this you need to have something like this dangling from the mirror of course:

More and more cars kept arriving. You can see everybody is max summer outfit. It was a beautiful day! People really enjoying themselves



I can’t quite remember what car this was. But what I find remarkable is that although it is a very simple dashboard, it is so more stylish than a lot of the electronic crap we get on modern cars these days.



A very well preserved Delage with a very impressive engine compartment:



On events like this, something as mundane as a polished fuel cap, can become an interesting object to photograph. Taking pictures was a real pain. Too much sun and too much shadow. Always very difficult to handle.



I thought this American car and Dutch building go well together:



Another interesting choice of accessoires dangling from the mirror. I’ve never been into that at all. But for some of these cars, it is more or less a must, as it is considered period.



More American metal:



And some British metal. A nice pretty Triumph Spitfire and behind it a TR2.



Several Citroen DS at the venue. Look at the engine compartment. Love the huge canister of hydraulic oil!



Another nice impression of our City hall. You can just see my Spider, tucked behind the Rover. Nice 3.5L engine!



These sort of event do attract whole families as well. And the kids amuse themselves with some of statue in the City Hall Garden



This here is the engine compartment of a very nicely restored Jenssen Interceptor Mk III. This car has featured in various Dutch Classic Car magazines. It is in immaculate condition. The owner did nearly the complete restoration himself.

Check out the little light on the flexible hose, across the front of the engine. If our car comes equipped with an engine like that in the engine compartment, you are very likely to have to use it someday at night when the engine coinks out on you. Which these did, repeatedly



These little cars are becoming very rare too. It is a Citroen Mehari. Essentially a fiber glass body plonked on top of the chassis of a CV2. It is very French. And these folks did a great job of displaying it as very French. French cheeses,pieces of toast, champagne glasses (but non-alcohol drink in it!)



Finally around 11.30 we get going. More than a hundred cars. Lots of them 50-60 years old, so the going wasn’t particular fast. But it was fun and we enjoyed the scenery. In the next village we ran into a Vintage Tractor Rally. They were kind enough to pull over for us. This is the third vintage tractor rally I have come across in the last 4-6 weeks or so. Lots of people must be keeping an old tractor in their sheds!





Driving along many canals and rivers. People out on their boats:



This is what Dutch kids do in the summer. They play in the what we call “sloot”. Sort of a canal. There are pleasure boats on this water too.

Lunch was a very simple arrangement. Somehow I did not take any photographs. When you have such a large group of cars/people you need to ensure that you have made arrangements with a good restaurant.

They did really well. Upon arrival everybody got a a bag with a lunch, tea or coffee and you just made your way to the terrace. Very Dutch, but perfectly adequate; three rolls with cheese and ham, milk or yoghurt, apple or a banana.

That kept us going. After lunch we drove for another hour or so, when we reached the next stop location. This was the property of Boer BV. https://www.boerbv.com

This is a family owned company that operates massive mobile cranes, in all sorts and shapes and forms. And also humongous pill drivers. In most of the Netherlands any building or structure will require huge piles to be hammered into the ground first.

Made for a very interesting back drop for all these classic cars. They own several classic cars themselves and are also into TrekkerTrek (Tractor Pulling). I visited one of these events a few weeks ago. Have a look:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/commer...mpetition.html

Cars began to enter the premises:



A nice Triumph 2500 against a huge mobile crane, behind it that lovely creme Pagoda




These Renaults were very popular when I was in primary school. Now there are hardly any left:



This was a beautiful Mercedes SL190. Immaculate condition. I believe it was owned by the Boer family.



Everybody got free coffee, tea, some cake, chocolate et. All compliments of the family Boer. Everybody behind this coffee/tea stall was a family member and they all chipped in providing some 200 people with refreshments.



The organiser kept all of the really old cars at the front of the main building. All others parked at the back. By now it was very hot, 30oC. So most people stayed in the shade of the building.



Here are some images of these huge mobile cranes. These things are massive, carry a huge load and are quite tall, with their boom fully extended. A very long time ago, I used to operate one of these on behalf of a friend of mine who ran a crane hire company. Those were easy days in terms of qualification. None. these day you need to study and take endless exams before they allow you anywhere near a crane like this.





More cars, more cranes. The blue car in the front at the right is an Opel Manta. In the UK Opel was sold as Vauxhall. Our neighbour had one of these whilst my dad still had a two stroke DKW. Could not show my face in our street till he upgraded to a VW1600TL.



This is an important car a Mercedes W107! My wife Frances never really liked our Mercedes W123. She calls her Brunhild. She isn’t very comfortable in her, she doesn’t like driving her and she isn’t too impressed with the colour scheme. But of course, she is perfectly happy for me to tinker with it.

But she did like this type of Mercedes and suggested we sell the W123 and get ourselves one of these W107s. Not white, we want a cream one. So that might be my next project. Selling the W123 and finding a new W107!

So I have ordered this book immediately:
https://www.veloce.co.uk/shop/produc...%20&%20Trucks&

These series “the essential buyer’s guide” are very very good. I used one on my Jaguar XJR extensively. I have a Mercedes Pagoda and Mini one as well. Just in case. Probably best to go with what the wife wants!




Every Spider owner at some point in time will take an image like this:



Somebody had actually showed up in a Ferrari. But for some reason did not park it with all the other cars. It was tucked away in some bushes near the entrance of the property.



More and more cars kept pouring in. The family Boer kept everybody happy by providing endless quantities of tea and coffee. More and more people kept to the shady side of the building. Except of course, yours truly as photos needed to be taken.



The family Boer had a magnificent workshop. Any tool you can imagine and then some more. I counted at least five different lathes, all kind of presses etc.







After this long and pleasant stop we set off once again. A few more hours of touring to go. We came across a few of these pre-car era transportation modes as well.This is rural Holland, lots of farmers about, lots of horses around still.



It doesn’t get more Dutch then this, waiting for the bridge to close. There are so many waterways in the Netherlands, lots and lots of pleasure craft during the weekends. So you often find yourself stopped. It is actually quite pleasant. People will get out of their car, have a little chat and then move on again. In the front of us a (right hand driven) TVR and the Ferrari in front of the TVR



Around 17.00 hours we arrived at the finish. In all we had done about 90 km and at no point during the day were we more than about 15-20 km from our home. The program called for a complimentary stop at the nearby model car museum as well. But it was getting a bit late and we had to go home. So we decided to skip the museum and go straight to the finish spot. Another restaurant, about 8 km from our home. The organiser had arranged for some drinks and snacks, we chatted some more with some more folks. Every participant also got one on these little Daf model car as a token of remembrance for the 20th and last Lingewaal drive.

We really enjoyed. It was all very well organised, the weather was great. Lots of different cars. We met up with a lot of new folks. We have exchanged a few mail address. Most people were just as us local, so it has been a good way to get to know some local people.

All in all a great Saturday!

Jeroen

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing! :)

Thank you Jeroen for those excellent photos. Clearly you are having a lot of fun back home. Any close ups of that big green Rolls Royce (I think)

Thanks. I checked but I'm afraid I don't have anything on the Roller. It certainly was quite a nice one.

Jeroen

Beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

Never heard of the car company Neckar. Looks like they had a license agreement to manufacture a few Fiat derived models, with German reliability thrown in.

Looking at the those engines bays, they are art in itself. It is so boring to look at engine bays today when all you see is giant plastic shroud.

Is the electric cooling fan system on the Jensen a stock arrangement?

For a moment I thought Richard Branson was playing the guitar.

I guess the Ferrari owner was being respectful by not bringing in his car as he/she may not nave signed up for the event. I appreciate such folk.

Yes, have a look what Wikipedia has to say about it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neckar_(car)

I agree, these vintage and classic engine bays are often works of art!

I would think so. I chatted to the owner for a while and he is absolutely into every detail of his car. He carried out most of the work himself. I questioned whether that inspection light was standard. It looks as if it came out of a cheap hardware store. But that is all original!


No, he had enrolled.There is no way you can get the rally shield without enrolling. I had not seem him at the start but he drove the whole rally. You can see him in front of my car waiting for the open bridge in the second but last image too.

Jeroen

Wonderful pictures; looks like a lovely event. It is astonishing how well these cars have been maintained; speaks volumes of the effort gone into keeping them that way.

Such events are, without doubt, a nice way to keep the community involved. Europe in the summer is delightful!

Thanks. Yes, in Europe from say May till September every weekend there are multiple of these events. Then there are also vintage clubs organising rallies as well. If anything it gets a bit busy with vintage cars on the (rural) roads sometimes.

Although a lot of these cars are maintained very well, there are also quite a few that are a lot less. It doesn’t show much in the images though.

For instance, several years ago my eldest son and a friend bought a W123 for Euro 900. That is the price of a decent bicycle. They liked to fiddle with it, making sure the mechanical bits were all in order. But they never bothered much with the body, so the paint was a bit flaky here and there. Quite some rust. But hey, they had lots of fun and drove that car all over Europe.

Jeroen

Interesting to know about the event and may be we will show up for the next tocht as visitors. Nice little tip about a new gemeente west-betuwe. We live in Driel, Overbetuwe btw. ;)

Not too far from us. What brings you to the Netherlands?

Jeroen