“But if there were to be heaven, then I’ll finally see it – because then my old man will pick me up in a snow-white ’51 captain.” Of course, Eckhart Bartels also knows the lines of Reinhard Mey’s ballad. It’s not “his” song, as he admits, but it’s “his” Opel that’s being sung about: that ’51 captain. The trained industrial clerk, who later made a name for himself as an author and automobile journalist, bought it in 1969. He was 22 at the time and fulfilled a long-cherished childhood dream – Bartels already had an eye on gleaming chrome automobiles at the age of four Thrown in Ruesselsheim.
Elaborate research
Not too many shared the passion for old automobiles in the late 1960s. In Germany there were just four clubs that indulged in the soft spot for historic vehicle technology. “Old” cars were driven by those who couldn’t afford a new one, that was the credo in the prosperous times after the economic boom years. In America, on the other hand, the “Classic Car Club” had already been founded and established. The US club also published a “list of vehicles worth preserving”.
German vehicles were underrepresented on the list. “That has to change,” said Eckhart Bartels. And a few more Opel aficionados that he met in those days thought like him. Hans-Martin Weber, for example, also the owner of an Opel Kapitän built in 1951. “At some point we decided to gather like-minded people around us who shared our passion for Opel classics,” recalls the pioneer. But how to find? The internet, search engines and electronic databases did not exist back then. “So we looked around to see where old Opels were being sold and found buyers.” The research took around two years.
Eckhart Bartels is a co-founder of Alt-Opel IG, he was responsible for leading the brand club for 25 years and shaped it with many successful concepts. In addition, as a co-founder of the DEUVET Bundesverband Oldtimer-Youngtimer e.V. The association contributed to the introduction of the H license plate 25 years ago. Eckhart Bartels, born in 1947, is the ultimate Opel expert. Together with Rainer Manthey, he has been publishing the “OPEL yearbook” every year since 1999. As a speaker for product and company history, he is still active in the Alt-Opel IG.
Pillars of the club’s work: the club magazine has been published six times a year since 1972. The Opel enthusiasts come together at regular meetings, as here on the five-year anniversary in 1976 on the old, closed proving ground in Rüsselsheim.
“Today, Alt-Opel IG is a synonym for the love of automotive cultural heritage and the finest engineering from Rüsselsheim.”
– Eckhart Bartels –
The Alt-Opel IG now has 2,800 members from over 20 nations. 45 regional get-togethers, organized in the European sections of Switzerland, Austria, France and the Netherlands, meet regularly. The IG maintains good contacts with the Opel headquarters in Rüsselsheim, as well as with 24 partner companies in the vintage and youngtimer scene. Until the beginning of the pandemic, it regularly presented itself at around a dozen classic car trade fairs. The community publishes the club magazine “The Reliable” six times a year.
On June 24, 1972, the time had come: A first meeting took place on the premises of a mechanical engineering company in Oberursel. Hans-Martin Weber got the company’s junior boss, Hans Joachim Schramm, enthusiastic about Opel classic cars. “And Oberursel was an ideal location, in the middle of Germany,” says Weber. About 25 Opels drove up, almost without exception Olympia and Kapitän models built between 1950 and 1953. “But there was also a pre-war Admiral and an Opel P4,” recalls the 77-year-old. While eating together in the Parkhotel, everyone agreed that such meetings should continue. And officially, as part of a registered association.
Today, 50 years later, you don’t have to own an Opel classic to become a member of the Alt-Opel interest group (IG), but very few want to do without this pleasure. The interest group has 2,800 members from more than 20 nations, the heart of which are 46 type consultants who are available to all those seeking advice on questions relating to classic Opels. The specialists also help if “the sheet metal is a bit stuck” during complex restorations. Or initiate reproductions if indispensable spare parts can no longer be found.
Impressive development
It’s an impressive development that the community has taken over the past five decades. No wonder the founding fathers have to smile when they think back to their beginnings. “At first nobody took our tiny club seriously,” recalls Eckhart Bartels, who determined the club’s fortunes in the first quarter of a century. Even the naming was met with incomprehension by many in the early years. “IG” for interest group – “that sounded like a self-help group, and then also Alt-Opel.” But what else should you have called yourself? The term “oldtimer” had not yet caught on. The few classic car clubs that existed at the time had “veteran” in their names. An association that the founders did not want to create in connection with cars. “Today the name Alt-Opel IG is firmly established,” says Eckhart Bartels, “it is a synonym for the love of automotive cultural assets and the finest engineering from Rüsselsheim.” Regular meetings, a club magazine, type consultants for the individual models, local Regulars’ tables – the work of the Alt-Opel IG became the “blueprint” for many other classic car clubs that were to be founded in the years that followed.
Founding members: Eckhart Bartels (right) and Hans-Martin Weber came with their captains.
50 years: When the Alt-Opel IG invites to the anniversary meeting, the flagships from Rüsselsheim are on the spot.
Spot the difference: a 1939 captain on the left, a 1949 on the right.
Opel 5/12 hp: With this, the doctor became mobile in 1912.
Leif Rohwedder, head of Opel Classic, was also among the well-wishers.
The Alt-Opel interest group celebrated its 50th birthday over the Ascension Day weekend with a big party in Altusried in the Allgäu. Those were days with a lot of Opel enthusiasm – “live” and to touch. On the parking lot of a large open-air stage, the club members who had traveled presented Opel models from all automotive eras – from the doctor’s car to the Manta GSi, rare Olympic convertibles, an even rarer Olympic caravan, the Diplomat as a coupé, convertible and limousine or the captain in his pre – and post-war manifestation. And almost everyone came on their own. 350 Opels were registered, more spontaneous people joined, so that in the end more than 400 classics came together. Of course, the founding members Eckhart Bartels and Hans-Martin Weber came with their captains.
“Societal recognition of the prosperity that the car brought to our country will remain.”
– Eckhart Bartels –
On the day before the 50th anniversary, Eckhart Bartels and Hans-Martin Weber met in Oberursel – where everything began half a century ago. Hans Joachim Schramm has since passed away, but they were welcomed by his two grandchildren. They had romped around the festival grounds as children at the founding celebrations. Of course, Bartels and Weber drove up in their 51 captain.
And the fact that the club grew so quickly is thanks to the enthusiasm of its pioneers. The line to those responsible at the Opel headquarters in Rüsselsheim was close from the start. The new boss of Opel Classic, Leif Rohwedder, was therefore a welcome guest as a congratulator for the special anniversary, but also no surprise guest. There are no worries about the next generation: “Societal recognition of the prosperity and jobs that the car has brought to our country will remain,” Eckhart Bartels is convinced. This is also shown by the number of members: Alt-Opel IG is growing continuously.
community grows
And finally, Eckhart Bartels tells us what bothers him most about Reinhard Mey’s captain’s ballad: “He sings about a snow-white captain – there was no such thing from the factory.” Especially since Alt-Opel IG is committed to keeping classic vehicles in their original form as far as possible. But even those that are no longer available in factory paint deserve care, as no one knows better than Eckharts Bartels: “My own captain is dark green – and was never delivered in this color from the factory.”
June 2022
Text: Eric Scherer, photos: Alt-Opel IG