Three is never a crowd for newlyweds Megan Hine and Eddie Searle, who took their shared passion away on honeymoon.
Their classic car witnessed the couple emerge as husband and wife for the first time before joining them on a romantic tour of Brittany, not bad for a 1969 Opel GT.
She is one of around 30 roadworthy Opel GTs in the country and has been part of a very special journey for Megan and Eddie, after they bought her earlier this year.
The unusual classic car has undergone dozens of modifications over the decades, but has found her forever home with the couple in Dyce.
“We won’t ever sell her, it was Eddie’s dream to own an Opel GT and she’s part of our relationship, we got married in London and not many people can say they’ve driven through central London in a rare classic car,” said Megan.
The GT certainly gets plenty of attention and Megan has slowly fallen in love with classic cars since meeting Eddie seven years ago.
“It is a very happy medium for us, racing cars is a big passion of Eddie’s, whereas I like the glamour which comes with classics, the Opel GT is something we both love,” said Megan.
“We didn’t want to hire a classic car for our wedding because that’s what everybody does. Getting married was an excuse to buy our own, and there was only one Opel GT for sale in the whole of the UK.
“We see the Opel as an investment, we didn’t manage the whole tin can tradition on our wedding day but every journey in her just feels that bit more romantic.
“It was really lovely to get the ferry to Brittany, it felt very James Bond driving along.
“This GT is certainly not the right buy for a classic car purist and we want to carry on making changes and spend some good money on her.”
The Opel has already undergone an engine conversion from her previous owner after the original 102bhp 1.9 litre was replaced with a Ford Zetec 2.0 litre running Jenvey throttle bodies.
She’s wider than a normal Opel due to a wide arch body kit and also had bucket seats and racing harnesses.
“We replaced them with heated leather seats and fitted standard seat belts which were more comfortable for long journeys. We also needed to plumb in heating to prevent the car from misting up,” said Megan.
“We’re lucky in that Eddie is an aircraft engineer and he’s been playing with cars since he was 17. If we were to get all this done at a garage it would cost a fortune.”
The GT has also been de-bumpered to give her a smoother look and had four wide offset specialised wheels fitted, alongside a new exhaust.
The long-term plan is to lower her all round and refit the interior in leather.
Despite not having power assisted steering, she’s a relatively light drive and improves once she picks up speed, but it hasn’t all been plain sailing.
“Classic cars can seem very glamorous and you can have visions of riding along with your head scarf on, I certainly love what the GT represents,” said Megan.
“The reality can be very different though, we ran into problems just five miles down the road when we left Aberdeen to go and get married.
“We had barely made it down the road but the car was loaded up much heavier than normal, making her lower to the ground and we hit a pot hole.
“It was just typical and certainly added to the experience but that’s what owning a classic car is like.
“You’ve got to be prepared to put the work in and I think we’ll reach a stage where we’re actually satisfied with the GT.
“The fact she’s got a Ford engine is practically sacrilege, but we enjoy making changes; we hope to get original Opel Clocks fitted as well.
“It was evident from the moment I met Eddie that he loved cars, his dad got him a 1976 Vauxhall Viva Coupe so they could work on it together.
“It looks like we might start building up a bit of a collection as our next dream purchase is a Fiat 126.
“The GT represents us a couple really, getting married was the excuse we needed to buy her and now she’s here to stay.”
