“Who is the real edelschmiede amongst the Opel mechanics in Emern?”, was the perpetual question with which we busied ourselves in the ‘90s. On the one side was the “1. Opel Team Uelzen”, on the other, yes, that was us. Nowadays everyone knows the answer to the old question, but we’ll just leave it at that. 😉

Us once meant a handful of enthusiasts, who shared a passion for vintage cars, but also preferred to be on the road with a little more power than their Polo-driving pal or their sensible diesel-driving work colleague. As young adults there wasn’t much ready cash available, but due to a whole lot of creativity with a spanner, and later on a welder, we were able to manage on our tight budget. This was still the 90s, which meant that Manta B GT/E, Ascona B automatic & Senator A 3.0E were available for the obligatory case of beer, just around the corner. This meant that the parts were also there; head gasket sets, brake discs and all other wearable parts were in stock at the local part-pedlar for a reasonable price. We made the night into day and worked until our fingers bled, mostly with success. We seemed to at least leave an impression. We still get asked on a regular basis about edelschmiede’s “Sturm- & Drang” period and somehow everyone recognises our cars and / or our workshop.

Now ‘back to the future’, nowadays the former enthusiasts only have time to tinker with their family home and the family car from Wolfsburg is driven directly to the (contract-)workshop for its annual winter service. All the same, the old anecdotes are often brought up and laughed about over a herbal tea and a low-cholesterol shortbread and we still like to relive the hottest adventures 🙂 Only one of us remains, me. Who am I? Thomas Nastke, 1976 model, male, married, with my own home and a diesel in my paved yard. But there is also an Ascona B 4.0i – 24V in the garage, and all this makes life worth living! I’ve always keep on working away, sometimes a bit less than usual, sometimes a bit more. Then in 2010 I decided to turn my hobby into my business, which meant that ‘edelschmiede goes company!’

We, referring mostly to my wife Tanja and myself, but also to a management consultant who has since become a friend, sat down together and developed a concept without equal. Some things needed to be bought, others sold; renovated here and developed there. Then, in summer 2011, our first bit of business was conducted under our freshly designed brand logo, which represents both a steering wheel and the lowercase ‘e’ from the name edelschmiede.

To begin with we were still very cautious and naturally insecure, but our customer base grew ever more successful and within a short period the name became a fixed term in the scene whenever vintage-Opel parts were needed. Our range is constantly growing, the new forms of media are being used intensively and the ever-awake boss rounds out the picture nicely! A quote from the Oldtimer Markt sums things up perfectly; upon being questioned on his day-to-day workload, Burkard Bovensiepen, Alpina answered with a laugh: “I don’t work, I just occupy myself with my hobbies, cars & technolgy” (Oldtimer Markt (06/2012)! The edelschmiede, Vintage Opel parts & tuning!
Thomas Nastke
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