Lawyer Oscar ‘rescues’ a failed Volvo from Leeuwarden: ‘This is not a theft, this is a rescue operation’

It’s Saturday afternoon, just before half past three in the Johan Willem Frisostraat in Leeuwarden. Aileen Veensma parks her blue Diahatsu Cuore in the blue lane. He goes out and Oscar van Oorschot drives an ambulance next to him on the street.

Veensma is a city photographer and was tipped off about a 51-year-old Volvo that has been parked in Leeuwarder Oranjewijk for over a year and a half. “I see how it’s slowly being overrun by plants, which are bringing the car back. I find that very interesting.”

Is it sold?

He gets there on time. Because fifteen minutes later the Volvo is behind the ambulance. Van Oorschot – “I am the Father Theresa of Oldtimers” – will be able to open the door without damage. It has a bad smell inside. At the door he finds Prada sunglasses, still in the case. He manages to push the steering wheel and with the help of his colleague Jack Egberts and garage owner Halil Djuliman, the car starts moving.

Sand comes off the rims, moisture seeps through the paving stones, spiders crawl away. Passersby stop for a moment. “Is it a robbery?”

Neither. “This is done on a business management basis. Jack and I have talked about it a lot and we think this is possible. The goal is to take care of the car, because there has been no one to take care of the car for a while. We have no agreement with anyone and we are not acting on behalf of anyone . We’re just doing the best we can with this. We’re keeping the car indoors so it doesn’t suffer any damage from, say, theft or weather. Good for the car.”

Disturbance to the neighbor

Van Oorschot is doing the neighborhood a favor, he believes. Neighbors have been complaining for some time about the car that has taken up a rare parking space for more than a year and a half. And he also saves the municipality from trouble. “They don’t know what to do with it.”

“Of course, it’s a bit cruel. But this is better than the uncharitable way that my colleague Ivo van der Meer suggested donation In Leeuwarder’s Courant, lawyer Van der Meer suggested the possibility of lawsuits and parking fines, seizure and eventually an auction so that the legal costs could be repaid. “I call that an ice-cold approach.”

No, things are different for Van Oorschot. Although he says he is a “practical lawyer”, singing bowls can be heard as a blue Volvo is led from the ambulance to the Toutenburgstraat warehouse in Leeuwarden. “I gave him a health treatment shortly before, the car was put down and soaked in a car wash and now Van Oorschot is ready with a bright color to show what the old car still has in it. “Look at those special shapes. It’s not factory made. , it’s made by hand. Someone hammered the metal until it had these curves.”

It has been resurrected

Garage driver Halil Djuliman turns on the battery and clamps the electrical wires under the hood. By trickery – nobody has the keys of course – he manages to get the engine running after some time. Dust particles rise from the engine, emissions are not too bad. And it drives well, even all around, experts say. Van Oorschot bows. “He was resurrected.”

More cleaning will follow and then the old man will be given a place in the corner of the shed. “Then I will sit and watch it. I consider such a car to be a work of art.”

This is not the only thing that Van Oorschot will have to do. “It is my duty to make every effort to contact the rightful owner. I knew Rob van Beuningen van Helsdingen from the time I had my office next to him. After his death, his son may have become the owner, but he did not come forward despite the publications. I will continue to look for and value the car for now.”

He will not belong to Van Oorschot. “I believe there is a 20-year term for this. With my lifestyle I have never had that experience again. It’s not my goal either. I see it as an event. A lot of people are talking on the terrace this afternoon and I’m here with my friends reviving a beautiful car.”

Video: Jacob van Essen