tuningblog.eu Your magazine about tuning the car
If you enter the hallowed halls of the long-established Autohaus H. Hövelberndt GmbH in Gelsenkirchen-Erle, you can, with a bit of luck, see spectacular sports cars. Because here not only customer cars are repaired by a team of seven. The classics from Managing Director Heinrich Hövelberndt's own car collection are also restored here: together with his son, the over 70-year-old hunts down particularly exciting classic automobiles, which are restored with a lot of passion. And because he places particularly high demands on his vehicles, he relies exclusively on products from the BILSTEIN brand when it comes to the chassis. The collection currently includes a BMW 635 CSi, a BMW M3 E30, a Porsche 911 Turbo (930) and a VW Polo G40. "My goal is to fulfill a dream at the end of my professional career. All vehicles in my collection are cars from my youth. I always want to bring together two vehicles from one manufacturer that document the contemporary, sporty character of the brand."
Goal: better handling
All vehicles are extensively restored. Hövelberndt: "Our goal is always to return the cars to the condition they were in at the time of delivery. In particular, this means that they drive the same – or better than before.Just like the BMW 635 CSi in arctic blue. "We bought the car in a visually very good condition. Technically, it wasn't in the condition we had imagined“, explains Hövelberndt. In around 400 hours of work, the team turned the technology of the sporty coupe inside out.
BILSTEIN B6 shock absorbers - a perfect choice for classic cars
For optimal handling, the mechanics installed the legendary yellow BILSTEIN B6 shock absorbers. These are not only available for a large number of current vehicle models, but also for many young and oldtimers. The complete classic catalog is available here. They traditionally stand for improved series replacement and best performance - and even without registration due to the unchanged functional dimensions.
Even the H license plate is not endangered by the installation. "We removed both the complete front and the complete rear axle, redid the front axle carrier, strut tubes and wishbones“, reports Hövelberndt. When installing the shock absorber cartridges, make sure that no liquids, such as oil, are poured into the standpipe of the shock absorber. "Otherwise there is a risk that the cartridge insert will pump full of liquid and the damping function will no longer be available“, warns Rainer Popiol, Head of BILSTEIN Academy and a private customer of Heinrich Hövelberndt for decades.
"Achieve the best possible perfection"
"Our goal is always to achieve the best possible perfection, especially in the area of driving dynamics", according to Hövelberndt: "Despite being around 37 years old, our 635 CSi absolutely lives up to the BMW slogan 'Sheer Driving Pleasure'.To achieve this, Heinrich Hövelberndt has relied exclusively on BILSTEIN products since the 1970s. The strong fondness for the brand stems from an experience he hasn't forgotten. "At that time I had a BMW 3.0 Si. It had 200 hp and could keep up with a Porsche. But the landing gear was cheese“, Hövelberndt thinks back.
"We therefore installed the yellow BILSTEIN B6 in the car. I then drove out of the hall and just thought to myself: 'Wow, amazing!' All of a sudden the vehicle had a driving behavior that was terrific. It still makes my eyes light up today!Since then, BILSTEIN has been the first choice in Heinrich Hövelberndt's workshop. And not only with his own collector's cars, but also with the customers of the service company: "I wouldn't expect anything else from my customers. You deserve the best quality.” Photo credit: ThyssenKrupp Bilstein GmbH
Of course, that wasn't the end of it!
tuningblog has countless other articles on the subject of car and auto tuning in stock. Do you want to see them all? Just click HERE and look around. In part, we would like to provide you with news but also off the tuning. In our category Tips, products, information & Co We have reviews of car or accessories manufacturers, new ones Tuning Wiki Terms or one or the other Leak veröffentlicht. Just click on one of the following posts!
