The country's oldest Land Rover is hitting the road once again, embarking on a 1800km journey in the name of heart health.
The 1948 Land Rover Series I, just the 20th to be made worldwide, will leave Dunedin this morning, heading for its new home in Auckland.
Owner and research scientist Julian Paton said the journey, Drive 4 Hearts, doubled as a fundraiser for the University of Auckland's Manaaki Manawa _ Centre for Heart Research, of which he was director.
"All my life I've been trying to find old Land Rovers and this is the oldest Land Rover in New Zealand," he said.
Professor Julian Paton, of Auckland, with a 1948 Land Rover he bought in Dunedin. Today he will begin the 1800km drive to Auckland to raise money for heart research. PHOTO: LINDA ROBERTSON
Prof Paton would not be drawn on how much the vehicle cost, but said it was very valuable.
"That vehicle sailed through compliance because it's in such good condition,
"That's because it's been under cover for 30 years and then the previous owner, Peter Marr, and he needs a shout out, [has] done a fantastic, sympathetic restoration on the car."
Prof Paton was looking forward to exploring the country, albeit at a suitable pace, he said.
"It's 77 years old and any vehicle that's that age can throw up problems.
"So we have a modern [Land Rover] Defender with it that's full of parts and a lot of my tools such that we can do roadside repairs."
He hoped to raise $300,000 to fund research into a "revolutionary" new heart valve for use in children with rheumatic fever.
"It's an embarrassment that New Zealand, as a developed country, still has rheumatic heart disease," he said.
If a child's damaged heart valve was replaced, the substitute was often made of metal or from a pig or cow and did not grow with the child.
The centre would research an alternative valve made from a patient's stem cells, seeded on to a 3-D model of their heart.
"Once we've got the heart valve grown, we'll implant it into the child and because those cells originated from the patient, it will not be rejected," he said.
Mr Marr, of Dunedin, said he was pleased to see the vehicle contributing to a good cause.
"I had some quite big offers from overseas and I did not want to see the car go overseas," he said.
"That fact that an old vehicle can help promote something like that is just amazing."
