At Rusty Stitches, we are always drawn to the world of true craftsmanship. It is a place where passion and skill meet to create something as unique as the builder behind the tools. This time we visited Erik Zandvoort, a name you might already know, but one you are definitely not going to forget after reading this story.
The coffee will have to wait for a moment, Erik.
On a crisp afternoon in Rijssen, I step into Erik’s workshop where the air smells of freshly cut metal and machine oil. The workshop doors are pinned open to let the fresh spring air in while the sun hits the workbench. Inside, I hear the rhythmic thud of a hammer meeting a sheet of aluminum.
Erik sees me walk in and greets me with a firm handshake and a smile. “Coffie?” he asks, already heading upstairs. I follow him, but I am stopped in my tracks by the projects surrounding me. It is not that they are in the way, there is just so much to see.
The coffee will have to wait for a moment, Erik. I stop right in front of what I soon discover is a Junior Car. “What exactly is a Junior Car?” I ask. Erik explains that these are 75-percent scale recreations of iconic pre-war cars. A legendary pre-war racer served as his primary inspiration for these builds.
“They aren’t just for kids,” Erik tells me, as owners use them as showpieces or for a bit of fun on private tracks. These machines feature a bespoke steel chassis and hand-beaten aluminum panels. Erik shows me the mechanics, pointing out the real springs and cable brakes. It is a serious piece of engineering in a smaller package. He explains that some models are even motorized, powered by either electric or petrol engines. Every junior car is custom-built to the specific wishes of the customer. And Erik crafts every single part by hand right here in his workshop.
I ask how he ended up in such a specialized niche. “Now it is really time for coffee,” he says with a laugh. We head to his office, a space packed with aircraft parts and blueprints, but more on that later. We settle in, and Erik starts to tell me his story.
Traditional classrooms didn’t work for me.
He admits that school was never a great fit for him. While traditional classrooms didn’t work, his hunger to learn was always there. Working with metal was the thing that truly caught his interest, so he decided to become a welder the hard way, by simply buying a welding machine and practicing. After a while, he felt he had the basics down and started taking on small jobs. It didn’t take long for him to realize he still had plenty to learn, but that didn’t stop him.
With a lot of grit and perseverance, he improved quickly. Before long, he was running his own show as a self-employed welder. It was a great success story, but over time, the grind and the constant pressure and deadlines took away all his joy. He felt he needed a change, so he decided to stop and take a look back to discover what to do next.
The grind and the constant pressure and
deadlines took away all his joy
He wanted to rediscover the passion of his younger days, making beautiful things without a single thought about money. He decided to build something again, right back where it all started in his parents’ garage. What did he build? You guessed it: his own version of a legendary pre-war racer. He built the entire model using only simple tools in a small space, with nothing but photos on his smartphone as his guide. “I made that first car purely for myself,” Erik explains, “just to be busy with something I loved.” But the world had other plans. As soon as people saw the finished red Junior Car, the requests started flying in. Collectors were especially drawn to his work, and that is how the idea for his company was born.
Erik currently has eight Junior Cars on order. While they all share the same handcrafted foundation, every single one is custom-built with unique finishes tailored to the client. When it comes to the details, anything is possible. His work remains strictly exclusive. He has no real interest in mass production. “That is not my ambition,” he tells me firmly. He wants to stay creative by constantly dreaming up new things and then figuring out how to build them by hand.
The Silver Spitfire
To show me exactly what he means, Erik powers up his computer. He wants to show me the project that took his craftsmanship to a whole new level. It started when one of his Junior Car customers saw his work with aluminum and threw down the ultimate challenge: “Can you build me a Spitfire?”
Erik didn’t hesitate. A project like this is a once in a lifetime chance. The task was to build a 7 meter long 75% replica of the Spitfire Mk IX. Unlike the camouflaged versions from the war, this one was modelled after ‘The Silver Spitfire’, a polished aluminum masterpiece. The plan was for this aircraft to hang in the atrium of the customer’s office building, positioned as if it is flying through it! Even looking at the images on a screen, the scale and the detail of the hand-shaped metalwork are incredible. It is the kind of work that proves Erik simply doesn’t believe in the word “impossible.”
Erik built the entire Spitfire from scratch by hand, meticulously crafting every single detail from the main frame to the smallest panel and switch. He shaped the structural skeleton piece by piece to ensure perfect accuracy and strength. Every element of the fuselage was formed by hand, demonstrating his total commitment to traditional metalworking techniques.
The Yamaha XS650 Custom
As a motorcycle enthusiast, I was hoping to see a custom bike, and Erik had one last surprise for me: his own Yamaha XS650 build. He has owned this bike for many years, and while it has seen several modifications before, it was finally time for a total transformation.
The bike is currently still in the build phase, but you can already see exactly where it is heading. For Erik, getting the lines and the silhouette just right is the most important part. The design of this bike happens naturally. It sits in a central spot in the workshop, and he walks past it every day, looks at it, and that is how the ideas form. Suddenly, he knows the direction he wants to take. It is about designing from a place of peace and intuition.
The engine is being handled by the guys at Skorn. If you know that shop, you know they are famous for their high-performance XS projects, so it is going to be something very special. I am excited to see what Erik creates with this bike. He plans to integrate aircraft parts into the design, along with plenty of copper elements. We will definitely have to come back in the future to see the finished result.
I could have spent hours talking to Erik about our shared passion, but unfortunately, we both had other appointments to get to. Erik, thank you so much for your time. I have massive respect for what you are building.
If you want to see more photos and info about his work, please visit: https://erikzandvoort.com/
Author and Photographer: Arthur Renkema
Photos: Erik van Zandvoort
