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The country's oldest Land Rover is hitting the road once again, embarking on a 1800km journey in the name of heart health. <!--break-->
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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.
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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.
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"All my life I've been trying to find old Land Rovers and this is the oldest Land Rover in New Zealand," he said.
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<a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-type="image" data-onecms-id="contentid/1seyqox2lr9jr4qz50c" polopoly:contentid="contentid/1seyqox2lr9jr4qz50c" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-attr-f="21:9" data-attr-align="center" data-attr-caption="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" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-embed-img-alt="Professor Julian Paton, of Auckland, with a 1948 Land Rover he bought in Dunedin. Today he will..." href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/1seyqox2lr9jr4qz50c', $action:'view', $target:'work'})"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/1seyqox2lr9jr4qz50c/image.jpg?f=21:9&w=400&q=0.3"><span class="captionwrapper" style="display: block;">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</span></a>
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Prof Paton would not be drawn on how much the vehicle cost, but said it was very valuable.
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"That vehicle sailed through compliance because it's in such good condition,
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"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."
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Prof Paton was looking forward to exploring the country, albeit at a suitable pace, he said.
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"It's 77 years old and any vehicle that's that age can throw up problems.
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"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."
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He hoped to raise $300,000 to fund research into a "revolutionary" new heart valve for use in children with rheumatic fever.
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"It's an embarrassment that New Zealand, as a developed country, still has rheumatic heart disease," he said.
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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.
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The centre would research an alternative valve made from a patient's stem cells, seeded on to a 3-D model of their heart.
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"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.
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Mr Marr, of Dunedin, said he was pleased to see the vehicle contributing to a good cause.
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"I had some quite big offers from overseas and I did not want to see the car go overseas," he said.
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"That fact that an old vehicle can help promote something like that is just amazing."
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<a href="mailto:ruby.shaw@odt.co.nz">ruby.shaw@odt.co.nz</a>
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