Update on Belgian Aston Martin – In search of another lead to follow!

A while back a made a post looking for help in researching my 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 that was purchased new in Belgium looking for leads to a gap in its history.

So far I have been able to uncover all but 4 or 5 years of history, but am looking for new leads to fill in those gaps.

What I know for sure… The car was purchased by André Pelgrims ( Son of Eugene Pelgrims, the owner of Maison Pelgrims and Director of Pharmacie centrale de Belgique ) André took over for his father in 1951.

Interesting side fact, he was involved with an interesting college prank in the 1920’s. I have attached an article about it written 20 years later.

Anyway, he listed the car for sale in 1959 (Newspaper Clipping Attached)… The address listed was the garage for the Pharmacie centrale de Belgique which lines up to the owner.

It is at this point where the story goes cold… No information can be found from 1959 until 1964.

In 1964 the car was found at a garage in Oostende where it had been painted a different color ( originally it was sea green, but was painted silver sometime during the previous ownership… Evidence of damage to the hood was found covered up during my restoration including where there was a hole that was filled in it ). The car was purchased by a student at Catholic University of Leuven by the name of Lance Sterman. He moved to the USA in 1970 bringing the car with him.

According to his widow, the owner of the garage told him the car was owned by the King of Belgium. I believe this to be an exaggeration made by the garage based on the original owner being “nobility” but there is always a possibility.

What I am looking for is any leads, photos or anything that could point me to the cars time from 1959 to 1964. How did the hood get damaged, why did it get painted? How did it end up in Oostende instead of Brussels.

The widow of the last owner mentioned talk of rallying the car…

I would like to find someone who may know the Pelgrims family and might have a photo of the car during that period, or may know who the car was sold to in 1959. Or maybe someone has a family member that had an Aston Martin DB2/4 in the early 1960’s that could be this car.

I did find one advertisement for an Aston Martin DB2/4 in 1964 in old newspapers that was owned by the Dejuzaine family who owned a Caravan business in Brussels, but with the car being found in Oostende, I don’t think it was the same car unless they had a connection there.