Cars in Cuba, Part 1 of 2

Amazing they look well perserved.

Usually when I see pics of American survivor cars in Cuba they are pretty beat up and are maintained with mechanical parts from who knows what.  Many of these pics show much more original and better maintained cars.

@jack-dodds 

Parts to maintain them is a real problem. Many have had their engines replaced. I was in an early 50’s Chevrolet taxi with a Hyundai engine. It ran quite well. How they coupled it to the manual transmission  with shift lever on steering column is mystery to me.

@carsman1958 

One thing that helps keep them preserved is no need for salt to melt snow on roads in Cuba. It does not snow there.

This one would certainly have gotten our Moderator's heart racing!

@jack-dodds bland, one-tone...but it's close!

@jkuvakas Tastefully chopped though...lol.

@jack-dodds, that's the problem with the Cuban cars. They're all 25-footers, looking great from a distance. But when you get close, they have been heavily reworked. Most of those cars were shipped over in the fifties when Cuba had good relations with the USA, and parts were easy to get. When diplomatic tension arose, and embargoes were imposed, the parts dried up, and so did the economy. Those cars have been massaged and reworked for over fifty years using whatever parts and materials could be scrounged from whatever was lying around. As Ed mentioned, most of them have new, smaller engines and transmissions (many of them 4-cylinder diesels), and many of those have totally reworked interiors, not to mention odd chassis components. I have a friend who ventured down there thinking it was a haven for collector cars. He was down there for a month and came home empty-handed. The few he found worthy of transport and restoration were priced way too high to be viable.

@jkuvakas Yeah, the Cuban cars are for the most part a rather cool and historic tourist attraction.  Safe to say that politically they will never be able to leave there either.

An incredible 'automotive time warp'.

Posted by: @ed-davis

Someone either started with a convertible and added the rear doors or started with a four door hardtop and cut the top off.

Started as a 4-door hardtop (flat-top ) for sure. That roof section that is still attached to the windshield frame is a dead giveaway.

@jkuvakas Exactly correct. The Cubans who cherish these cars are masters at metal fabrication, engine swaps, driveline augmentation, etc..  but would never win points with judges or garner awards for authenticity.  Their unwavering love of and complete dedication to American cars, maintaining them as viable modes of transportation as well as cause for celebration is inspirational.

@chris 

Thanks, I missed that detail.

We were there in 2019 as a cruise stop. My late wife had prearranged cars for us, my daughter, and her then-boyfriend. The cars we got were a '56 Olds and a '60 Olds - the latter even had a/c! Didn't see many Soviet era cars but a Lada with 5-spoke wheels warranted a pic.