Beautiful country and very friendly people. Unfortunately most of the cars are held together with duct tape and tie wire.
I know this subject has been done to death in the HAMB, but in this day and age, you have to appreciate what they've done. It's like a parallel universe.
I worked with a guy in the 80s who had a Cuban wife. I had a chopped '50 Merc at the time and she loved the car, reminded her of all the cars back home. That's when I learned about all the 50s cars still running in her country.
In September, some new laws were passed allowing more people to buy imported cars, and allowing sales of previously imported vehicles to other individuals. So the pre-revolution cars may start getting retired. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15100697
Canadians have continued to have an opportunity to visit Cuba, it's beautiful, great cigars, neat old cars and strangely not a trace of evil empire. The old cars are real and still lots of them. Many now have some Russian diesel for power but still chug along. Most of them are 4 door sedans but there is the odd two door
Here ya go. I took these a few years back when I was in Havana racing bicycles. This is just a typical day downtown, not a car show.
"Canadians have continued to have an opportunity to visit Cuba, it's beautiful, great cigars, neat old cars and strangely not a trace of evil empire." Emphasis added on the highlighted portion of the previous post was mine... Nearly my entire family lives in Cuba... Not trying to make this thread political but cannot let that previous remark go by...the reason why you didnt "see" any traces of an evil empire is because you are a TOURIST! A tourist can go to places that Cuban citizens cannot go, including some hotels, resorts, restauraunts etc. No American would stand for the shit that the Cubans go through on a daily basis. I watched a show on the food network of a guy named Bourdain or something like that that travels to foreign countries...in the documentary he saw a bunch of guys standing near a park arguing..when he got closer, he found out it was about baseball! Now the interesting part is that in order to stand around in a group out in the open and discuss/argue about baseball you have to be LICENSED by the state! That is to say..they want to make sure you arent talking about politics. Nuff said! Kind of like this site...please lets keep it to traditional hot rods and customs...leave your political opinions out of it. The cars in Cuba are loved by their owners and they do whatever they can to keep them running, including heating and bending their own windshields and making new brake shoes, cutting pipe into thin slivers to make piston rings..the list is endless...very inventive and resourceful folks...
What they do to keep these cars on the road is nothing short of amazing. I have been there 3 times, one time when I met I brought some parts with me; a friend of mine in Orlando had family there and a bad carb was keeping their DeSoto off the road (this was close to 10 years ago and it had been off the road since the 70s IIRC). Wonderful people... shame about what they have to go through.
Agree with Black Panther... As a Canadian I have been down there a few times. It is true. If you are a tourist you don't see the real Cuba. Once I rented a motorscooter with the idea of getting into the back country of Cuba and I set out with my tourist card and passport. As soon as I crossed over the cosway leaving Cayo Coco there was a checkpoint. Even though I had all of my documentaion I was not permitted to leave The island of Cayo Coco. Not going back there anytime soon because of the way that the governement treats there people. On the other hand I have seen the resourcefuliness of the Cuban people. I have taken pictures of a number of old classic iron pieces that are still on the road. I will have to dig them out of my old computer. I took the time to talk with the owners to get the scoop on how they keep them in the road. Some great stories and photos that I will post for you all. J
I would love to try a legendary Cuban cigar. I have always been facinated by the way they keep the now classic cars going down there. I always wondered why the USSR didn't try to bring in some more of their influence and "export" the fine, Soviet vehicles to Cuba.
I consider myself lucky to have seen the 'real' Cuba. I've been there three times and have made friends with several families. Witnessed the disparity between the 'haves' and the 'have nots', the 'haves' being those with access to the US dollar. I've travelled cross-country, living and training with the local athletes. When I departed I left everything with them. Clothes, shoes, money, and even bicycles worth several thousand dollars. Cuba is a beautiful place with wonderful, family-oriented people. I'll respect the rules of this forum and not get into politics. However, I will say that someday Cuba will be different. And I'll be first in line to return.
And those that want a Cuban cigar, almost all are hand-rolled in the Partagas factory in Havana. Different qualities are reserved for different brands. I smoked a Cohiba in their tasting room, the mecca for all cigar aficianados. Got a buzz from it like primo spliff. This lady is famous for rolling huge cigars for herself while rolling:
anyone seen the documentary "yank tanks"? its about old american cars in cuba. a MUST see for car guys. movie trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNzIfN8rLso documentary is a lot more than the trailer shows. from making new stainless trim, welding with galvanized fence wire to reman. brake pads in small shops
That show features some amazing talent and ingenuity. It reminds me of well, me, trying to keep all my old stuff running with all of the inferior communist china crap that the part stores sell and whatever I can scrounge at the junkyards.
I wonder who has the local franchise on those fender mirrors/gadgets....look to be pretty popular whatever they are. I've seen similar street scenes in Turkey in the 80's...they bought some old late 40's early 50's Detroit tooling and were producing 'new' 50's models in the 70's.
Been there, done that! Cuba is great, but yes there are two sides. I believe I saw 1 & 1/2 sides. The 1/2 was a little scary I got to say. There are a few really nice cars amongst a lot of junk. It sure is a great place to find almost all models of the fifties in a compressed space. I found it expensive, the weather hot and food was nothing special at all. There are a couple of other threads on here dealing with this same topic, for those who are really interested.
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