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  #16  
Old 12-23-2014, 02:53 PM
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maxhifi maxhifi is offline
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I was in cuba in January 2014 - ALL the old cars are powered by Toyota 4cyl diesel truck engines. I gave a cabbie $5 to look under his hood and took a picture, I should post it here! I was in probably half a dozen old cars and looked at many more. The condition is as you would expect - replacemebt windows crudely cut from window glass (yikes!), heaps of body work done, interiors torally redone wirh local materials... Loosing all detail and looking more like a 50s diner, most instruments don't work with the engine conversions, etc. Still, riding in a 1955 Chevy convertible in the tropics with no seatbelt And a crazy driver is a piece of paradise I will never forget.

And the Styling of a 1958 Oldsmobile is something I would never have experienced if not for cuba. Since that trip a 50s car has been on my "to do" list, it's such an amazing era for automotive a which is before my time and if not for cuba I would never have been lucky enough to experience it.

I think Cuba should pass a law prohibiting those cars from leaving the country - they're all old junk individually, but all together it's just beautiful.

Last edited by maxhifi; 12-23-2014 at 02:59 PM.
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  #17  
Old 12-23-2014, 03:03 PM
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maxhifi maxhifi is offline
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Maxhifi's pictures of cuban cars

From January 2014

The engine is in the '57 fairlane

The limo is an early 60s Soviet limo, this is an extremely rare car. Most pictures are from Havana.
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  #18  
Old 12-23-2014, 04:02 PM
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jr_tech jr_tech is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maxhifi View Post
The engine is in the '57 fairlane
The car in front of the limo? The interior shot, as well?

Cool pix, thanks for posting!

jr
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  #19  
Old 12-23-2014, 04:10 PM
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maxhifi maxhifi is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jr_tech View Post
The car in front of the limo? The interior shot, as well?

Cool pix, thanks for posting!

jr
Yes, exactly - Here's a picture of the full car, with yours truly at the wheel. Girlfriend could have done a better job getting the whole car in the picture, but hey we were on a guided tour and I was holding things up looking at cars! Notice how they changed the whole engine but left the single master cylinder brakes in place! Everything there is cobbled together like that... I can only wonder how they get column shifters to work with the Toyota transmissions!

One taxi we took was an absolute beat to hell '58 Pontiac, which looked as though it had been put together from the remains of several cars. The taxi driver removed the gear selector and passed it to me, and continued to drive in second gear, like some sort of carnival act. I guess that must freak out people who drive modern cars, but I swear it was in better condition than the 68 Ford I had at the time, so it didn't phase me one bit

I also added another '55 chevy and also a photo of a very creative version of a lock for a trunk.
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Last edited by maxhifi; 01-22-2015 at 11:09 AM.
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  #20  
Old 12-23-2014, 04:46 PM
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Eric H Eric H is offline
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4 Lug wheels on that 55 Convertible, a lot of weight to be riding on Corolla hubs!
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  #21  
Old 12-23-2014, 09:43 PM
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4 Lug wheels on that 55 Convertible, a lot of weight to be riding on Corolla hubs!
And that's just a car, and a really nice one at that - you should see the buildings and infrastructure! The electrical wiring is a sight to behold, and it's Erie to fly in at night and see only the glow of a few CFL lamps in each building marking the presence of a lot of people! They have a major shortage of electricity. The omni present communist propaganda is just about the only advertising visible too, the whole place is amazingly foreign and interesting. I would definitely go back to Cuba, I hope that the writing isn't on the wall for cheap vacations for Canadians!
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  #22  
Old 07-10-2015, 06:27 PM
RJMiranda RJMiranda is offline
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Hi guys, it is nice to know you Videokarma colleagues are interested in the old American and European cars in my country.
As you may be aware, there are two main classes of Classic cars here. The majority are used as private taxis, and so you have to make them move (and brake as well, if it can be so arranged). On them you can find any make of engine, not just one: Mercedes-Benz, Aro (awful Rumanian jeeps but good engine), Toyota, Peugeot, Mitsubishi, you name it. Mostly diesel. It is true that some of the lighter (not so-heavy) American cars like Studebakers and Ramblers have Lada 80 HP 4-cyl gas engines, or maybe Volga, that is a larger 4-cyl gas eng. Some of them have the brake system replaced with disk brakes on 2 or even 4 wheels. But many of these changes are poorly made, and I donīt rely on them. I like the original construction the engineers designed, period.
Some use a front "eje muerto" (dead axle), that means a rigid front axle from a Soviet jeep or small truck, as if the independent front suspension had not been invented. Back to the 1930 technology. And a makeshift steering system. Curb-side engineers that make such abominations say that our streets are so bad (they are, truly) that you better have a rigid front axle and donīt have to worry about joints and other suspension parts whose English names I donīt know.
And the body work on many of these "taxis" is awful. And you are right: some windshields are made from window glass curved exactly to the original contour. You can tell it because of the way the light is reflected. (Side windows are mostly of hand-cut safety glass. Our artisans canīt make curved windshields from safety glass, because you have to heat them to give the curvature).
Some of those cars expel so much smoke that a power plant in Africa doing the same would be banned from working. Look as if the friends that came here didnīt had the bad luck to see one. I am glad for you guys.
This said, I must tell you that the cars that are around the hotels for the forign visitors to rent are in a much better condition. They canīt be up to 2015 standards, but they are, at least, 90 to 100% as safe as when originally made. Their owners are proud of them, most drive very carefully, and in many cases they have original-brand engines and transmissions, even automatic ones. Donīt ask me how some of them have imported original classic 6- or 8-cyl gas engines, windshields and everything from United States or maybe Mexico.
And several people have classic cars, real jewels, for their private use, and keep them in near-mint condition.
This said, I have a 1953 Chevrolet Belair with its original body, engine and transmission, not to show it, nor as a taxi, but just as my (future) family car. I bought it n-th hand, and have been working on it for several years. I repaired the engine (some other owner put in Volga 92mm pistons in place of the original 3 9/16 inch, and I had to keep them), and everything else is original but the generator (it is very difficult to find the voltage regulator the dynamo needs) and the carburetor (I am repairing a Carter W) So I am a sort of middleman: I want my car as "original" as possible, but am not going to spend tens of thousands of dollars to make it look as the day it left the factory.
Lets hope that we can live as good neighbours, even if there are disagreements. I hope you can even come to Cuba soon, and see for yourselves our country and our good old classic cars.

Last edited by RJMiranda; 07-13-2015 at 02:44 PM. Reason: Clarity
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