Classic Cars In Cuba - 1940s and 1950s American Vintage Cars Find Refuge In Cuba | Hagerty Articles

I got this link from Hagarty. Lots of old cars which look like they have been worked hard for 60 plus years, a few looking very nice.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

The Edsel on the opening page is amazing but I couldn't see any others (must be doing something wrong). So many of those cars have been cluged together for so so long that they're supposed to be pretty well cobbled under the skin. Because American parts have been unavailable and horribly pricey for decades a lot of the (especially) older cars have had a Russian or Chinese Diesel swapped in - anything to keep the wheels rotating. I guess these Diesels are relatively more available there.

I can't help but think that Western collectors with open wallets are going to scoop up many of these classics and suck them into the collector world. I wonder if any will remain Diesel powered?

Dan

Many of these old cars never became classics even when available and in good condition. I can't see any redeeming qualities here other than that they came from Cuba. I would suspect that they are "used up", and many are beyond their fatigue life. Except for a few body parts, they're scrap metal IMO.

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'83 300D, 126K miles.

Except for the smattering of soviet block cars, what's on the road in Cuba looks like a snapshot of what was in regular service in the 1959-1960 time period. Most appear to be 50's era, with some 40s models present, but in much lower numbers.

Any of these cars still in daily service have intergalactic mileage, and largely updated mechanically with whatever was available, and probably not original spec....

But, I wonder what happened to all the "old" old cars. There was wealth on the island, perhaps there are some 20s and 30s classics awaiting discovery. Or, Castro could have seized them and sold them off years ago.

Jim

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14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

Either way, I DO hope the relationship continues to thaw and that we get to see more Cuban barn finds and whatever lies hidden there. While a lot of the cars on the road may, indeed, be "used up" believe me when I say that restorers make like-new cars from little more than the oil stains left from where the classics used to sit on the abandoned garage floor.

Dan

It looks like they preferred after market wheel designs. I wonder who supplied them with those. Could that have been the one embargoed item that they could not have done without, and would have caved the Castro's.

Restoring an oil stain makes sense when the car is a 4 mil Ferrari. Less so when it's a 52 Chevy deluxe sedan.....

Jim

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14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

Barcardi, etc.,etc.

Mayhaps the cars did Too.

I've got an old picture of a friends uncle loading his planes luggage compartment @ Jose Marti in Very Late 1958.
They'd gone down to "Do" the casinos and Just got out.

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'84 300SD sold
124.128

A lot of them probably have newer engines and drive trains. I saw a few that looked correct....precious few.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Just imagine the pollution from these old clunkers. They weren't very clean when new, and I doubt they're any better now. Most of these old cars didn't even have PCV.

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'83 300D, 126K miles.

I put up this thread over on the Studebaker forum too. One of the fellows over there said most of the old us cars have four cylinder Russian made diesel engines now.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

He lost me when he claims its 90 miles from Miami to Cuba...

I'm a Miami native so I'm going to refrain from commenting other than to say these are some interesting cars.

If you were not a Miami Native you would say more? why does it matter if you are from Miami?

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

The resourcefulness of the Cubans to keep those old cars going should serve as inspiration for anyone thinking of giving up on their old Benz and buying a Honda. There are still a lot of parts available here for a 35 year old Mercedes.

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'81 300SD

The whole Cuba situation is a bit personal. I generally try to stay away from political discussions.