Some are classic to the core


  NOT ALL Cuban classics hide Soviet engines or European differentials under their picturesque body lines. Some owners manage to keep their old rides near-original – an amazing achievement, considering the challenges of car maintenance in Cuba. Here are two largely unmolested examples from the revolico.com site.


   This “impeccable” 1934 Ford sedan is available only because of the death of its long-time owner, the seller asserts. Apart from wheels and tires that are obvious later additions, this could be a twin to the ’34 Ford in which Bonnie and Clyde’s bank-robbing careers came to a sudden end. Billed as 95-per-cent original, the Cuban Ford comes with extra piston rings and other parts. The listed price is 15,000 CUC ($ 17,356 Cdn.), but “we can negotiate if you are really interested.”

In the U.S., a cherished old Harley-Davidson like this 1946overhead-valve Knucklehead could bring $30,000 or more, its owner says. He’s asking 13,000 CUC ($15,051 Cdn.) and don’t you wish ... Anyway, some Cuban Harlista will give it a good home. This Harley is said to be in perfect condition with all original parts (plus those hard panniers, I guess). The owner calls it an FLH, but he must mean FL. Shame there isn’t a side-view shot, but if you want to see more old Harleys in Cuba, check out the Cars of Cuba group on Facebook.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Discovered in Cuba, a rare Mercedes bird

Image
(December 2012 note: See update link, below.)     GUESS I'LL have to set aside my search for the younger Batista’s 1956 Corvette. An even tastier trophy has emerged – a Mercedes-Benz 300SL, better known as the Gullwing.    Even on the Island of Surprises, I’d be astounded to come across one of these rare beauties. But in a brief section on Cuba in Automobiles Lost & Found (Haynes Publishing, 2008), I see a photo of a battered 300SL observed by author Michael E. Ware outside a private garage near Havana.    The Gullwing, unmistakable lift-up doors in place, is dented and rusting and missing its engine, yet still would be prized by collectors the world over . . . if only they could extract it from Cuba. Restored, the Silver Metallic example with Lipstick Red interior might be worth more than $700,000 U.S.    Reached in England, Mr. Ware tells me he was holidaying in Cuba when an acquaintance brought him to an unnamed communit...
Read more

The Cuba Gullwing chronology

Image
How the 300SL would have looked new. Wikipedia photo.     IN SIX YEARS , no topic here has drawn more attention than the story of Cuba's rotting Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe. Visitors from around the world seem endlessly appalled and fascinated by the sad fate of such a rare and beautiful car.      The same analytics program that tells me the home nations of these visitors tells me where on this blog they land – and it's apparent that many are missing the full story (or as full as anyone has been able to make it). The world's largest Internet indexer – you know who I'm talking about – insists on routing the curious to a five-year post and refuses to make note of subsequent entries.    Why? Who knows?     To provide a more complete picture, here's a list of CARISTAS entries on the Gullwing, which, to be clear, was first brought to the world's attention by British auto historian Michael E. Ware in Automobiles Lost & Foun...
Read more