Opening Trade With Cuba: What happens to the glorious old cars of the '50's?

[TG57Roadmaster]

20 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

 

From what I have read in The Wall Street Journal

and other places, all the U. S. dollars spent

don't go to the people as you may think, but

go instead to help prop up the oppressive

Communist government.  Much as in North Korea,

tourists are only seeing and hearing what that

oppressive regime wants you to see, so you will

form blissful wrong opinions and spread them abroad.

 

If you really want to see old cars, join your club and

organize a visit to a good American junkyard!

 

 

My experience could not be more different, and I travelled there not on an expensive, structured, regimented tour but on my own, legally as a researcher for an upcoming book project. I didn't have to suffer learning the salsa, visiting an escuela or a clinica, or touring a cigar factory. The people I met who are making money are keeping most of it, but they can't take it with them should they want to leave. There is a guarded optimism about their and their children's futures, and a mercantilism that simply isn't covered by American Media.

 

There are also 5-star hotels, modern cars, fine restaurants and all the trappings of world-class resorts that we never hear about, but the rest of the Planet has been visiting since our Embargo. Is it all roses and buttercups, no, but it's not what we've been led to believe, either.

 

TG

Edited January 16, 2017 by TG57Roadmaster (see edit history)

[John_S_in_Penna]

3 minutes ago, TG57Roadmaster said:

Is it all roses and buttercups, no, but it's not what we've been led to believe, either.

TG

 

It's not what you've been led to believe:  It's worse.

Here's a link to a Newsweek story.  It's brief, but it

gives a glimpse:

 

http://www.newsweek.com/it-right-vacation-cuba-oppression-485022

 

 

[TG57Roadmaster]

And a very biased glimpse it is. What does Newsweek have against the American Bar Association? Or any other group that travels there? I didn't see any queues at gas stations, and yes, many offices don't have AC, but they have fans powered by actual electricity, just like we used to have. Why compare Cuba with our standard of living when it should be compared with other Latin American countries?

 

As for politics, I'm not doing a book on oppressive regimes, but about the cars of Cuba. Should Tom Cotter and Bill Warner not have written their excellent book, Cuba's Car Culture? You don't have to buy their book or mine, but my conversations were with working-class Cubans, over coffee in their dining rooms where Big Brother was not listening. It wasn't gleaned from articles in magazines

 

Many people travel there for many reasons, all of them legal before President Obama opened the door a bit wider. These are the OFAC categories and restrictions for travel to Cuba..."Entry Requirements."

https://cu.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/traveling-to-cuba/

 

 

[TG57Roadmaster]

Some of the cars seen in Havana and its environs, all but the last in Habana Vieja. It's estimated that there are 70-80,000 vintage vehicles on the island, U.S. and foreign makes, many with modern engines and modified drivetrains, so I left my AACA Judging cap at home and just enjoyed the 24-hour moving car show. (Think the head-spinning Linda Blair in, "The Exorcist," minus the green stuff).

 

Though few of the cars are in pristine condition, some owners with relatives in the States or Latin American countries have original parts sent to them. A number of them had correct wheels and Coker Classic or OEM tires, but they are the exception. There's an aspirational aspect, a hierarchy, and owners of pedicabs want to move up to a beater sedan, who in turn want a better sedan or coupe, with a '50's convertible at the top of the heap and where the most tourist money can be made. 

 

This '57 Ford Fairlane 500 Town Sedan is the pride and joy of its elderly owner, and may have been passed down in his family.

 

El Castillo del Morro and the Fuente de Neptuno loom in the background of this 1951 Chevy and vintage Land Rover, near the Plaza de Armas on the Avenida del Puerto.

 

El Tunel de la Habana is a great place for car spotting. The Palacio Velasco-Sarra behind this diesel-spewing 56 Chevy is now the home of the Spanish Embassy, and was once the private residence of members of the Sarra Pharmacy family.

 

A friend in Quebec, Gilbert Bureau, winters in la Habana. When he saw this photo, he exclaimed, "That's my electrician!" His man in Havana is enjoying lunch next to an early-1950's Peugeot 203.

 

This 1959 Chevy Impala Sport Sedan stands vigil at this mercado on Calle San Lazaro, one block off the Malecon.

 

A 1958 Thunderbird glides past the Centro Asturiano, one of the many clubs built when Cuba was flush with sugar and mineral money, now the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de la Habana. Like the Centro Gallego and many others, the lavish, palatial clubs were built by groups of descendants from regions of Spain.Gallego from Galicia, Asturiano from Asturias, and so on.

 

Exiting the Tunel de la Habana, this 1955 Oldsmobile 98 Starfire Convertible was the most-correct car I saw. The rear bumper's wavy, but its interior, tires, wheel covers, and great bodywork and paint set it apart from most others. 

 

You can rent a car at the entrance to "La Rampa," at the beginning of Calle 23 and the Malecon, just across from the legendary Hotel Nacional. This circa-1959 Opel Rekord fits right in at this streamlined gas station. 

 

A late-'50's MGA with aftermarket wheels and VW taillights zooms along the Malecon, heading towards Habana Vieja.

 

The newly-restored Centro Gallego now houses the Gran Teatro Nacional...1950's convertibles await the tourist trade at Parque Central, and the massive Capitolio is off to the left. The '55 Eldorado was a pleasant surprise.

 

A quick tropical rainstorm transformed the streets, making this '53 Chevy Bel Air glisten. The '53 Chevy 

is the most popular car in Cuba, and sedans far outnumber coupes, convertibles and other body styles.

 

This sweet '49 Chevy was posed near the Almacenes San Jose Artisan's Market, where the cruise ships berth and tourists are separated from their souvenir money..

 

My friend Rey Sanler owns this '50 Buick Super Sedanet and the '56 BelAir Sedan. He's a Cuban a cappella singer who tours the world with the group, "Vocal Sampling," headlining music festivals. The Buick's engine is awaiting installation when money allows, and he has much work ahead of him on both projects.

 

The San Jose section teems with convertibles like this '55 Buick Special, waiting to pick up foreigners for Havana tours that cost about $25-$30 for two hours.

 

The lower roadway along the San Jose section provided a bird's-eye view of this 1958 Edsel Corsair,

originally a two-door hardtop. Coupes and even sedans are chopped into convertibles for the tourist

trade, and it's a challenge to spot the real ragtops.

 

A missed P12 bus stop at the Biblioteca Jose Marti led to the end of line and the quaint town of Santiago de Vegas. South of the airport and part of suburban Havana, its low casas and sunlit streets were as close as I got to rural Cuba. Street repairs are common, as this '53 Cadillac shows.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 15, 2017 by TG57Roadmaster (see edit history)

[c49er]

Seems like I saw all those cars when i was there!

The owners are so proud of their cars too. They are careful drivers  I was told as they don't want their cars to get wrecked.

Never did see an accident when I was there or even police cars racing somewhere..

[TG57Roadmaster]

9 hours ago, c49er said:

Seems like I saw all those cars when i was there!

The owners are so proud of their cars too. They are careful drivers  I was told as they don't want their cars to get wrecked.

Never did see an accident when I was there or even police cars racing somewhere..

So true Bob,

 

After a while, you recognize certain cars; I saw this '50 Buick all over the place, even in a painting at the Almacenes San Jose Artisan's Market.

 

In August 2016, this '50 Buick Super was all over Habana Vieja, usually loaded with tourists. 

 

By December, it was sporting optional bumper guards / over-riders.

 

The '50 Buick Super's painting at the Almacenes San Jose Artisan's Market in August, along with some other colorful carros.

[padgett]

Not sure of accuracy but http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/cuban-chrome/

[8E45E]

With the outside resources now opening up to Cuban residents who have these vintage cars in their possession, will parts become readily available to do a 'proper' restoration of these cars? 

 

And how many can claim to be an original owner, (or a son or grandson of the original owner) of one of these cars?

 

Craig

[TG57Roadmaster]

1 hour ago, 8E45E said:

With the outside resources now opening up to Cuban residents who have these vintage cars in their possession, will parts become readily available to do a 'proper' restoration of these cars? 

 

And how many can claim to be an original owner, (or a son or grandson of the original owner) of one of these cars?

 

Craig

 

That's hard to know Craig, without asking the owners. This '57 Fairlane 500 Town Sedan is a likely an inheritance, but I didn't ask its owner. I met a Cuban-born Delta  flight attendant on my first trip who was there for a family reunion, and his grandfather had just sold his '59 Olds 98 Holiday sedan, sort of his 401K retirement plan.

 

 

They need parts and get some from relatives in Latin America and the U.S., but not a steady stream, so there's opportunity there if the door remains open. Time will tell. I'll attend a local Saturday car show in February and meet the head of one of the bigger clubs, and try to find out where the pristine cars are.

 

 

A friend who's a French national in the tourism industry has this mostly-original '59 Dodge Mayfair Custom, an export model; its interior is supposedly correct, an exception to the rule in Cuba. I'll get interior shots next month.

 

TG

Edited January 17, 2017 by TG57Roadmaster (see edit history)

[JACK M]

TG, and others,

Your comments are well taken here and I thank you.

I am leaving tonight, talk to ya'll in a couple of weeks.

[JACK M]

Well, I am back and I must say that I had a blast.

I could write a book here but will only touch on a few observations.

There were plenty of old cars there and I would say that one in eight or ten on the streets are old cars.

They are 95% taxis I would guess. it would seem that when I saw a bunch of these guys hanging out in the street they wanted money to even take a picture, or money to take one for a ride.

Many if not most had the small diesel engines in them, It was funny to listen to them drive around with that diesel rattle and the black exhaust.

Most of these cars just had a look to them that were not right, many body mods that took from the originality. Not major stuff, but they just had a look that didn't sit right (original).

I saw several cars the had straight axels from old pick ups or possible catalogue front ends.

A guy at the airport commented that many travelers that live in the states but visited family would bring the darndest stuff on the air plane with them, engine and suspension parts etc.

It will be some time until the brother in law gets his camera unloaded and forward me his findings. I took a few pics but am not the photographer in the family so will follow up with pics later.

 Lots of old buildings and fun scenery on the roads. Many horse drawn carts all the way to many very modern tour busses. the tour busses were all Chinese manufacture and were pretty much new. All sharing the roads that were really not in to bad of shape. A few freeways and many country roads all quite busy.

Tourists everywhere, bus loads of them, mostly European I would guess. We were part of that but on a small scale compared to most as there were only eight of us.

Hotels were expensive and not in very good shape. Power failures were not uncommon and woke up one day with no running water. That lasted most of the day.

These are $400 to $500 rooms by the way.

The bars all had live music as did most of the restaurants. The food was great for the most part but most of the group had some sort of problems at some point.

My brother and our driver had the squid one night and both of them had a few uncomfortable days. I survived most of that.

A lobster dinner there is like getting a cheeseburger here, every place offers about the same fare. Fish, chicken, pork, beef, shrimp or lobster, I had lobster just about every day. We mostly took our meals at Paladors which are basically family homes that sell meals and are almost always on the third or fourth floor walk up and are quite cramped and very busy. But always a three course meals with three drinks included. Seating could be in a bedroom or on a deck, but they always found a way to cram a musician or small combo somewhere.

 

Lest I ramble, I have to unpack today and count my cigars and rum.