Interesting Carburetor - 1952 Pontiac Convertible in Cuba with a V-8 transplant

[Robert G. Smits]

Just returned from a wonderful eight days in Cuba. On the last day of the trip we had the afternoon on our own so my wife and I toured Havana in a 52 Pontiac Convertible. A V-8 had been transplanted and ran quite well. I thought the carburetor was interesting. 

[keiser31]

Looks like a Chrysler product Carter carburetor with weird top added.

Edited December 9, 2022 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[edinmass]

Check out those relays……..

[keiser31]

1 minute ago, edinmass said:

Check out those relays……..

I was intrigued by all of the fuel filters, too.

[1912Staver]

I think that's the base for an air cleaner that uses an oiled foam filter. They used to be somewhat common, but had a habit of catching fire . Less common these days. Years ago I did a major repair on a TVR that used foam filters with tripple Webers. Much damage to the wiring and some to the body fiberglass.  I will never use one.

[3macboys]

How about those fan blades...

[Robert G. Smits]

Driver had very little English but stated he hasn't had a air filter since he did the engine swap 3 years ago'  There are no automotive box stores in Cuba and things we take for granted like oil and spark plugs have to be brought to Cuba by family or friends from the states or routed through a middle American country at a steep premium.  A gentleman who restores 58 and 59 Chevrolets told me he bought a windshield for a 59 in Miami and after routing it through middle America it came to over $1000.00.  When you need gas you go to a station and frequently wait until gas is delivered and are limited to 40 liters.  Two days earlier my driver had to wait in line for 7 hours.  Taxi fares are down considerably since our last trip in 2018.as Cuba is in a serious recession.  Their major source of income is tourism and Cuba was shut down for over 2 years with Covid.

[edinmass]

TVR- there is one I haven’t thought about in decades. I use to service on from the early 70’s for a while. 

[ipeeforward]

I hope they aren’t getting any E10 fuel, those lines don’t look ethanol resistant. The series Cuban Chrome was shown in the U.K., their lack of spares defiantly led to some ingenuity when repairs or restoration were needed.

[Lahti35]

Our local library had a book years ago that was about the car culture down there. It was a very interesting read with great pictures also. They retrofitted a lot of soviet era powerplants into their cars as well as having to fabricate parts to keep things on the road. The spare parts situation was dire and most of what we would throw away they would gladly use. I distinctly remember hand formed trim and bathmats used as head gasket material. Amazing!

[jp1gt]

as far as all the fuel filters. I spent some time in the Caribbean and the fuel is full of dirt. I made a few very happy friends diagnosing and repairing fuel system problems. This was in the Bahamas, there are no good mechanics there---

[60FlatTop]

I wouldn't expect that air inlet to be a trivial installation.

[Robert G. Smits]

2 hours ago, Lahti35 said:

retrofitted a lot of soviet era powerplants into their cars

If you are talking about the book "Cuban Car Culture" you are correct.  With the adoption of capitalism to the Taxi industry they have advanced and are now using modern Diesel automotive engines and  automatic transmissions.  One of our drivers paid $30K for his Mercedes diesel powered restored 57 Plymouth Convertible taxi.  The taxi and private home based restaurants can now operate outside of the socialist system.  Taxis pay approximately US $ 800 per month for their license and closed cars must have A/C.  Our tour around Havana cost US$35/hour plus a big tip.  As i get my photo files organized I will be sharing a lot more photos in a separate thread.

[JACK M]

I was in Cuba several years ago and of course am always looking at the old cars.

Every single one of them and something that just did not look quite right.

And yes, the 57 Chevy and 53 Buick among others that rattled away from the traffic light with small diesel engines.

 

[JamesR]

19 hours ago, Robert G. Smits said:

Just returned from a wonderful eight days in Cuba.

 

Glad you had a nice trip, Robert. What percentage of Cuban cars in general traffic are old classic pre-Castro (circa 1959 or earlier) vs. newer cars? In the old photos I'd see from the 1980's or so, almost every car was from the '50's or older.

 

In more recent photos, though, I've seen much more modern cars in circulation. Are there still a lot of people who depend on '50's era cars as daily drivers?  Or is that a thing of the past?

[Robert G. Smits]

In Havana about 50% of the cars are American pre-60.  Out in rural Cuba a much higher percentage are old.  This is where you see the cars being used for private transportation showing the effects of 50 years of lack of maintenance.   According to our guide there are 150K pre-60 American cars still in circulation.  I was impressed with the professional looking  diesel motor transplants of some of the taxies.  In the rural areas you see Russian agriculture trucks converted to people haulers.  In 2018 we drove out of Havana on a major highway for 5 hours and our bus met less that a dozen vehicles on the road.

[Ed Luddy]

Being in Canada we didn't have the same travel restrictions as USA  citizens. A few guys I knew brought old car parts with them on holidays to give to the locals who greatly appreciated them. Getting thru customs at the Jose' Marti aeroporte was an adventure on it's own, so I was told.

 Many old 2bbl. Rochesters, obsolete generators, starters, etc made useful again by very ingenious mechanics or miracle workers. The Chevy Stovebolt inliner 6 was very popular for many years.

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

My experience in Cuba was that most of the cars in Havana appear to be convertibles are actually sedans with the roof cut off. Most of them are in Havana where the main tourism is. We spent a lot of time in the rural areas and there were some older sedans. Also seemed  to be a lot of Russian Ladas. 

[Pfeil]

On 12/4/2022 at 4:00 PM, Robert G. Smits said:

Just returned from a wonderful eight days in Cuba. On the last day of the trip we had the afternoon on our own so my wife and I toured Havana in a 52 Pontiac Convertible. A V-8 had been transplanted and ran quite well. I thought the carburetor was interesting. 

That engine is a 55-59 Pontiac V-8(at least it's still all Pontiac) my guess 55 or 56. It's got a Pontiac 1975+ HEI. Carburetor and intake manifold look like the ones used on Pontiac engines used on GMC P/U trucks 1955-59.

Deluxe Pontiac wheel covers are 1949 and 1950. 

Edited December 6, 2022 by Pfeil (see edit history)

[EmTee]

Looking at that fuel system, I wouldn't ride in that car without a fire suit...

[Robert G. Smits]

On 12/7/2022 at 6:53 AM, EmTee said:

Looking at that fuel system, I wouldn't ride in that car without a fire suit

Riding in the back seat of a convertible your exit time is short.

[Robert G. Smits]

On 12/6/2022 at 3:28 PM, Jeff Perkins / Mn said:

Russian Ladas.

Locals call this the "believers car" because owners believe thay have a car.  We also saw a bunch of Chinese Geelys.

Edited December 9, 2022 by Robert G. Smits
spelling (see edit history)

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

I rode in two Cuban convertibles during my time there…..one a true 1955 Chev convertible running a 261 GMC 6 cyl. which the owner claimed had over 500K miles…..the other was a 1957 Buick Century 4 dr. with the roof cut off.  This baby had a 4cyl. Toyota diesel engine with a 5 spd. transmission. What a mess that one was!!