This thing from Cuba II

"Buckner" (Buckner) 03/31/2020 at 11:15 • Filed to: Cuba, what is this

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Spotted outside Santa Cruz del Norte, Cuba. Dec 2019

Jim Spanfeller > Buckner 03/31/2020 at 11:22

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I’d heard they have some crazy Frankensteined cars over there... I’m honestly impressed by the craftsmanship.

ranwhenparked > Buckner 03/31/2020 at 11:25

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Possibly ZAZ based? 

Buckner > Jim Spanfeller 03/31/2020 at 11:26

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Truly amazing .

Buckner > ranwhenparked 03/31/2020 at 11:35

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Found another picture! 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Buckner 03/31/2020 at 11:36

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Wait is that a rear engine? And suicide doors? Maybe it is a cut up beetle? I don’t think there are many vehicles that made it to Cuba with a rear engine. But the sticker says BMW

ranwhenparked > Buckner 03/31/2020 at 11:41

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Yep, most certainly started as a ZAZ 965, but that was a long time ago

Wacko > Buckner 03/31/2020 at 11:47

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I also went to Cuba in December

We went to Cayo Santa Maria 

just-a-scratch > Jim Spanfeller 03/31/2020 at 11:59

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They absolutely do have cars cobbled together from several vehicles of different eras. When I was there we got around in an International Travelall with Hino powertrain and a 1957 Chevy Bel Air wagon with Mercedes diesel powertrain. It seemed like anything that old was no longer running its original engine. Quite often, they had different transmissions, axles, differentials, etc.

Jim Spanfeller > just-a-scratch 03/31/2020 at 12:07

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I remember watching videos about how they keep these things running, and it’s fascinating. They use stuff like surgical tubing in place of rubber hoses, and they even make their own brake fluid using stuff like brown sugar and bleach, if I remember correctly. They’re like Native Americans using every part of the b ison, except their bison are cars. They can and will find a use for every last part of even the most hopeless heaps... It’s pretty amazing stuff.

Buckner > Wacko 03/31/2020 at 12:35

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I’ll be back every year to “support the Cuban people”!

punkgoose17 > Buckner 03/31/2020 at 12:45

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I think that was originally a Dauphine door; now it is rear hinged.

just-a-scratch > Jim Spanfeller 03/31/2020 at 13:03

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Yeah. Some of those heaps that are still on the road are pretty scary looking though.

Also for scariness, seatbelts still seem to be optional, and often do not include a shoulder belt when they are available. That’s to say nothing of safety features invented after 1960.

OmerCarrothers333 > Buckner 03/31/2020 at 13:18

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Oh, that is the business

Jim Spanfeller > just-a-scratch 03/31/2020 at 13:21

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Seat belts weren’t required by law on American cars until 1967, so I imagine it was a similar situation in Cuba. Until then, seat belts were optional extras that gave you the luxury of not flying through the windshield in an accident...

ranwhenparked > punkgoose17 03/31/2020 at 14:43

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ZAZ 965 door