Brasov si Bucuresti in 1974

Un set de poze vechi din locatii destul de bine cunoscute: Bucuresti, in mod special zona Garii de Nord, si centrul Brasovului. Nesurprinzator, autorul este un turist strain. Remarcam: Pobeda cu numarul 1-IF-4084, SR-101 carand paine, Triumph 2000 sau 2500 Estate langa Fiatul 1100 si broscuta de corp tehnic, si microbuzul VW rosu. Dar, cel mai interesant, TV-41 de transport copii, si un Volga pick-up carosat in Romania (despre care am mai scris), amandoua pozate in detail excelent. Ca bonus, avem un mix de fotografii alb-negru si color.

A set of old photos from well-known locations: Bucharest, especially the Gara de Nord area, and the centre of Brasov. Unsurprisingly, the author was a foreign tourist. Of interest: the Pobeda, registered 1-IF-4084, SR-101 carrying bread, Triumph 2000 or 2500 estate next to the Fiat 1100 and the technical corps VW Beetle, and the red VW minibus. But, best of all: TV-41 school minibus, and a Volga pick-up rebodied in Romania (I have written before about these), both photographed in excellent detail. As a bonus, photos are both colour and black-and-white.

 

 

 

 

 

Un Cadillac foarte special / A very special Cadillac

O prezenta in paradele masinilor istorice inainte de 1989 era acest Cadillac, un Series 70 Convertible Coupe din 1936. Era destul de modificat - motor de Volga, cutie neoriginala, semnalizaotare de SR si punti de ARO, printre altele - dar totusi era una din cele mai spectaculoase masini din acea perioada. A fost prezentat in cateva filme - Facerea Lumii in 1971, Zidul in 1975, si Oglinda in 1993 - iar in anii 90 a plecat, pe rotile ei, catre Germania, unde a fost uitata intr-o sura. In aceasta perioada s-a ivit si zvonul putin probabil ca ar fi o fosta masina regala - mai precis, un dar din partea primarului de la New York catre Elena Lupescu. Dupa poze, se pare ca modificarile ar fi fost facute la inceputul anilor 60.

Astazi, masina se afla in mainile unui pasionat german, care o va restuara. Nu surprinzator, nu se afla nici un pic de evidenta despre povestea cu masina regala - ba dinpotriva, pozele cu Cadillacurile in dotarea regala arata masini complet diferite. Totusi, s-a ivit un amanunt si mai special: aceasta masina, cu seria de sasiu 1, a fost capul de serie pentru Cadillac Series 70 1936 si prezentat la Salonul Auto din Paris! Unele dotari, spre exemplu emblema de pe capota (furata in Germania), sunt comanda speciala de la uzinele General Motors. Deci cum ar fi ajuns in Romania?

Sunt in legatura cu proprietarul - oricine are informative despre aceasta masina il rog sa ma contacteze sau sa lasa un comentariu.

Ever-present in 1980s vintage car parades was this Cadillac, a 1936 Series 70 Convertible Coupe. It was heavily modified - Volga engine, ARO rear axle, strange gearbox, and SR indicators - but it was still a spectacular vehicle. It was used in several films - Facerea Lumii in 1971, Zidul in 1975, and Oglinda in 1993 - and was driven to Germany in the 1990s, where it was abandoned in a barn. At this time the improbable legend surfaced that it was a former royal car - more precisely, a gift from the Mayor of New York to Elena Lupescu, the then King's mistress. From the pictures, it seems as if the modifications were made in the early 60s.

Today the car is in the hands of a German collector who intends to restore it. Unsurprisingly, there is no evidence to suggest its royal story: indeed, photos of royal Cadillacs at that time show very different vehicles. However, research has yielded an even more special detail: it seems that this car, with cassis number 1, was the forst 1930 Series 70 ever built and was presented  at the Paris salon! Some details, including the bonnet mascot (stolen in Germany) were specially ordered from the General Motors factory. So how did it reach Romania?

I am in contact with the owner: if anybody has any more information about this car, do contact me or leave a message.

Inainte de 1966

 

 1971, in filmul Facerea Lumii

 

 

 

1975, filmul Zidul

 

Anii 70 / inceputul anilor 80.  

 

La parada in 1986

 1993 - filmul Oglinda 

 

2006 - in Germania 

 

Masina astazi se prezinta in aceasta stare, inainte de restaurare.

 

 

 

Dacia Denem unicata, salvata / A unique Dacia Denem saved

Dupa 13 ani intr-o sura in Irlanda de Nord, acest exemplar - crezut extinct - vede din nou lumina zilei...

Dacia Denem e Dacia 1310 pentru piata britania. Desi un mare esec, a fost vandut in mai multe variante: model de baza, L, GL, si GLX - ultima variant avand radiocasetofon, jante aliaj si geamuri electrice (!). A fost vanduta sub lozinca "The Very Acceptable Dacia Denem", in acest caz "foarte acceptabil" nu traducandu-se prea elegant. Modelul in imagini e Denem Base.

Ca punct de interes, primele cateva exemplare importate aveau "1310" pe spate!

Cateva chestii de interes:
- bordul are imitatie de lemn sila modelul de baza
- oglinda retrovizoara lispeste
- roata spate e din alt peisaj
- dungile pe caroserie nu se regasesc la modele romanesti
- insigniile "Dacia" si "Denem" sunt complet originale.

Masina intra in colectia unui pasionat care deja are Dacia Shifterossa (poza 10), Dacia Sport, si unicul ARO 24 care supravietuieste in Anglia. Si nu, nu e roman...

After thirteen years in a shed in Northern Ireland, this example - long believed extinct - sees daylight once more...

The Dacia Denem was a Dacia 1310 for the British market. Although a failure in terms of sales, it was offered in several variations: base model, L, GL and GLX - the latter having a radio-cassette player, alloy wheels and electric front windows (!). Notoriously, it was sold as "The Very Acceptable Dacia Denem", in this case "very acceptable" being a mistranslation from the Romanian, where the same phrase means "extremely good value". This particular example is a base model.

A few unusual aspects:
- even the base model has a fake wood dash
- the rear view mirror is missing
- the rear wheel is different
- the pinstripes were never seen on Romanian models
- the Dacia and Denem emblems are unique to the UK market.

The car is in an enthusiast's private collection, alongside a Dacia Shifterossa, Dacia Sport, the last ARO 24 in England, and others. And no, the owner's not Romanian....

 

Ultima Dacie 1302? / The last Dacia 1302?

Nu stiu multe despre ea. Tot ce stiu este ca e in Craiova, poza e recenta, si se da cu 1000 lei. Mai multe detalii aici.

Probabil masina e coapta. Totusi foarte posibil e ultima in existenta. Cele mai recente poze cu Dacia 1302 sunt de prin 2011 si arata exemplare in stare precara (poze mai jos). Cine stie daca ar mai fi scapat in cele mai recent valuri de Rematizari. 1302-uri in general au avut o viata grea, multe fiind exportate si restul fiind pe santiere. Au fost mai multe serii. Cert este ca sunt foarte, foarte rare.

Se baga cineva sa salveze o bucata de istorie? Desigur, din punct de vedere strict economic o restuarare nu are scop. Valoarea de piata nu va fi mare vreodata. Totusi, vehicule istorice sport din import sunt pe toate strazile. Ar fi pacat ca, prin nepasare, sa pierdem ce este foarte posibil ultimul exemplar a unului model autohton. Ca punct de inspiratie, in ultimile saptamani doi englezi au luat dintr-un Remat masina din poza numarul 4 - cel mai vechi FSO Polonez existent in Marea Britanie - si o vor restaura. Deci se poate!

I don't know much about this one. It's in Craiova, the photo is recent, and it's 1000 Lei (250 Euro, more or less). More details here.

It's probably rotten. But it's also possibly the last one existing. The most recent photos showing the Dacia 1302 are from around 2011 (see below) and show cars in precarious condition; it's dubious whether they have survived the recent scrapping sprees. 1302s in general had a hard life, many being exported and the rest ending up on building sites. There were in fact several series of 1302. But any 1302 is a rarity.

So will anybody step up to save this one? Of course, from a strictly economic point of view a restoration makes little sense: bluntly, it's never going to be worth very much. Yet imported classic sportscars are on every street corner. It would be a shame to simply let what's possibly the last example of a locally made model slip through the net. By comparison, two Brits very recently dragged the FSO in photo 4 (the earliest Polonez in the UK) from a scrapyard and are restoring it. So anything is possible!

Acest exemplar (cu fata modificata CN2) era de vanzare la 1200 lei prin 2011, dar s-a dat la Remat.

Aceata masina era in Caras Severin prin 2009/10. Ulterior a disparut.

Zona Iasi, poze postate pe 4tuning in 2010

Ultimul exemplar "live" vazut de mine, in 2008 in Piata Romana. Desi stopurile sunt modificate, ridurile laterale sunt originale.

In Oradea in 2009; avea fata de CN2.

Tot in Craiova; data la fier vechi prin 2010.