Peste timp la Radauti... / Over time, in Radauti...

Opt poze aratand vehiculele din Radauti - din anii 30, din anii 40, din anii 50, din anii 60, si din anii 70. Si in provincie, erau chestii interesante pe strazi...

Eight photos with the vehicles of Radauti - from the 30s, the 40s, the 50s, the 60s and the 70s. In the provinces, too, you could see quite interesting things on the road...

1. In anii 30, un grup de familie langa un Whippet circa 1927. In 1933, existau numai 128 autovehiucle in judet (din care 52 erau taxiuri); Whippetul, o masina particulara, poarta numarul 74. / 1930s family photo next to a circa 1927 Whippet. In 1933, there were only 128 vehicles in the entire county, of which 52 were taxis; this, a private car, is number 74.

2. Anii 30 si un taximetru Ford '35 - posibil fabricat in Romania. / The 1930s again, and a 1935 Ford taxi - possibly one made in Romania

3. Parada muncitoreasca in 1948 / Workers' parade in 1948

4. 1959 - excursie muncitoreasca intr-un autobuz TV-1 / 1959 - workers' excursion in a TV-1 bus

5. 1965: doua TV-4 pick-up, fabricate intre 1958 si 1964 si astazi complet disparut / 1965: two TV-4 pick-ups, made between 1958 and 1964 and extinct today

6. 1965 si un spectaculos Citroen DS Safari - o apartie ca un OZN in Romania anilor 60. Cealata masina e un Peugeot 404 / 1965 and a spectacular Citroen DS safari - more like an UFO in 60s Romania. The other car is a Peugeot 404

7. 1975, un Volvo in centrul orasului, o aparitie destul de obisnuita in Bucuresti dar o raritate absoluta in provincie / 1975 and a Volvo in the town centre - a fairly common sight in Bucharest, and a complete rarity in the provinces

8. 1978 si, printre Dacii, o antebelica: un Opel Six / 1978 and, among the Dacias, a pre-war car: an Opel Six. 

Daciile din Siria / The Dacias of Syria

Pana recent, in prea-tragica tara, existau, pe langa vestigii romane, si vestigii romanesti...

E vorba despre Dacii, in general. Pe langa taxiuri Supernova si Solenza - extreme de comune - erau si exemplare pe baza de 1310, unele necunoscute in Romania.

Till recently, in that too tragic country, alongside Roman remains, there were also Romanian vestiges...

Dacias, mainly. Alongside the Supernova and Solenza taxis - which were very frequent - there were also variants of the 1310, some unknown in Romania.

Intai, avem papucul 1304 - multe din ele acoperite cu un coviltir fabricat in Siria special pentru aceste Dacii. / First, we have the 1304 pick-up - many of them having fibreglass tops made specially in Syria.

Apoi avem Dacia 1309 - pe baza de break. Aceste masini au fost vandute in Romania intre 1992 si 1995/6. / Then we have the estate-based Dacia 1309. These were sold in Romania between 1992 and 1995/6.

Aici treaba devine interesanta. In primul rand, avem cateva modele de 1309 cu usi de Dacia Liberta. Presupun ca sunt din primele exampare facute. Am mai vazut asa ceva numai in reclame de epoca. / Here things begin to get interesting. First of all, there are a couple of 1309s with Liberta doors. I assume they are from the very first few made. I've only seen something like this in period ads.

Aici un model mai ciudat. Arata ca un 1309 normal, dar, chiar daca usile sunt de break, luneta de spate e de Dacie berlina. / Here an odder model. It looks like a normal 1309 (with doors off the Dacia estate), but with a rear windscreen from the saloon.

Urmeaza ceea ce credeam ca era doar un prototip - spre exemplu, acest exemplar, vazut la Mangalia acum cativa ani. Se pare ca era de faput un model de serie, fabricat special pentru Siria. E vorba de pick-up pe baza de berlina. Aceste modele nu au existat pe piata romaneasca. / And here's what I thought was simply a prototype, such as this example seen some years ago on the Black Sea coast. It is a pick-up based on the Dacia saloon, never on the Romanian market.

Modelul Dacia 1304 "King Cab " era si el destul de raspandit... in variantele CN1 pana la zambetul lui Iliescu / The King Cab - a bigger 1304 - was fairly common, from 1992 to 1998 guises... 

O Supernova, pe care o adaug mai mult pentru celelate masini interesante in poza: un Porsche 911 si un Cadillac. Pana prin 2005, Siria era un muzeu automobilistic, cu o gramada de masini din anii 50, 60, si chiar antebelice, in circulatie zilnica. Pana si unele taxiuri aveau 40-50 de ani...

A Supernova, included more for the interest of the other cars, a 900 and a Cadillac. Till about 2005, Syria was an open-air motoring museum, with cars from the 50s, 60s, and even before the war, still used as daily drivers. Even some of the taxis were 40-50 years old...

Si ciresile de pe tort: un Steagul Rosu si doua Oltcituri pick-up... (cu acelasi coviltir) / And the cherry on top: a Steagul Rosu truck and two Oltcit pick-ups... (with the same cover)

Din pacate, ma tem ca nu prea o sa avem cum sa mergem acolo prea curand sa documentam masinile interesante ramase ...

Sadly, I fear we won't have the opportunity to go there any time soon to look at the interesting cars left ...

Dacia 2000, Hotel Bucuresti, 1984

Din arhiva fotografica Viorel Simionescu - una extrem de bogata, cu niste imagini deosebit de interesante aratand excursii din anii 60, o poza din 1984 aratand doua Dacii in fata hotelului Bucuresti.

Una din ele e o foarte rara Dacia 2000. Dupa oglinzi, e cea mai slab echipata versiune Dacia 2000, un Renault 20 TL cu motorul de 1,6. Aceste masini au fost folosite de ONT pana cel putin anul 1990.

Cel putin trei Dacii 2000 au supravietuit, doua TL-uri si un TS (motor 2 litri).

From the Viorel Simionescu photo archive - a rich archive with particularly interesting photos from trips in the 60s - a photo from 1984 showing two Dacias outside the Hotel Bucuresti.

One of them is a very rare Dacia 2000. From the mirrors, this is the lowest-spec Dacia 2000 made, corresponding exactly to the Renault 20 TL powered by the 1.6 engine. These cars were used by the Romanian National Tourist Office until at least 1990.

At least three examples of the Dacia 2000 have survived - two TLs and one TS (with a 2-litre engine).

O noua imagine cu Dacia Denem / A new image of the Dacia Denem

O poza surprinsa in 1984, cu noua masina a unei familiei: Dacia Denem L nou-nouta. E una din numai doua poze "de epoca" cunoscute cu Dacii britanice, in afara de cele din fabrica. (Cealalta, poza 3, surprinde un break modificat cu bare de R12 phase 1).

Cu aceasta ocazie am cules toate pozele existente cu Dacia Denem...

Erau patru dotari -  Base, L , GL si GLX (break-ul fiind disponibil numai in variantele Base, L si GL). Masina rosie e inregistrata ca un L, desi lipseste banda de cauciuc pe caroserie. Break-urile din pozele 3 si 5 sunt GL, avand portbagaj pe plafon. Masina albastra din poza 4 e un GL (capace cromate). Dacia alba SHU e un Base iar break-ul RGK e un L. Dacia alba, RTF611Y, e un GLX, varf de serie, cu jante Gotti, acoperis cu vinilin, si geamuri electrice.

Precizez ca toate modificarile - inclusiv schimbarea volanului - au fost facute in Marea Britanie, la atelierele Abbey Hill, in Yeovil, in sud-vestul tarii. Din nou, insigna Dacia a fost exclusiv pentru piata britanica.

Observam ca au existat cateva variante diferite. Se pare ca primele examplare aveau jante simple si bare cromate; ulterior au fost dotate cu jante Canada si bare negre (ca in prima poza). In plus, la capitolul capace, au existat si "romb" si "testoasa".

Conform unei reviste din 1990 (ultima poza), au fost si exemplare diesel, cu motor 1,6. Personal, nu cred; oricum, Denem Diesel nu apare in nicio statistica.

Din pacate, din cele aproximativ 700 vandute, numai una e sigur existenta. Restul e memorii...

A 1984 photo with a proud family's brand new Dacia Denem. It's one of only 2 period non-factory photos of a Denem. (The other - photo 3 - is an estate with R12 bumpers).

With this occasion I gathered all the photos existing of Denems...

There were four trim levels: L Base, L, GL and GLX - the estate only being available in Base, L and GL. The red car is an L though for some reason missing the side rubbing strips. The estates in photos 3 and 5 are GL - the give-away being the roof rack. The blue saloon in photo 4 is also a GL (chromed hubcaps). A128SHU is a Base model and the RGK estate is an L. Finally the white saloon, RTF611Y, is a top of the range GLX, with Gotti alloys, a vinyl roof, and electric windows.

All these modifications, including the change over to RHD, were carried out in the UK, at Abbey Hill in Yeovil. The Dacia emblem was also exclusively for the British market.

There are some variations. The earlier versions seem to have had chrome on the bumpers and R12 wheels. Later cars came with black bumpers and fancier wheels (as in photo 1). Hubcap designs also varied.

According to a 1990 magazine, there was also a 1.6 diesel. I doubt it personally. Certainly none of the records indicate any having existed.

Sadly, from 700 odd examples sold, only one is known to have survived. The rest: memories...

Mai multe imagini cu Alfa 8C regelui Mihai / More images of the King Michael Alfa 8C

Am mai vorbit citiorilor mei despre Alfa Romeo 8C care a apartinut regelui Mihai. Aici cateva imagini de exceptie aratand masina in anii 40 si in perioada comunismului.(surse: Curtea Veche, Florin Cicos, Motor Sport Magazine). Ultima poza e din 1988.

Desi masina a avut o viata grea, se vede nesperabil de bine conservata. In perioada actuala, pe sasiu se afla o caroserie tip spider; caroseria originala Touring se afla intr-o colectie particulara in Germania.

I have written before about King Michael's Alfa Romeo 8C. Here are some exceptional images showing the car in the 1940s and under Communism. (sources: Curtea Veche, Florin Cicos, Motor Sport Magazine). The last photo is as late as 1988.

Although the car had a hard life, it's shown in a pressy exceptional state of preservation. Currently, the chassis has spider bodywork fitted; the original body, coachbuilt by Touring, is in a private collection in Germany.