TV-4 in ... Mongolia

O poza importanta, tocmai din Ulan Bator. Surprinde, printre o coloana de automobile sovietice (plus un Mercedes), un TV-4. Aceasta varianta a fost produsa la Bucuresti din 1962 pana 1967, fiind inlocuita de modelul TV-41, care era mai degraba un facelift (spre exemplu, are stopuri verticale sau rotunde cand cele de pe TV-4 erau orizontale). In parerea mea, pentru an e vorba de un design surprinzator de avansat. Din pacate, nu se stie de vreun TV4 existent in Romania. Pana acum nu credeam ca se exportase, desi exista brosuri facute pentru targuri internationale. Totusi, poze - singura existenta cu un TV-4 peste hotare - e dovada ca au ajuns pana in Mongolia. Cine stie, poate inca mai exista vreunul, undeva la ei...

An important picture all the way from Ulan Bator. Alongside a line of Soviet automobiles (plus a Mercedes) is a TV-4. This was made in Bucharest from 1962 to 1967, being replaced by the TV-4, which was in reality a mild facelift (for example, changing the tail-lights from horizontal to vertical or round). In my view for the year it's a surprisingly advanced design. Sadly, there are no records of any TV-4 left in existence in Romania. Until now I did not think they were even exported, although brochures were drawn up. However, the photo - the only one in existence showing a TV-4 outside Romania - proves otherwise. And who knows, perhaps, somewhere in Mongolia, there's a TV-4 left...

Dacia 1300 F Autofurgoneta / Dacia 1300 F Van

In cartea "Autoturismul Dacia 1300" de A. Brebenel, C. Mondiru, I. Farcasu, editia a doua, din 1978, se vorbeste despre autofurgoneta Dacia 1300 F. Dacia 1300 F difera de break prin faptul ca scaunele din spate au fost suspendate, intre cabina si partea din spate - pentru marfuri - exista un perete despartitor, iar geamurile din spate sunt vopsite, nu transparente.

Informatiile referitoare la acest model sunt foarte slabe, desi in cartea lui Mondiru exista schite. Oricum, fotografii nu exista - sau asa credeam pana astazi, cand intamplator am dat peste o vedere veche cu hotelul Athenee Palace. Greu de datat, dar prezenta numerelor galbene, Skodei 105 si lipsa de Dacii 1310 implica perioada 1978 - 1983.

In the second (1978) edition of the book "Dacia 1300" written by A Brebenel, C Mondiru and I Farcasu, there are references to the Dacia 1300 F van. This differs from the estate version in three respects: the lack of rear seats, the partition between the front and the rear, and the painted rear windows.


There is very little info around on this model, although the Mondiru book contains blueprints. Anyway, there are no photos in existence - or so I thought until seeing this postcard of the Athenee Palace Hotel in Bucharest. It's difficult to date, but the presence of a Skoda 105, the yellow licence plates and the lack of Dacia 1310s points to the period 1978 - 1983.

Produsele fabricii Astra, 1921 / Products of the Astra factory, 1921

In 1921, se tine Expoziția și Târgul de Mostre a Industriei Românești la București. Recent, a fost publicat o selectie minunata de imagini din acest eveniment. Ii avem pe generalul Averescu si regele Ferdinand in masini (foto 4, 5); dar, si mai important, avem imagini rarisime cu produsele fabricii Astra din Arad.

Am scris in 2010 un pic despre fabrica si produsele sale; copiez o reclama din 1925 (foto 6). Din pacate, informatiile raman slabe. Cert e ca dupa 1926, fabrica renunta la fabricatia produselor rutiere, axandu-se spre cele feroviare (foto 7). Anul 1930 era anul de glorie pentru circulatia autovehiculelor construite in Romania - 109 in total. Presupun ca marea majoritate erau cele fabricate la Arad.

In 1921 Bucharest held a fair showcasing Romanian industry; and recently, the Romanian national archives published a wonderful set of images from the event. We see General Averescu and King Ferdinand in their cars (photos 4, 5); and, more importantly, we see some very rare images of the products of the Astra factory in Arad.

I wrote in 2010 about Astra and its products; picture 6 shows an ad from 1925. Unfortunately, further details are scant. By the 1930s, automotive production had stopped, and the ad in picture 7 shows only railway produce being made. 1930 itself was the high point of Romanian-made vehicles on the road, with a grand total of 109 - I assume the vast majority of which were those made in Arad.

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. 

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.

Accesorii Dacia, 1989 / Dacia accessories, 1989

Pentru piata britanica, modelele ARO-10 (= Dacia Duster) si Dacia 1304 (= Dacia Shifter) erau inzestrate cu fel de fel de accesorii unicate. Acestea erau ideea importatorului si se montau in Marea Britanie.

Mai exista numai doua exemplare Dacia Shifter, si poate 7-8 Dacia Duster - deci aproape sigur, aceste accesorii fac parte din seria "ce-am avut si ce-am pierdut", din pacate. Pentru mine, cel mai tare e gama de haine Dacia...!

For the British market, the ARO-10 (= Dacia Duster) and Dacia 1304 (= Dacia Shifter) were jazzed up with a range of various unique accessories. These were added on by the importer, and were assembled in the UK.

Given that there are only two Shifters left, and maybe 7 or 8 Dusters, all these accessories are almost certainly long disappeared, sadly. For me, by far the most spectacular is the Dacia branded leisurewear...!

Dacia 1310 ... caravaneta (1985) / Dacia 1310 ... camper van (1985)

O noua premiera, dintr-o arhiva britanica: se pare ca cu ani inainte de tentativa Dacia Jumbo, a existat Dacia caravaneta!

In  1985, firma "Madisons", in nord-vestul Britaniei, ofera doua modele pe baza Daciei papuc: "Dacia Drifter" si, model mai scump, "Dacia Duchess" (care costa cat un Peugeot 505 nou). Poze nu exista, dar se pare ca aveau patru paturi si intrarea prin spate. Nu se stie daca s-a vandut vreun exemplar. Firma a disparut de cativa ani, desi alta firma de caravanete e pe locul ei.

A new first, from a British archive ... it seems there was a Dacia camper van years before the Dacia Jumbo prototype!

In 1985, Madisons, based in Blackpool in the North-West, offered two camper conversions based on the Dacia pickup: "Dacia Drifter" and the more expensive "Dacia Duchess" (which cost the same as a new Peugoet 505). There are no photos extant, but it seems that both were four-berth affaris with entrance through the rear. I have no idea whether any were actually sold. Madisons disappeared some years ago, although a camper van company is still on the site.

Dacia 1302 in Algeria ... x10

Se pare ca inca mai sunt Dacii 1302 pe strazile Algeriei! In general, sunt in stare dezastruoasa, modificate si carpite cu orice piesa posibila, in mod special cele de Renault 12, o masina foarte raspandita in tara. Dar inca circula, si oamenii inca isi fac treaba cu ele. Proabil sunt cateva sute existente in tara - desi marea majoritate sunt irecuperabile.

So it seems there are quite a few more Dacia 1302s in Algeria! In general they are in disastrous condition, modified and mended with anything possible. The many Renault 12s in Algeria have certainly yielded many parts. But they are still going, and still being put to good use. I imagine there are a few hundreds unphotographed - although probably they are in equally poor condition.

An necunoscut, stare groaznica

1978

Aceeasi, din spate

Inca un '78

Un '79

Un '79 de vanzare.

Motorul

Din lateral - observam modofocarea catre patru prezoane

Un 1980, cu roata fata de 1310

Din fata

Din nou

 

Necunoscute