a gullwing Mercedes found in Cuba, severely rusted and basically junk. Once a wonderful car... until a part broke and it was scavenged to keep others on the road I suppose

the above and below photos (and video) were taken by Miguel Llorente http://www.thiseuropeanlife.com/ , I cropped off the ugly watermarks, (you are welcome dear reader as I already know you don't give a damn about the photographers, just the subject of the photos) and now you won't be distracted from the BITCHIN COOL FIND!

found on http://caristas.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-gullwing-watch-it-and-weep.html

for a full article on it: http://caristas.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-young-man-and-300sl.html

 awaiting that dream day when it will emerge better than new, this man's trophies are a Hispano-Suiza race car, a Fiat Abarth 750 Zagato "Double Bubble" coupe, even a Chrysler Special by Ghia show car.
   And, of course, that Gullwing,  a Mercedes-Benz 300SL, engine-less, rust creeping up its sides, lies beached amidst debris in a yard near Havana.
   In the photos Miguel took of that very car in Nov 2012, the rust has spread everywhere: door sills, window frames, the roof. Worse, the car bends up at either end, its trademark doors jammed open. Because it was transported and stored poorly, Miguel writes at This European Life, "it's almost broken in half."

Also in Cuba are other very rare and incredible cars like a 1926 Rolls Royce Phantom I. Its coachwork has been recognized as the handiwork of Letourneur and Marchand of Paris. http://caristas.blogspot.com/2012/11/rich-relics.html

farther into the archives of Caristas.blogspot I found 

and among other Vettes, this 1954:

http://caristas.blogspot.com/2012/10/cuba-correct-corvette.html

and I just learned... there is a car museum in Havana.. the Depósito del Automóvil http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dep%C3%B3sito_del_Autom%C3%B3vil
and inside it are :

1905 Cadillac
 1926 Rolls-Royce Phantom I
1953 MG TD
 1920s Fiat Alfa Romeo roadster
1970s Daimler
1980s Chevy replica of a 1957 Maserati used by Juan Manuel Fangio
 Cadillac V16 1930
 1959 Oldsmobile, owned by Commander Camilo Cienfuegos
 1918 Ford T
1930 Baby Lincoln
funeral carriage
1977 Ducati 900SS owned by Fidel Castro
1915 Mack AC. Chain drive

the personal cars of Fidel and Raul Castro, as well as the Chevrolet Impala of Che Guevara, Mr. Maestre said he would like to secure what is perhaps Cuba's most important car: Ernest Hemingway's Chrysler.

The best online photo gallery is http://www.flickr.com/photos/riveranotario/sets/72157633360600664/with/8683984605/

Eduardo Mesejo Maestre, curator of the Depósito del Automóvil, the country’s official antique car museum arranged Treasury Department permission for Tom Cotter to travel directly to Havana from Miami on cultural exchange visas. Call it spark plug diplomacy.

We were told of the country’s dire economy, where street sweepers and doctors make the same wages. So auto repair for the island’s vintage cars becomes a creative endeavor: shampoo is used for brake fluid; iron pipes are cut up for piston rings; Coca-Cola is used to loosen rusty bolts; and cars are painted with sponges, then buffed with toothpaste.

“We call it the Cuban way,” Abel Contreras de la Guardia, our translator and tour guide, said. “We do anything to keep our cars running.”

Depósito del Automóvil is at Oficios No. 13, Habana Vieja, C.P. 10100, La Habana, Cuba. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/automobiles/03cuba.html?_r=0

the 1957 Cuban Gran Prix was photographed and just got a full write up and gallery

these are most, or all, of the photos, and the full write up is at http://www.velocetoday.com/the-cuban-grand-prix-1957-part-2-of-3/#more-45991 to get part one, you'll have to subscribe to their website. I'm not going to do that. 

you're familiar with the plight of the old American cars in Cuba, but had you heard of the Harley's that are kept running? Here's a great story and photos from Southsiders MC after the link

Here is an exerpt of the future book being photographied and written by Gunther Maier, a German Photographer installed in Santa Fe NM.
 Gunther is also looking for an publisher, please contact him at : gunther@newmexico.com
 And have a look at his website: http://www.roadhousepictures.net/3/artist.asp?ArtistID=35011&Akey=T568YEK8

Not surprisingly, many Harlistas keep their motorcycles in coveted spots in the living room or on the patio, not the garage. And toddlers began playing on the machines as soon as they can crawl. Some Harlistas ride the same motorcycles their grandfathers owned before the revolution.

Today only a few hundred remain nearly a half century after the island’s last Harley dealership closed. “They’re an endangered species,” said Jose Angel “Pipi” Perez, a Cuban mechanic who restores Harleys. “They are disappearing.” But Cuba’s hogs aren’t gone yet thanks to the remarkable efforts of a group known as Harlistas. Harlistas have kept their engines running despite decades of hardship and economic isolation. Almost all their motorcycles are at least 50 years old.Yet they find a way to keep them alive, scavenging parts from battered old trucks, lawn mowers and even anti-tank guns.

After the United States cut off trade with Cuba in the early 1960s, Harlistas couldn’t get any spare parts, not even tires or brakes. So they were forced to improvise. One old-school mechanic used barbed wire to fix broken chains, another started cutting up cake boxes to make engine gaskets. That led to his nickname, Cake Box, which sticks to this day.

Harlistas have done whatever it takes to keep their motorcycles on the road, even it means using:
 * Pistons from Russian trucks.
* Chains stripped from the conveyor belts of a pre-Castro Coca-Cola factory.
* Fiat ambulance horns from Poland.
* Exhaust pipes made from tubes ripped from electrical transformers.
* Tires from VW Beetles.

this is only a small part of the entire post I found on the superb http://southsiders-mc.blogspot.com/2012/01/harlistas-by-gunther-maier.html
Man, I like that blog!