<VV> corvairs in cuba?

[wrsssatty at aol.com]

<seeing photos from cuba and all the classic cars there, wondering about the 
presence of our favorite car , ?checked the 2009 corsa roster and dont see any 
members located there ?just wondering ?>


Yes, there are some Corvairs in Cuba.  The U.S. embargo against Cuba began on October 19, 1960 so some Corvairs were imported into Cuba before the U.S. embargo took effect.  I traveled to Cuba in January 1999, doing so legally with a license from the U.S. Commerce Department which oversees the embargo.  I was determined to track down Corvairs on my trip.  I wrote an article about my experience which starts on page 12 of the May 1999 CORSA communique.  The article is entitled "The Elusive Cuban Corvair".  The car I tracked down belonged to an architect who appreciated the Corvair for the aesthetics of its style.  When he could no longer repair the engine he had the engine from a Soviet Lada installed in the front, thus converting his Corvair to a water-cooled front engine, rear wheel drive model but preserving the car's looks which he so appreciated.  He got the idea from a physician who had thusly converted several Corvairs, selling some for more money than he could make as a doctor in Cuba.  I was told about a man around Havana who had a stock Corvair but I never managed to meet with him.  Some time later, another CORSA member visited Cuba and scribed a follow-up article for the communique.  Off the top of my head, I think his name was Dave.


~Bill Stanley