Balkan Bucket Bonanza

[Sealtainn]

I am not going to be allowed out in VT unsupervised with access to a camera let alone anything resembling a cashpoint card...........there are some truly ace spots there and I've already over half filled my barn with "virtual chod".

Trying to organise with work for an extended break so we can come over for a couple of months in the summer - fingers crossed.

Hope you feel better soon - if you need somewhere to stay, you can always crash at ours

[Split_Pin]

These are AAA+ spots Mr. The green Skoda Estelle jumps out at me as I seem to recall all the early examples I used to see as a kid looked like that, in that colour.

 

I hope you feel better soon.

[SiC]

 

A car that is totally on my bucket list. I really, really want them. However I do need to get in quick before prices start going silly.

 

A couple of years ago, you could get minters in the UK for £500. Now they're getting to the 2k mark for decent ones.

 

Trabbi that is, not the green VAG junk in the background. Also LOL @ Jesus House. Is that the direct translation for church or something in German?

[Junkman]

I would genuinely struggle to choose between that Kadett Tiffany or Tiffany the 1980s 'I Think We're Alone Now' songstrel who awoke many wondrous new feelings in a young Bucketlad way back when.

 

I say, she wouldn't be 100% unsuccessful giving me that struggle today.

 

[garethj]

I would let her and Debbie Gibson fight over me, but only in my dreams

 

Top updates as ever, loving the Fiat 4WD.  It just adds that extra layer of complexity to something you'd struggle to keep going anyway

[Ghosty]

Y10 4wd?

 

Needs GT i.e. engine.

[Bucketeer]

^^^^ Top '80s poptart postage everyone.

Modern day Tiffany will be joining me in my slumber in the next few hours as I fly from Glasgow to Bucharest.

I've had a lovely week in Scotland. I beasted a Starlet down a drag strip, drove an Espace 2000-1, saw the FOADwerx fleet in the flesh and ate many steak and haggis pies. Also my camera has had to loosen it's belt by a few notches due to the quantity of spots spotted, which will be appearing as soon as I get back to Bulgarian civilisation.

I've decided to walk the 20 km from Bucharest airport to the pick up point for the bus to the Rom/BG border so that I can try and get some Romanian spots that aren't Dacias. Judging by the outward journey I don't fancy my chances.

Next week I'll be doing Bulgaria-Romania-South Cyprus-North Cyprus-Bulgaria. Oooh, get me.

 

TL;DR - I'm sat at an airport, bored.

[Urko]

who needs pornhub when you have this thread??

Me.....er I mean no-one.

[hairnet]

you are a bad bad man

 

delta and kappa want you wanna buy one drive it over and drive home a visa??

 

must save few hundred quid and just fly one

[Noel Tidybeard]

11/10 for renner nnn19 content

[Bucketeer]

I'm just back in BG after a week away in Scotland (via Romania, because cheaper flights).

 

My first bus station of many upon setting off last week conveniently featured this Skoda in it's vicinity.

 

The green Skoda Estelle jumps out at me as I seem to recall all the early examples I used to see as a kid looked like that, in that colour.

 

So I got a couple more/better pictures.

 

 

 

Later that day I got deposited at the bus stationin the border town of Ruse (BG-Rom border). Early spotting signs were promising so I went for a stroll before my bus over the border to Bucharest was due to leave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following is a reference possibly only Dink will get (or anyone who knows West/South Yorkshire well).

 

You can see Emley Moor Mast from Ruse.

 

 

Unsurprisingly I missed my bus by an hour, caught up as I was in the spotting zone.

Mrs Pizza offered to take me to Bucharest for 50Leva.

 

 

I couldn't really afford that so I hitchhiked up to Bucharest airport. It was all a bit of a rush to get there in time for my flight.

There's always time for a SupeRnova though.

 

 

And just a couple more Dacias in Bucharest Airport car park as I rushed in.

 

 

 

I arrived in Scotland, welcomed by the always excellent hospitality of The Moog.

 

Edinburgh.

 

 

 

Crail racing was done (many thanks to Will and Craig for letting my beat them in the MegaStarlet.

 

 

We couldn't work out if this heap of Jag was serious or not.

 

 

 

 

It was nice meeting Supernaut and 17-coffees at Crail too, and overall I had a mega day. Taking the Starlet down the strip was much more fun than I had imagined.

 

Back in Edinburgh.

 

 

I didn't get time to pap much in the town really and this Rover is only allowed in this post due to the chrome arch horridness.

 

 

I tagged along with The Moog's collection of the FOAD Espace. On the way I got rather over excited by seeing someone wearing driving gloves.

 

EDIT - big fat stupid fingers just accidentally clicked 'Post' when I haven't finished. More to come shortly.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Corsa estate? That's spot on. Anyone bringing one over?!

[Bucketeer]

Part 2.

 

Driving gloves.

 

 

 

It was good to (briefly) meet FOAD and see the Foadwerx fleet in the flesh.

 

 

 

 

Munny.

 

 

I really enjoyed my drive in the Espace. Very comfy (apart from pedal positions) and it felt like it had been cherished in the past.

 

 

We couldn't resist this photo op back in Edinburgh.

 

 

 

After a good week in Scotland I flew back to Bucharest and took a stroll from the airport in to the City. Apols for picture quality but it was very early morning, it gets lighter soon though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

N or M?

 

 

 

I like this photo. It took me ages to catch all the BISTRO lights lit up.They were scrolling quickly and I kept getting BI or BIST. Also I was stood in the road blocking traffic but YOLO YA'LL.

 

 

There isn't a huge amount of old chod in Bucharest. Most of the stuff driving around is modern or Dacia (or both) and the old stuff is generally abandoned street furniture.

 

 

 

And that's about it. I eventually got back last night and immediately passed out.

 

Next week is here to Bucharest to South Cyprus to North Cyprus and then back again via Sofia a week later so more spots and waffle then I guess.

[The Moog]

Glad you got back ok.  I am impressed the gloves came out so well! 

[hairnet]

many fap at the skoda truck and the renner 11;s

[Dave_Q]

What is the small white thing parked outside the High Life Bistro??

 

P.S. Nice mast shot.

[Split_Pin]

An amazing amount of chod still around, love the Estelle! Nice to see some Soviet cars still at work too, one of the Moskvichs looks like an early 408.

[Albert Ross]

I'm toying with the idea of spending a divorce settlement/house buyout on a flight to Romania, and returning by road with a Dacia 1307 4x4 Pick up, with van top. And skull/flame stickers. Yeah. And erm... beer etc. Maybe sleep in the back after removing the cab rear window.

[sal]

Just read through you're posts. Sounds like your having quite an adventure.

 

Keep the spots coming.

[Adrian_pt]

Amazing. My mum used to live in the building that's now the High Life Bistro back in the 80s. Tat is very thin on the ground in central Bucharest and dying out on the outskirts too. Provinces is where it's at. Here's a recent Bucharest spot from a friend though - still plenty of interesting stuff in the country.  

[Bucketeer]

^^^^ Small world.

I know what you mean about the rural areas of Romania. Still chod heavy. When I originally came through Romania four-ish years ago, walking North to South, there was a fair old selection of qualz motoring detritus out in the villages. Unfortunately I don't have photographic evidence of this as it was just before I discovered spotting with a camera rather than just your eyeballs was a thing, and started doing it.

 

Whilst I'm here, I took a train ride up into the mountains to a random town for some bar-related relaxation today in the sun, so have today's spots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Autoshite is this next scene? Just to add to it, I tried to talk to the guy doing the work (round the other side of the Alfa in this photo) but I don't follow slurred drunken Bulgarian very well, and all I got from him was that he was on his fourth two litre bottle of beer, and some brum brum noises. I left him to it.

 

 

 

 

Every mountain town has it's fair share of trucks for transporting wood out of the forests.

 

 

[Jon]

From a week long holiday to Tallinn in (I think) 2006, I can vouch that those trucks shown above do sound glorious in motion. I'm guessing people are happy to pay the petrol bills for such occasional use vehicles, rather than buy new. I bet the engine note has a lot to do with it though - enough to soften even the most hardened bean counter!

[garethj]

How Autoshite is this next scene? Just to add to it, I tried to talk to the guy doing the work (round the other side of the Alfa in this photo) but I don't follow slurred drunken Bulgarian very well, and all I got from him was that he was on his fourth two litre bottle of beer, and some brum brum noises. I left him to it.

 

He sounds like the bloke that did the "full engine rebuild" on a car I used to have.

[Bucketeer]

So I set off on friday for Cyprus to do a bit of work over there. I got a cheap flight from Bucharest airport and as I did the trip up there for last week's Scotland trip via bus and hitchhiking I decided to throw of a bit of train into the mix this time, for a bit of variety.

 

I set off from my nearest train station which isn't open yet (after 20 years shut/abandonded and subsequent renovation) but the train has handily started stopping here already, so I just hopped on.

 

 

Bulgarian trains are ace. Really, really slow but ace.

The engines/locomotives/carriage pulling things are old Russian stock and you stiil get proper compartments with windows you can stick your head out of.

 

 

 

Some train stuff spotted from the train (my train was a Skoda).

 

 

 

 

I stopped off at Ruse on the border with Romania again, but this week I made sure of not missing the next leg of my journey by not going on a spotting stroll. This was across from the nearest booze shop though.

 

 

Arrival in Bucharest was at night-time again, so once more I have a small handful of rubbish spots too dark to make out. I am a pro.

 

 

 

 

I had twelve hours to kill before flight time but I had Tuc crackers, chocolate and strong Bulgarian booze so I found a bench and watched Bucharest traffic.

 

 

There were no spotting opportunities unfortunately as Friday night Bucharest traffic generally consists of sporty modern cars and motorbikes racing endlessly round the city at warp factor 11.

Much blurriness.

 

 

When the time came, I used my favourite mode of transport for the 20kms to the airport.

 

 

If this post is resembelling a very poor facsimile of a collection thread just stuffed with dull pictures for padding, that's because it is. Without the collection. Just padding. Soz.

 

Dwarfed Bucharest Airport car park Panda.

 

 

This brit-plater looked fairly abandonded with four flat tyres. If anyone is that bored that they want to look the reg up on one of those new-fangled compturised web-site things, that would be interesting. I currently have neither the time or the skills.

 

 

I finally got to my destination in N.Cyprus Saturday/yesterday evening. I'm in the same place I was a couple of years ago (or probably about 12 pages back) so a lot of spot-worthy stuff has already been papped. I try not to repeat but can't guarantee anything.

My first spotting stroll was first light this morning.

 

 

 

The rubbisher, distancier pics are 'cos the subjects are ungetclosertoable in peoples gardens.

 

 

 

 

I like these Toyota Corsas. They remind me of an AMC Pacer.

 

 

 

 

I have only just noticed the pink sash holding the Merc van doors shut behind this Renault Rodeo. All it needs is some z lister who used to be on Eastenders or summat with a giant pair of scissors every time you need to get something out of the back.

 

 

On my walk this morning I was followed by a stray dog, which left me towards the end.

A couple of hours later I go outside and it's only bloody waiting for me in the garden.

 

 

Genuine question - What's the best way of getting rid of a stray dog that won't leave you alone? It's a little cutie and everything but I can't adopt any more animals, plus I'm only here a week.

 

 

 

 

Anyway, better spotty stuff to come from the island soon. I promise.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Abandoned Matiz looks abandoned.

[Skizzer]

Stray dog is very cute indeed, and looks well cared for.  If there's a vet in the neighbourhood you could maybe ask there if they recognise it?

[The Moog]

That dog looks cute but I will notice if it is slipped in the pack in July!

[skattrd]

That Scirocco has the Kamei X1 kit and graphics (minus front spoiler) on it ... much wantage

[Split_Pin]

Fiat 131 is a cracker. Good to see that cars this old are still in daily use in at least one part of the world.

[Lacquer Peel]

Fiat 131 is a cracker. Good to see that cars this old are still in daily use in at least one part of the world.

 

I think it's a TofaÅŸ, they're still quite a common sight in Northern Cyprus, mostly the Regata-style facelift ones.

 

The 'Manager' 21 is something I haven't seen before, apparently a mid-spec Renault 21 built in Turkey til 1996. You don't see so many 21s but 11s are really popular.