Sao Penza

[lovejoy]

Nigel, you may be VERY interested in this copy/pasted email that I received yesterday,

after forwarding this thread link to a friend in the Caribbean....   ?

"Didn’t you ever hear the crazy tail about the unsold Sao Penzas in N W England that were 

sent to Northern Ireland ....about a dozen of them. A year or two later this Guy from St Kitts came 

across them ...10 still unsold by now in a farmers barn in Co Fermanagh. He bought them

as a job lot for tiddly winks, and sent them home to St Kitts in exchange for two or three maybe

four unsold  De Lorean cars....well he had a to make some money SOMEHOW ..., !

 

Having failed to sell on St Kitts 5 were broken for spares to keep or get the other 5 going,

so effectively a buyer bought one in running condition and the other for use as spares.

That got rid of 2 or maybe 3 ...the others went to Nevis where they languished at TDC for a number 

of years....unsold. Somebody at TDC whose family hailed from Barbuda, rounded them ALL 

up, there was some crooked/bizarre  West Indian deal concerning a ferry...two were driven aboard,

the rest loaded with a backhoe and the whole lot sent to Barbuda....under cover of darkness....it was 

Vital that the Antiguan authorities knew absolutly nothing....NO DUTY....

 

Then came the devastating Hurricane....amazingly one survived.....and was last heard of being 

taken to Cuba....along with a load of black & white TV sets..."

 

[mk2_craig]

Some great determination to track down and preserve the obscure here!! I remember Rootes_Arrow1725 once of this parish finding a Penza in Leicester somewhere about a dozen years ago, I’d have probably never paid it any attention unless it dawned on me “that’s a late registration madness 323 there”.

 

Nigel I look forward to you finding, acquiring, and MOT-ing the only surviving YUE LOONG FEELING out of the zero examples ever imported to the UK. 

[Conan]

13 minutes ago, mk2_craig said:

Nigel I look forward to you finding, acquiring, and MOT-ing the only surviving YUE LOONG FEELING out of the zero examples ever imported to the UK. 

I think that one is still languishing in Narnia.

[sierraman]

15 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

It's reminded me of this oddity I saw back in 2010, last MoT expired in 2016 and no longer on DVLA so presume scrapped:

1998 Ford Tracer 1.3 (Mazda 323) + 1991 Ford Sierra 1.6 Laser estate by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Believed to have come from South Africa.

Often wonder why someone would import something so lowly?

[Alan_Green]

There's millions of these still in Southern Africa.  Junk Mail currently has 157 for sale listings:  https://www.junkmail.co.za/cars/mazda/323  and 22 Ford Tracers: https://www.junkmail.co.za/cars/ford/tracer  and 76 Mazda Rustlers (pick up version):   https://www.junkmail.co.za/cars/mazda/rustler   

This one (Ford Bantam) parks outside my office down there and regularly winks at me.  Will probably own it one day.

Let me know if you need parts.  Should be easy enough as long as whatever it is fits in a suitcase. 

[Datsuncog]

1 hour ago, sierraman said:

Often wonder why someone would import something so lowly?

It's possible it was privately owned by someone working out in SA, and their company paid to bring all their household goods and stuff back to the UK - including cars.

That was how a family friend ended up getting their Saffa-spec Triumph 2500 (with twin fuel tanks) shipped back to the UK in the early 80s, even though it was seven or eight years old at the time - his mineral engineering firm just picked up the tab for everything.

Stupidly, he was so used to mega-cheap fuel prices that he reckoned he couldn't afford to run the Triumph in Blighty, so just left it to rot on the driveway...

[sierraman]

It’s strange because you used to see a few American cars but not Mustangs Camaros etc but proper economy cars being brought over and that’s probably the reason.

[nigel bickle]

Well, I never expected this kind of reaction..

Thanks all, for the info/ offers of help. Initial appraisal and a few service items suggest it’s simply Mazda, & pretty easy.

It wasn’t me that found it - although I did a fair amount of detective work to narrow the area.

I just picked it up when those who chased it, decided it wasn’t for them.  I think it’s future looked pretty bleak at that moment.

It wasn’t on my bucket list, but it’s obscurity persuaded me. Lord knows what I’m going to do with it!

i have sneaked a few more miles in, on private roads (natch as I’ve not taxed it yet).  It’s loosening already, the tyres are improving from thrupenny bits, the tick overs climbing and it’s a lot easier to start, warm. Cold, it’s still a bitch.

its a nice thing. A little sterile, quite small, but likeable - like a young puppy.  But, if it wasn’t rare - it wouldn’t get a second look.

[UltraWomble]

38 minutes ago, nigel bickle said:

Lord knows what I’m going to do with it!

If only one of us won the lottery - a Museum of Unloved Shite would be a fabulous* place to spend a few hours on a wet Saturday.

I can smell* the gift shop now.

[michael t]

Absolutely delighted this has joined the ranks. Just need that beige Yugo Sana on that driveway in Wallasey to complete this place  https://www.google.co.uk/maps?ie=UTF8&hq&hnear=Wallasey,+Merseyside+CH44+4BY,+United+Kingdom&ll=53.415588,-3.052332&spn=0,0.006899&z=17&layer=c&cbll=53.415633,-3.052209&panoid=Lk--HdzDfLivdofxerc2SA&cbp=12,334.25,,2,15.4

 

Actually had no idea that Sana was up Liverpool way, was only over there in May, would've been the shite spot of my life.....

[greengartside]

4 hours ago, Alan_Green said:

There's millions of these still in Southern Africa.  Junk Mail currently has 157 for sale listings:  https://www.junkmail.co.za/cars/mazda/323  and 22 Ford Tracers: https://www.junkmail.co.za/cars/ford/tracer  and 76 Mazda Rustlers (pick up version):   https://www.junkmail.co.za/cars/mazda/rustler   

This one (Ford Bantam) parks outside my office down there and regularly winks at me.  Will probably own it one day.

Let me know if you need parts.  Should be easy enough as long as whatever it is fits in a suitcase. 

Something in me wants to bring that to the UK and get it registered as B252 AHT, That would confuse the arse off the DVSA.

[wuvvum]

4 hours ago, sierraman said:

It’s strange because you used to see a few American cars but not Mustangs Camaros etc but proper economy cars being brought over and that’s probably the reason.

In the early noughties I had a succession of cheap budget-type Yanks (including one Mustang to be fair, but it was a scruffy pre-facelift Fox-body V6) - back in the day, the US military used to pay to ship servicemen's cars over here, but wouldn't pay to get them back to the States, so a lot of them were sold off cheap by departing USAF types - having two large US air bases (Mildenhall and Lakenheath), East Anglia was a fertile hunting ground for unloved American tat.

[Eyersey1234]

Excellent save well chodded. 

[lovejoy]

Those Escort Bantam bakkies are lovely little things,  I cannot understand why Ford UK never imported them,

maybe would have slowed sales of SA built P100's ?

Put two in your suitcases, Alan, I'll have one !

Your office is in Joeys then, I used to live there, back in the days.....

Edited June 12, 2019 by lovejoy
rust

[mark1986]

Just read this through from the start, fantastic work and well saved! 

[dollywobbler]

This is certainly pleasing. I would very much like to request dibs if possible. Holy Grail stuff indeed. That and a Yugo Sana...

[brownnova]

3 minutes ago, dollywobbler said:

This is certainly pleasing. I would very much like to request dibs if possible. Holy Grail stuff indeed. That and a Yugo Sana...

Oi Wobbler Get in the queue, I registered interest first  ? 

Wallasey.... not too far from me for the Sana... might go on a drive sometime soon... 

 

[nigel bickle]

Wobbler has a long memory, and is referring to the ex Sam Glover Sana, which I also own....

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Been thinking about this - is it literally the very last remaining Penza? 

[brownnova]

1 minute ago, nigel bickle said:

Wobbler has a long memory, and is referring to the ex Sam Glover Sana, which I also own....

Wow... what a fleet!!!! 

[nigel bickle]

Last Penza? Probably not, but find another....

 

 

[DoctorRetro]

I used to own a pop-up light Mazda 323 with the registration K***SKL. 

Wonder if they were sold a the same place? 

 

Edit: Had a moment of clarity and remembered the full reg. 

Was sold to some Eastern European lads in 2008, when we were viewing an H reg white one. They arrived too late, we were already there and had agreed to pay the asking price when they arrived and tried bartering. We said, 'We' re selling our red one, do you want that? ' and they took it. It had an intermittent misfire and had been driven into the back of a van (ex-wife), so we were well rid of it. 

Got a speeding ticket a week later but luckily we had a timed and dated receipt and their full address. 

Pointless story, but hey, I wanted to tell it. 

[nigel bickle]

I would expect so, can’t be that many dealers out there!  Makes sense for it to be the base model Mazda alternate.  How’s yours coming?

 

[DoctorRetro]

40 minutes ago, nigel bickle said:

I would expect so, can’t be that many dealers out there!  Makes sense for it to be the base model Mazda alternate.  How’s yours coming?

 

Just waiting for parts to arrive, not done much. Many excuses - rain, work, money - pick one.

[Yoss]

On 6/12/2019 at 10:17 AM, lovejoy said:

Nigel, you may be VERY interested in this copy/pasted email that I received yesterday,

after forwarding this thread link to a friend in the Caribbean....   ?

"Didn’t you ever hear the crazy tail about the unsold Sao Penzas in N W England that were 

sent to Northern Ireland ....about a dozen of them. A year or two later this Guy from St Kitts came 

across them ...10 still unsold by now in a farmers barn in Co Fermanagh. He bought them

as a job lot for tiddly winks, and sent them home to St Kitts in exchange for two or three maybe

four unsold  De Lorean cars....well he had a to make some money SOMEHOW ..., !

 

Having failed to sell on St Kitts 5 were broken for spares to keep or get the other 5 going,

so effectively a buyer bought one in running condition and the other for use as spares.

That got rid of 2 or maybe 3 ...the others went to Nevis where they languished at TDC for a number 

of years....unsold. Somebody at TDC whose family hailed from Barbuda, rounded them ALL 

up, there was some crooked/bizarre  West Indian deal concerning a ferry...two were driven aboard,

the rest loaded with a backhoe and the whole lot sent to Barbuda....under cover of darkness....it was 

Vital that the Antiguan authorities knew absolutly nothing....NO DUTY....

 

Then came the devastating Hurricane....amazingly one survived.....and was last heard of being 

taken to Cuba....along with a load of black & white TV sets..."

 

This sounds like the plot to the next series of The Night Manager or Deutchland 86.

[Datsuncog]

20 minutes ago, Yoss said:

This sounds like the plot to the next series of The Night Manager or Deutchland 86.

The Shite Manager?

I'd watch it.

[Eyersey1234]

Was there a Sao dealer in Humberside? (For younger readers between 1974 and 1996 the old county of Humberside covered what's now East Yorkshire plus part of North Lincolnshire) 

[face]

I think there was one in Cambridge too.

[quicksilver]

Amazing, as far as I know this is the one and only surviving Penza so I'm glad it's found a good home.

I remember a South African family in the village where I went to primary school who had a Penza, probably because it was the only car from their homeland they could buy here. That's all I know about them really, apart from them being one of the holy grails of shite.

[Dan302]

6 hours ago, Eyersey1234 said:

Was there a Sao dealer in Humberside? (For younger readers between 1974 and 1996 the old county of Humberside covered what's now East Yorkshire plus part of North Lincolnshire) 

Any idea where? I live in North Lincs and work in Hull.