Holiday Snaps - Portuguese Spots

10,194 · November 12, 2021

Chestnuts roasting on an open ape

Renault 4's and 9 turbo

Rust free Defender and Range Rover

And a brace of old Peugeots

'Cos everybody knows

Some rust and some lacquer peel

Are what all shiters like

A minty Opel and a tidy Hiace

Refrigerated C15 and a postal trike

They know a 75 and a ZR

An Aerodeck and a Lancia

A faded Twingo that's down on its luck

A P100 and a Mercedes fire truck

And so I'm offering this simple Bug

In a patinated shade of white

Although it's been said many times, many ways

All Vauxhalls are Shite

40,661 · November 12, 2021

If you get out into rural Portugal there’s loads of shite, they don’t tend to chuck cars away as they are expensive. I saw loads of Transit Mk3, I’d imagine with the warm weather they last forever out there, I’d go as far as to say if I was restoring a Mk3 I’d pick the shell from there, would work out much cheaper than welding any you’d find in the U.K.

10,194 · November 12, 2021

Yep, Portugal is relatively poor for a European country. They were particularly hard hit by the 2008 financial crisis so there's a strong make do and mend ethos. The dry climate combined with predominantly offshore winds keeping the salt and moisture away helps preserve chod too. The only real concern is lacquer peel but if you can keep them out of the sun cars that would dissolve here will last.