Cyprus shite - May '11 update

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

It's a bit hot outside just now, so I've gutted the memory card.

 

Toyota Corolla estate in the weeds by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

This Corolla was near a car hire place, ex rental I assume

 

Abandoned Leyland lorries by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

SAAB 900 GLE by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Not many SAABs on the island, I guess they are hard to keep running on a shoestring in this part of the world

 

Nissan Bluebird U11 by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

"SPECIAL PRICE €450". Used car prices are terrifying here, likes of €4500 for an 8 year old ex-UK Laguna in the car lot next to this Bluebird

 

Suzuki Mighty Boy by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Mighty Boy! I've seen a couple of these knocking about

 

Shite pick-ups by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Next to it was this Skoda Favorit pick-up, were they sold in the UK? I remember the 'estate vans'...

 

Skoda Favorit Foreman high roof by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Which brings us neatly on to this crock

 

Farinas by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Colonials

 

FIAT 132 by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

? by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

What's this cowering in the weeds? I thought it was some kind of Japanese mini car but it looks far too rubbish

 

Ancient Ford lorry by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Subaru Justy Myme by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

I liked the two tone

 

Daewoo Racer by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Lots of badge engineered fakery here, especially Ford-badged Mazdas (from SA?) but this Racer is a rare one

 

Leyland Super Mastiff by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Volvo 262C by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

BMW 2002 by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Even in Cyprus, old BMWs rust

 

Bedford CF by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Near a 'tourist beach'. I must be one of the few tourists who likes this kind of thing.

 

FIAT Mirafiori by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Renault 12 by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

I thought this was an old Subaru Leone estate in the distance, I was a bit disappointed.

 

Mazda 626 by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Renault 12 by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Both abandoned near the North Cyprus border

 

Morris Marina van by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Mitsubishi L200 by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

There are millions of 1980s Japanese pick-ups on the roads, especially 2WD double cabs like this. I selected this one due to the rural setting, I'll save my memory card for some '70s ones.

[michiel]

Jeesh... that green thing is a Suzuki Fronte! What a spot. Can you put it in your pocket and take it home?

 

Found a pic of a Fronte Hatch:

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_Fronte

[michiel]

Forgot to say - great pics, but I now think of Cyprus as dry and full of dead shite... doesn't look like much of a holday destination to me.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Aye it's a bit grim where I'm staying, with half-finished abandoned hotels, a power station and army base not far up the beach, etc. I like it though. The place seems a bit lawless and relaxed.

I'll attempt some better photos of the Fronte tomorrow.

[brammy777]

Some really good finds, as I said on flickr. I see alot of dead old cars, do you see any in use?!

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Yes, I'm just not quick enough with the camera, or driving at the time.

[TagoraSX]

That Fiat 132 looks nice, never seen a red one.

[eddyramrod]

Oh trust me, there are plenty of old cars in regular use! A friend actually has a Mighty Boy, he loves it; he is in fact the previous owner of my A40. My landlord has an L200 in crewcab pov spec, but excellent condition. And yes, the prices are horrifying. Seriously bad. It's very difficult to bag a genuine bargain.

 

Cyprus has a policy of continuous taxation on motor vehicles, so if you lay your car up for whatever reason, you're still liable for the tax. If you then sell it, the new owner is liable for the back-tax before he can take it on the road. Good game, eh? It's banded by engine size, so something like a Pajero (Shogun) is badly expensive. However, pickups attract a commercial-vehicle exemption, so you can still have your Mitzi 2.8TD 4x4, you just have to buy a crewcab. Which explains why there are so many of the things here. Also, if you import a car, you are required to pay duty on it, even from the EU, which probably contravenes some regulation from Brussels... This duty can be pretty hard-hitting too. I see surprisingly large numbers of UK-registered cars, possibly because the owners haven't registered them here to avoid this duty. Cue the Volvo 262 pic... nah, scroll up, I'm not inserting it,

 

Well spotted, Mr Hatred, glad you're enjoying your stay over here. Especially, thanks for the Farinas!

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

I thought road tax had been levied on fuel duty.

90% of stuff here is 1990s/2000s Japanese bilge like this Colt I'm borrowing. It's alright, but it's a 1.3 carb automatic and makes me look like an immigrant according to locals. It also selected to burst the radiator bottom hose, but a Toyota Hi-lux one fitted fine with a bit chopped off. Unlike the UK, non-4x4, non-Evo Mitsubishis are very popular.

[eddyramrod]

I thought road tax had been levied on fuel duty.

90% of stuff here is 1990s/2000s Japanese bilge like this Colt I'm borrowing. It's alright, but it's a 1.3 carb automatic and makes me look like an immigrant according to locals. It also selected to burst the radiator bottom hose, but a Toyota Hi-lux one fitted fine with a bit chopped off. Unlike the UK, non-4x4, non-Evo Mitsubishis are very popular.

 

Yes, that IS the kind of thing the Sri Lankans and timeshare touts* drive! And yes, you're going to see rather a lot of them, they are extremely popular over here, in all flavours: Mitzi, Nissan, Toyota...

 

*You thought politicians were scum? You ain't seen nothing yet, there IS a lower form of life...

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

There are 'spots' coming out of my ears and arse.

 

Battered Volkswagen Beetle by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

It's nice to see such a careworn fossil in daily use. The Beetle's good too.

 

Toyota pickup by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

'70s Toyota truck carrying a water bowser. What's the model?

 

Ford Telstar by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Datsun Sunny pickup by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

I spotted a few of these around Nicosia, none anywhere else.

 

Citroen Pony and DS by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Ford Transit by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

"One for Fred"

 

Citroen DS, Citroen Pony, Morris Minor, Toyota Corona by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Toyota Corona 1600S by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Is this a rarity? I'd be impressed to find any old Corona, let alone a 2 dr one

 

Opel Ascona by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

ADO16 by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

That's all for now. Hundreds more to come...

[eddyramrod]

Datsun Sunny pickup by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

I spotted a few of these around Nicosia, none anywhere else.

 

Good shooting sir! These Datsun pickups are a pretty common sight around Paphos, incidentally. I quite fancy having one myself, but Mrs Ramrod won't allow me any more at the moment (boo, hiss). Something would have to go, and they can't: the A40 is a shell, the Brava owes me too much and I've barely driven the Granada yet. Dammit!

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Lorry graveyard by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

This place is just off the motorway between Ayia Napa and Larnaca, though not visible from it. Cyprus is a strange place - you can be in a completely developed area one minute, then come across some hillbilly derelict farm with a sea of abandoned lorries the next. I didn't spend as much time here as I wanted because my sister's boyfriend was worried about junkies or hillbillies scratching his inflata-Astra then turning us into dead skin suits or something.

 

Car Graveyard by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

I spotted this on the way to an abandoned copper mine, then went back at night.

 

Car Graveyard by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Isuzu Elfin pick-up, so rare I could only find one photo on Google image search! Did they go by another name?

 

Car Graveyard by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Car Graveyard by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Car warehouse by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

This is in an old warehouse site near an active oil refinery, I was pretty worried about getting busted. There wasn't much light to see with so I set the focus to infinity. It didn't quite work on some.

The warehouses are surrounded in yet more derelict lorries - photos of which I've yet to sort through...

 

Car warehouse by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

German-registered Alpine. Strange

 

Car warehouse by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Middle East-registered Cadillac Seville

 

Car warehouse by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Car warehouse by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Lots more to come, including a Tagora and some Dacia Dusters.

[Jon]

Those pictures are amazing! Don't the Germans have to return their number plates at some point, either to be issued updated versions or when a car is sold? I lived in Dulmen in Germany (sorry, can't find the umlaut key) in 1987-88 and vividly remember a Type 2 camper festering away next to a Chrysler Alpine at the army camp there. They were at the end of a track on their own and were visible from a bridge when passing on the main road back home - I always craned my neck trying to get a glimpse. can't remember if the Alpine was UK or German registered but it brought back a happy childhood memory.

 

Was this kind of activity the basis of your holiday, pretty much? I'm sure that when most people say they had an adrenalin-fuelled holiday, it was more to do with extreme sports rather than getting a snap of a dusty Simca 1100! Wish I had the cahoonas to go exploring a bit more, looks satisfying.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

in 1987-88 and vividly remember a Type 2 camper festering away next to a Chrysler Alpine at the army camp there.

 

Strangely there was a Type 2 camper in the warehouse.

 

Was this kind of activity the basis of your holiday, pretty much? I'm sure that when most people say they had an adrenalin-fuelled holiday, it was more to do with extreme sports rather than getting a snap of a dusty Simca 1100! Wish I had the cahoonas to go exploring a bit more, looks satisfying.

 

The basis of my holiday was to visit family over there. It didn't take me long at all to get sidetracked by all the abandoned cars, scrapyards, etc., I'm not a good holidaymaker at all - I visited the mountains which are very pretty, but mainly to look at a derelict hotel.

[warren t claim]

What's the story behind that hotel?

 

It looks like an amazing urbex.

[seth]

Corona Coupe!

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

It was the first hotel built in the Troodos mountains and brought a lot of high-class tourism to the area, it passed from the owner to his sons and declined in quite a short time through mismanagement. The pool for example was built on the shaded side of the hotel.

I'm not sure when it closed, but I'd guess at around the time of the Turkish invasion which probably put off tourists as well.

[AnthonyG]

Weren't those little Datsun pick ups made until very recently in South Africa?

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Sun ... ies_Bakkie

 

Until 2008.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Oh no, not more!

 

Car Graveyard by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

BMC J4, behind that is a Vauxhall Chevette. Don't see many of the 'T' platform cars there, but I did see an Isuzu Gemini in another scrapyard

 

Car Graveyard by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Pert Italian rears

 

Car Graveyard by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Lorry Graveyard II by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

There's the warehouse that hides all the cars from earlier in the thread. There are a few warehouses but I thought I was pushing my luck already, so didn't look at them. I got a bit snap happy here, a pretty time consuming process with 1-3 minute exposures. I'm a bit rubbish at lorry IDs unless they're very distinctive or have a big badge on the front, any help would be appreciated.

 

Lorry Graveyard II by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Karriers

 

Lorry Graveyard II by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Lorry Graveyard II by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Lefkaritis is the company that owns the oil refinery nearby

 

Lorry Graveyard II by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

I think the first two cranes are branded Albion, the end one is similar but had different branding.

 

Lorry Graveyard II by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Lorry Graveyard II by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Lorry Graveyard II by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Lorry Graveyard II by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Lorry Graveyard II by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Austin/Morris 440 van by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

Austin branded Morris 440 van

 

Austin/Morris 440 van interior by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

The mental thing about these, they have a completely different interior to the passenger cars

 

Subaru 600/Rex by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Subaru 600. I like the effort they put into making it look like a 'modern' supermini, even though it's rear engined. Very odd proportions. The engine looks like two thirds of a Justy unit.

 

Wartburg by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

Wartburg by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

Wartburg 311 I think. Nice looking car, I like the rear side window extensions.

[barrett]

Nice one.

I love the slow exposure night time shots very much. Funny how all of these things would be gen-u-ine OMG! spots over here but you kinda expect to find shite like this over in Cyprus.

 

BTW, those windows on the 'burg are standard fitment, I think it makes it a 'Camping' model

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Yes, I wouldn't say I got bored of all the shite, but it became quite routine to spot interesting old cars. I miss them terribly now I'm back in Scotland.

 

Wartburg by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

I missed a shot of the Wartburg's pleasingly simple dashboard

 

A couple more

 

FIAT 130 by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

 

SAAB 99, Citroen DS by zenithfivenine, on Flickr

[Minimad5]

Blimey !

Some great shite out there.

Thanks for taking the time in uploading and sharing all them pictures

[eddyramrod]

Yes indeed, some great spots there! I think I'd better slip a few more into my west-of-the-island spot thread... Give me a few minutes...

[Gompo]

Really enjoying these spots.

 

Cheers,

[Split_Pin]

 

Volvo F82 or 83 and Bedford S-type

 

 

Left to right, 3 Thames Traders, a Bathgate-built BMC Boxer or Mastiff with the second style of front which is very rare now and the one on the right is 'before my ken' as it were.

 

 

Another Bedford S-Type. The Fire-applicance-type one in the pic below that is also based on an S-Type

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Thanks Iain, I had a vague idea about the Bedfords and Thames Traders.

I think the Volvo was still fitted with Swedish plates, strange.

[rml2345]

Further to that I reckon the one next to the Bathgate built BMC could be a Seddon MK5

[ChinaTom]

Sorry to resurrect just for a simple comment (I am catching up on 5 pages of threads) but feel the need to congratulate the quality of those pics. Great stuff, and makes me want to go there.