Series One 86 inch wheelbase Land Rover, Polemi, Cyprus
Cypriots just don’t seem to like chucking anything away.
And that goes for their vehicles as well! When your ancient Land Rover or similar finally gives up, do you take it to a scrapyard? No you do not.
You find some quiet corner to park it up and leave it.
Given the temperate climate, things tend not to rust much either, so you can find all sorts of what are now period vehicles that have become rare everywhere else. Cars, vans, trucks, busses – they’re all there just waiting to be found.
And once you’ve found them, then be fascinated by the uses they’ve been put to. Best yet is the 1960s Ford Cortina that’s now serving as a garden shed in Polemi!
Ford Cortina Mark 2 estate now in use as a garden shed, Polemi
It’s got an interesting history. Ford made a model of the Cortina Mark 2 estate with a 1.6 petrol engine de-tuned for use in Cyprus so that it would run on poor grade petrol. It had a five speed box based on the unit put into the Capri at the same time. Many were used as taxis as they just kept going. It also had a refrigeration unit connected to the oil cooler as it tended to overheat in the Cyprus climate. They were built at Dagenham and shipped out in kit form.
There are two rumours about them. First, the dealer that purchased them wouldn’t pay up, so Ford shipped them without windscreen wipers so that they could only be used when it wasn’t raining. (This one has its wipers). Second, Ford didn’t ship any instructions with the kits so somewhere on the island is a big pile of packing cases just waiting to be found and finished.
Click here to see more pictures of old and rusting vehicles in Cyprus…
This project of seeking out old vehicles has become a bit of a personal fasciantion. Now you could call that sad, or you could join in with the fun of seeking out some of the older, quainter, rarer finds. Let us know what you find!
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