Jeeps in Cuba

There are many of us who think of the late 1950s as the zenith of automobile style. In the half century since then, we've seen a gradual decline into safety and efficiency, with just an occasional dash of nostalgia.

As far as American cars go, Cuba is a country frozen in the 1950s, since exports to Cuba from the U.S. were ended by an embargo in 1962. So a late-fifties Ford alongside current fashions, is not an uncommon scene in Havana.

Photo courtesy Richard A. Stanford.
 

Despite a scarcity of replacement parts, old cars and Jeeps are maintained as everyday transportation, and handed down from generation to generation.

There were some CJ-3Bs imported into Cuba between 1953 and 1959, including this one still in service with a few bits removed and others added, including a nice hood ornament.

Photo by Tracey Eaton.
 

This 1954 3B has been in the family of Alejandro Alfonso Hernández since it was new, and is unusual because it has been kept in nearly stock condition, with the original engine. See High Hood in Havana on CJ3B.info for more photos of this Jeep.
 

This 1956 advertisement from Willys Distributors introduced the DJ-3A with the headline "WILLYS adds another model to its already famous JEEP line!"

The rest of the Spanish text reads, "The new JEEP... el despachador ('the Dispatcher') solves all your light cargo transport and delivery problems!

"WITH HALF TOP...
WITH FULL TOP...
AS A CONVERTIBLE...
PANEL TRUCK...

"Cheaper! More Economical! Rear-wheel drive only. Come and test drive the New JEEP... 'the Dispatcher' and 'the Convertible'."

Tom Gibson found this ad in Automóvil de Cuba magazine.
 

Here's a pretty well preserved CJ or DJ-3A body, but who knows what's under the hood? Many of the older cars and Jeeps have had their engines replaced with Russian diesels.

This photo was taken by Ricky Rubin, who comments, "It's very funny to see an un-restored fifties Cadillac with a huge stick shifter coming out of the floor and this noisy, smoky diesel rattling around under the hood. The Cubans technically have absolutely nothing, but they sure can make the most out of it."
 

This 3A photographed by Hermes for Trip Advisor looks like it may still have its four-wheel drive intact.
 

Despite the hood lettering reading "WO CJ-IIA", this taxi appears to have originally been a military M38. Thanks to David Busfield for this photo from Flickr.
 

Hard to know what this one started out as. A unique feature is the rumble seat (180K JPEG) added in the rear! Thanks to Robert Bostelaar for the photos taken near Santiago.
 

Here's another reasonably intact CJ-3B photographed by Paul G., but most pictures seem to indicate a Jeep population of primarily 3A's and station wagons.

The affection with which Jeeps are viewed is indicated by a 1952 Cuban lottery ticket (50K JPEG) with a CJ-3A illustration, from the collection of the late Glenn Byron.
 

Ricky Rubin spotted this Station Wagon with a late-40s Jeepster grille, now in service as a taxi in Havana.

Note however that when you see advertisements for "Jeep Tours" in Cuba, the vehicles are much more likely to be recent Suzukis or Daihatsus.
 

A Jeep Station Wagon is seen here among the cars parked outside the Tribunal de Cuentas (Court of Accounts) building on the Plaza de la Revolución in Havana, draped with a huge Cuban flag not long after its opening in 1953. Thanks to Tom Gibson for finding this.

In an automobile census conducted by El Automóvil de Cuba just before the Revolution in 1959, cars in the country included:

In 1957, Willys Distributors was advertising the CJ-5 with one word: FUERZA ("POWER"). The ad is reminiscent of the 1953 "More Power to You" ad (70K JPEG) for the CJ-3B.

By this point Willys Distributors apparently had a branch in the city of Camagüey, as well as at 23 and 0 Streets in Central Havana. This new office was closer to rural areas of central and eastern Cuba, where Jeeps were being widely adopted for use on ranches and coffee farms.
 

Willys clearly had a good relationship with Cuba prior to the revolution in 1959, and in fact Fidel Castro also looked favorably on the company. He is seen here riding into Havana after the success of his revolution against the Batista regime. The Jeep appears to be an export CJ-5, and carries the name of Abel Santamaria, an early hero of the revolution who was imprisoned and killed.
 

Castro probably appreciated the Jeep's value both as a military asset and an ideal vehicle for rural areas. One of his officers is seen here in 1959 with a CJ-5 "donated for agricultural reform" by Willys Overland Export Corp.

CJ-5s can still be seen in use today, and the Museum of the Revolution (located in the former presidential palace in Old Havana) displays a CJ-6 (220K JPEG) reportedly used by Castro.
 

The occasion for these photos was a 1959 "training course" in Havana which brought salespeople from Toledo together with representatives from Cuba as well as other Latin American countries. Castro himself (120K JPEG) attended parts of the event.

In the background of this photo is a Willys ambulance (90K JPEG) also donated to Cuba.
 

Some surviving Jeeps don't have many original parts left. This one has a CJ-3B front grille modified with rectangular headlights. Robert Bostelaar took the photo for his blog Caristas, and identified the chassis and drivetrain as coming from a Lada.
 

The side view and the interior (90K JPEG) reveal that the windshield is probably the only other actual Willys element remaining.
 

This 2016 photo from Havana again shows that people have an attachment to the look of a Willys Jeep, even when the body is homemade and the chassis underneath is something completely different. Photo by David Busfield on Flickr.

The Jeeps, like other older cars, are often maintained and "improved" with locally-fabricated parts. Bill Blanton has commented, "When the embargo ends, the first American company to venture into Cuba should be J.C. Whitney, the mail-order supplier of parts for old U.S. vehicles."
 

Thanks to Tom Gibson for this ad for "Electric Jeeps" from the May 1952 issue of Transporte Servicio Públicos, a magazine for auto jobbers.

"Something new, different. All children want to drive a vehicle with a motor. This one has it and it's completely safe. See it and take your child for a ride. 'Rex' Bicycles -- rentals, sales, repairs." The company sold bicycles (100K JPEG) and more from their location at #8 Cuba Street in Old Havana, and lasted until the Revolution.
 

This flatfender is slightly larger -- looks like 1/2-scale.

Ricky Rubin comments, "These guys use this jeep to get to work in the rich tobacco fields. The Cuban people are very crafty and it wouldn't surprise me if they built it themselves. The jeep had a pull-start engine under the hood. It kept up with us at 30 or so miles per hour."

See a front view photo (80K JPEG) of this mini-Jeep. (See also more Gas-Powered Toy Jeeps You Can Ride On on CJ3B.info.)
 

Thanks to Tom Gibson, Ricky Rubin, David Busfield, Robert Bostelaar and Richard A. Stanford for photos. -- Derek Redmond

Also on CJ3B.info, see Jeeps in the movie Havana (1990) and Jeeps in Che (2008).

Return to the Index of Unusual CJ-3B Photos or see more Jeeps Around the World.

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