Crappy communist cars such as this, this and this weren’t just made out of old Fiats. No, because there was an exception! Dacias were made out of old Renaults. 

Based on the Renault 12, Dacia produced the 1310 from 1979 until 1999, before Renault took over the company from the Romanian state and, well… just continued making it for another seven years. Small revisions to the design were made over that lengthy production run, although all were somewhat ungainly, with the 1980s example pictured here looking particularly tragic.

Still, when you’re part of a communist dictatorship choice is somewhat limited, and thus over two million Dacia 1310s were sold.

This superb replica of the 1310 is the work of previous (but newly named) bloggee blockostalgia, who has done a tremendous job of recreating the humble Romanian people’s car in brick form. Everything opens, there’s a detailed interior and engine bay, and presentation is top shelf. Literally.

There’s lots more of block’s delightful Dacia to see on Flickr via the link above, and if you’re wondering what became of the brand after Renault’s take-over… well they now make the best selling car in all of Europe.