View Full Version : Good News, Bad News, Good News
PaulW
11-16-2011, 05:01 PM
I plan on retiring in 3 years from yesterday and my wife and I are moving to Indiana from Canada. She was born and raised there and I have promised her that I will take her home. Being from Vancouver I have no attachment to Ottawa where we currently live and am looking forward to the plan to find 10 to 20 acres with room for her critters and horse and space for a good workshop for me and my Roadster and motorcycles. That along with the fact that I am on track to finish my Mark4 (in gel-coat) in time to drive it down in June 2012 for the FFR open house are both good news.
The bad news is that I discovered that I will not be allowed to import my Roadster with me despite all major parts being built in the US so it will be sold before we leave giving me just a little over 2 years of driving.
The good news is that I will order another one as soon as we get there and start over (complete kit this time). I am sure that FFR won't mind having to sell me another...lol.
Why won't you be able to import it to the States? I know that there are really stringent import restrictions going the other way.
Ray
PS: I found this (http://www.epa.gov/otaq/imports/kitcar.htm) which may be of some help.
PaulW
11-16-2011, 06:07 PM
Ray,
Yes I have that document. The kicker is in the second paragraph. The engine must have a used block and cylinder heads. I have a used block from approx. 1990 which means I would still have to meet those standards including all emissions equipment from that time which includes air pumps etc. But it is moot as I have new cylinder heads. I can send the car to an independant importer but from what I have seen and heard the cost there can be upwards of $10k. I will continue to look at options but I am pretty much hooped I think. All this and all I wanted to do was bring the car "home".
Hi Paul,
Sorry to hear you will have to sell the car, maybe it's an oppertunity to do some things differently with the new build. I have changed so many things on my car it may have been better to sell and build another one somewhere along the way.
Congrats on getting close to retirement, I'm hopefully about two to three years away myself.
I live in Indiana, just accross the Ohio River from Louisville Kentucky my family and I are very happy here, hopefully you and yours will be too.
Mike
NICK C
11-16-2011, 10:47 PM
What you need to do is take it apart like Radar Oreilly and mail to someone in Indiana piece by piece! LOL
Jeff Kleiner
11-17-2011, 06:13 AM
Don't know much about bringing one across the border into the States but I do know that once you get here registration and titling in Indiana is pretty easy (No emissions worries except for a couple of counties in the northwest corner of the state near Chicago).
Look at the first paragraph of the document Ray cites (which is 17 years old by the way) though:
1.Fully-assembled kit cars are "motor vehicles" under the Clean Air Act. Complete kit car packages are also "motor vehicles" under the Clean Air Act. These are packages which contain all of the major components needed for assembly (i.e., body, chassis, engine and transmission)....
Reading further it might require more than simply pulling the engine & trans for it to no longer be considered a "motor vehicle":
4.The production, sale and importation of vehicle parts (engines, transmissions, chassis, vehicle bodies, etc.) are not regulated by EPA because parts are not considered motor vehicles under the Clean Air Act. However if the parts constitute a disassembled vehicle or an approximate disassembled vehicle, the combination is considered a motor vehicle...
Sooo, let's say you ship the engine to the States, bring the chassis across minus body and then the body alone on another crossing---then what?
Seems that there should be a way, but then again taking a "do over" and starting from the ground up again isn't necessarily a bad thing!
Where in Indiana do you plan to settle? I'm in Bloomington and there are quite a few of us scattered around the state.
Good luck,
Jeff
PaulW
11-17-2011, 06:43 AM
Don't know much about bringing one across the border into the States but I do know that once you get here registration and titling in Indiana is pretty easy (No emissions worries except for a couple of counties in the northwest corner of the state near Chicago).
Look at the first paragraph of the document Ray cites (which is 17 years old by the way) though:
Reading further it might require more than simply pulling the engine & trans for it to no longer be considered a "motor vehicle":
Sooo, let's say you ship the engine to the States, bring the chassis across minus body and then the body alone on another crossing---then what?
Seems that there should be a way, but then again taking a "do over" and starting from the ground up again isn't necessarily a bad thing!
Where in Indiana do you plan to settle? I'm in Bloomington and there are quite a few of us scattered around the state.
Good luck,
Jeff
Jeff,
I have actually thought of pulling the complete drivetrain including the rear-end. It should be fairly easy to sell that here and then I would be left bringing down just a non roller chassis and body.
As far as where in Indiana so far we are looking between Fort wayne and Indianapolis but really are open to anywhere in the state with the exception of course of Gary.
If any of you out there know of anyone that is an expert on these things I would love to speak to someone like that. I have always found it better to be able to talk to someone involved rather than rely on what may be very different interpretations of a regulatory document.
Snakely
11-17-2011, 08:14 AM
I've been in teh Fort Wayne area for most of my life. It's nice up here. Currently I'm in Auburn, and its great. there's a great car culture here. especially around labor day. http://acdfestival.org/festival/
We'll be looking for a new place around here in 2 - 3 years as well. with an eye towards a good garage to finally get the roadster project started.