Date:         Thu, 19 Jan 1995 09:40:23 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         michael.heron@utoronto.ca (Michael Heron)
Subject:      Re: Brazilian Bus: The Plan

avery:

you're going to let a little thing like $$ stop you :). All you need to do
to bypass customs is register a junker bus that is capable of crossing the
us border into mexico. once across the border, strip the VIN and pertinent
i.d. tags, license etc. get down to brazil and swap VIN's etc. on a
Brazilian bus and voila, you're back on the road:)

"Badges, we don't need no stinkin' badges!" Oh yeah, one thing Border
guards hate hippies! What person in their right mind would use a vehicle as
cliched as a VW Van to smuggle drugs in? I mean you couldn't outrun a moped
with your van :)

michael



>i think this will work.  first i go to the junkyard and buy a junkie vw bus,
>any year, and i use it for parts.  I register the junker and then take the VIN
>plate off of it and take it to brazil, where i buy a new bus and attach the
>VIN from the other bus.  i drive the bus from brazil to columbia, take a ferry
>to panama (i am told that only a land rover can cross the border swamps) and
>drive through mexico to the us. At the border they check my registration,
>search my car because i look like a hippy, i just came from south america, and
>i am driving a vw bus.  they find no drugs and let me on my way.
>
>possible problems;
>    i may have to buy a bus not from the junkyard because a reconstructed
>    title on a brand new brazilian bus may look suspicious.
>    i may get killed if i drive through south america with an american plate/
>    registration.
>    the mexican border may have some silly requirement that only cars driven
>    out of the us may drive back in, especially if they are us registered. if
>    they have some sort of carpassport thing and say "if this is a us car how
>    did it get to brazil" and i say "umm, hey these things can really fly"
>
>
>raise your hand if you think this plan will work
>
>-avery
>
>only one major problem, i am broke