Ken wrote.... I thought about importing SA Vanagons too. Two problems though: 1. Doesn't meet safety standards for the years that I would want to import it (92-99).
Assuming I have correct info, this can't be done anymore. I was stationed in Germany and owned an `84 British spec Ford Capri. I talked to the customs folks that handed me a bunch of literature. Figured "no prob", I can make it meet emissions, US Spec doors, glass, bumpers, and lights are available because the car was sold here as the Merc Capri from like 69-77. What I was told.... The vehicle must have been sold in the US by the manufacture of the vehicle for the given year of production. Apparently it has to do with crash test data. Because Ford didn't sell it here in `84 I couldn't bring it in. Had I known this in advance I may have been able to "modify" the registration and claimed it to be a restored `75 or so. Then no Prob C'est la vie. Mikey Now parts may be a different story. Oh, it gets worse, I was handed the small list of maybe 15 shops in the US that are legally allowed to do spec conversions. I couldn't do it myself legally. So my 5K$ car would have cost several K$ more to have converted. |
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