nammer's progress thread, link to photoshoot on pg. 6 Options

[nammer]

So after selling my 98 GT-S sometime in July...I decided to seek out my dream car! Here's a little story of my adventure to see a GT-Four, up front and in person, for the very first time...

Dragged two buddies along for the journey. We planned for the 12:30pm sailing at the horseshoe bay terminal in BC, to get to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. Turns out the sailing was full and we waited 3 hours for the next sailing. After 1.5 hrs on the ferry we hauled a** 150km north of Nanaimo to Campbell River (keep in mind the last sailing home is 9pm). Finally arriving at the place we took a look at the car, took it for a spin and worked out the payment details.
The pro: engine is still running strong even with meerly 103,000kms
The cons: various surface rust here and there
The solution: leave the car there, get all the surface rust sanded out and get a full paintjob (at my cost)... then ship it to me

Now, I'm just waiting for it to arrive!....time for some teaser pics!
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More pictures to come when it arrives! The wait is killing meee....

This post has been edited by nammer: Feb 20, 2011 - 11:27 PM

[95CelicaST]

It's not a matter of which side of the car the steering wheel is on (at least here in the US) that makes it illegal, it's the fact that the cars don't meet safety requirements and smog requirements. Think about US Postal Service vehicles. They are all RHD, and are sold at auctions all the time. If a cop pulls you over and you've done a RHD dash swap they aren't going to ticket you over it, unless that is directly related to you being pulled over (i.e. you suck at driving)

Before you can drive (legally) an imported car on the roads you have to get the car inspected and approved by the State Patrol to make sure it conforms to the standards of safety and smog that every other car in the US has to. That is what you will pay out the a** for when importing a car. That's why its best left to a broker who takes care of all of that for you. Then you will be given a new VIN, and then you can insure it.

And yarik - You're the reason our insurance rates are so high. Thanks.

No you can't just remove the "-four" from the emblem and drive it, are you high? Why don't you drill out the VIN plates and swap 'em while you're at it, just to make it a little more believable.

If importing from Canada, border patrol "should" be checking papers on any car coming back in to the states. I believe forgmann went to a small border check and that is how he got his across, but if you go to any major crossing point they're going to want to check papers, whether you're driving it, or have it on a flatbed.

Importing from Japan or any country that transports by sea, the car will not be able to leave the shipyard until it complies with federal regulations. This is when you want a broker to take care of legalizing the car.

This post has been edited by 95CelicaST: Sep 30, 2009 - 10:08 AM

[yarik83]

It's not a matter of which side of the car the steering wheel is on (at least here in the US) that makes it illegal, it's the fact that the cars don't meet safety requirements and smog requirements. Think about US Postal Service vehicles. They are all RHD, and are sold at auctions all the time. If a cop pulls you over and you've done a RHD dash swap they aren't going to ticket you over it, unless that is directly related to you being pulled over (i.e. you suck at driving)

Before you can drive (legally) an imported car on the roads you have to get the car inspected and approved by the State Patrol to make sure it conforms to the standards of safety and smog that every other car in the US has to. That is what you will pay out the a** for when importing a car. That's why its best left to a broker who takes care of all of that for you. Then you will be given a new VIN, and then you can insure it.

And yarik - You're the reason our insurance rates are so high. Thanks.

No you can't just remove the "-four" from the emblem and drive it, are you high? Why don't you drill out the VIN plates and swap 'em while you're at it, just to make it a little more believable.

If importing from Canada, border patrol "should" be checking papers on any car coming back in to the states. I believe forgmann went to a small border check and that is how he got his across, but if you go to any major crossing point they're going to want to check papers, whether you're driving it, or have it on a flatbed.

Importing from Japan or any country that transports by sea, the car will not be able to leave the shipyard until it complies with federal regulations. This is when you want a broker to take care of legalizing the car.

I agree with what you said about being pulled over. Cops do not target you just because you are driving on the other side of the car. Would I personally swap vins? I can assure you that that would be THE first thing that I do. Ethically it is wrong but if I own 2 identical celicas of same color, body type and yada yada then it does not really matter which celica is which. Think about it.. you own both cars and one car is garaged. I do not see anything less legal about swapping vins of 2 identical cars that you both own... than driving 80 on a highway. That is not to say that I would recommend swapping vins and driving 80 on a highway. Usually people who get caught are people who do something stupid like tell entire galaxy about what they did. In a situation where 2 people own gt-4's and one tells his entire school about it and one just keeps it to himself.. someone is bound to listen to the first guy, tell his dad, who's cousin is on police force and next thing you know you have a swat team knocking on his door. It is like winning a lottery. You win, you tell, you get pummled. You win, you stay quiet, you spend rest of your life a happy person.

Its funny that you mentioned insurance.. cause mine is $343.00 every six month. If there was a person with a safe driving record... that would be me.

The whole question about legality is obviously something that needs to be taken very seriously. Repercussion of mistakes often involves dire consequences that often occur only because person responsible could not lay low and keep his mouth shut. Does not matter if its cars, homework, work, politics... its all the same.

This post has been edited by yarik83: Sep 30, 2009 - 4:21 PM