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Bringing An Overlander Back Home

This is great can't wait till my next trip to Dallas to come see and compare notes... wow what a writeup. Thanks so much for sharing with others. It really isn't that terrible ! Just have to have a little cajones once in a while to get the good stuff. It's certainly not all gonna be in your backyard. ??
 
jerseyjeeps said:
This is great can't wait till my next trip to Dallas to come see and compare notes... wow what a writeup. Thanks so much for sharing with others. It really isn't that terrible ! Just have to have a little cajones once in a while to get the good stuff. It's certainly not all gonna be in your backyard. ??
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So long as everything goes according to plans. There is some risk involved, just have to decide if the risk is worth the reward.
 
The Texas titling process will be a little interesting. The Jeep is eligible to come into the US under a couple DOT provisions: (1) it was manufactured to comply with then existing US emissions and other standards (it still has the labels under the hood); and (2) it is over 25 years old. Either make it federally eligible to import.

Texas uses a few steps to get it titled: (1) Need the DOT Form HS-7 proving legal import from above which comes from your shipper; (2) Have to get a state safety inspection (no emission testing needed since over 25 years); (3) Have to get a separate inspection of the vehicle VIN by an anti-theft city/state officer or similar person to ensure that the VIN plates do not look replaced and that the vehicle is not stolen; and (4) take all the above, plus proof of insurance, a completed title application and an "ownership document" to Dallas County.

Things may get interesting with the "ownership document." Australia does not use titles like we do in the US. Their laws seem to protect buyers, and they may have a governmental "title" insurance company that protects buyers. All Andrew had was his current Queensland registration document. So, I will take a copy of Andrew's registration and an executed bill of sale between us to Dallas County and see what they say. Whenever I present Dallas County with something out of the ordinary (like antique registration and year of manufacture plates), they kind of lock-up a little and call over 1-2 supervisors. It's going to be interesting. If they take issue, I will probably to see if there's something else I can do or I will try another Dallas county office and see if I get same response. If none of that works, I will have to go the bonded title route which is another post if it goes that way. Wish me luck
 
Man that’s a lot. I hope you don’t have to send it back! Hopefully you used Amazon prime
 
DeLuke said:
Wish me luck
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If it gets to be too much of a problem... I'll take it off your hands.
Jeep Addict said:
Man that’s a lot. I hope you don’t have to send it back! Hopefully you used Amazon prime
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^^^ Just for the record... I was the first to offer to help out. :rolleyes:

Seriously though, good luck.
It sounds like it should go smoothly if they follow the rules. :thumbsup:
 
Jeep Addict said:
Man that’s a lot. I hope you don’t have to send it back! Hopefully you used Amazon prime
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I remember hearing some rumors/stories 30-40 years ago about some fancy cars (Porsche) being imported and not meeting safety standards and getting crushed. That would not happen with this jeep since it met those standards when it was manufactured
 
Belizeit said:
I remember hearing some rumors/stories 30-40 years ago about some fancy cars (Porsche) being imported and not meeting safety standards and getting crushed. That would not happen with this jeep since it met those standards when it was manufactured
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I can’t see that happening even if it did not meet safety requirements. It could always be used off highway and never registered. But I doubt there will be a problem titling it in Texas. Should easily get a bonded title as a last resort.
 
Belizeit said:
I remember hearing some rumors/stories 30-40 years ago about some fancy cars (Porsche) being imported and not meeting safety standards and getting crushed. That would not happen with this jeep since it met those standards when it was manufactured
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This is not a rumor and it still happens today. The fed government takes the import stuff very serious. It crushes illegally imported cars, video records it, and publishes the recordings to deter the practice. Seems a little punitive if you ask me. IIRC, the two most confiscated and crushed cars are the Land Rover Defender and the Cooper Minis and the Nissan SKyline GTR ranks up there. I certainly understand the Defenders, but I'm not sure about the UK-spec Mini since you can get a recent US-spec Mini. To each his own.


ag4ever said:
Should easily get a bonded title as a last resort.
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Yep, I have researched the bonded title process a little, too. It would be the end solution but just cost more and entail extra hoops.
 
DeLuke said:
This is not a rumor and it still happens but I'm not sure about the UK-spec Mini since you can get a recent US-spec Mini. To each his own.

My sister drives a Mini Cooper Roadster. Not really sure how those & Smart cars even survive impact tests
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DeLuke said:
I certainly understand the Defenders, but I'm not sure about the UK-spec Mini since you can get a recent US-spec Mini..
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Not sure which minis have been the target of crushing, but I’d imagine it is the “classic” tin box style that has been in production for a long time in the UK, not the more modern plastic box mini made by BMW.

I also found some interesting data on the US’s customs website.

Importing classic vehicles
 
Other than the top, the turn signals on the fenders instead of the grill, and being right hand drive, what's different? If it's still an amc 6 cyl with the same emisions stuff, why would they buck about it? It's basically just a right hand drive scrambler. The skyline GTR doesn't meet USA safety specs from what I understand. So that makes sense. But I really don't think it will be a problem in this particular case. What did Jerseyjeeps do when he titled his?
 
Yes and the last resort. Only if keeping forever. Is to swap on another CJ8 title. That wouldn't fly to well for resale tho.
 
Ron84cj said:
Other than the top, the turn signals on the fenders instead of the grill, and being right hand drive, what's different? If it's still an amc 6 cyl with the same emisions stuff, why would they buck about it? It's basically just a right hand drive scrambler. The skyline GTR doesn't meet USA safety specs from what I understand. So that makes sense. But I really don't think it will be a problem in this particular case. What did Jerseyjeeps do when he titled his?
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So mine was both easier and interesting. For those that don't know the whole story, click at the link at the bottom of my signature for the circa 2011 full story. I was lucky yet persistent to even have the chance to own it, but then when it came to the title process that was easy cause the guy I bought it from lived in AU but yet was from Oklahoma and after working there for a while entitled to bring it back as a normal possession so to speak as shipped with his household goods. He then took similar paperwork to Oklahoma title people and got a OK title to which I flew to Oklahoma , inspected it , paid for it and took the title home. (All this after trying to buy it while in Oz, then losing out). And losing alotta sleep over it too!

But when I went to my NJ title place they ran the VIN on what looked like a normal OK title and the place went bonkers. It took many supervisors and 3 trips including the state capital to get title. I even had to show them pictures of a postal !! The RHD thing had them all sorts of nuts and using it here so darned so I left the last title place with telling them 230 of these existed in Alaska (didn't show them pics of mine , only the museum postal picture ) and I am not the only nut who had this and that final person finally kinda bought it and away I went with a title that looks like all my other scramblers other than that export digit.
 
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Ron84cj said:
Other than the top, the turn signals on the fenders instead of the grill, and being right hand drive, what's different? If it's still an amc 6 cyl with the same emisions stuff, why would they buck about it? It's basically just a right hand drive scrambler. The skyline GTR doesn't meet USA safety specs from what I understand. So that makes sense. But I really don't think it will be a problem in this particular case. What did Jerseyjeeps do when he titled his?
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These points refer to the import process which will never be a problem. Titling is completely different. Texas wants to ensure that I am proper owner and that nobody else has an ownership interest in the Jeep. When they grant me a title, they are basically certifying my ownership and effectually providing a title insurance policy to the next owner (hoping this one never leaves our family but we all know how this hobby works).

I'm expecting something similar to Eric's experience because those workers do not like anything outside the box. Probably a couple weeks away, and I'll let everyone know how it goes.
 
Importing a 25+ year old vehicle into the US is very easy. I've done it numerous times with Land Cruisers both from Australia before we moved to America and from America once we were living in New Mexico. You'll have no need to bend the law with false VIN plates or anything else. The horror stories of crushed vehicles all relate to newer vehicles being brought I grey market, not 25+ year old vehicles.

Be certain to properly fill out the EPA and DOT forms (I don't recall their numbers off the top of my head, but they're both readily available online). These are what certify that the vehicle is 25+ years old and thus exempt. DOT folks are very pedantic and thus once they have the proper paperwork appropriately filed out, they get a bit excited by the beauty of the boxes being ticked appropriately and then they move on.

The lack of a title will be a non- issue. Bring in the rego document from QLD and the notarised bill of sale along with a vin verification (some motor reg places will do it for you, others require a cop or other certified agent to do it beforehand- call ahead to find out which way your DMV wanted it done and do it that way) and it'll be seamless. Remeber to be appropriately admiring of the DOT official's depth of knowledge: they really dig that.

The most frustrating issue you will have over and over is the lack of a 17 digit vin. These were required in America from 1981 onwards (thus all scramblers/ overlanders) but were not the norm in Australia until the late '90s. I found that on some vehicles the DMV would add 0s at the front, others to the rear. I always had fewer issues when the 0s were added to the front.

Please feel free to contract me if I can be of any assistance.

Cheers,

Josh
 
That's contact. Not contract. Sorry, didn't check my spell check before posting.

Feel free to contact me.....
 
Chamba said:
The most frustrating issue you will have over and over is the lack of a 17 digit vin. These were required in America from 1981 onwards (thus all scramblers/ overlanders) but were not the norm in Australia until the late '90s. I found that on some vehicles the DMV would add 0s at the front, others to the rear. I always had fewer issues when the 0s were added to the front.
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Yeah, the importing is all done, but the titling still has me worried. The VIN is actually no problem. These were all US-manufactured Jeeps from 1983-1985, and all have an original 17-digit US-style VIN. In fact, the VIN (and cowl tag) is in the same format as all other Jeeps but has a F for the 3rd digit rather than a C. Once in Australia, it received another VIN plate and that uses the same US-style VIN.

Thanks for the offer to help. Will let everyone know what Texas says.
 
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