Re: Importing to the U.S.

["Eric H" <ejham@domain.elided>]

My '76 Spider has a short VIN...the State of Georgia had no problems with
it. The car was sort of out-of-state; it still had the original 1976 Florida
title which was not required for registration as cars over 20 years here can
be titled in GA without original title.

I bought the car from the original owner who insisted that we go to the DMV
together to handle the paperwork. He had the original title in hand. The
clerk took a look at it and said, "Are you SURE you want to sign off on
THAT? It's collectible." She was essentially suggesting that it needed to
stay with him, or me, or the car. Being a "by-the-book" ex-commercial pilot,
he insisted that things be handled correctly. Kind of a shame...I would have
liked to have the original. Not a deal-breaker, though, as I got a
25-year-old, 94K original-miles, emission-testing-exempt, mostly rust-free
Spider with a brand new top in the trunk for very little cost. Thus far,
I've spent about $700 on clutch, front calipers, and tires, putting it back
on the road as a dry-weather daily driver. It's a strong running car with a
lot of opportunities when the newish Spica pump (not original) calls it
quits.

Bryan Carter wrote:

>  The major obstacle for a foreign vehicle is the VIN.  I don't know about
>the Carolina's, but in Washington you have to have a State Police
inspection
>done on any vehicle coming from out of state.  They run the VIN through
NCIC,
>and I'm not sure how you could get around the fact that you won't have a 17
>digit VIN.

- Eric Hambleton, Marietta, GA
  1993 164L - 1976 Spider (needing many cheap but hard-to-install rubber
suspension parts)

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