New here. Wanted to say hello

[dotMorse]

Evening all.

After some forum lurking I have finally got around to signing up .

I have not found my Z yet but still on the lookout . Selling my kit car a few years ago I have been looking at the empty garage and thought that needed sorting .

I will put a post on the wanted section as I have finally sorted budgets/time and am in a position to purchase.

One question. Heard many conflicting stories about RHD conversions . After reading many threads about people doing this is it still the done thing or is originality key?

 

[Woody928]

Hi and welcome to the club

What sort of Z are you looking for? I'm guessing an S30 so 240, 260 or 280Z but that would be a good starting point to know

Assuming from your comments you're considering a US import with a view to convert from LHD to RHD. A conversion is completely up to you and what your personal preference is, lots of people with both RHD and LHD cars within the club. Again how original you keep it is up to you, depending on the changes made it will obviously alter the value of the car either positively or negatively subject to what you have planned.

If you do decide to go down to the conversion route then there's lots of help and info available on here however sourcing all of the necessary parts for a conversion will prove difficult these days and if you're not doing it yourself will come at quite a cost.

Ask away with any questions...

 

[dotMorse]

Thanks for your reply .

Yeah one of those small points I should have put in. It would be the 240/260/280 cars I am looking at. I have seen a few cars come and go but nothing that has really made me go and put the money down. A RHD would be the ideal but finding them now is difficult . So hence I started looking into conversions.

On the off chance any one at the belgian GP this weekend?

 

[ron240]

hi

Welcome to the club

I am quite new here myself and have found the people very helpful and pleasant. I am in the early stages of a LHD to RHD conversion. Some points to consider are the LHD body shell are Different to the RHD body shells. So the bulkhead will need to modified, you can get replacement RH bulk heads. So I would not disregard a Z with rusty floors if you are cutting the bulkhead about anyway. Part can be tricky to find but are out there.

Ron

 

[dotMorse]

Thanks for the info Ron. I am thinking of getting a LHD and keeping it LHD now after looking into parts. But if I can find a RHD for the right price then it would save the hassle.

 

[Woody928]

I'd start looking in the US if I were you then, you'll see there's lots more choice available out there. Importing is actually very straight forward, the only risk is having not seen the car in person potentially. It worked out for me though and numerous other members. You'll also likely get a lot more for your money over paying a commission for someone to do it all for you.

Sacyclone on here is Cali based and may be able to help you out with finding a car. HTH

 

[dotMorse]

Yeah I have seen a couple in the UK but was unsure about the importing. I work in the US so if I can tie in a business trip to take a look that would be ideal . Are there any sites you would recommend for finding one? I have done the normal googling but not sure if there is a better route .

 

[SeanDezart]

Craigs List.

Welcome - you're on the right path.

 

[SacCyclone]

CraigsList and Facebook too!

 

[Woody928]

I'd add eBay onto that as well, classiczcars.com has classifieds and is a very helpful forum. There's also BAT.

 

[dotMorse]

Thanks for all the info. Whats peoples experience like with the importing and buying long distance? Do people normally go to the US or just buy and get a company to pick it up? Anyone you would recommend for shipping?

 

[Woody928]

Thanks for all the info. Whats peoples experience like with the importing and buying long distance? Do people normally go to the US or just buy and get a company to pick it up? Anyone you would recommend for shipping?

I personally chose to buy privately and arrange shipping and transportation to have the car brought over to the UK myself, I actually found the car and purchased it through ebay. Below is my US thread where I got some sound advice and my UK thread which shows you what I purchased blind via some photos, emails and a couple of phone calls. I’m not going to lie it was quite stressful on a couple of occasions as I’d never done it before and it was a lot of money for me but it all worked out eventually.

https://zclub.net/community/index.php?threads/just-bought-our-first-z-240z.21463/

https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/55543-hello-from-across-the-pond-searching-for-a-240z/

There’s plenty of have done it themselves or arranged to have someone find them a car, completely personal preference and what you’re willing to pay someone else to do for you. I used CFRinkens but I’d rather not recommend them as I had a bad experience myself, lots have used them without issues though.

 

[dotMorse]

Think I might have found a nice running Z for a decent price in the US. Just looking into prices for shipping but does anyone have a guide as to what they paid for their shipping costs?

 

[johnymd]

Shipping is usually $1050 from Oakland or LA. $850 from the east coast. Transport to the port is often quite expensive. UK port fees are around £240. VAT is on shipping and purchase price @ 5% if you get away with it. I use CFRinkens and Kingstown shipping as UK agent. I've just been going through the cost for the 5 cars I just received and it worked out at around £1400 per car plus purchase price door to door with everything paid.

 

[Woody928]

Think I might have found a nice running Z for a decent price in the US. Just looking into prices for shipping but does anyone have a guide as to what they paid for their shipping costs?

Your probably best off speaking to John Palmer on here or Chris Vega for latest advice on rough prices. Depending on roro or container will obviously effect he price as well.

Edit: JP has already replied

 

[dotMorse]

Thanks. Hopefully working on getting the best price for car and shipping. I'll keep you all updated.

 

[dotMorse]

So I have done a lot of reading over the last few days into the rules and regs of importing. Would you guys recommend paying a 3rd party to do all the hard work for you, or is it easy enough to do yourself?

I can't seem to get a straight answer on the import duty on the vehicle. Would this fall under a car of historic importance, and therefore the duty of 5% with no VAT or the normal duty of 10% plus VAT?

 

[johnymd]

According to the rules, most cars would not comply with the special dispensation and 5% so would be liable to 20% vat and 10% duty on the total purchase price and shipping costs.

So a car costing you $10,000 including shipping would end up being over £11,000 by the time you get it.

 

[Pete]

According to the rules, most cars would not comply with the special dispensation and 5% so would be liable to 20% vat and 10% duty on the total purchase price and shipping costs.

So a car costing you $10,000 including shipping would end up being over £11,000 by the time you get it.

I was under the impression that most Z's would qualify for the 5%, mine did certainly, which rules in particular are you referring to?

 

[dotMorse]

So going back to the car. I have found a 240z that looks very good and have agreed a good price. The guy seems legit and a dealer rather than Private. Before I send any money how can I be sure a car will turn up???? Is there any assurance, proof, or legal thing you can get on the purchase apart from an invoice and........a promise.