Importing a Lotus - not the usual

[custardtart]

I'd love to stick a Powertec or Hartley V8 in a Mk1 Lotus Elise.

Does anyone know how to import a used Elise from the UK. I know it's impossible to import a whole car but was wondering about say a car minus engine and gearbox or even split down further? What are the restrictions on doing something like this?

Cheers
Matt

[randomwalk]

I heard if you send it in 2 consignments, body and engine, drivetrain, suspension, wheels etc, then it is classed as "car parts" , not sure if this is true, anyone done this ?

[deviant]

First thing...Are you planning on the car being road legal? There are rules around engine size that can be fitted to cars based on weight. You will also have noise and emissions regs to worry about.

If a production car is being imported as parts then it can never be registered.

I have traded emails with http://www.ironchefimports.com/site/ who are a very well regarded company. They could bring in a nice MK1 Elise from Japan for around $25K OTR. If you are looking to heavily modify the car then you could get a ratty one here for that or you could have a ratty one sent form the UK, probably a lot cheaper to get one sent from the UK.

[redchina]

randomwalk said:

I heard if you send it in 2 consignments, body and engine, drivetrain, suspension, wheels etc, then it is classed as "car parts" , not sure if this is true, anyone done this ?

I have heard the same thing, could be urban myth looking at the above post.

[custardtart]

deviant said:

First thing...Are you planning on the car being road legal? There are rules around engine size that can be fitted to cars based on weight. You will also have noise and emissions regs to worry about.

If a production car is being imported as parts then it can never be registered.

I have traded emails with http://www.ironchefimports.com/site/ who are a very well regarded company. They could bring in a nice MK1 Elise from Japan for around $25K OTR. If you are looking to heavily modify the car then you could get a ratty one here for that or you could have a ratty one sent form the UK, probably a lot cheaper to get one sent from the UK.

How do I get a "ratty" one sent from the UK? I thought I had to own it first for 12 months prior to arrival, which I don't?

Yep I was planning on the car being road legal. The engines are typically 2.8 litres and push out around 400-450bhp but the car i want to end up with should have a total weight of around 650kg

Longer term I'd like to really just use the chassis including some suspension parts and build a new body myself so that's why I'd ideally like to be able to bring an old/knackered one in.

[deviant]

custardtart said:

deviant said:

First thing...Are you planning on the car being road legal? There are rules around engine size that can be fitted to cars based on weight. You will also have noise and emissions regs to worry about.

If a production car is being imported as parts then it can never be registered.

I have traded emails with http://www.ironchefimports.com/site/ who are a very well regarded company. They could bring in a nice MK1 Elise from Japan for around $25K OTR. If you are looking to heavily modify the car then you could get a ratty one here for that or you could have a ratty one sent form the UK, probably a lot cheaper to get one sent from the UK.

How do I get a "ratty" one sent from the UK? I thought I had to own it first for 12 months prior to arrival, which I don't?

Yep I was planning on the car being road legal. The engines are typically 2.8 litres and push out around 400-450bhp but the car i want to end up with should have a total weight of around 650kg

Longer term I'd like to really just use the chassis including some suspension parts and build a new body myself so that's why I'd ideally like to be able to bring an old/knackered one in.

There are 2 companies listed as being authorised to import and comply the Elise: http://raws.infrastructure.gov.au/rawswebpublic/RA...

You wont need to have owned the car for 12 months. I dont know where they source the cars from.

This is the NCOP 'National Code Of Practice' http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/vehicle_reg...

You will need to be very familiar with this to do such a project and have it road legal. NCOP3 deals with engines and contains a table with the formula for figuring out the mazimum engine size you can fit. Pay attention to pages 17 - 18. Looks like you can fit up to a 3600CC engine as the formula is based on the original weight of the car.

The NCOP is actually a very very good document. It's all in clear English and is a lot better than the old way of doing things which was to build a car and take it to the pits and hope the bloke working that day agreed with what you have done.

[custardtart]

Good links, thanks.

[7805]

Simply Sports Cars in Sydney have been bringing a few cars in to Australia recently so worth giving them a call... seem to be a good reputable company and have some credibility over here.... worth giving them a call or looking them up.