May be moving to Australia in 2011

[280Z350Z]

I'm a yank for whatever that's worth and will likely be emigrating to Australia at some point next year.  (It's still 2010 over here but I think you guys are a year a ahead or something.)  I've been a Z (zed?) driver for a long time now and don't know that I can live without one.  I've currently got a 2003 Brickyard red 350z and a '75 280Z with triple mikunis that is passed off as a '72 for vintage racing sacntioning bodies.  Is there any point in my shipping either of the cars over when we move?  What's the vintage racing scene like in Australia by the way? 

 

Thanks!

Dave in North Carolina

[Zedman240®]

Welcome to the forum and soon another welcome when you arrive! Where abouts are you planning on moving to? I'd bring the 280Z and ditch the 350. We are only around 9 hours ahead so you won't find zeds here with hover conversions and powered by flux capacitors.. Vintage racing here is pretty popular so you should'nt be disappointed!

[PZG302]

Dave,

 

Not sure it would be worth bringing the cars over as the 350 won't be able to be driven on the road here unless it's converted to RHD. depending on where you're looking at settling the 280 maybe OK as a left hooker, being more than 30 years old, it could be registerable in Qld, not sure about other states.

 

For the racing, there are a couple of classes you can play in for full circuit racing, and for sprints and hillclimbs the scope is wide open for doing pretty much anything.

 

Here's a couple of links to the rules that a Zed would run in, the first is for our historic racing Group S category,

http://www.camsmanual.com.au/08_historic.asp you need to click on the link for Group S cars, which is historic production sports cars. This category is very restrictive in terms of modifications allowed.

 

The other category a Zed can run in is what I race, marque sports cars, Group 2B. This category allows more freedoms, including running slicks, but you must still run an L series block and they are reasnably standard.

 

http://www.camsmanual.com.au/02_race.asp#2nd Click on the Marque Sports cars 2B section to get the rules I run to.

 

The other categories show what else we race down here, from open wheelers, through to touring cars and onto off road.

 

Hope this gives you an idea of what we race and what might interest you.

 

Matt

[luvemfast]

Welcome

Bring the 280Z, it can be registered and driven due to age.

It would be cheaper than buying one here for you too as it is a personal import, so laws can be more flexible.

 

[Brabham]

Welcome,

              as the others have said, sell the 350Z in the states and bring the 280Z over as it is fine to drive in LHD. There are quite a few 240-280Z's in historics over here so it will fit right in. Bring it here where it will be loved, valued and respected

[280Z350Z]

Thank you all very much for the replies.  I've hit the CAMs site and am printing the info now.

I've done some searching for 1st generation Z's for sale over there and the prices are 2.5 to 3 times as high as here...  weird. 

In America, all of the Japanese sports cars are still sort of 2nd class citizens in terms of price appreaciation and in the eyes of various vintage groups.  In fact, it wasn't until about 8-10 years ago that the fancier groups would let non-historied cars in.  I've always found that strange, because they love the British stuff and most of those cars won't even start.  At least none of the Triumphs I've owned would.  Very good examples of say, TR6s can fetch as much as $35000.00 while the 240s never make it past $15000.00 even for outstanding examples.

Bummer about the 350Z.  It is a fantastic car!  It is very easy to drive very fast!  And, as with the older Zs, the prices I've seen on those for sale in Australia are massive compaired to here. 

My 280Z is mainly stock with the exception of the 3 twin choke Mikunis, a mild cam, forged pistons, Toyota 4x4 front calipers, DOT racing tires and safety gear.  I'm sort of a purist and as a result, tend to run at the back of the middle of the pack.  I know I don't run back there as a result of my driving skills so it has to be the car!  At any rate it is streetable and if it wouldn't have to be RHD then I'll plan on bringing it.  That is if the wife says okay. 

Seriously, about the period correctness of of the cars in some vintage circles over here you wouldn't believe how heavily modified some of the cars are!  But, that's racing anywhere.  To win you must spend money and engineering time.  I got into the vintage stuff largely because I didn't want to spend a ton of money chasing wins, I like period corrrectness and I liked the idea of more gentlemanly driving.  I haven't spent all of this time and money on my car so some pinhead can shove me out of the way just because he's faster than me!  I can good shooting off into the weeds all by my self, thanks!   

Speaking of RHD, why haven't you guys switched over?!  Everytime I'm in Australia or in England it takes me a little while to stop running over curbs with the left side of the car!  Plus, I look like a complete knob getting in on the passenger side looking for the damn wheel!  Of course I dig through the glove box as though I'm looking for a map or something, but I'm pretty sure I'm not fooling anyone.

As far as where we will settle, I feel that NSW will be the final stop however, initially we'll be up in Cairns.

We are really looking forward to the move.  I don't know if you guys realize it, but Australians are some of the best people on the planet and Australia has got to be in the top 10 of beautiful countries.  Looking forward to getting there.

[PeterAllen]

Wow, it didn't take long for the Oprah effect to work…

 

Your self-effacing humour will have you fitting in really well.

 

That's an interesting comment you make about the price of English (we use the term ‘Pommie’) cars in the US as they sell for next to nothing down here. Members are often asking question about importing cars but I wonder if anyone here in Oz has considered exporting British cars as a money making venture. Look at some of the past sales at Shannons to see the low sale price.

 

http://www.shannons.com.au/auctions/past/

 

 

[280Z350Z]

Regarding exporting cars from the US to Australia I persume it might be a money maker.  We've begun pricing shipping our personal effects and a 40' container from the east coast of the US to Sydney runs around $3500.00.  Finding the cars here is fairly easy...

I've just begun looking at the cost of importing the car so I'll have more on that later.  What about the RHD part of the equation?  Obviously virtually everything over here is backwards. 

The timing is almost perfect from an exchange rate standpoint.  However, about 5-6 years ago collector car auctions became a big deal over here.  There are several TV shows from auctions like the Barrett Jackson etc.  This has inflated the collector/old car market a bit because everyone now thinks their car is worth $680,000.00.  Hit Ebay US and see what you find as a price guide against Australian prices. 

 

Here's another question.  I see a lot of stuff about rust on Z's in Australia.  I would have thought that as dry as most of Australia is, rust would hardly be a problem.  California has a simular climate to much of Australia and rust is rarely a big issue. 

 

Thanks for all of the good info!

[Zedman240®]

I think the rust problem is mainly due to when some zeds are de-registered or no longer driven, are stored either on the moist grass down the backyard or near the coast where the salty air and water takes care of what metal is left. Cars that are garaged, always are in far better condition.

[sco_aus]

As our national anthem suggests, we are "girt by sea".  Apart from Canberra, all our capital cities are on the coast....  And even Canberra has some territory on the NSW south coast (Jervis Bay). So if you live in land, you will be fine.

 

Just a thought, my friends mum imported all this furniture from China I think.  The importers couldnt get a hold of them and they were charging a hell of a lot of money for the container to be stored on the dock, so just make sure you have plans for the container to be removed asap lol.

 

There are a few places in oz that can do conversions from LHD to RHD, but I reckon you could do it yourself, but you will need it to be engineered for registration, thats never cheap.  Infact, you would probably be best to talk to a vehicle engineer in the area you will move to to find out what exactly wil be required...

 

cheers

 

Scott

[PeterAllen]

Regarding exporting cars from the US to Australia I persume it might be a money maker.  ...

 

Dave - I may not have been very clear and a bit off the topic but I meant shipping British cars from OZ to the US. I don't know if the RHD is an issue as they seem to get a premium price in the US where registration laws seem a bit more lax than down here. After some consideration I think the margins on individual cars would not provide a great return compared to other investments currently available in the market.

[Ledge]

HI Dave

We import American cars and to my best knowledge there would be a very small market for LHD Z cars here in Oz . Most people are happy

to drive a LHD American car because that is the only way you can get them (obviously unless you convert them). I could

not see it being cost effective to bring in LHD Z's then convert them the profit margin would not be worth the hassle.

As for getting them from UK . there would be less profit and more chance of a rusty car again not worth the repair on

rust etc to get good money for the sale.

 

On a good note you should be able to bring over you 350z and register it as LHD under the personal import law but check

first. I have seen quiet a few modern LHD vehicles registered over here that have been brought in under the personal

import law. But rules may have changed . I know they have restricted the amount of personal imports to one per person every

3 years i think but don't quote me.

 

If you do send over the cars make sure you have someone this end to get them out of the docks asap or you will get charged massive storage fees

Normally we pay around 4-6 g for fees and import duty when a container with 4 cars arrives , That does depend on vehicle costs. and we also pack

allot of spares parts and tyres in as well.

 

I think your best off selling everything there and buying what you want and like when you get here.

 

Regards

Paul

[boyblunda]

With regard to money being made out of importing and selling cars in Australia, I have some reservations as to whether this is profitable as it maybe used to be a few years ago.

 

I have been looking at the prospect of importing a 60's Mustang from North America for some 18 months or so and I think the market has been changing due to a combination of an increase in the value of the Australian dollar, recent changes in import regulations, the effects of the global financial crisis, rising interest rates and whatever other economic hocus pocus and regulation might be at hand.

 

My subjective impression is that the prices of muscle cars has dropped in the past twelve months and that collectible cars are close to just holding their own.

 

I have held off from making a purchase partly because I think I see that muscle cars are not moving or are selling for lower prices than they were 18 months ago. At one point in time I was thinking it might be better to buy a car that was already in Australia but I think the prices for these vehicles have remained higher in comparison to prices that seemingly similar vehicles are selling for in North America.

 

I see advertisements, internet discussion and Ebay auctions for  several individuals who are selling cars to Australia and looking after shipping and paperwork etc and a lot of these vehicles appear to be bought by people in Australia who have never seen the cars that are still an ocean away. I suppose the advantage that some of these sellers have is that they are not stuck with a car in Australia where the market might be hanging back.

 

I do not really know exactly what I am saying here except that things are a little unpredictable.

 

All of the above is purely my personal impression and may be way off he mark but the end result is that at the moment (and also until I address my home garage issues) I have not rushed in to any new financial commitment for another toy.

 

FWIW

Dave