Tomorrow I head to the city to put my US import T model Tudor through vehicle identity checks and roadworthy inspections for registration. It has been a long time coming, almost 13 months since I bought it on ebay. It would not have happened without the help of Joe van Evera and his generous offer to transport it to New York for me. Then Hurricane Sandy intervened.
After a detour to Korea on the way to Melbourne, it finally arrived some 5 weeks ago. It has taken me that long to fit direction indicators, brake lights, mirrors etc to be able to get it past inspection tomorrow.
Wish me luck.
Good luck! If it is as nice in real life as it is in the photo, I predict you have no problems.
Good Luck, Allan!
What a fine looking car!
I read your profile and see you are an addict.
Hope all goes well!
GOOD LUCK! Always.
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2
good luck, great car!
Have a great day Allan. Im sure it will not be a problem. Nancy will be a very happy lady. Put it in your diary to come join us in March at Coleraine for a specila weekend of t Touring! Looking forward to seeing it in Person.
Thanks for the good wishes guys. Something worked well. All the paperwork is done and inspections passed. Just need the LHD permit and she is ready to go.
Just to show that bureaucracy is alive and well, I printed permit for the approval to import the car from the email sent by the import agent. This was not acceptable. I had to have a copy of the original certificate. How do I do that? The advice was a fax copy would be sufficient!!! So, I phoned the import agent, he faxed a copy of the original, and I had it in hand before I had finished loading the car on the trailer.
Go figure.
Allan from down under.
Allan,
That's great! You will have it on the road in no time.
Respectfully submitted,
Hap l9l5 cut off
Good luck Allan, looks fabulous.
Allan
What types of safety improvements did you have to incorporate into the car? You mentioned mirrors and lights. How about seat belts, safety glass, mechanical inspections etc? I am completing basic research on the safety and use of American antique cars.
Rather than a bureaucracy making rules, maybe it is time for the car clubs to step up and REQUIRE safety improvements. Every year we are having serious accidents. I venture that the Model T group has more injuries per vehicle mile than NASCAR. Yes I know it is always the other guy's fault. We are right and they are wrong. However, being "dead right". isn't so good either.
Just some random thoughts.
Gorgeous tudor Allan ! and congratulations on passing all the red tape required so you can enjoy it !! What color is it? Looks like my Gunmetal Blue '26 tudor. Is that red pinstriping around the center 'beltline'? if so, you've given me the idea to pinstripe mine yellow - or straw - to match my wire wheels. Thanks for sharing!
Wow, it has been over a year since you purchased the car. Best of luck and happy motoring. Will we see you next year in the USA?
Jon, While going through the inspections I was given the latest bulletin for LHD vehicle registrations. Reference to twin mirrors and indicators has been deleted!! The new thoughts are that if they were not installed when manufactured, they are not mandatory.
That said, I would be very uncomfortable driving a LHD vehicle without indicators to show my intentions. I believe they should be compulsory. Driving heavy vehicles has taught me to use mirror for reversing. Without them, it would be much more inconvenient. They are also a boon to get a RH driver in the picture when driving a LHD car.
I suspect the side glasses are still plate glass. These will be replaced when I remove the trim to do some sound deadening work in the side panels.
Seat belts are specifically excluded. To fit same would legally require an engineering certificate to develop suitable mounting points.
Further upgrades would have us seriously in strife with the registration authorities because they require the vehicles to be maintained as close to standard as possible, or we risk loosing our concessional historic registration.
George, an A model friend called the colour dark Arabian Sand. It is a deep olive green/grey.
Dennis, we are still planning. Joe has invited us to visit him in Wallace, so we will be near you. I am looking for ways to get from Toronto to the Henry Ford and then on to your neck of the woods.
I am having trouble getting sense out of hire car companies. The Canadian/US border crossing is a problem., and I cannot get any sense out of their on-line systems this far out, without giving dates I do not yet have finalised. Any suggestions?
Thanks fellows.
Allan from down under.
Allan
Thank you for the answers, Enjoy your T. they are a hoot.
jon
George, I forgot to answer your query about the pinstripe around the belt line. It is a bright orange-red two stripe tape job done by a previous owner. It really sets the car off nicely. I too want to paint the wheels. Consultations with others, including some experts, suggest the wheels be done in the same red colour. I like the idea, but will paint an old one first to see how it looks.
Allan from down under.