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Originally Posted by shendren
i was told that the 110 truck i'm looking at is a 110 from australia that was disassembled and then shipped here and then partly reassembled.? is this common to avoid import problems?
thanks. scott.
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Common, I guess, is a relative term, given that the trucks aren't common however they got here. But, yes, many have come in that way; substantially dissassembled, and imported as parts. Some have come in with engine, transmission and front end of, others have come in sitting on a pallet, with only their wheels off.
How they get here is neither here nor there; whats important is the paperwork. They began making 110s in late 1983 (They weren't know as Defenders till much later) so no 110 is yet 25 years old. Then it becomes a question of dubious paperwork. It is likely to be flat out false, as in transplanted ID plates and paperwork from a Series 3 109 or some other older truck, or the paperwork may have come from a writen off NAS truck.
There are two possible scenerios which might make it more appealing to the law abiding citizen; A, it could be so close to 25 years old, that it might be worth buying it, spend your time fixing it up first class, and getting it registered on it's 25th birthday; or, B, it was imported during the period know as the gray market period, prior to the law changes requiring it to be 15 years old. The old rule was that it be 5 years or older. Actually the complete rule included required mods, and it permitted 'any citizen' to import 'one' vehicle (per lifetime) There fore, if you can show it came in before the rule change (and I'm fuzzy on this, but I think it was late 90s) and it has had whatever the required mods were at the time, then it might not be so scary (Each state will bust your stones to a greater or lesser degree)
If the tinwork is all you want, and you don't care about registering the truck, go for it and you'll get a good night's sleep not worrying about having it confiscated and destroyed. If you want to drive it down the road, well, you're prettymuch on your own.
Personally, Customs enforecement is so stretched these days, I'm not sure I'd worry about being caught tomorrow, only getting it registered. Heaven help you if you're ever involved in an a accident where you insurance company has to pay out. When and if they find it is illegal, they can, and likely will deny any claim, leaving you exposed to major financial worries.
Dumb question, but have you personally inspected the truck? Get down on your hands and knees and find the "REAL" vin number, which should be stamper on the outside of the frame, just forward of the bulkhead (on US trucks its on the left side, but on some others it is stamped on the right side forward of the axle. When you find this number (not the one on the "phoney" paperwork, run it on something like Carfax (many states use the same database) If the number will not run, well, you know................
