| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Oz | Hey guys, My name's Nigel and I'm from up here in Canada. My Uncle Terry, who's from Australia and resides there still, came here about 3 years ago and bought himself a Prowler to ship back. It ended up that he had to get it converted to right hand drive in order to drive it over there and I thought you guys might like to see some of the pics that were taken. BTW, the other cars in the gallery are just random shots of cars around Australia. ps. He now can't get it insured, as he is I think the only one there with one on the road, (last I checked there were 2 others in private collections) as the insurance companies down there want it carsh tested! LOL conversion pics |
| Bob Goetz | Have him check with collector car insurance companies, Grundy comes to mind. Good Luck ------------------
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| CJ | They want him to crash test his own car??? Now, that makes sense.  Is that before or after he puts insurance on it!!!? LOL! The corporation already crash tested the car before it went into production! Surely you could find crash test info somewhere for the Prowler?? |
| DR PROWLER | Best of luck to him!
I mean crash testing the car....that really carries tons of logic behind it-I'd consider shopping around for a different carrier.
And what happens if he can't get the coverage?Does he ship it back to Canada? |
| Oz | Well, this is what makes me laugh. The car was crash tested to NA standards, which are different to Australian standards. ie. bumper height, impact speed for bumpers, etc. He can't go with a collectors plate because I don't think they have one and he couldn't go with a Heritage plate for obvious reasons. He basically is screwed so he only drives it around his area. He's up in Bellingen so he's far enough away from big city centres and lots of cops that it's cool to sneak a couple rides in now and then, not to mention he was insured initially till they found the crash test loop hole so he does have plates. One things for sure, he'll never ship it back cause he loves the car! Not to mention the fact he's one of the very few with a right hander and I think the only one that drives one (though illegally) in Australia. Hope you guys liked the pics anyways. Cheers!   |
| CTProwler | Why do these forgein countrys make you get it converted??? We have right hand drive vehicles here and we drive on the opposite side of the road. There are 2 mailmen who have right hand drives subaru's in my town. They use them for work and pleasure. I'm surprised they won't insure them either. In this country they will insure just about anything for a Price$$$$$ If i were your uncle i'd move to the U.S!!!Australia is on my list of places to Go. Just need at least 2 weeks to do it!!------------------
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| Oz | quote:
Originally posted by CTProwler:
Australia is on my list of places to Go. Just need at least 2 weeks to do it!!
To get there or stay there? lol If his car was older than 25 years he could've kept it left hand. (heritage plate) That's why we don't say the car is black, we say it's burn! lol |
| Kroooozer | I don't believe thats true about crash testing for insurance purposes (never heard of that one before), however it use to be the case for registration, mainly for small production runs of a particular model with individual construction/chassis etc however I have never heard of anyone doing it. Insurance is possible as I have already looked into it and for insurance of around AUS$100,000 (this is what it will owe you after import/conversion) it will cost you around AUS$5,000. Conversion is required on any car less than 25-30 years old (think its 30) as it was argued older cars lose value etc. Each conversion company now has to seek approval for a particular model as many cheap Japanese imports were being brought in and Australia has stricter design reg's than many other countries and these were never mean't to be complianced for AUS.It is also interesting that I have been told that if a damaged car or any signs of major repair has been done that customs can request that the car be sent back or destroyed.It costs conversion co's a lot to get approval and with not many Prowlers in Australia (I think there is less than 10) meaning there are only 2 companies I know of that can legally convert and compliance. By the way you also have to put brand new tyres,brake pads and exhaust (quieter) before they will register a converted car.The conversion will cost between AUS$27,000 - $35,000. |
| Oz | quote:
Originally posted by Kroooozer:
I don't believe thats true about crash testing for insurance purposes (never heard of that one before), however it use to be the case for registration, mainly for small production runs of a particular model with individual construction/chassis etc however I have never heard of anyone doing it. Insurance is possible as I have already looked into it and for insurance of around AUS$100,000 (this is what it will owe you after import/conversion) it will cost you around AUS$5,000. Conversion is required on any car less than 25-30 years old (think its 30) as it was argued older cars lose value etc. Each conversion company now has to seek approval for a particular model as many cheap Japanese imports were being brought in and Australia has stricter design reg's than many other countries and these were never mean't to be complianced for AUS.It is also interesting that I have been told that if a damaged car or any signs of major repair has been done that customs can request that the car be sent back or destroyed.It costs conversion co's a lot to get approval and with not many Prowlers in Australia (I think there is less than 10) meaning there are only 2 companies I know of that can legally convert and compliance. By the way you also have to put brand new tyres,brake pads and exhaust (quieter) before they will register a converted car.The conversion will cost between AUS$27,000 - $35,000.
You may be right on the registration thing, I'm not overly sure as it is not my car and I don't live there. Though I do know that he is havng trouble renewing his plates due to some sort of crash test something or other whether it be insurance or registration related. BTW, if you're up around Cough's Harbour you might see him driving around as he is somewhat. It's also about what he paid for the conversion though he didn't have to change anything from what I've heard. Cheers.
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| Kroooozer | I know the Coffs Harbour area (about 6 hrs nth), nice spot and we are going up that area for a run in June. I know of 3 blacks in Australia including this one, one guy has one in Queensland awaiting approval, two in NSW including this one. Its my preferred colour too...by the way they import the speedometers/instruments from Canada for the Kilometre's when converting. |
| Oz | Actually, his was bought in Canada on the outskirts of Toronto. That's awesome to hear of more cats in OZ! He lives in Bellingen by the way. When you do the run, send me a PM and I'll get you in touch with him. He's a super nice guy and I bet would love to see some other prowlers. |
| DR PROWLER | quote:
Originally posted by Oz:
[BI bet would love to see some other prowlers.[/B]
Let's set up an event-Prowlin'Australia and see if we can get all our cars shipped down for a week or so.Once we have no more places to Prowl in North america...Outback,here we come!
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| Kroooozer | If he is interested he can catch up with us for a day out as we are staying about 1/2hr sth of Coffs....by the way DR Prowler funny you should say that because this year around Sept they are running the Ultimate Aussie supercruise again from all states in Australia heading to the centre (Alice Springs). I did it last year and in all travelled over 8500 klms (guessing around 5000 miles)round trip.It was a great run and will do it again but just not 2 years in a row. By the way if anyone is planning a trip here I can suggest places etc to visit. This message has been edited by Kroooozer on 01-14-2004 at 11:30 PM |
| tangled up in BLUE | Several years ago I sold a 2000 Yellow Kat that was to be shipped to Australia.....it would have had approximately 4K miles on it ......have you seen this car....it came from Woodhouse in Nebraska..... |
