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Importing non-EU 78

Phil01

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Hello All,

Still a newbie with a few questions. I'm dreaming about a 78. What obstacles do you see with importing something like this to the UK?

Toyota Land Cruiser 78 RHD Metal top hzj 78 4.2L Diesel Manual RHD Africa Low price! en1380 - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]

I appreciate it's not for EU markets but now that we're out i don't know if this is going to work in our favour.

I was wondering what exactly separates the Tropical version from the EU one (is it Euro "0" for the tropical and euro 4 for the EU?) and if any differences can be rectified for the sake of getting through the IVA test.

As far as emissions are concerned, I understand that a newly UK registered LHD diesels gets categorised at point of IVA testing (as unclassified) and as such has no DPF requirement (and therefore ULEZ exempt) If that;s the case i wonder if that same exemption will get you into EU cities that are banning anything under euro6.
 
TBH I don't know any of the answers to the above questions but a friend imported a V8 Td 78 series pickup a year or so ago into the UK and we were still in the EU at that point.
You will need to give it major rust preventative treatment as a minimum..... probably give most of the underside a good coat of paint first as Toyota have seemingly been very sparing with chassis and underside painting recent years ....
It will be very basic spec ....bonnet gas struts are extra ....
Hopefully this could as you say be a bonus for us now being out of the EU....
Not sure about EU cities but they're not the natural home of a Cruiser so we tend to park safely outside EU and UK cities and use public transport into them if we absolutely have to go into them.... being a yokel I tend to avoid if at all poss anyway .
 
It used to be that if you can prove that you've owned the vehicle for 6 months then it would (of) mean (meant) that you don't pay import duty..

No idea that still remains the case but.. on registration it would reveal the answer.
 
Pretty sure not....
NOVA is fairly straight forward for old vehicles ....we got our 1943 Halftrack registered and had to fill in NOVA forms as it was built in 1943 in the USA and came here shortly afterwards for the British Army so technically imported and possibly had duty to pay .

There's a cut off point after which it becomes more difficult with modern vehicles ...after 2000 for sure....any vehicle new at import now has a fair bit of form filling required .... fortunately none of that was relevant to a 1943 Armoured Personnel Carrier ;-)
 
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Ahh I see I remember an article of a person who went to Aus for a year and bought a 70 series and decided to ship it back after owning it for a year...

I guess there's a fair amount of research to know the in's and out's especially these days here. :thumbup:
 
NOVA is an HMRC thing ... since 1/04/13 you need to declare NOVA within 14 days of arrival .
HMRC website has loads of info....
 
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Basic IVA (no emissions test) is available for a limited set of vehicles including LHD and personal imports (that you've owned and lived with abroad for 6 months). You don't need an IVA at all if the (light goods) vehicle is more than 10 years old. A new RHD cruiser will need full IVA. The full IVA references all sorts of EU standards. Unless as a Tory donor stands to make a killing from importing African spec cars don't expect anyone to go to the trouble of rewriting that lot.

Full IVA doc for light goods is here.

I have seen people import new, RHD Euro 5 cruisers from Australia. But as I read it they need to comply with Euro 6 emissions and you need to present "acceptable" documentary proof they do. So maybe you need a friendly VW engineer and an approved emissions checker?

When you look at retail price new in Australia the prices here (for example) don't look bad.
 
How about a similar crusier from Japan * ? my understanding of J spec cars is that it's a fairly straightforward import to the UK .or a LHD Like this ?
* just looked at the price of 78s in Japan
 
NOVA is an HMRC thing ... since 1/04/13 you need to declare NOVA within 14 days of arrival .
HMRC website has loads of info....

This is correct, my Irish imported bj74 has this document and it's very important not to loose this. I will have to get it mot'd on the Irish plates to confirm roadworthy ness, then uk register it with the mot certificate. Then get a fresh mot on the new plates.

Now I must get back into this project Lol!!:think:
 
Hi Bud.

Dont need to get it re-motd after registration. MOT on Irish plates still valid once it's re-registered. Just double check MOT station gets the chassis number correct when it's MOT'd on Irish plates. As long as the chassis number on the old MOT matches the new V5 then you're good to go.
 
Hi Bud.

Dont need to get it re-motd after registration. MOT on Irish plates still valid once it's re-registered. Just double check MOT station gets the chassis number correct when it's MOT'd on Irish plates. As long as the chassis number on the old MOT matches the new V5 then you're good to go.

Thanks mate.. good to clarify what I need to do.. just need to get it closer to an mot and am sure it'll be dandy!

I've decided to source a modern vdj7x type front end to finish up the front of the 74.... which would modernise it. :thumbup:
 
Did you see the post I saw recently from a lad in Ireland doing a nuts and bolts restoration of a 70. The standard of work was mind bending. I've been looking for it but cant find.
 
Thanks all. A VW tester would do the trick ( if they have nt all been passed the buck)!

I thought about a J import but from Belgium seems less to me a tad easier.

I went to the dealer asking about the tropical spec is. This is what they said and couldn't come up with much more-

"Adapted to bad quality fuel

Reinforced suspension

Reinforced radiator

Reinforced aircon

Emissions of CO2 are not the same either "

Any ideas about how they would have "adapted" the motor?
 
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