Headed to England on Saturday...

[ROKNMINI]

I made mention earlier in another thread that I was headed to England on Saturday. I'm headed over for work; there are a few new servers that need to be installed and configured. I'm also going to be doing some interviews trying to hire someone local for IT work...

Mercy made the suggestion that I pickup a Classic Mini while I'm there. I'd love to have one. So tonight I was browsing eBay; and found the following seller:

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/merchant/humberviews

This guy is about 20 minutes from where I will be all week next week. I've sent him an inquiry to see what sort of arrangements I can make for a visit.

Does anybody know anything about the process of importing a car from the UK to North Carolina? I don't think I would be ready to try and buy something on this trip, but if there were a crazy deal you never know! He's got two nice Minis listed right now; and I think I have seen him have others in the past...

[ROKNMINI]

Check out eBay item 320285904786

1968 Austin Mini Countryman "Woody" Estate Car Mark 2

How cool would this be!!


http://www.tarheelminis.org/gallery/files/6/2/4/528e_1.jpg

http://www.tarheelminis.org/gallery/files/6/2/4/2e8a_1.jpg

[ROKNMINI]

Uh-oh; now there is going to be trouble.

I've emailed back and forth with the seller in the UK to arrange a visit to see what is available.

I've also talked with co-worker in the UK who has volunteered to drive me to twenty or so miles to make the visit. That only cost me a promise of Whisky Sour Mix and a bottle of Jack Daniels.

Now all I need to do is figure out how to pay for the car and sort out the details on getting it into the country...

The wife will not necessarilly be pleased! :)

I'll let you know how things work out.

[pbraun]

Have a good trip. You can import Minis to North Carolina directly from the uk.

Ask Bill Cox how. billecox@webtv.net other contact info:
www.montecarlomini.net...... box 369, earl ,north carolina 28038 1-704-487-6406 bill cox, NC lic dealer

[ROKNMINI]

I talked with Bill earlier today. He gave me the name and number of his contact in the UK. FOr legal reasons (That I completely understand!) Bill doesn't want to get involved in a deal where he is not selling me the car. We had some conversation regarding the difficulties involved with registering a UK car in North Carolina. Basically he indicated it's not impossible, but you need to make sure all the T's are crossed and I's dotted on the paperwork.

I'm going to see what this eBay seller near where I am visiting has to offer. I think for sure that this is not something I want to rush into. I might be able to save a few dollars finding my own MINI; but in the end I would probably be better off purchasing something thru Bill, or another dealer in the US who is familiar with the ins and outs of bringing a car into the country.

Bill did also indicate that if what I truly wanted was a "Woody" wagon he was sure he could come up with a good one at what seemed a reasonable price!

I'd like to see one of these in person, maybe drive one, before I make much further action towards getting one. I also like the looks of the MINI pickup trucks....

or I could just keep saving my pennies and get a GP. :)

[Minitopia]

The Mini Traveller Woodie Wagon is a car I have always wanted! They are so cool. If you can find a nice one they are worth their weight in gold. Same with the van and pickup.

Bringin in a car into NC is like the guy said, make sure everything is in order. Most Mini Dealers in the UK should have the means and understanding if getting them into this country. VIN and chassis need to match, has to he on older car pre76 I think is the cut off date.

I would encourage you to at least go test drive one or two while you are there. There is a guy in SC that imports them all the time. He might be able to find something for you as well. Try contacting this guy too, he will drive and inspect any mini in the UK and make the arrangements to export them to the US.

http://myworld.ebay.com/ado15.c0m/

How long will you be in the UK? I need a couple small parts that would fit in a suitcase, a couple of bushings. In the UK they are less than 20 dollars, here in the US they are almost a 100.

[Minitopia]

Bring this home with you.. this is really nice!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Leyland-Mini-Van_W0QQitemZ320283506470QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item320283506470&_trkparms=72%3A985|39%3A1|66%3A2|65%3A12|240%3A1308&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&timeout=1218850006967

[ROKNMINI]

That one is nice; but no rear seats for the kids.... of course a pickup wouldn't have them either....

I'm in the UK thru Thursday; leaving early Friday AM to be back home around 6pm. I'll be in Scunthorpe; if you can find a local/nearby source I could bring back the parts you're looking for... Also possible the guy I plan to meet with already might have a source of parts...

JK

[Minitopia]

The white woodie the guy has you are seeing is neat. Be careful, the wood on this is very expensive to replace, about 2k. Also I didnt look but alot of the woodies had 850 engines in them with what they called magic wand shifters, not the greatest combination.

I am in need of front and rear bushes for the primary gear of a 1098 engine 1.50 crank journal.

I can have them shipped if there is nothing around you. I dont know how far these folks are, I would visit them even if you didnt need a part. 30,000 square feet of Mini parts.. Ivan heaven!

[Minitopia]

http://www.minisport.com/mini-sport/contact-us.html oh.. URL would be helpful!:)

[Minitopia]

All I know is I would be broke all the time but would have the coolest mini in the world if I lived in the UK:)

[pbraun]

The wood is ash, and templates for fabrication are available. It's not rocket science.
If need be, you can always do it yourself!

[Minitopia]

True enough, everything on the car for the most part can be done yourself, but if you are not prepared to DIY, anyone buying a classic is asking for a lot of expense, so just be very thorough when inspecting any car for export. I would be more than willing to lend my 30+ years of Mini experience to anyone with a classic. Most challenges can be remedied with a bit of elbow grease and alot of patience:)

[Minitopia]

Peter, am enjoying your blog site! Mini in your blood is cut off on the right in the center for some reason. I am using firefox so I will look at it in IE to see if that changes anything. Love the top pic and what I can read looks very interesting!

[jcauseyfd]

I get the same thing in FF, IE, and Opera. I'm guessing it will be the same on my Linux box.

[Minitopia]

The text wraps ok in IE, I only see two pictures though, the one on top and one on the bottom.

[pbraun]

Nuts! I can't administer from work, so will have to fiddle today sometime. Thanks for the heads-up!

[Minitopia]

Paul, you were talking about the wood on the woody being made of ash and doing it yourself, here is a couple pics of an outfit in the UK that convert Clubmans into what they call Countryman Sports and they hand cut and design the arches and wood that is on these. These cars are so nice. I bet they are costly!
http://www.m-tech-cars.co.uk/REARMOVING.JPG

The Rear arches is an option here is a closeup.
http://www.m-tech-cars.co.uk/REARARCH.JPG

I actually think I prefer the stock look like this.

http://www.m-tech-cars.co.uk/CS4.JPG

Anyways, check these folks out! I would love to have one of these Clubman conversions with turbo!

http://www.m-tech-cars.co.uk/

Enjoy

[minibugs]

Have a nice trip.......