British Import

[aluminium]

Good day to you all,

Does anyone have any experience in importing a Cobra or any other marque 30 years old into Texas from Europe?

I am alittle worried that I am going to have to make alot of modifications to satisfy local licensing.

I am hoping that as it satisfies US classic car regs of 25 years or older from date of first registration that I will not have to do anything to the car.

Once it is in the country what do I need to do to keep it on the road, do you have annual inspections to pass for safety and that sort of thing?

any assistance appreciated.

After that I am going to need some assistance in sourcing Engine, tranny, jag rear axle..... oh and a fellow Hustonian who can weld real good.

and if anyone wants the heater..... I don't think I will need one anymore :-)

Thank Rich

[SwiftDB4]

Does the car have a European title? From your description it sounds like it's an uncompleted kit? I'm not familiar with Texas registration laws. If it's an uncompleted kit I would think registration follows any domestic kit. If you have a European title 30 years old you may be able to skirt emission laws and title it as a 30 year old car.

[UKjohnnycobra]

I imported my Cobra from the UK. Importing the vehicle is subject to federal not state laws. The federal requirements vary, depending on the year of manufacture of the vehicle. I believe that a 30 yr old vehicle will not be subject to federal EPA compliance and so you should be able to import the complete car. You will need DOT approved wheels tyres and glass. Once in the US it then has to comply with the laws of the state which is issuing the registration which may be different to the feds.
In my case, because the car was built in 2002 it would have been subject to federal emissions and other high level safety standards (ABS, anyone?), so I sold the engine and gearbox in the UK, shipped the car as an "incomplete vehicle assembly" and sourced a new drive train in the US. I got lucky as NY has an "emission compliant" status for custom cars ( as it was eventually registered). I did not know this ahead of time. Also, FYI the car was never inspected when it was imported, it was all self documented, but the penalties are high if they catch you doing something bad.

The EPA has a section somewhere on its website for importing vehicles. I advise you to understand the state requirements before you ship, as you could end up paying the ship a car which the state will disallow. Hope this helps.

[elmariachi]

This will get you started:

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...r-personal-use

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...lkL2RBOEY0UEJr