Land Rover Import

[Mojave Rover]

Anybody dealt with this guy?

http://www.landroverimport.com/

I'm looking to get my hands on a rebuildable tdi this winter, and while I hear about people picking 'em up cheap in the UK and importing themselves, I also hear you get what you pay for.

Duncan is a straight up guy. One of the pictures on the site, a rebuilt Tdi going to Nevada, is in my garage. No issues whatsoever. The thing is complete. All went through Customs with Duncan's people in New York handling everything. You get a call from the local warehouse to pick it up. The warehouse folks even tried to get a bonus 100 out of me, so I called the shipper and that was that, no more fees, period. Duncan is also a wealth of Rover knowledge.

[disco2hse]

Well. There you go then.

Surprised to hear about the corruption thing though. Is that normal?

[Mojave Rover]

The Las Vegas warehouse folks claimed it was a 'storage' fee. As it turns out, they failed to notify me that it was at their facility to begin with. This is where Duncan's agents in New York came into the picture and handled the 'storage' issue. In the end, it was (allegedly) a simple accounting error...

[fred98050]

Mojave rover

Glad to hear that you had a good experience with Duncan. I am in the process of getting a 2.5l na from him. And so far i only have good things to say about him.

[mongoswede]

I know very little about this other than what I learned from importing my '73 truck, engine and all...

I remember reading that there is a date, circa mid 80s, after which no engine that does not meet US requirements can be imported. In fact, even in an exempt car, if the engine has been replaced with a newer engine that does not meet US requirements, you can't import it.

again - best when taken with a grain of salt

I suspect you are thinking of the 25 year rule. Any vehicle older then 25 years old can be imported legally into the USA. There is a list of vehicles that are legal to import that are newer than 25 years old.

[ignotus]

25 year rule

Be careful about the 25 year rule. Yes, according to the Federal Guvment you can bring one in. Your State Guvment may not allow it. The motor HAS to pass State emmissions standards. Standards vary from state to state.

[greenmeanie]

The comment about your state rules is very true.

Back at the start of my 109 project I looked at a 200tdi. Knowing it wasn't ever sold in the US and wanting everything to be legal and above board I went and talked with the EPA county assessor for Phoenix.. The best answer I could get was 'Depends'. 'Depends on what?" I asked thinking he was going to pull out the big bumper book of regulations. 'Depends on who looks at it that day.' was the answer. Too much money involved to play with that attitude so I went with a Chevy 292.

[disco2hse]

The comment about your state rules is very true.

Back at the start of my 109 project I looked at a 200tdi. Knowing it wasn't ever sold in the US and wanting everything to be legal and above board I went and talked with the EPA county assessor for Phoenix.. The best answer I could get was 'Depends'. 'Depends on what?" I asked thinking he was going to pull out the big bumper book of regulations. 'Depends on who looks at it that day.' was the answer. Too much money involved to play with that attitude so I went with a Chevy 292.

Kind of what I was suggesting when I posted Teri-Ann's link. There are some very good engines produced in the US, far better than many alternatives. OK the small diesels leave something to be desired in most cases but the V8's are great.

[greenmeanie]

Kind of what I was suggesting when I posted Teri-Ann's link. There are some very good engines produced in the US, far better than many alternatives. OK the small diesels leave something to be desired in most cases but the V8's are great.

Meh, a 292 is a 4.8L big inline 6. She's an old push rod design similar to some of the Aussie Holdens but with a lot of things like timing gears instead of chain or belt going for it, serious low down torque and more than enough power for a series. I've tweaked mine a bit but it should still be good for the odd 1/4 million miles between overhauls.

I also like the Ford 300 but its length starts becoming a serious pain.

[superstator]

My first car was an 80's F100 with a 300 straight six and NP435, and I still have access to it. I thought long and hard about using it in this project, but the sweet smell of diesel exhaust won out.