I'm trying to get my HJ-47 across the Pond from Australia, into California. I'm okay with the NTHSB, DOT, Federal EPA, but because it's a Diesel, I don't think California will let me bring in a foreign diesel vehicle... It appears to be okay to bring a diesel in from another state, just not directly in from overseas :( . Does anyone know a way around this? Do I have my facts straight? I'd love to be proven wrong... It's registered as 1980, so I'm 25 years or older...

I cant offer advice on this but do wish you luck-the process is probably like other gov processes-If you survive it the first time and learn the process it probably isnt that bad. I've asked around, but it just seems that those who know the details are not willing to share them. I've always dreamed of getting one of those intermodal containers and put two or three classic 4x4's in it, I'll work on my wish list while you work out the legalities....good luck, keep us posted

I am not sure if the int'l section on Ih8mud has any info, but worth a check. this subject hasnt been hashed out much here. If youre past the 25 year old deal, I was under hte impression it was pretty straightforward.

and so your the one that got the red/white 45LV........nice waggy :)

and I as well thought 25 years and older(anyplace in the US) was no issue at all.

Can you ship it to oregon or washington then to california?

The big trick is to get is US registration. It makes no difference which state gives you the tags; once you have them it is all gravy. I would import to another state then get the tags in that state then transfer the tags to Cali.

More details on the buy. How much? RI? If so how much?

The tough part is California EPA. I spoke with a someone at the california EPA who told me that the Cal EPA doesn't allow diesels to be registered in CA from foreign countries. I checked Oregon DMV and read that Portland folks need to smog Diesels too....

A few facts on the rig... Registered as a 1980 HJ-47. It's a 2H with about 180K miles, RHD, new gearbox, don't know much else beyond that... I'm assuming 1 ton rear end with disk brakes, a family member of mine looked it over for me. Mostly I told him to look for rust in the areas where '40s rust out. With regards to price, let's just say I'll pay as much to get it over here as I did for '47.

I need to beat the system. :grinpimp: I can't let this one slip through my hands...

You should be able to get it in regardless because of the 25 year old rule. It is the state smog that will give you the trouble, but that should not affect the importation. Importing a 25 year or older is supposedly easy, no registered importer required...

On the smog issue, I talked with the lead referee for the San Diego south area BAR referee, and he was VERY cool about explaining what they looked for. From what he said, and I asked specifically about installing a foriegn diesel with no EPA certs, there arefederal EPA regs, but thats not what he's looking at. If it doesnt have spark plugs, he said there were no regs the Cali DMV or Bar had for importation smog requiremnets(since the diesel was Non-US). While this is a swap I was asking about, he made it abundantly clear that the DMV is not worried about a smog test or compliance if its a diesel.

Your other option is to find an Aussie citizen working here for more than 6 months and pay them to "import" it. I have heard rumors that they are able to bring in a vehicle and circumvent smog and importation hassles if they are on visa working here. dont know for sure that this would work, but look into it...

wouldnt a 1980 be a hj45 still?

You may want to contact Waggoner on IH8MUD he did this with a HJ60 & if I remember it is registered in Canada.

Hey mate,

If you need me to register it in CO and drive it around for 6 mos, I'd be glad to!

wouldnt a 1980 be a hj45 still?

Yeah, technically it would be, but... Some how the registration was screwed up... The HJ-47 was actually made in Nov of 1980, and somehow was registered as an '80 even though the model year was an '81....

if its 25 years old, you can bring ANY vehicle into the states. Cali has to register it because it would be exempt by the Federal Govt. I had no problem bringing my LV in from Canada. 2 pieces of paper and thats it. But I havent tried to register it yet :D

From my experience (though with Colorado state emissions instead of California) when I went through the state emissions office, the state tech said that I had already received my emissions exemption through the Federal government and therefore was exempt through the state government.

This might be the same than in the Peoples Republic of California, but you might have some problems finding the right person to say the right thing. I know that when I was making the phone calls, it was a knee-jerk reaction for the customer service rep to say no, but I finally talked to a tech instead.

Good luck.

I would talk ot some of the importers on the Ih8mud international forum. Some other ideas are there is a kit you can get to change diesels over to vegi and then it is an alternative fuel vehicle, this route may get you around some bs and then you can change it back once you have plates if you don't like it. Second, you don't have to go too far from portland to get to a DMV in a county with no smog test. I know because none of my vehicles will pass.

Youmight want to read these:
http://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=10164
http://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=31908

E