Registration of LHD car

[Mattrix]

Hi all, I was told I should post this up in a new topic, so here goes:

I'm bringing a '78 corvette over at the moment (had a few dramas, see Shipping Kaos thread) and want to be able to drive it straight away. Problem is, in NSW I can't rego it till it's 30 years old (without swapping to RHD, which i'm NOT doing), so that's 2008. I wanna drive it NOW dammit. so, what can I do? I know i can rego it in NT and WA, someone said ACT might be a go-er as well... does anyone know? if ACT *isn't* a go-er, can anyone in WA or NT help out and "lend" me their address? hehe Coz from what i can gather I need to have an address to register the car to, or if i register the car under a business name I need an address to attach the business to (and if any mail comes through I need it forwarded on).

Anyway here's my pretty car (not quite a ford, as someone pointed out, but friggin nice nonetheless):







Matt

[flappist]

A) Drive it in a mirror, that what the steering wheel will appear on the other side.
B) Register it is Sunny QLD, the rule is 25 years here. I am not sure of strategic issues, e.g. QLD residency, licence etc. but life wasn't meant to be easy.

Ring "Corvette QLD" in Gympie, they seem to do a lot of this stuff.

[Steffo]

30 years old for NSW!?!?

I was pretty certain it was 15 years or over for LHD cars here. :

[noosacuda]

It's definatly 30 years in Queensland and you must change headlights, indicators(amber rears),NEW seat belts,child restraint anchor points in rear(N/A for 'Vette of course!) and a $300ish??? "Blue Plate" this is for every day use,or if you join a car club and put it Special Innterest Vehicle (restricted to club runs,car shows etc) you just need a RWC
>All this is from my experience and correct up to 2 years ago,to the best of my knowledge>
EFFING NICE 'VETTE!!!!!!!!

[Polyal]

hmm I seem to recall in Vic that if the car was built before ~1965 (in teh '60's anyway) then you were fine, but after that you had to comply to whatever laws.

I could be way off though! Tough looking car by the way, interior is very pimpish, and I love those side exhausts.

[Mattrix]

thanks for the compliments all i spent 2 years on and off looking for a vette to buy, this was the best bang-for-buck one i found. Side-pipes are sweet, nice and illegal but once i rego these suckers go straight back on hehe

so 30 years in QLD, not sure about VIC, still not sure about ACT, and yeah NSW is 30 years, you can bring a car over if it's 15 years or older and it doesn't need go through all the SEVS compliance, but to drive it LHD it has to be 30 years or older.

I had considered attaching a steering wheel on the right with a pulley gear system and some pedals as well but i think that could get messy hehe
mirror idea sounds hot. don't know why i hadn't thought of that ;)

Matt

[deesun]

Those extra pics make it look better Matt, still can't see the badge of perfection. A quick search found Canberra Connect is ACT roads etc.Theres a call centre local cost 132281 and vicroads is 131171 toll free. Try them all as rules and regs change sometimes Good Luck.

[Mattrix]

From what I can tell I can't rego the car in ACT either. It has to be a historic car and get concessional rego (but it has to be 30+ years for that), and to get normal rego I can't find any information at all.

[Mattrix]

Found this interesting tidbit in a google search:

30 years if you have it registered as LHD, but the headlights must be changed from LHD to RHD.

25 years if you have a Temporary Club Permit...the headlights do not have to be changed, but if you have LHD headlights you are not allowed to drive at night...

Both must have a Left Hand Drive sign on the rear.

For the Victorian version of the act, Read here

[Mattrix]

how convenient, the link doesn't work...?

found this this though...
this just gets messier and messier...

[Mattrix]

No-Go in Victoria either:

http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/vrpdf...e/VSI%2018.pdf

[deesun]

Dammmmmm,cant say we didnt try.

[Mattrix]

Northern Territory is the only hope now!

[LUXO_8]

from memory, the headlights are just sealed beams attached to the pop-up headlight bracket..... get a couple of RHD ones from bursons

[Mattrix]

That's not exactly the issue but thanks anyway

[LUXO_8]

yeah i know, i guess i could have worded my post differently lol....
i was replying to the guy that said you have to change headlights to be able to register it......:P

[Mattrix]

ah yeah no problem. those sorts of things are minor anyway, definitely not at the top of my list... figuring out how to get the car to and from NT is more at the top of the list. i would tell myself not to bother registering it straight away but i know that when i get the car here all i'll wanna do is drive it.

[Kaddis]

all i know is my mate's 66 mustang just got over here and it's gettin rego easy just had to change headlights i think..

[Blue Oval Mopar Man]

Well matrix, I am in the NT , and if you need a hand just let me know and we will try work something out ! Cheers mate !

[MITCHAY]

Nice purchase mate. Looks friggn awesome, but I thought side pipes were illegal in Aus? Or am I wrong?

[Blue Oval Mopar Man]

And another thing , Personalised plates up here are only $150 for how ever long you want to keep the car registered for ! Heaps of good options !

[XRQTOR]

Originally Posted by Blue Oval Mopar Man

And another thing , Personalised plates up here are only $150 for how ever long you want to keep the car registered for ! Heaps of good options !

Whats the rule on left hook cars. How old does a car have to be....................

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by Mattrix

does anyone know? if ACT *isn't* a go-er, can anyone in WA or NT help out and "lend" me their address? hehe Coz from what i can gather I need to have an address to register the car to, or if i register the car under a business name I need an address to attach the business to (and if any mail comes through I need it forwarded on).

Nice...even if is powered by a "Chebby'

The headlight bit make sense, on dip beam they would be shining straight into oncoming traffic.

Dont forget the insurance part of all this. If crashed they may want proof that you actually reside in the state it's registered and we all know that insurance companies will do ANYTHING to get out of paying.

[Mattrix]

Blue-Oval-Mopar-Man: Hey, might need to take you up on that offer Will let you know anyway, i think after reading some of the legal docs on the NT rego site I will probably register a business with an NT address, and then rego the car under the business name. 1 question though, i would need to bring the car back each year to re-register...? anyway thanks for the offer, will definitely let you know
mitchay: probably but let not the law keep us from having a good time! i'll just rego it with normal straight through pipes and put the sidepipes on later.
GosOLane: yeah hadn' thought of that. Lucky i've never had an accident in my 8 years of driving. guess there's always time for a first, spose I just have to pray the whole time i drive it

[*rayman*]

I'm in the process of building a 68 camaro (mines already converted to RHD though). I had a RHD mustang a few years back aswell.

You will find the things necessary will vary between different engineers. As stated in one of the earlier posts, you will need to get an L02 compliancing mod plate fitted (lights replaced/converted to suit camber of road on rhd drive car, seat belts fitted: lap/sash type) I dont think they enforce the child restraint rule up here too much though.

I've been around that many american cars, and seen various friends go through hassles getting these cars on the road. It all comes down to how friendly you are with your engineer, and what he'll let slide for you.

One little trick if you are going to get the vehicle registered on club rego, is to get personalised plates. The coppers wont easily spot the vehicle is on club rego then. Just be careful driving it out of specified times, as insurance will wipe their hands of you if you have an accident in these times.

Try shannons for insurance, these guys are good to deal with over the phone, and are accomadating to modifications. They know cars, and what they're worth.

BTW - there are several corvettes up here getting around with side exhausts legally....

[noosacuda]

So long as the side pipes are a "factory option" they should be ok?
"Wrap your *** in fibreglass-drive a Corvette!"

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by noosacuda

So long as the side pipes are a "factory option" they should be ok?
"Wrap your *** in fibreglass-drive a Corvette!"

Yep... so long as they comply with your state's regulations

[Mattrix]

don't think they were a factory option on mine. not 100% sure to be honest. and i don' think they can be legal here either, i talked to an engineer that was telling me that it wasn't legal, though putting them on after rego won't be an issue

[Thunder Kiss]

Hi Mattrix, don't I know you from somewhere else? :hihi:

The other option you have, that hasn't been mentioned, is to register an automotive business locally (to you) and apply for a trade plate. There are still some restrictions but if you know what to say you can get around most of them.

With regards to insurance, Shannons will insure your car with or without full registration. I know a LHD Callaway owner in Melbourne and he is insured with them.

[Mattrix]

hey mate fancy seeing you here

an automotive business? now there's a novel idea... sounds messy. but could be LESS messy (and therein lies the point of the argument) than previous pondered proposals

so, what WOULD one say? i had a zed mate get pulled up earlier this year while he was driving with trade plates... i'm not real good at talking to cops. convincing them that i worked occasionally in NT wouldn't be real hard: convincing them that i own an automotive business could be slightly difficult. though i like the idea... as homer says: "explain more"