Replica C-Type

You may find it useful to contact the various builders/importers of these cars. One such company who were going to set up office in California are "Proteus" there are many others also. the car we have was shipped as parts then assembled here using a 66 "donor" Jaguar affectionado and etc.

Your point is very well taken and I am researching that. Your situation was of course very different and to bring this over disassembled (in two shipments to avoid the "when all the bits are put together, does it equal one car?" rule)is my final resort. Again, thanks.

Again, it was a new body and a few crates of parts. The original chassis never left the states, so I never really imported a "car". Because it was accurately represented as "parts", there was no question of compliance. Here's what it looked like just before it shipped:

http://tinyurl.com/r7l34

The problems may come up when you go to register the car, as the DMV will want to know the answers to all of these questions. In my case, the donor was a real 1963 E-Type to begin with, so there was no problem . In your case, it's going to depend on the donor car, as well as the California CARB and DMV rules. One moe thing...you want to understand the compliance requirements before you buy, or at least before you ship. The last thing you want is for the car to not make it through.

Many thanks for the information. When you brought in your car, I presume it was declared or determined to be a whole car which had been disassembled, and not a "kit car"?

There are two ways to do this: as parts or as a whole car. I brought my Lightweight E in as parts, because that's what it was at the time...just a body and boxes of parts. It's easy to do: just put it in a container and ship it. When it gets here, you pay the shipper, customs agent, and duty. No EPA or DOT issues.

Alternatively, I could have brought it in as a whole car, since it is technically a rebody of a real 1963 E-Type. Your C-Type should have some similar pedigree...typically replicas rely on a donor car for most chassis and drivetrain parts, and can take the VIN number of the donor. If the donor car is more than 25 years old, there are essentially no restrictions.

If you do it the hard way...by bringing it in as a NEW car, then you will have the onerous burden of compliance with all rules. I have no idea how you would conform a C-Type to current rules, it would be a tavesty.

Also check with your state authorities for local restrictions, as CARB has some arcane rules. For one thing, they consider it a new car unless it has more than 7500 miles. They may also have special rules about replica bodies.