Joe's NA6

[Jeo]

And the saga continues, albeit positively at this stage. I didn't have a straight story for exactly what went wrong here so I'm trying to chase down two problems; the lack of compliance plate, and something about the VIN being dodgy? I have no reason to doubt either but I'm making sure to do my due diligence this time around to avoid it coming back to me for a third time.

The lack of compliance plate is no longer an issue. I already have it in writing from the NSW RMS that an imported vehicle which was "previously registered in another state or territory for at least two years, is not required to be fitted with a compliance plate". Tick #1!

Second problem was to get confirmation that the VIN is legit. I’ve since spent a not insignificant amount of time on the phone with the federal Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development’s vehicle import section, and by all accounts from the people I spoke to (complete with names and titles), it should be registerable nation-wide. Asked for that in writing and they've asked me to send an email; the reply to which back practically immediately, saying they would respond formally within 20 business days.

While on the phone they ran the VIN and confirmed it was currently registered in the ACT. I've been told by both the federal and ACT transport authorities that this should be grounds to register anywhere, but yes, some states are dumb and specifically want a "Confirmation of Import" certificate. Basically it's a letter that confirms the date it came into the country, date it passed compliance, and the date it was first registered and in which state.

So all told, everything looks positive and we might be up for sale again within the next 20 business days.




In the mean time however...



3rd in class and 6th outright at round 3 of the ACT Khanacross series yesterday. My brother and I double entered his auto, 1.8L Astra. Wasn't the greatest car for the job but still good fun. Turns out the cheapest tyres you can buy don't stop real well in mud and time keepers penalise you 15 seconds for careering through three flags in the finish garage.

[speed]

Hope you left the mud on the Astra for instant street cred.[GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]

Rms can be painful, especially if there is any discrepancies.

Remember my old man having trouble registering his 1929 Studebaker due to no compliance plates.

They didn't have compliance plates back then so you'd think it's a no brainer. .. no, the rms wanted a receipt of purchase, even though it was purchased as a rusted shell and built up over 14 years.

In the end, he had to go out into the car park, write up a receipt, rub it in the ground a bit and queue up again. They then passed it without question.

Seriously makes the mind boggle...

[Jeo]

Yep, this is dumb. Why do we let states make their own laws again?

I now have written confirmation from the federal department that the car was originally complied in Victoria in March of 1998 (as I already knew, but nice to have it in writing). Catch is that when it came into the country it was recorded under it's Japanese chassis number, not the new Australian VIN because it didn't have one yet, and there's no link between the two because the Victorian state government signed off on that, not the federal. This isn't good enough for NSW RMS because they already knew that it was registered in another state previously, they want proof that it was brought into the country legally. The fact that it only could have been registered in Victoria in the first place if it was brought in legally seems lost on them. So now I get to go back again, asking the feds to look up the car under it's original chassis number, and confirm that all is well.

Coming from the marvellous ACT where we're small enough to justify combining the local and state levels of government, I was never a fan of states having law making powers to begin with. Added bureaucracy for little benefit was typically my argument. This experience has not changed my view point.



Also the Astra got sold 3 days later I believe sans mud.

[Jeo]

Just realised I never updated this thread with what ended up happening with the rego. Big copy-paste from the sale thread below. All in all it took not quite a month to get to the bottom of it and sell again. Pretty happy with that, given how much worse it could have been.


As some of you may know, I actually sold this car to a Sydney resident last month. Due to difficulties in getting the registration transferred to NSW, I then purchased the car back a few days later. I was not sure what the conditions were that prevented the new owner from registering the car, but he seemed adamant that it could not be registered in NSW. I’ve since spent a not insignificant amount of time on the phone with the NSW RMS, VicRoads, ACT RTA, and the federal Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development’s vehicle import section, and by all accounts, it “should” be registerable nation-wide. However, I only have written confirmation from VicRoads that it is registerable in Victoria; as NSW/ACT/federal would only say that they could not see a reason not to register it, but would not confirm this in writing without actually going through the registration the process. I also paid to have a full REVS check on the car, which again shows nothing suspect.

What has happened is that the car was brought into the country under the Vehicle Import Rebuild Scheme in March of 1998, made compliant by transferring over any relevant safety features from a wrecked Australian delivered MX5, and then tested and issued with a new Australian VIN. Essentially it was another way to bring in cars in the 90’s that only Victoria used, however other states would recognise the car once it had been deemed satisfactory in Victoria. I’ve included an email from VicRoads below that better explains the situation. VIN’s have been removed for obvious reasons.

Dear Mr Craddy

VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (VIN): XXXXX

I refer to your email enquiry on 3 August 2015 regarding the above vehicle, which was previously registered in Victoria as a 're-shelled' 1990 Mazda MX5 with number plates OVX100.

A 're-shelled' vehicle is typically an accident damaged that is repaired by utilising an imported body shell.

Re-shelling involved 'transplanting' all serviceable components from the damaged Australian delivered vehicle into the imported body shell under the supervision of a VicRoads Vehicle Assessment Signatory Scheme (VASS) engineer. A new VIN would then be issued and the vehicle is re-certified by a VASS signatory, provided the vehicle meets the Standards for Registration.

During the period of time 're-shelling' was considered a valid repair method, an imported body shell was considered to be 'spare part', and therefore eligible to be used in the repair of a locally delivered variant of the same make and model.

In this particular case, a review of VicRoads records confirms that a 1990 Mazda MX5 with VIN: JM0NA30610010XXXX was damaged in 1998. An imported body shell with Japanese chassis number NA6CE21XXXX was used to repair the original vehicle, and as a result of the certification process, a new VIN: XXXXX was issued to the vehicle.

Please note that re-shelling vehicles of monocoque construction is no longer recognised by VicRoads as a valid repair method. VicRoads continue to recognise vehicles repaired and registered while the re-shelling scheme was in operation, however VicRoads will not recognise or register any recently re-shelled vehicles.

I trust this information assists you. Should you wish to correspond further with VicRoads regarding this matter, please email XXXX.

Kind Regards

Registration and Licensing
Practice and Standards

[Jeo]

And it's gone, again.



I'm sure the new owners will appear soon enough. Thanks to all those who helped with getting the rego crap sorted!


Also there will be some parts appearing in the for sale section shortly too.

[CoffeeBoss]

End of an era!

Loved the updates, nice work Joe. What next? Anything relevant?

[Jeo]

Unfortunately no, not particularly relevant to most of the people I've met here. I'll still mirror the build here for the first little while at least as I'm sure some will be interested.

My brother and I bought a car together with the intention of doing some motorkhana/khanacross work, and learning more about the mechanical side of things than I was brave enough to do with my NA. Our first event is this weekend and for an interesting change of pace, it will be my first run in a stock (apart from some new wheel and tryes) car. We'll see how that goes for a few events before we start changing things, but most of my research so far has been around engine swaps