Quote:
Originally Posted by jpstaub
I went through Classic Motorcars International to get my Lupo. Erik was a friend of a friend who took good care of me. He does a lot of car imports for people and is very familiar with the process. I will say bringing cars into the country is a difficult, time consuming, and costly proposition. It's much easier and cheaper to bring parts in as long as you know what parts you want. |
Thank you, not sure if the full motor and drivetrain/front wheels would be cheaper than a full car or not. ( I would try to set the donar on top of the whole kit and kabootle if I could)
Quote:
Originally Posted by jpstaub
The Smart diesel would be one way to go. You can source them from Canada which would be more convenient than going through the Europeans. It's a turbo charged 0.9L but based on my experience, you want the turbo charger for automotive applications.
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From what I hear smart diesels don't last...
Up here in the great white north turbos have less than stellar reps, I would take a good non turbo if I can find one, power won't be an issue. Cold weather and pollution controls don't mix with turbos, my father has had to clean the intake and turbo on his VW every couple of years, 5cyl Sprinters get the black crud of death after a few years of winter operation and even some gasser turbos aren't much fun here. Up here if you run a diesel in winter and don't do just long trips you don't want a turbo.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jpstaub
The Lupo cost me about $8k when all was said and done. Erik can point you to all the forms you'll need to fill out if you'd like to import a vehicle. The primary agencies you'll have to deal with are: 1. EPA (always fun) 2. Federal Department of Transportation (even better) 3. US Customs. No. I didn't have a lawyer and I'm not a lawyer so I had to get good and reading/interpreting federal regulations.
Not a nuisance at all. Here's a build photo album to give you an idea of what the swap was about.
Best wishes,
Jake |
Thank you for the info, $8k really isn't that bad considering how much VW itself wants to charge for motors and transmissions.
I think it would be worth it to save up a while to have a unique ride. I wonder if the 1.2 can be "un" turbo'd, I would like to detune and remove as much potential for reliability issues as possible. My little 900-1700lb donar vehicles should run well enough on a 1.2 FI diesel
