Cobra in Malaysia?

[SSS]

Does anyone out there have experience with importing kits to a country that drives on the left side of the road?

Does anyone out there have experience with putting an engine smaller than 3 liters in a Cobra?

Here's the story. My brother-in-law is from Malaysia, and he's a bit of a gearhead. He does maintenance on airplanes, and has quite a bit of experience working on cars. I've been telling him about the Cobra replica industry, and he is interested in starting a business in Malaysia selling Cobras.

Malaysia has huge taxes on imported cars, and he is hoping to avoid this by importing the parts and building the cars there. Malaysia also has huge taxes on engines over 3 liters, so he is wanting to build the cars with smaller engines that are commonly available in Malaysia. One problem with that is there aren't many rear-wheel-drive options. His engine of choice is the Nissan "skyline" straight-6, designed for real-wheel-drive. How exactly such a long motor will fit in a Cobra is a fundamental question, but he's not aware of a rear-wheel-drive V6 setup being available.

I've looked at a few Cobra replica builders from Australia on the web, but they've either not impressed me or seemed too expensive. I've seen a few interesting companies online from the UK as well. I figure that it wouldn't be too difficult for an American manufacturer to make a right-hand-drive setup, either.

The plan is to go with an inexpensive kit setup, to keep the end cost as low as possible. The best option to build a low-cost Cobra that I know of is with the American 5.0-donor kits. I figure my brother-in-law could also import new and used Mustang parts (other than engine and tranny) to build and maintain the cars.

Does anyone have any knowledge about importing a kit to a right-hand-drive country? Is an American company the most cost-effective option, or are there comparable manufacturers in the UK, Australia, South Africa, etc? Does anyone know of an American company that exports right-hand-drive kits?

Thanks!

[Dan Semko]

You are in luck. Hubert and Christine Mueller were just visiting and are touring the U.S.A. in their new Superformance. They live in Malaysia and will be exporting their car in about two weeks. Hubert is a really nice guy and will tell you everything you need to know about getting a cobra there including proper licensure here and appropriate mileage.
You might try contacting Dean or Ron Rosen at Dynamic Superformance in Ross, Ohio for addresses.

[SSS]

I think Superformance might be a bit too expensive for our objective. I'd also assume that the Muellers' car has an engine well in excess of 3 liters. Is it right-hand drive? Unless I'm mistaken, they must be quite well off. Importing even a replica Cobra with a V8 would cost well in excess of 100,000 USD.

Superformance is based in South Africa, right? Do you know if they have a website for cars or kits sold there?

[RallySnake]

SSS,

My wife is from Malaysia and I have a number of in-laws there. I've been there a few times and I must say that the heat and humidity are almost unbearable. Now, I grew up in Houston, and much as I love Cobras, I could not live with one there (in Malaysia) without a top and A/C. Often, at night, the temperature stays in the 90s!

There are a lot of people who love cars and have money in Malaysia, however, and sales could be better than I would project. The trick is getting around the 100% import duty. My brother-in-law recently paid $170,000.00 for a new Volvo. I would see if it is possible to import the bodies and frames as "Proton upgrade kits".

Protons are the only locally built cars. Lightweight, tinney little four bangers that go like stink. If you could include the Proton drivetrain components and sell the cars as rebodied, previously-registered Protons, you may be able to make some money.

Good luck,
Paul

[SSS]

Hey RallySnake, my wife is Malaysian too. We've definitely considered the weather factor in people buying an open-top car. Maybe all the guys on motorcycles there would prefer to be under a roof. We'd probably go with a hard top and A/C as standard equipment, but none of that has been planned in detail.

I think the straight-6 my brother-in-law wants to use is from the Proton Perdana. We certainly will consider other powerplants. I would assume the other Proton models are front-wheel-drive, and I don't think we want to go in that direction.

My brother-in-law has researched the import duty, and he can avoid that by having a formal business relationship with a kit manufacturer and have Malaysian labor build the cars in Malaysia. I suppose if he has to put a Proton badge on it, he will.

Don't forget the Per-O-Duas. Those are even more tinny, and made in Malaysia too.

[RallySnake]

SSS,

There you go!

Most of my relatives are in Penang and Georgetown. Where are you thinking of locating the assembly plant?

Paul

[SSS]

My relatives live in Port Klang. They took me to Penang once. We got lost driving around the island. Nice place. I know a couple of coworkers from Penang, and another from just across in Indonesia.

I would imagine any business to be formed would be around KL.

[Bill Wells]

sss.

i met the muellers in ohio in late april. they have a very late serial spf and had a custom light tan interior put in the car , replacing the standard black . gorgeous . they added air conditioning, what a neat trick install it was. hubert said the tan trim and a/c was required due to the high temperature heat in malaysia.

they added a stereo , hidden from sight. gorgeous car.

car is left hand drive by the way.

as i recall the engine was a 351 stroked to 392, 408 or 418 or some cid in that area. he is travelling around the usa before spf gets shipped back to malaysia. he has driven it several thousand miles so far thru several states with the left coast tour yet to go ! that car will be well seasoned when it gets shipped to malaysia.

he said he has had no problems with the spf .

bill

[SSS]

Bill, that sounds like a sweet car. Does anyone happen to know how much the Muellers are paying to import it to Malaysia? I'm sure the number would be quite shocking to us spoiled Americans. The exchange rate from Ringgit to USDs is about 3.8 to 1. I would venture to guess the tax for such a huge engine and a complete car would be way large, like hundreds of thousands of Ringgit.

My brother-in-law is not looking just for a car himself. He wants to sell them. I think right now the best option is to import kits from America. I think the best approach is to keep the market as wide as possible, and therefore the car needs to be as inexpensive as possible. By importing kits instead of completed cars and using smaller engines, much of the huge taxes can be avoided. We're thinking right now to start with engines less than 3 liters, and maybe later offer Ford V8s for elite customers.

[Bill Wells]

nope, no idea on his importation costs...sorry. bill

[SSS]

My brother-in-law tells me if the guy's a citizen of Malaysia there are ways he can avoid or reduce the import tax, but that size of engine requires a "road tax" of about 10,000 Ringgit PER YEAR. The full import tax is 150% of the car's value!