Importing Kits

[*Cobber*]

Go for a holiday to the States build one there (RHD) and import it as a personal import?

Probably not that simple but it would be good fun.

Just a thought.

[400TT]

Scott, let us know how you go.

[Plums]

This may be little naeive, but I reckon the LHD to RHD conversion would be pretty straight forward (assuming they run the driveline down the centreline of the car). I think that would be the least of your worries....

[LoBelly]

400TT:

This is what you would need to do once you get it here:

Chassis would need to pass beaming & torsional testing.
Need door side intrusion bars fitted to ADR specs.
If in QLD etc you would also need a fibreglass impact test.
Convert it to right-hand drive. Not sure about factory five, but they might offset the engine/tunnel to the right-hand side.
Pretty sure you would have to do your own engine/transmission mounts for LS1 or Boss 5.4.
Find an engineer that is happy to approve something like this.
Got through more drama than most with local transport authority

When I wrote that the above items would have to be addressed I was saying that having an imported chassis or a domestic chassis makes no difference to the engineer, the engineer still has to be satisfied - and it may be the case that there is some local overlay/regulation on top of the ADR.

By way of example, I purchased a kit that someone else had given up on - the kit was in Perth. I rang RMC (took some time to find them) and they told me they knew the kit - the guy had been trying to offload it around the place, the chassis was the 'old single rail' not the 'new double rail' chassis and that it would never be legal for registration. So, not such a great start.

A short while later I'm at the engineer's, after looking it over he tells me the chassis is fine and that it will pass. I tell him about the conversation with the kit manufacturer, he tells me the ADR does not specify a torsional/beam number but rather that the chassis has to be (in the opinion of the engineer) suitable for the application.

I think it is the case that the chassis would not have passed in Perth because they have a local requirement for a specific rigidity.

Similarly he sketches out the layout of the side intrusion - tells me what size steel to buy and how its all to be connected. Which bolt are to be what spec etc, etc, etc.

My experience is limited to one car, and ultimately I decided not to go the ICV route anyway, so maybe no-one should take too much notice - however - having been through the ringer of being told my car could never be registered and the hassle of collecting and manufacturing parts for assembly I still feel that the high base that you'll get for a build from an imported US kit makes a compelling argument.

LoBelly

[Plums]

I have heard two completely different stories regarding chassis torsion testing.
The first one is a "nightmare story". Firstly, you must have just a bare chassis, that will be bolted to a concrete slab. You must provide/supply the slab, with anchor points (specific types of Dynabolt apparently). The chassis is "jacked" at certain points to "flex" it. Dial indicators measure the deflection to determine the torsional stiffness. There were some other things mentioned but I kind of tuned out after a while... This is fairly expensive I was told, somewhere around $2000....

The second story seems almost too easy. With a completed car with wheels in the air (suspension at full droop), you simply jack one corner of the car to measure the chassis twist. Simple and cheap...

Which one is right??? Buggered if I know!!!

[LoBelly]

My engineer also went into that - apparently the way HE tested the chassis rigidity was to put the completed vehicle on four points at each corner of the chassis (again wheel off the ground) and then remove one point to measure the drop.

he didn't go too much into what else was involved - like if he did that all for corners in turn. I imagine there is some big book of tables that engineers can look at that would give the acceptable levels or how that translates to Newton Metres or what the password to the 7th level is.


LoBelly


*may not involve actual measurement

[400TT]

I think our tests here in QLD are one of the strictest as far as beaming and torsional. They measure the deflection of the chassis with engine block attached. We also have fibreglass impact test as well, which sounds relatively easy. Our tests are good enough here, that the results are more than enough to register the vehicle in all states I believe.

I've seen a couple of torsional result sheets, all were very similiar and all looked like they just met the minimum requirements. Rumour is that neither of the chassis units passed first go.

When it comes to importing, building and registering a US Cobra, it's not just the one thing, it's the whole process that is required. I've heard just getting a chassis into the country that will be registered is also a drama. Much easier to bring in a chassis for race use only. A club member up here has just brought in a Lolo chassis for race use.

Anyway, I really have no idea, I can just see some of the pitfalls. Would be really interesting to hear from someone that has done it.

I would also be interested to see how many kits offset the drivetrain and tunnel to US passenger side. Maybe some of the US guys would know which kits do that and if it's really a problem.

Another factor to keep in mind is resale. I wouldn't pay as much 2nd hand for a completed & registered Factory Five here, as I would for most other Oz Cobras. But there are some US kits/relicas that I would pay much more for if they were registered and approved here.

[Rebel1]

Many years ago I had an in-depth discussion with a Jaime Garde who was the chassis tester for RMC, when Mike Moyland owned the Company.

It seems in those days not only did RMC build cobra kits but were also the state approved chassis test facility. Their job included testing stretched limo and all manner of chassis that were modified/built to go on WA roads.

A beaming test went like this:

A rolling chassis/car was built complete with motor, transmission and all suspension adjusted to ride hight. Door intrusion beams, hinges and latches were also to be fitted

All wheels were then removed.

The coil over/shock/spring components were removed and solid struts installed reflecting the correct ride height.

Hub plates were then bolted to the wheel hubs and fixed to the test platform.

To test each corner, the hub plate was detached from the platform and a measurable hydraulic force applied perpendicular to the hub flange. A dial indicator measured the deflection.

He claimed the MK1 RMC chassis failed miserably and hence the redesign to the Mk2 double rail.

That redesign was at the request of a Rick Percival and Connor Craig who were then attempting to market the RMC in Queensland. The Qld Dept. of Transport wanted proof of beam testing.

That's the way I remember it but it was a longgggg time ago.