Cobra builders/imporing my cobra

[stuarth]

Hi,
I'm thinking of moving from the UK to San Jose, CA, to work in our US office (the weather's too cold and wet here - so I need somewhere warmer to drive the car! ). I can't bear to be seperated from my Cobra after the years of work invested in it so rather than take the easy way out, I've decided to make my life even more complicated and bring it with me!!
It seems that it is fairly straightforward to do this, however it means removing the engine and gearbox and then importing it. Fortunately (or not) I have just broken the engine, so was planning on getting a new one anyway though I don't have the time to do it myself, so does anyone know of a suitable Cobra builder/engine person who could fit a new engine (haven't decided which one yet- I currently have a 3.5L rover which is far too small and weedy!!) and any other work needed to get it on the road.
Is there anything else I will need to do, such as convert the headlights etc. All of the fixtures and fitting are UK/EU approved so I guess this means they wont be US approved, the steering wheel is on the right (but wrong for you ) and the headlights will be aimed to the left not the right.
Will I also have extra grief with the engine as I've heard California is particularly tough on emmissions, and I guess most older V8s (like mine) would stuggle on this point.
Anyway if anyone could point me in the right direction I'd be extremely grateful, cheers,

Stuart

[Rick 427 Cobra]

You will love the weather in San Jose. The traffic and cost of living, well, thats another story. Many many hotrod shops in the area that can handle an engine swap. No problem. Forget the Rover, somewhat of an oddball engine here. Many choices for crate or custom built Fords at reasonable prices. No VAT here.
Steering on the "wrong" side is a little eccentric, but hey, its California. As for the lights, we're using Lucas stuff.
Getting it here is the only real issue, everything else is just details
Come to breakfast when you visit or move. we have several members from the south bay that can help you get settled.
Rick

[Bill Wells]

as a matter of interest, some of you Calif folks might want to give him some guidance to ensure the car is able to be licensed in that fair state, ie, emmissions, correct model year coding, any safety inspections etc. A friend moved to SoCal from Detroit with an ERA and could not get it licensed in Cal as it had been considered a non 65 in Mich (licensed as a 98) and had no smog. His choice was to either : sell it (out of state) or use it on track only...or..re-engine the car to something acceptable to Cal DMV ( he had a 427 SO and did not want to screw up the pkg) ...or.. re- title the car somehow (out of state elsewhere) showing it THIS TIME as something other than a 90's type car regist (ie, a 65 vs a 98 )...or smog it (which would not work out). At least that is what he told me , he ended up selling the car to a friend in Michigan and shipped it back from the Irvine area to Detroit. maybe my info is incorrect, but might as well know up front what the pitfalls might be in that 'regulation crazy' state . bill.

[stuarth]

So what do people in california normally do for an engine? In the UK my car is registered as a 2001 car but has a 1985 'age-related' plate because two major components from an 85 car (engine and steering assembly) - this means I only have to pass emmisions tests as for an 85 car (which isn't too hard!!) -does it work like this in california? if so would I have to get hold of an old engine?
What about other parts (lights, windscreen etc) - does the DMV check these too before they let you loose on the road.
Can you reccommend a particular good Hotrod shop in the area so I can have a chat with them?
Hope to meet up with you soon (with the cobra!!)
cheers

Stuart

[Dave V]

I live in San Jose so if you need anything let me know. We have quite a few cobras both in San Jose and in the South Bay. There is also a large group that gets together on Saturday mornings in Pleasanton, a nice 35-minute drive.

As Rick said, there are a lot of builders and car shops in the area. The one who probably does the most cobra work is Craig Hill at Top of the Hill in Pleasanton. His phone # is 925-460-5297 and e-mail is topothehill@home.com. My car is there right now.


The following thread has a good discussion on California registration. http://www.cobratrader.com/html/registrationCA.html

Also you can do a search for California registration for some other ideas.

Email me if you need any other help, dvoorhies@hotmail.com

Dave V

[Rick 427 Cobra]

The DMV only looks at one thing, paper. Inspections, such as they are, are handled at independent garages. If you can pass the British exams, then the US versions would be a snap. Proper title to the car(paper), a brake inspection (no leaks, adequate lining, acceptable performance, and on e-brake), a light inspection( do they work, headlight aim, hi-beam indicator), and a smog should get you on the road. The brake and light are very simple. Smog in CAL is based on the year of the engine and what was required for that particular engine. There has been a lot of confusion and a lot of horror stories over the years regarding this issue. Hopefully thanks to a new bill that better defines this issue it will be put to bed. Lots of wiggle room in this area.
Many (most, all ?) of the people in the BACC have engine, title, and smog combinations that technically are not "right". Only one guy has had any problems and they have been resolved, (and technically he's still not "right" either!).
What do we do for engines? Basically anything you want, old ,brand new, supercharged injected, nitrous. I have seen all manner of combinations. And they are on the road.

Windshield glass should be marked as AS-1, not that anybody will look.
CAL does not have a safety inspection. A lot of things are required by code (wipers, horn ,mirrors ,belts) but unless you REALLY piss a cop off ,no one is going to look. We have nothing that even comes close to Brit standards, especially that crazy SVA stuff.
Top of the Hill is a top notch shop, expensive and busy. Craig is just one of many. I'll get a list together for you.
Rick