I am looking for advice from those who have done this. I have been doing some research and it seems that as long as the Mini is a certain age, it shouldn't be that difficult. I have found a reputable Classic Mini restoration shop in the UK who ships Minis to the USA. Anything you could teach me would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Shawn

 

Do keep us updated on the process Shawn, I for one would be very interested in learning from your experience since this is something I've been thinking about as well!

 

What's the shop? I'm in the UK now. Been looking at Mini's over at GC Mini's in Swanley. Hard to find a pre-'81 that's decent and hasn't been completely restored.

 

Easy to do. Watch your state regs and CARB regulations. You need a pre-74 Mini to be exempt, I believe. Check it out before you buy something that you an't get registered in CA>

 

I think Federally, you can bring in a car that is 25 model years old. I got my 1978 (imported by some one else) in 2004, and it had been here a year.

I still had to pass my state emisions test, or register it as an antique car. In Illinois, antique plates are good only for going to and from car shows, so I went for the emisions test.

In Illinois, cars from 1967 to 198? only need to pass an idle test, which is not difficult if the car is properly tuned.

John

 

as long as it is 25 years old, everyone is happy. It has to be 21 years old to be exempt from the EPA federal smog test, which is like $1000. And if the car isn't 21 years old it would have to be brought up to 49 state smog standards before tested. Thats not an option. It has to be 25 years old to be exempt from the DOT safety standards. And finally it has to be 25 years old to be exempt from the CA smog test.

But I am still interested in hearing from people who have done this. I would like to know what other problems they experienced.

 

This is a frequest topic of discussion over on the mini-mania classic forums. Might be worth a read. Apparently nowdays, the paperwork must be absolutely airtight in order to avoid dissapointment at the dockside...

 

I'll read it all!