Paul D

Thanks are due, yet again, to all the great replies I'm getting here. I just can't thank you guys enough. It sounds like the US importation & registration of a car is a bit of a minefield, but at least I think I'm beginning to get a basic understanding of the rules now. Kitcat - I've sent you a PM. Mike - I think what you said about why you'd wait for a registration as proof of age may be getting lost in translation. Here, the V5 is the registration which shows when the car was either first built or registered in the UK, and the owner always has it available, so there's no waiting. If a UK car was being shipped to the US, the UK V5 could be sent ahead, so the importer there would have his proof of age before the car landed on US soil. Or have I missed something again? Of course, this is as long as the date on the V5 is beyond the 25 years. If not, but you think the car was built earlier, then I see the sense in getting proof of age elsewhere. However, Caterham UK are notoriously unhelpful for anything like this - they're just not interested in helping you out. But I didn't know the club could also provide proof of age, so that's almost certainly a better option than Caterham themselves. I seem to remember though, that early cars had a very simple chassis number (VIN) - say something like 'KLC4081R', and as far as I know, the only way to date it from that would be if you knew how the sequence of numbers fell for a particular period, because the letters in that style of chassis number contain no date code, they only relate to the spec of the car - kit built, long cockpit, etc. I think (not certain) that the full length VIN that always begins 'SDK.......' only started coming on stream around '92/'93, but even then sporadically, due to the nature of kit built cars and potential delays in build.

OK, so usually on a UK V5 (title/registration), if a car is new when first registered and licensed in the UK, then a specific date will be given when the car is registered, let's say 15th of Feb 1991. So, that car would become eligible for the US on the 15th of Feb 2016, the 25th anniversary of it's first use - correct? It can't possibly have been built any later than that date, because it must be a complete car before it can be registered, although it could have been built sometime earlier than that. However, if a car has been previously used outside of the UK (and therefore outside the jurisdiction of our DVLA, the DMV there), then it's date of first registration will be recorded as the date of first use in the UK, let's say 20th of June 1998, but info from the original documentation from wherever it was previously used will be checked, and a note will be added on the V5 to say something like 'Previously used and/or registered - declared manufactured in 1991.' So this car, even though it may have been built early in '91, won't be eligible for US import until the 1st of Jan 2017, because only a year is given for the build - correct? Caterhams from this period ('80s - early '90s) generally don't contain anything in the chassis number or VIN that allows you to date the car, so documentation is all there is to go on.

Thanks yet again Bill & Mike. Oh damn, if only Mike's name was Ted, we could have had Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure! Although, in this case, it's beginning to look like it may be more of a Bogus Journey! Anyway, I guess the upshot of all this is becoming clear to me now: unless the car is over 25 years old, you're in very risky territory, and I guess that, although some may have taken a gamble on something younger and got away with it, generally speaking most people aren't going to risk it. Does that accurately sum up the general feeling over there? If so, then it makes life a little more difficult for everyone - you guys there who may want to import, and me here if I want to sell, the reason being that pre-1990 Caterhams are thin on the ground here. They're out there, but nowhere near as plentiful as mid-to-late '90s examples. It brings to mind another question too: is the 25 year rule an exact one, by which I mean is it 25 years from the date the car was built and/or registered, or is it simply 25 years from the year in which the car was built'registered? The distinction I'm trying to emphasize may not be very clear, so for example: let's say I had a car that was built/registered in January 1991 - does that become eligible for import there in January 2016 (its 25th birthday, if you like), or is it only eligible after the whole of its 25th year has passed, meaning it wouldn't be allowed in until 2017? I know that's a fine distinction, but the answer could potentially throw a few extra vehicles into the mix. Mike, you mentioned the UK V5 document. Yes, that's the important one here, and I think maybe also the source of some of my initial confusion. You see, the V5 is really the only document that matters here - it serves as your title, your proof of ownership (more or less) and it contains all the info pertinent to the car itself, specifically the manufacturer, model (not always present, esp on Caterhams or other special builds), engine and chassis details. But unlike how I now think things work there - the car's 'title' in the UK can never be changed: if it's registered (titled) here as a 'Ford Focus', then it will always be a Ford Focus for life. We can't have a car registered as one thing but titled as another, and we certainly can't build ourselves a Seven replica and have it titled as (for example) a '67 Lotus Seven.

Sean & Mike - many thanks for clarification, it's beginning to make sense now... well, at least, sense as much as anything ever does where governments are involved! So if I have this right in my head now - one of you guys could have bought my '96 1700 Super Sprint when it was new in '96, had it imported as a kit from the UK and built it up there in the US, and it would then be road legal. But 20 years later you can't buy the identical car (if it was built in the UK) and import it for road legal use? If that's the case, it seems somewhat barmy to me, though I suppose not surprising considering the government departments involved. Thanks for the link to the info too Mike - I was going to go looking for it until I saw you have 3000 posts, at which point I lost the will to live! Can anyone clarify the Canadian position on the same subject? I've read elsewhere that they operate a 15 year rule, but as in the US, could there be different rules in different areas? I'm sure I read that in some parts of Canada you actually cannot register/license a car if it's RHD, you have to buy a LHD one. One other point I'm still confused about: I see many Caterhams there and the owner says something like (for example) "This is my '98 Caterham, but it's titled as a '67 Lotus." or words to that effect. What's going on there? Is that some sort of loophole people are exploiting, perhaps in certain states, which is allowing them to register a Caterham as something else?

OK guys, understood - thanks for the info. Please just clarify something for me though: if everything has to be over 25 years old, and Caterham have, until recently, not sold new cars in the US, then how is it that I see a lot of Caterhams on this very forum from the late 1990's/early 2000's? How did they get registered there? What am I missing here?

Really? That does surprise me I must say. I would have thought most of you over there would prefer a LHD car - but that is just what I would have thought - of course, I have no way of knowing that. But thanks for the input anyway.

Apologies for the lack of spacing/paragraphs in the post above - for some reason, they were removed when I posted, and now I can't seem to edit it either!

Hello everyone! I'm new to the forum, but most certainly not new to Sevens. I've spent my working life on classic & sports cars over here in England, and I've worked on many original Lotus Sevens (S1, S2, S3... but not S4!) as well as literally dozens and dozens of Caterhams - probably well over a hundred.I've converted a handful of used Caterhams to LHD which, so far, have been sold in mainland Europe. I've perfected a technique for doing this without necessitating a chassis change, as conventional wisdom suggests, and I think you'd need to park one of my conversions next to a factory built LHD car and compare them, before you'd notice any significant differences. If you're interested, please take a look at my website (http://www.pauldolanclassiccars.com) where you can see more details, plus info on some of the Sevens that have passed my way over the last 30+ years. Anyway, I currently have another for sale, LHD, which I recently listed on eBay in Canada (as I understand Canada operates a 15 year rule, so anything older can be imported through a simplified process - I hope I've got that right!). However, in the two days it was listed before eBay decided they didn't like my wording and pulled it, I got some interest from guys there in the US, with a couple asking how they would register it there. The problem is, I don't know, and I've read so many different opinions on it that I'm just confused! As far as I can tell, it's done on a state-by-state basis - is that correct? Are there procedures and dos-and-don'ts that allow a Caterham to be registered there? It's clear from reading through the forum that quite a few of you are running just the sort of used Caterhams I'm talking about, so obviously some of you know how to do thisIf anyone can give a definitive answer, I'd really appreciate it - although, I have a feeling most of you are going to tell me there is no definitive answer and it varies from case to case. However, any info will be appreciated. And if you take a look at my site, please let me know what you think of it.Regards, Paul.