Hank Scorpio

Build thread has begun

I'd like to preface this thread with the fact that I know this isn't a Skyline nor is it even a Nissan build thread. I've been on this forum for years, contribute and I have quite a few friends on here that don't use Facebook so can't follow my build on there so I'm using this platform for my build. So, let's get down to it! When I was younger I always wanted a Hummer H1 or a Hummer H2, it was a bit of a poster car for me, just always thought they were awesome. I still can't afford either of those cars, but when I saw that the US Military was beginning to sell off old Am General HMMWVs (High Mobility Multi Wheeled Vehicle, the OG, the Humvee that inspired the civillian cars) I knew I needed one... badly! I've been involved with exporting cars to the States for almost 2 years now, so I've made a couple of friends and contacts. After months of annoying and pestering him, Kristian (aka Iron Chef Imports/Iron Block Imports) finally figured out how we could purchase an HMMWV off off GovPlanet (GovPlanet is the site the US Government uses to sell surplus military equipment and all of the Humvees) and we got bidding! I should add, if we purchased one made before 1989 we knew we could import it under the pre-89 rule and keep and register it LHD here in WA. On the 5th of April I woke up extra early to check the Auctions as I had placed a bid, I got excited, sent a screenshot and it was confirmed, I'd just purchased a 1988 AM General HMMWV... what had I just done? Those are 2 of the many auction photos of my car (still available to view at GovPlanet), I had purchased a tan (my preferred colour), M998 (basic troop carrier), in a 2 man set up, but with 4 seats (as you can see ot has 2 canvas doors, a canvas 2 man roof and a canvas 2 man rear curtain but with rear seats and seatbelts in place) with a 6.5L N/A Detroit Diesel engine. In recent years the Humvee has been used in the production of a TV Series "The Long Road Home". After waiting 6 and a half weeks for paperwork to be sorted we finally got the call to come and pick up the car. So our man in Texas drove up on the 20th of May to pick the big rig up, it JUST fit on the car trailer. From there the vehicle was towed back to our agent's house, we went over it on video chat and (surprise surprise) found a couple of mechanical things that required attention. We knew this would be the case and saw various photos of worn and leaking parts, but in general it looked in good condition. The vehicle also started up the very first time, which is always an excellent sign. The vehicle is now at a Military vehicle workshop in Texas called "M2 Services", the M2 guys sole job is to work on military vehicles and we're talking trucks 5 times the size of my Humvee, so they've got plenty of room to hold onto my car while we organise all the parts we want to put on before export. The plan is to get most stuff done over there so compliance is easy when it gets to me. I don't really want to pay international freight on large parts, particularly body parts. More info to come!

Was good, had a guiness, had some rum, had some pasta!

You're awful, you really should.

Just gotta' be careful how many people I park around lol

No worries mate, would be glad to take you for a spin. I need a passenger to order at the drive thru for me haha

Reckon I should do a build thread for the new beast?

What a sexy, sexy night.

Fkn eh karnt

Dale, check your FB messages m8.

Dale, where is your work based at the moment? The city?

I thought you were going commando... oh wait... foot wear... right...

Or if you enjoy punching the underside of the dash with your knuckles ever time you put the handbrake down.

Good man.

Late reply here, but I have not been on the forums in ages. Work has recently imported a 1964 Chevrolet C10 from California (we used America West http://americawest.net.au/), I believe they checked for asbestos, had proper paperwork and it is now here at the shop getting fixed up before registration. I am currently importing a car from Texas through Iron Block Imports (aka Kristian/Iron Chef Imports). We have discussed asbestos testing, again it will get done state side prior to export with all proper documentation. The only way I can really see this changing importation is - - SLIGHT added cost and time before export - SLIGHTLY more paperwork - Dramas if you are trying to import from a country/destination where a proper asbestos check cannot be undertaken From the article you linked, it seemed the Maserati guys fkd up in a few ways "Organisers had sought exemption for the vehicles back in September, arguing that they were here for a single visit and would be exported via Sydney at the end of the trip. It’s claimed they received no response from the relevant department until two weeks prior to the event, at which time the cars were already en route." Why would you send the cars before you heard back from the Government!? Send more emails, call them on the phone, get it sorted before expensive cars have been put into a container and shipped FFS. "The ABF did not conduct asbestos testing on any of the vehicles and there was no damage to any of the vehicles. Two of the vehicles did not have the required import approval from the Australian Government and were therefore held at the border. It is the responsibility of the importer to ensure that Vehicle Import Approval is in place prior to importing cars to Australia. The other six vehicles were identified as potentially containing asbestos and the importer could not provide appropriate assurances that they did not. The importer declined to have the vehicles tested for asbestos. The importer was given permission to export the vehicles." So the importer didn't get the cars checked for asbestos and didn't get correct approval for 2 of the cars? Sounds like they ran the gauntlet and lost.

Osborne Park Hotel tomorrow night?

He's apparently coming up next week, do you eat food from pubs Dale?

What up kunce?

Which one? I've just bought #3 (looks to need coil packs)

Your local ABS can. I use Mal Motors in Osborne Park.

Pity they've gone up in value the last couple of years

Deep water fording kit? What's your new wading depth?

Ugh, bored af