say hello to the new guy

[brandon5069]

hello all! i've been searching and searching about information on getting this car legal in california. i would like to buy a used sport/rhd from the uk, have it shipped to my house, spend a few bucks making it mine, and get it street legal. what do i need to do? i understand the factory engine is an old block, but california law states the engine must pass smog for the year of engine used also taking into account the engine must be of the same year or newer than the vehicle it is in. am i missing something here or am i going to have to use...say an ls1 with all it's smog hardware? also, is there anyone in the orange county area with an ultima that would like to take me for a ride?
so i think you guys have a good feel for what i'm trying to do here. i'm budgeting for appr. $50,000, from start to finish, to be driving this car on california roads. can't wait to park it in the garage.
all input is greatly appreciated.

[brandon5069]

a lil' help guys?

[ultimichael]

Hi Brandon,

look at Mark Koch´s Ultima Car Club site, www.markkoch.net/ultima
At the members site (you need to register) you can get a list of members that live in California. Also a great collection of buld sites.
By the way, if you buy a used Ultima in GB is will be RHD. Switching to LHD is possible but a lot of work.

Hope this helps a bit.

Michael

[brandon5069]

i was hoping to have the car rhd. i would like it more for the novelty of it than anything else. thanks for the link...tons of info.
so am i crazy for wanting to buy this car already without even driving it yet. the ultima just sounds like a wicked car to own.

[tblackey]

Brandon,

The only way you will get it licensed in Ca is with SB100. Ca gives out 500 SB100 permits a year, and they are gone on January 2nd. With SB100 you can register the car as a 1970 auto and not have to smog the car at at. I'm in CA and just finishing up the process. My motor is a 427 SBC.

Bill

[jeff-texas]

brandon5069 said:

i was hoping to have the car rhd.

Check this: www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/graymarket_RI_list06202005.html
...and this guy's site, who I think is in CA (Mark Koch is in DE or MD): www.jeffchan.com/cars/nckcc98/ca-register.html.

The trouble is, the DOT and EPA will consider it a "car" (whereas a rolling chassis or unbuilt kit is only "car parts" to these federal agencies and to US customs), and there will be much more scrutiny than the CA State Police perform on a kit-car since the DOT and EPA are federal and have their unique standards ...expensive inspection-fees are involved, too, I think: For an example of what needs to be checked, see www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/FMVSS ..and you can see from the length where the costs would come in.[] But then not too many US/CAN customers got the RHD option, so there's the rub.

Your best bet might be buying a roller from the Factory, or buying a used Ultima from the UK: BUT asking them to take out the engine or transaxle (upon which it's no longer a "car" when it hits the customs station) and sell it separately to someone else -- but my understanding is they only can't sell it to you (as a package separate from the car) or it's illegal.

Bottom line: CA and many states treat kit-cars differently than a large automaker like Honda who can afford to assure that they've met all these FMVSS standards, but DOT and EPA (and some states but not CA -- although states don't always follow their own rules) will expect you and Ultima to have a fully smogged and US-spec (not Euro-spec) on every safety-related part of the car! Nevermind that Euro-specs for safety are generally just as good as ours (sometimes better, sometimes worse, but generally the same): The feds won't accept the Euro-specs, and they will regulate this in customs and make you replace EVERY non-DOT approved part, but they won't do this with "car parts".

Oh, and "Hello, new guy!"

>> Edited by jeff-texas on Friday 2nd December 21:58

[craig-ultima]

Another possible option is to buy a car from someone in another US state. You'll have to check the regulations, but my understanding is that different consideration is given to a vehicle that is pre-existing as a registered vehicle within the US, compared to a vehicle that comes from overseas.

[jeff-texas]

craig-ultima said:

Another possible option is to buy a car from someone in another US state. You'll have to check the regulations, but my understanding is that different consideration is given to a vehicle that is pre-existing as a registered vehicle within the US, compared to a vehicle that comes from overseas.

Yeah, but CA might still be making people upgrade it, to make the non-CA car become smog-legal. Either that, or now they're making people pay only a maximum of $500 for something considered "49-state legally smogged". Either way, this might be even worse (at least $500 worse...) than buying an Ultima built in CA, but got the "first 500 kit cars per year" exemption in CA; CA is a very popular state for Ultimas, so one with the "first 500 kit cars" exemption might come up for sale within a reasonable timespan.

It's also hard for him to find a RHD Ultima in the States, as mentioned.

[brandon5069]

yea.....i'm getting kinda discouraged. it's going to be rather hard to obtain the needed certificates for registration. i'd better start working on getting a friend that is incharge of this sort of thing.

but how's this for a nice ultima:
an all black ultima sport. rhd of course. gtr wheels, bronzed. no wing (i'm really not feeling the wing, nor will i be reaching speeds where it's neccessary). two layers of sound deadening throughout the cabin (i care more for my hearing than the added weight).some soft black carpet to cover everything except the dash and seats. the dash and seats will be leather, black leather. a nice stereo system using cdt components, alpine headunit and amp. suede covered sparco steering wheel (13in and thick). a nice pedal box (allowing me to heel/toe). some nice bright red guages with yellow print. with the "comfort features taken care of i'd throw in a 450bhp ls1 (anything more and i'd kill myself).and a rebuilt g50 6spd would take care of gear changes nicely.


man...im drooling.

[B1 ECC]

So, you'll be doing trackdays Then!

[brandon5069]

i really love autocross. my 944 does quite well there. i would love to autocross an ultima.
now trackdays.....the only thing keeping me from trackdays so far has been....i dunno, lazyness i guess.

so the answer to your question is yes i will be seeing some tracktime (without the wing). i want this car to be a weekend toy. great looking when i want it to be, and fast as heck when i need it to be.

[jschwartz]

California info is here:
www.semasan.com/main/main.aspx?id=61557
Jeff S
www.schwartzperformance.com

[jschwartz]

California info is here:
www.semasan.com/main/main.aspx?id=61557
Jeff S
www.schwartzperformance.com

[builder]

Brandon,

Bill and Jeff have it right. I looked into this a year or so ago. Learn everything you can about SB100 on the CA DMV website. There's no way a "specially constructed passenger vehicles" (what CA calles them) would pass a recent type of emissions testing. They would fail immediately on the visual. Your Ultima will still have to pass a smog test for 1960.

Now, get that little beauty on order! If you work fast, you can have it registered 1/2/07.

[jschwartz]

The supercharged LS2 system I did has a CARB Exemption under #D488-5
Should pass euro standards as well.
Jeff S
www.schwartzperformance.com

[brandon5069]

wow jeff. that's some car you got there. i've heard soo much about it on rennlist (porsche forum). a few guys there saw you at a cruise, and couldn't stop saying how awesome the car was.


the two links listed are very helpful in my endeavors. as it stands now, i'm going to have to first find the car i want (without a test drive), have the car shipped to ca. through a broker, and fight to have it registered. i'm helping my father put together a 32 ford. after we get this registered i'm sure i'll have tons more info to help get the ultima on the road.

[jeff-texas]

builder said:

There's no way a "specially constructed passenger vehicles" (what CA calles them) would pass a recent type of emissions testing. They would fail immediately on the visual.

You could easily pass it if you use an LSx engine like Jeff Schwartz did, and many Californians have done just that.

brandon5069 said:

yea.....i'm getting kinda discouraged. it's going to be rather hard to obtain the needed certificates for registration.

Not really, just order one from the Factory with RHD (or a used one from the UK with RHD if you can't afford a new one -- but just ask that they sell it w/o the engine).

Then put an old-style Chevy V8 in it, and be one of the first 500 cars registered in the year that you complete the car (bolts right up)... simple...
...or else use an LS2/LS7 engine and don't be one of the first 500; it should bolt right on to the Ultima you get from the UK, except you'd need to get an adapter-plate from KEP for the LSx engines, engine-mount adapters (old-style Chevy V8 to LSx Chevy adapter), possibly a tranny-mount rewelded if the LSx motor moves the "nose" of the tranny forward or back, add catalytic converters and some stainless exhaust bends, then hook up about 1 or 2 dozen sensors to the PCM harness and 12V fused power to the PCM. This is still relatively simple, and if you can't do it yourself, it's not very expensive (only takes 1 or 2 days of work by a pro).

>> Edited by jeff-texas on Friday 16th December 05:00