Hi everyone! new from Europe with 73 Firebird

[Yater]

Hi everyone,

I've been reading the forum since some weeks following the recommendation of a friend, and found it great. I've learnt quite a few interesting things in just a few days of reading... I should have found this some months ago... :)

I live in Europe and just purchased some weeks ago a 1973 Firebird in the US. Quite a long, painful (tons of paperwork, restrictive regulations here in Europe regarding mods vs originality) and expensive (shipping, customs, taxes) process... but very exciting at the same time.

I still don't have the car with me (it's now going through the customs... just a few days...) but after reading you, I already would like to ask you for some advice in a couple of topics, I will post that in the relevant sections of the forum.

Looking forward to interacting with you, keep learning on how to improve my ride, and potentially -why not- meeting some of you that might be based here in Europe one of these days!

:newbie:

[Yater]

By the way, I did not mention some of the basic characteristics of my new/future ride:

- 1973 Pontiac Firebird
- 400 ci engine with Edelbrock intake and 4BBL carb, MSD ignition
- TH350 with Hurst dual gate shifter
- Ron Davis dual electric radiator
- March serpentine
- Disc brakes in all 4 corners (I think relatively basic, not sure)
- Otherwise, stock suspension
- All bushings, etc replaced
- American Racing 17'' wheels
- Nitto NT450 (225/50R17 front, 255/50R17 rear)

[ProTouring442]

Welcome!

Where in Europe?

[Yater]

Welcome!

Where in Europe?

Spain

[camcojb]

Welcome to the site! Those are great cars, should be a fun build.

[BMR Sales]

Welcome Yater!

[Revved]

Welcome to L4P!!

How tough are the laws in Spain regarding modified vehicles? I talked to people all around Europe and every country is different! I met a photographer from France years ago that told me that France wont allow any modifications at all but he was part of an underground that snuck in old hotrods and would modify them. I'm building car for a client in Norway and was only allowed to build it with 9.5" rear tires. Another client in Sweden who went through hell and back to get his car registered. A guy in Germany that contacted me because he bought a car built from Dynacorn shell hoping I could help him find a way to get an original VIN because Germany wouldn't even let him register the vehicle. Australia (I know.. its not Europe...) is now enforcing a law preventing the import of vehicles with ANY modifications.

But car guys will always find a way!

[BBBluey]

Welcome Yater.

Why didn't you just buy a Firebird already in EU/Spain? Is it just as much paperwork? Overpriced?

www.autoscout24.eu/Details.aspx?id=261451923&cd=635513924090000000&asrc=st|fs

[Munssey]

Welcome to the forum. I look forward to seeing the progress on your build. Good luck with everything.

[WSSix]

Welcome, Yater. Glad to have you here with us. Post some pictures when you finally get the chance, please. We love pictures

[speed_m5]

welcome

[Yater]

Hi everyone,
Back here after some hard days at work following the Christmas break.
BTW, best wishes for 2015 to everyone, and thank you for your warm welcome to the forum !

Welcome to L4P!!

How tough are the laws in Spain regarding modified vehicles? I talked to people all around Europe and every country is different! I met a photographer from France years ago that told me that France wont allow any modifications at all but he was part of an underground that snuck in old hotrods and would modify them. I'm building car for a client in Norway and was only allowed to build it with 9.5" rear tires. Another client in Sweden who went through hell and back to get his car registered. A guy in Germany that contacted me because he bought a car built from Dynacorn shell hoping I could help him find a way to get an original VIN because Germany wouldn't even let him register the vehicle. Australia (I know.. its not Europe...) is now enforcing a law preventing the import of vehicles with ANY modifications.

But car guys will always find a way!

Revved, indeed laws and regulations are quite stringent in most countries in Europe, and it's also true that they may change from country to country (sometimes even from region to region).
As far as Spain is concerned, and I think it's similar in many other EU countries, the process is long and painful and the authorities may check in detail the originality of the car in case you want to have a historical plate.
In particular in Spain, once the car is there (after a long process also with the customs, etc), the sequence is: (1) certificate from a historical club, (2) technical specs of the car produced by an engineer, (3) inspection by an officially recognized body (the same kind of those who perform offical emmision assessments, crash-tests certification, etc for car manufacturers for new vehicles under development), (4) if all the above is positive, paperwork to be presented to the Ministry of the Industry who shall verify everything is OK and enters into the Historical category, (5) technical inspection of the vehicle by one of the typical -also officially recognized- certification bodies where you pass your yearly tech.inspection with any car, (6) finally, Traffic and Transportation authorities to give final green light for issuing a license plate. "Cash-out" (either costs or taxes, etc) in every step... :sieg:
And in particular, the Ministry of Industry can be relatively painful in case they enter into details about any modification done to the car, i.e. in theory they would like the vehicle to be totally stock and original...
I know that in the Netherlands for instance they are much more flexible in terms of any mods, but typically you wont be able to register one of these modded cars in other countries if you buy it in the Netherlands....
Patience is the key... :-)))

Welcome Yater.

Why didn't you just buy a Firebird already in EU/Spain? Is it just as much paperwork? Overpriced?

www.autoscout24.eu/Details.aspx?id=261451923&cd=635513924090000000&asrc=st|fs

Hi BBBluey,
Not that many Firebirds 2nd gen in Europe, the few available sometimes strongly modded (i.e. GPL-adapted engine, etc), not necessarily the version you're looking for or in need of extensive restauration.... anyways, I can tell you I looked for a loooong time over here before taking the decision to buy from the US, since as you can imagine, it would have been cheaper and simpler.
Regarding the ad/link you mention, it's been advertised for a while. In my opinion (sorry if the owner disagrees), I find it quite overpriced... it's a 75 or later model, but with a 70-73 nose, engine seems to need some work from the pics, and a bunch of mods which are not to my taste. Sorry... :peepwall:

Welcome to the forum. I look forward to seeing the progress on your build. Good luck with everything.

Will keep you posted for sure, as long as work and family allow me for some time to post... :-)

Welcome, Yater. Glad to have you here with us. Post some pictures when you finally get the chance, please. We love pictures

Sure, I posted some pics already in the "chassis and suspension" section of the forum, where I posted some questions, here's the link below. I'll try to post a couple more once I finally have it (I expect to receive it -finally- in a week or two...)
http://www.lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=48658