The 101" FCs stranded in Hong Kong.

[Senorbarbo]

Let's talk about the FC101s stranded in Hong Kong.

I know the place very well, among other things because for us it has been a place where we can test the products we make (there are also Defenders, Series, Lightweights...) in very adverse weather conditions. My friendship with the owner even led me to buy one of the tropical ambulances, and although I still don't know what I'll do with it, I'm excited to have it go from time to time, clean it, and God willing this year I'll put its engine back into operation.

For some time now I've been thinking that these very special vehicles deserve to be rescued and brought back to life. The situation is as follows: Mechanically they are perfect, and the one with the most kilometers does not reach 25,000. They need radiator changes, hoses... but these are minor things that can be manufactured without any problem, or at least for us who come from the automotive sector in China it is very easy to provide at very good prices and competitive quality . The same could be said of the hoods, windows... which are very easy for us.

The biggest damage is to the chassis and bumpers, not all of them, but some areas are totally destroyed. Again, although these are not our products, it is feasible for us to remanufacture the chassis or their parts in China and take them to Hong Kong. Obviously it will be much cheaper to manufacture 10 bumpers than to manufacture just one. The same thing happens with the grills, or the tanks (the ones I have inspected are very good). The dashboards and steering wheels require care, but I don't see them as a major problem.

In short, we have very good suppliers and more than enough experience to undertake this project, which I can calculate that each one of them perfectly restored and improved would cost around 35-45000 US$, but this is something I am not going to embark on if there is no interest and commitment. If someone wants to buy them, Alan is asking around US$7,500 for each one, and it could be an interesting price if they are bought by someone who makes and restores everything himself. If someone wants to import them and have a third party restore them, in many countries it will be very easy to reach a much higher amount.



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[Tins]

That's almost tragic. Getting one into Australia would be almost impossible. AQUIS would have a fit.

[Senorbarbo]

That's almost tragic. Getting one into Australia would be almost impossible. AQUIS would have a fit.

Excuse my ignorance, but have no idea about what is AQUIS.

Why so hard to take them to AUS? Regulations? I think is almost their natural fit.

Javier

[V8Ian]

It's actually AQIS, Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, tasked with, amonst other things, making sure any second hand vehicle imported is scrupulously clean. Not a speck of dirt or any aspestos.

[Tins]

It's actually AQIS

Correct. Force of habit.


aspestos.

It's actually asbestos.

[V8Ian]

It's actually asbestos.
I knew that, not sure how it came out like that. [bighmmm]

[Homestar]

Yeah, getting a clean vehicle into the country now is difficult, these would be tricky. You'd have to get someone to do a lot of work on them before shipping as AQIS would charge around $10K each to decontaminate them - that's if they didn't just send them straight back.

Although sad it may be easier to scrap them and sell the parts - there are some rare and expensive bits on them - the exhaust manifolds, axle assemblies and steering boxes amongst others. There are some excellent rust free examples in Australia that are available here and there and by the time you spent $10K AUD buying one and who knows how much importing it, they aren't a viable restoration project IMO unfortunately when a good going example here ready to dive would be around $30 to $40K AUD

[loanrangie]

It's actually AQIS, Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, tasked with, amonst other things, making sure any second hand vehicle imported is scrupulously clean. Not a speck of dirt or any aspestos.


Hasn't been AQIS for many years, now they are the Department of agriculture and water resources, DAWR it is now known as.

[Senorbarbo]

Thanks for the info, guys. I already remove all the asbestos on mine. Yes, they do have a blanket on the engine cover.
it is sad, but it seems they are sentenced to rust to death. I will try to save my ambulance, and maybe a GS.

[Tins]

Hasn't been AQIS for many years, now they are the Department of agriculture and water resources, DAWR it is now known as.

Same ****, different shovel. just an excuse to spend $$$$$ on new stationery. Bet they're no easier to deal with.

[Tins]

Thanks for the info, guys. I already remove all the asbestos on mine. Yes, they do have a blanket on the engine cover.
it is sad, but it seems they are sentenced to rust to death. I will try to save my ambulance, and maybe a GS.

This is one time I wish I was rich. Money opens doors.

[loanrangie]

Same ****, different shovel. just an excuse to spend $$$$$ on new stationery. Bet they're no easier to deal with.


worse if anything, i deal with them daily.

[V8Ian]

Hasn't been AQIS for many years, now they are the Department of agriculture and water resources, DAWR it is now known as.
So do we still tailgate boxes etcetera?

[loanrangie]

So do we still tailgate boxes etcetera?

Certainly do.

[DiscoDB]

Hasn't been AQIS for many years, now they are the Department of agriculture and water resources, DAWR it is now known as.

Keep up with the changes loanrangie. The DAWR was dissolved 5 years ago. It is now appropriately named the DAFF! [emoji12]

Must be due for a rename!

[loanrangie]

Keep up with the changes loanrangie. The DAWR was dissolved 5 years ago. It is now appropriately named the DAFF! [emoji12]

Must be due for a rename!

Yes i forgot that they changed again, yep must be due for some new stationary and website so all my bookmarks will be invalid again.

[Senorbarbo]

I can perfectly perceive your frustration and discontent with the absurd government spending.


In Spain we are at the forefront of the "civilized world" when it comes to waste.


Government spending is already half of the GDP, but as half of the GDP does not seem enough, the public debt continues to grow, being already higher than the GDP itself.


If that is the case, we will talk another day about all the people who live without lifting a finger, the catastrophic immigration policy without border control (in this we share suicidal desires with the rest of the European Union). Not only do we welcome with open arms the first person who crosses the border illegally, but we also give them checks for more than $1000 every month... Of course, hard-working people come here who want to make a life project, but we have also become the dumping ground for half the world.


The data from Australia are to take one's hat off to, and the envy of any normal citizen of the country where I was born.


But anyway, this is completely off topic. What do we do with these cars? Can you think of anything?

[workingonit]

What do we do with these cars? Can you think of anything?

[QUOTE=Senorbarbo;3234182]What do we do with these cars? Can you think of anything?[/QUOTE

My two cent ramble.

Sell them to a country that can pay for them, has a use for the vehicles beyond sentimental value, lower import standards, lower wages for refurbishment work and whose workers have the skills to maintain these basic vehicles, trade agreements with China that cover machinery and vehicles?

Are there not enough millionaires in China who would like a status symbol of the declining manufacturing capacity of the west - the west can't afford to refurbish its history...but China can...and what's more it's been made electric!

Significant attention is given by Australian authorities to anything that has interacted with the outside environment of another country, for example:- imported animals or their products - imported second hand machines like tractors, vehicles traveling the world, military vehicles returning to Australia - all the way down to jet liner passengers who may have mud stuck to their boots after visiting farming areas with mad cows disease.

I remember somewhere, maybe in Australian importation paperwork or quarantine guidelines, that in simple terms if the imported item was assembled in a factory environment that the imported item wold attract less attention.

Many years ago I imported an Ashcroft reconditioned gearbox. It arrived wrapped in plastic. The gearbox was eventually released to me with no huge cost, and no indication that the plastic had been removed to make an inspection. Authorities like things wrapped in plastic, as it is more likely to have come from a clean environment, and if an insect did get in before the plastic wrapping it is most likely dead before it gets to Australia - although the view on wood items is less favorable, particularly when compared to metal products. A clean environment also implies less chance of seed contamination.

You are probably already across all of the following in regard to your other business activities. It would take a lot to set up, and obviously the financial benefit has to be there, but could attract other business opportunity. Establish a business that meets Australian standards (or higher) regarding imports from a factory. You may require a local independent certifier who occasionally needs to say you are conforming to standards. Your business breaks down classic vehicles to component parts. All the components are sterilised (this deals with pests in chassis rails and other nooks and crannies), resprayed and plastic wrapped. Engines and gearboxes probably wont require opening up, just the outside pressure cleaned and plastic wrapped. There is no reassembly, instead you provide a knocked down kit, all plastic wrapped. All the component parts are easy to inspect. Original wiring looms, for example, are probably (in the authorities minds) are a good place for pests to hide and difficult to check, so thrown them away and provide new looms straight from the factory wrapped in plastic. Same with replacement chassis, glass, hoods etc new from factory and plastic wrapped. No tyres, old seats and seat belts, headliners, anything wooden.

Good luck.

[loanrangie]

Such a shame to see them wasting away, are their still UK companies making replacement chassis for these ?

[Senorbarbo]

[QUOTE=Senorbarbo;3234182]What do we do with these cars? Can you think of anything?[/QUOTE

My two cent ramble.

Sell them to a country that can pay for them, has a use for the vehicles beyond sentimental value, lower import standards, lower wages for refurbishment work and whose workers have the skills to maintain these basic vehicles, trade agreements with China that cover machinery and vehicles?

Are there not enough millionaires in China who would like a status symbol of the declining manufacturing capacity of the west - the west can't afford to refurbish its history...but China can...and what's more it's been made electric!

Significant attention is given by Australian authorities to anything that has interacted with the outside environment of another country, for example:- imported animals or their products - imported second hand machines like tractors, vehicles traveling the world, military vehicles returning to Australia - all the way down to jet liner passengers who may have mud stuck to their boots after visiting farming areas with mad cows disease.

I remember somewhere, maybe in Australian importation paperwork or quarantine guidelines, that in simple terms if the imported item was assembled in a factory environment that the imported item wold attract less attention.

Many years ago I imported an Ashcroft reconditioned gearbox. It arrived wrapped in plastic. The gearbox was eventually released to me with no huge cost, and no indication that the plastic had been removed to make an inspection. Authorities like things wrapped in plastic, as it is more likely to have come from a clean environment, and if an insect did get in before the plastic wrapping it is most likely dead before it gets to Australia - although the view on wood items is less favorable, particularly when compared to metal products. A clean environment also implies less chance of seed contamination.

You are probably already across all of the following in regard to your other business activities. It would take a lot to set up, and obviously the financial benefit has to be there, but could attract other business opportunity. Establish a business that meets Australian standards (or higher) regarding imports from a factory. You may require a local independent certifier who occasionally needs to say you are conforming to standards. Your business breaks down classic vehicles to component parts. All the components are sterilised (this deals with pests in chassis rails and other nooks and crannies), resprayed and plastic wrapped. Engines and gearboxes probably wont require opening up, just the outside pressure cleaned and plastic wrapped. There is no reassembly, instead you provide a knocked down kit, all plastic wrapped. All the component parts are easy to inspect. Original wiring looms, for example, are probably (in the authorities minds) are a good place for pests to hide and difficult to check, so thrown them away and provide new looms straight from the factory wrapped in plastic. Same with replacement chassis, glass, hoods etc new from factory and plastic wrapped. No tyres, old seats and seat belts, headliners, anything wooden.

Good luck.

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply in such a dedicated way. I really didn't know there were so many problems with exporting, and in fact in all the shipments we have made to your country, the goods have never been delayed more than a day or two in customs, with transit being even faster than in many countries in the European Union. Of course, what we have sent to date has always been new products, such as soft tops , power steering, and the like. I suppose that if the customs declaration says they are second-hand parts, the matter changes substantially.


As for the possibility of taking them to mainland China, it is totally ruled out. It is not that there are no rich Chinese who would like to have one, but it is absolutely impossible to bring an old vehicle into China. Not just a vehicle, but spare parts. It is considered scrap, and China strictly prohibits the import of scrap. It is even more difficult from Australia.

As far as business and profit are concerned, the truth is that I have never considered anything related to these cars as such. This is pure romanticism. The cost of developing some parts that must necessarily be replaced is so high and then has such a short commercial run, that it would not compensate in any case. What is true is that it will always be much more effective to restore 10 vehicles than to restore just one. As far as business and profit are concerned, we already have the rest of the parts that we sell, but I never considered it that way.

But you have opened my eyes to a possible option that would also be much more effective from the economic and time point of view. Disassemble the cars, clean and paint the parts thoroughly, and send them all together with the new chassis and their documentation as a kit so that the client can assemble them. The engines, gearboxes, transmissions would have to be thoroughly cleaned... And as you say, everything would have to be obsessively wrapped . In this way it would be more than possible to send all the vehicles in a single shipment in a single container, significantly reducing transport costs. In fact, the vehicle itself had already been designed to be very easy to transport, and without having to disassemble them, four of them could fit in a 40-foot HC.

[Senorbarbo]

Such a shame to see them wasting away, are their still UK companies making replacement chassis for these ?
I can reproduce one of these chassis with high quality standards for less than $2000. And the good thing is that since they would be made ex novo, I could have them already prepared to eventually be able to install springs. It is not worth incurring the cost of bringing a chassis from the other side of the world, from the antipodes, when we can manufacture it in Canton province, where there are several manufacturers who are very flexible and very capable.

[loanrangie]

I can reproduce one of these chassis with high quality standards for less than $2000. And the good thing is that since they would be made ex novo, I could have them already prepared to eventually be able to install springs. It is not worth incurring the cost of bringing a chassis from the other side of the world, from the antipodes, when we can manufacture it in Canton province, where there are several manufacturers who are very flexible and very capable.

Sure but Chinese quality is hit or miss, not sure i would spend money on a chassis that wont last.

[Senorbarbo]

Sure but Chinese quality is hit or miss, not sure i would spend money on a chassis that wont last.

I have been doing outsourcing in China for almost two decades, very often involved in very demanding products. If I ever made a chasis I’m 100% sure it would be done correctly, with the right steel, right tolerances, proper welding, high end coating or galvanised.

[Tins]

I have been doing outsourcing in China for almost two decades, very often involved in very demanding products. If I ever made a chasis I’m 100% sure it would be done correctly, with the right steel, right tolerances, proper welding, high end coating or galvanised.

Reckon you could find a ready market for Series chassis. Even RRC or Disco.

[TonyC]

Disassemble the cars, clean and paint the parts thoroughly, and send them all together with the new chassis and their documentation as a kit so that the client can assemble them.

To import a used car into Australia you need a permit.

If you break it down down into parts, and reassemble it here, it would be considered an individually constructed vehicle, and would have to meet current standards.

I don't wish to sound negative about your dream, but getting those 101's to Aus would near impossible.

Tony

[Senorbarbo]

Reckon you could find a ready market for Series chassis. Even RRC or Disco.

We are involved in too many products now to face one more, but if there is enough interest I could reproduce right away a 110 chasis, for example, as I have samples and drawings.

The thing with the 101s is not intended as business, which hardly would be, but as”romantic project”. We don’t have time for them either, but being involved on old cards is not always a sensible choice. Maybe you know it …

[Senorbarbo]

To import a used car into Australia you need a permit.

If you break it down down into parts, and reassemble it here, it would be considered an individually constructed vehicle, and would have to meet current standards.

I don't wish to sound negative about your dream, but getting those 101's to Aus would near impossible.

Tony

Well, as long as you can show a record, some MoD papers… it is obviously a pre- existing car, not a new one. They do have their VIN and they are recorded at the Merlín Archive.

I like impossible things

[Tins]

Well, Japanese grey imports are still a thing, although abuse of the system did no one any favours. Still, might be worth talking to those guys. I have zero idea of what qualifies.

These (https://www.j-spec.com.au/) are all Japanese. Dunno why anything from somewhere else would differ, but it might. Aus is pretty strict.

[V8Ian]

A friend of mine worked in a prestige European importers' workshop, in the '80s. Part of that role involved modifying brand new cars, to meet compliance. e.g. fitting anti-intrusion devices in the doors and other ADR specific mods.
In many ways, we were ahead of the rest of the world, regarding compulsory safety, but the ADRs were also manipulated to protect the local industry.

[cjc_td5]

Well, as long as you can show a record, some MoD papers… it is obviously a pre- existing car, not a new one. They do have their VIN and they are recorded at the Merlín Archive.

I like impossible thingsIn OZ you can't replace the chassis. The chassis IS the vehicle. If you replace it, it becomes a new vehicle and has to comply with current regulations etc.

[Senorbarbo]

In OZ you can't replace the chassis. The chassis IS the vehicle. If you replace it, it becomes a new vehicle and has to comply with current regulations etc.

One of the 101s went to NZ, and parts of the chasis are being replaced, as they were too rusty. Does it count as chasis replacement if you just replace parts ?

[cjc_td5]

One of the 101s went to NZ, and parts of the chasis are being replaced, as they were too rusty. Does it count as chasis replacement if you just replace parts ?

Repairs are fine. Technically, you only need to keep the bit with the chassis number on it... [bigrolf]
But you are getting in to vehicle rebirthing territory, which is greatly frowned upon if your inspector is in a bad mood....

[Senorbarbo]

Repairs are fine. Technically, you only need to keep the bit with the chassis number on it... [bigrolf]
But you are getting in to vehicle rebirthing territory, which is greatly frowned upon if your inspector is in a bad mood....

At the end, like patents, regulations, laws... it all depends on how things are described.