Import of non-US military vehicle to US

Discussion of Local, State, and Federal issues regarding MV Legislation, MV use restrictions, MV registration refusals, etc. As these issues may ultimately affect other jurisdictions, information and education of all MV owners is crucial for the future ownership and use of our MVs.
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erikofnorway
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Import of non-US military vehicle to US

Post by erikofnorway » Thu Feb 20, 2014 10:41 am

Does anyone here have experience with import of non US manufactured military vehicles? The vehicle in question is older than 25 years, NATO manufactured and is a 'soft" vehicle (no armor or armament).

I have found that it is excluded from EPA and DOT. My main concern is that it will show up as an ex military vehicle and I will meet some sort of costly resistance with customs for that reason. I have called customs, and they won't tell me anything concrete.

I would very much like to get in contact with someone that has gone through same process and can give me some "pointers".

Erik
1943 Ford GPW #97472 "Hootin Annie"
1963 Volvo L3314N Feltvogn #2020 "UNIFIL-954"


undysworld
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Re: Import of non-US military vehicle to US

Post by undysworld » Fri Feb 28, 2014 5:31 am

Hi Erik,

Yes, quite a bit of experience. I own a Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer 712M, formerly a Swiss-Army truck. You are correct about vehicles older than 25 years being exempted from EPA and DOT regulations (details in Title 49 US Code). US Customs will determine whether it can enter the country, but if it's considered a Motor Vehicle by US DOT/NHTSA, then it comes in with no issues. You'll get a US Customs HS-7 form, and all the import documents such as bill of lading, etc. and these will all get turned in to your local DOT office in exchange for a US state title. Mine was imported by a company in Colorado, so I got a CO title.

We ran into resistance here in Wis., because DMV didn't like them. But subsequently we got a law passed which clarifies things. Registration (license for operation) is the responsibility of the individual states, so you might want to check with your local DMV to make sure you can license it where you are. I'd be surprised if you had problems, but ya never know.

What are you looking at bringing in, and what state are you located in?

Paul
1966 AM-General M35A-2
1973 DeTomaso Pantera
1976 Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer 712M
M-416 Trailer (behind Pinzgauer)
1980 AMC Jeep CJ-5

Info on Legislation at: http://www.alfaheaven.com/MilitarySecti ... Legis.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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acmack
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Re: Import of non-US military vehicle to US

Post by acmack » Fri Feb 28, 2014 6:48 am

Erik, I imported 12 Volvo TGB 11's and 6 TGB 13's about 5 years ago. I had them titled in Sweden before they came into the USA through Port elizabeth NJ. There was absolutely no concern from customs or DOT or Massachusetts RMV about them. I retitled and re-registered all in MA with not even a question from my insurance company or safety inspection station. The only issue was that the state required the the local cops to visually confirm the VIN's since they did not conform to the standard US 20 digit system.
I have heard the DOT was going to increase scrutiny of the Gray market import which is what they call used foreign vehicles for some reason. I think some local states have actually created more new legislation and restriction that the DOT at this point. Massachusetts seems to still have no issues with them though.
I had a GPA imported 10 years ago and it went through Canada which created MAJOR problems. Canada didn't want to let it go on to the USA. It took many months to get it here. Canada's DOT was NOT a import friendly country!

David
Any other spacecraft or missile owners out there?
60' M422 538
65' Apollo BP CM A-36
60' Gemini BP CM MSC312

undysworld
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Re: Import of non-US military vehicle to US

Post by undysworld » Fri Feb 28, 2014 2:30 pm

David,

Small point: the standard "compliant" VIN is 17-digits. What you describe is pretty much how it ought to work.

Wisconsin is one of the states that tried hard to cause problems for former military vehicles, especially imported ones. I'm happy to report that the people heading up our DMV now are new, and seem old car friendly for the most part. The problems the former folks caused have been corrected. There are previous posts here about our experience.
1966 AM-General M35A-2
1973 DeTomaso Pantera
1976 Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer 712M
M-416 Trailer (behind Pinzgauer)
1980 AMC Jeep CJ-5

Info on Legislation at: http://www.alfaheaven.com/MilitarySecti ... Legis.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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erikofnorway
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Re: Import of non-US military vehicle to US

Post by erikofnorway » Wed Mar 05, 2014 9:00 am

Thank you for your responses. I am importing a 1966 Volvo L3314N from Norway, and I live in Florida. I have found a company here in US that can get me a title and tags, so I do not have any concern there.

Erik
1943 Ford GPW #97472 "Hootin Annie"
1963 Volvo L3314N Feltvogn #2020 "UNIFIL-954"

undysworld
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Re: Import of non-US military vehicle to US

Post by undysworld » Wed Mar 05, 2014 11:36 am

Cool old truck!

I've always dreamed of owning a C-304 Volvo. Maybe someday...
1966 AM-General M35A-2
1973 DeTomaso Pantera
1976 Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer 712M
M-416 Trailer (behind Pinzgauer)
1980 AMC Jeep CJ-5

Info on Legislation at: http://www.alfaheaven.com/MilitarySecti ... Legis.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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acmack
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Re: Import of non-US military vehicle to US

Post by acmack » Wed Mar 05, 2014 5:02 pm

Erik, I had a 3314 in the standard 4 color block camo which I decided to repaint in the Northern camo scheme. You may notice the green/OD may not have been technically correct but I had an older can of WWII paint I had to use up soon so I used it and I think it gave it a much "tougher" and realistic camo look!

I did the same on a TGB11 and 13...if I could only locate those photos!

Image

David
Any other spacecraft or missile owners out there?
60' M422 538
65' Apollo BP CM A-36
60' Gemini BP CM MSC312

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erikofnorway
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Re: Import of non-US military vehicle to US

Post by erikofnorway » Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:33 am

David,

NICE!!! I was not aware of any other L3314N in the United States, but I figured there would be some. Where is this vehicle now, and do you have the chassis number?

Mine will be painted up in white with pre 1980 UNIFIL markings. Attached is a photo from 1979 which I have borrowed from a facebook page.

And I just found out that what I am getting is a 1963 model....good vintage ;-)

Erik
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volvo_unifil.jpg
volvo_unifil.jpg (37.01 KiB) Viewed 8136 times
1943 Ford GPW #97472 "Hootin Annie"
1963 Volvo L3314N Feltvogn #2020 "UNIFIL-954"

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acmack
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Re: Import of non-US military vehicle to US

Post by acmack » Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:42 am

Erik, I had 2 of them. One went to Canada and this one posted to somewhere in Penn. I sold them more than 5 years ago along with my TGB11's and TGB13's. I don't know if I have the VIN's wriiten down somewhere. I do remember one was a 1963 and the other a 67' and both were softop, N (Norsk) models.
I liked the L3314's much more than the TGB11's. Their smaller size gave them more of a Jeep feel and being smaller could manuever better off road as well as in traffic in town. The TGB's felt like you were in a small bus and their wiring is complex which made for real headaches when trying to track down shorts and component failures.

David
Any other spacecraft or missile owners out there?
60' M422 538
65' Apollo BP CM A-36
60' Gemini BP CM MSC312


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