I know I am not the first to bring a car from the USA to the UK but its the first time I have imported a car so its something of a journey for me

I asked if any one had a car for sale and would be happy to sell to a UK buyer and the dealing with the shipping company
The first to get in touch was Dylan (chi-town) and we have subsequently done a deal on the car he took to the recent WCR.

Dylan also put me in touch with someone in Scotland who knows the importing process and he has recommended a shipping company to me and I am in the process of organising the shipping once things are in place stateside.

My previous restorations have all been Toyotas mainly Celica gt4's from the late 80's and early 90's so a 1975 Porsche is new territory.
I have a 1999 996 so I am not unfamiliar with Porsche or with spanners but the 914 is my first air cooled.

Dylan has sent me a number of photos that I will use to mark the start of the journey, adding as things develop and progress.

Thanks for reading
David

Sounds like a great start. Dylan (chi-town) is a terrific guy who has provided my build some critically needed parts. I look forward to seeing pictures and hearing about the whole experience.

There are a lot of scammers out there. Dylan is legit. Good luck with your new toy.

The second purchase

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thanks for the welcomes, I was lucky to find Dylan
heres a picture of it as it was pre WCR
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I sold 2 cars to Danny (Daxx) here that went to Belgium. My 86 Carrera Cab and my 76 Original Paint 914. I delivered them to a car shipper close to Los Angeles and they went in a cargo Box to Belgium. He knew of this carrier because he is in the Sea Freight biz.

The money can go to the shipper and then be transferred to the sellers after they get the car and take all the pictures of it and document everything. You as a buyer feel good and safe, and he as a seller gets his money after the car is secured with them and they have the ownership papers.

Just what you need for the UK I cannot say but I want to say that the whole translation went very smooth. Money was wired right into my account in 15 min and then I gave them the Ownership papers. I was done. I can look up the Sea Freight people for you if you want

Best from Los Angeles,

Bob Burton

Well here it is just in case anyone wants to look it up.

Hey Danny,

We just completed the transaction with bob, all went well we have title vehicles and keys in hand, all numbers matching, please see attached few pictures for your reference. We will begin coordinating shipping asap!

Thank you,

Best Regards - Met vriendelijke groet - Freundliche Gruesse,

Sincerely,

Christian B. Ortiz

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Direct Express, Inc

230 W Carob St

Rancho Dominguez, CA 90220 USA



Untitled-1.jpg

p:

(310) 324 2100 (xtn 211)

f:

(310) 324 7500

c:

(562) 922 2109



*All services are performed pursuant to Direct Express, Inc terms and Conditions of service, which limit DEI”S liability and are available for viewing at DEI’S website: www.shipdei.com or kindly request a copy of our terms & conditions which are provided in our shipping instructions and or bills of lading, condition reports.*

From: Christian B Ortiz | Direct Express, Inc.
Sent: Friday, February 16, 2018 9:05 AM
To: 'Robert Burton'
RE: RE: booking Porsche 911 + Porsche 914 LA to Rotterdam

On its way from the docks, should be here in about 4 hoursClick to view attachment

Nice! Enjoy the new journey.

Very cool! Looks like a great starting point!

Congrats!!! Dylan is a good guy.


Oscar

It finally arrived, having travelled 5300 from the west coast of America to West Yorkshire England, Leeds
It was getting dark by the time we unloaded and it was tucked away in the garage
Massive thanks to Dylan - a true gent Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

Is there a pdf of an owners manual any where that can be downloaded?
I dont know what all the controls do or where they are to be found - sorry
for example, what does the lever with the brown handle on the transmission tunnel do

just a diagram of the cabin with the controls labelled would be a start

it looks like the level is the heater control lever?
Errmmmm what does it actually do ?

It is a red color. Yours must have faded to brown.

You need Dr. 914 Book TECH TIPS 700

A complete guide to the VW-Porsche 914

By George A Hussey


Congrades and you new used car.

Cheers

Bob B

Glad to see it arrived safely.

The lever on the floor are for the heater valves that hey installed in the rear on the heat exchangers (the valves are in one of the boxes).

The main controls are in the box in the passenger seat to be installed after paint along with the fresh air system that you'll find boxed up in the front trunk.

I'm looking forward to seeing this car finished as it was the cleanest one I've had.

Thanks Dylan
As I will prove over the weeks / months / years, I have a lot to learn

It was a great moment last night when I reversed it away from the trailer, found first gear and parked it on the driveway.

Congratulations!
Another 914 in the U.K. We just about had 50 turn out for Brooklands Motor Circuit.
Kinda shows how few are over here in good old Blighty.......
Look forward to seeing what plans you have for the new recruit!

Give this a go David,

Temporary till ya get a hard copy.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?aut...;showentry=2420

thanks Dion

All you need is an honest seller, a buyer who keeps his word and a shipper who knows his business...the rest is peanuts (to me at least, I am in the shipping business since 1990).

Will do it again if the right car comes along but only with reputable forum members


some pics of the journey

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delivered by Bob (burton73) who owned both cars

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this is how they possibly get stowed in the container... mine were (at my request) stowed flat


cheers
Dax

I drove it off the transporter and onto the driveway Click to view attachment
I was pretty pleased with things

Yesterday the painting stripping began
Click to view attachment

and continued for a couple of hours tonight

Its like progress but slower
Overall I am pleased with how its going
Using wire wheels with an angle grinder means needing be careful of hitting anything delicate and avoiding too much heat build up to prevent distortion
I will go and buy some poly discs today as an alternatve to the wire wheels plus some paint stripper for the hard to reach areas

Its like progress but slower
Overall I am pleased with how its going
Using wire wheels with an angle grinder means needing be careful of hitting anything delicate and avoiding too much heat build up to prevent distortion
I will go and buy some poly discs today as an alternatve to the wire wheels plus some paint stripper for the hard to reach areasClick to view attachment

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All the paint is stripped from the outer surfaces
The doors, front and rear trunk etc all need to be come off now to get to the inner surfaces
First off all the garage needs a good clean up

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So it took many hours of work with the wire wheel, poly disc and palm sander and a needle gun to remove all the paint from the internal and external surfaces.
The selection of photos show some of the work.
I then had to empty the garage blow down all the dust and crap, vacuum and wash it down and then move onto the car to completely clean it down ready for preparation for the primer.

It was starting to get cold and damp over here in October so wanted to get the primer on before too long.

I have always used "Ken & Lyn" car restoration paints in the UK as they give great advice, provide period paint colours and a great over all customer service.
After a long conversation with Ken we arrived at a cellulose 2 pack acid etch primer.

I am applying it to the internal surfaces before moving onto the exterior panels

Click to view attachment

Getting the bonnet off and then back on again single handed was a bit tricky, not something I would risk when the final colour is on the car.

I have decided to paint the car in Zambesi / Forest green and although the weather over here means that it will be getting on for 6 months before the colour can be applied I doubt I will be able to resist painting a head light cover or two to see what it looks like

I will be finding a new compressor between now and the spring, the compressor I am using has been great and I have used it for stripping and then repainting 3 other cars and it is is fine for the primer but its getting tired and noisy so I will look for a bigger belt driven one to make for an easier / quieter life

Car is looking great!

Thanks Dylan
So far so good

I spotted this going through an auction around 60 miles from me
https://mathewsons.co.uk/auctions/auction-d...i-1000-city-e-8

I went to look at it last weekend
It was past saving in my view, the chassis integrity was gone and it was folding in the middle and nipping the doors up
The floor, front and rear boot, doors, wings, A pillars, rear quarters were shot through
It had been a Jersey (channel islands - UK) car most of its life and was complete and the interior wasnt too bad, the dash and centre console, door cards, and back pad were in good condition so valuable to some one with a US import with sun damage
It was a 2.0 litre model but not running so if it turns out to have a good engine and transmission it would have value.

I went back yesterday to see it go through the auction
I set my limit based on the nominal value of parts that were of interest to me and I pulled out at £1600, it went for £1650. I was initially going to go to £1800 which would have then cost circa £2000 including the commission but decided I could buy a lot of parts for £2000 hence pulling out a bit earlier than planned

I hope the winning bidder is a member here, it would be good to know his plans and how he valued it

You are making great progress. Thanks for the update pics.

You are really knocking it out David.
Really nice progress. That green is a great colour choice.
Cheers

Thanks for the encouragement
I want to get the body in primer before the end of the month
I had a good day yesterday and got the passenger side painted.
I also mixed a bit of colour up to see what it looked like
The photos were took after it got late and aren't very goodClick to view attachment Click to view attachment

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Happy to have got the body in etching primer
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A few photos of what I have been doing recently
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The only sign of rust found on the entire vehicle was under some sound deadening in the cabin
Its surface rust that showed clean metal underneath once given the wire wheel treatment
It's currently drying following being painted with rust converter and zinc primer prior to seam sealer being applied
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So as I intend to get a new dash pad when funds allow I thought I would give the repair a go
First off all I opened up the cracks and splits
then I used seam sealer to fill them as its pretty flexible and sandable and filled the foam well but has a tendency to sink once fully cured
I then gave it a skim of dolphin glaze
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once sanded and cleaned down with panel wipe I applied a couple of coats of plastic primer
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its ready for painting in satin black
because its sanded smooth in a couple of places I will give it some texture by spraying at low pressure and from distance so it goes on a little dry and grainyClick to view attachment

I used satin black cellulose with 30% high gloss thinners. I put the paint on with the trigger half open and from a distance which had the effect of the paint being cold and dry when it hits, this gives a grainy texture.
It looks pretty good but its bit too rough / gritty in feel
The underside is much more "factory" which was a result of similar trigger setting but less distance giving a slightly wetter application
I'll give it another go tomorrow.

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