IF ANYONE EVER WONDERED WHAT FEDERALIZATION Is-read this!

[karzrtoyz]

I just dont understand why they are so strict on 25years, and that we should be able to Bring in these old E30s
:?
If the car you are trying to import is 25years old or older.. they dont care, but if its less than 25years old they stick you with the list below!!

AND THEY MAKE YOU PAY AN IMPORTER AND A F***IN CONVERSION COMPANY TO CHOP UP YOUR MASTERPIECE BEFORE YOU CAN GET A F***ING TITLE AND PLATES!!! :curse:

Here is a checklist of general DOT required modifications:

1) Remove and replace the speedometer
2) Install a warning light with the word "BRAKE" into the speedometer
3) Replace headlight assemblies with DOT certified lights
4) Install a high mounting, third brake light
5) Modify/Replace door locks with US certified door locks
6) Install a tire information label
7) Replace the passenger side mirror to reflect "OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR"
8) Install a seat belt & key warning buzzer
9) Install door beams into the doors to comply with side impact protection regulations (FMVSS-214)
10) Install a rollover valve
11) Install engraved VIN (vehicle identification number) plate
12) Install VIN location label
13) Install a certification label
14) Remove and document bumpers
15) If necessary, modify and reinforce bumpers to comply with US federal bumper standards (FMVSS-581)
16) Determine if there are any outstanding recalls on this vehicle
17) Remedy all outstanding recalls
18) Submit a compliance package to the DOT, documenting with photographs all the modifications performed to bring the vehicle into compliance with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
:wgaf: :loco:

[BahnE30]

90% of that is bullshit, door locks???WTF all diving boards do it save the body at 5mph other than that there good for nothing. governments suck.

[nando]

wtf is a rollover valve?

[e9nine]

wtf is a rollover valve?

..it's the same as a ramshafter

[Tangent]

Honestly those all make sense to me except for the the second. What the hell does a warning light that says "Brake" need to be inserted into the speedometer for?!? The rest of them are safety issues that all US marker cars are required to meet. I'm betting that the rollover valve shuts off fuel flow in the even of a rollover.

1) OK, so you need an MPH speedo instead of KPH, makes sense
2) Huh?
3) Don't blind oncoming traffic!
4) Give the inattentive moron behind you more warning, same as every other car of this age does.
5) If you decide to sell this car, the buyer should expect a car with locks that meet certain standards. Some foreign countries probably allow damn near worthless locks.
6) Make sure that any potential owner of this car knows to what pressure to inflate the tires and doesn't make a bad assumption leading to tire failure/accidents
7) People are stupid. If you have a wide-angle mirror and don't say this some retard will sue.
8) More protecting people from themselves...
9) Make sure the car is as safe as any future buyer should resonably expect a car of that year is.
10) More safety, don't let the gas keep flowing while you're hanging from your seatbelt.
11) Just an ID tag, no biggie.
12) ?
13) With this future buyers won't have to wonder if the car was federalized and brought up to US standards
14) Some countries allow worthless bumpers. Future buyers have the right to expect 5mph bumpers as were required on cars originally sold here.
15) same as above...
16) Awfully redundant when you consider the next item...
17) OK, makes sense, what if there was a major safety problem with the car?
18) No cheating!

While it might be a pain to go through doing this, imagine if you bought a gray market car that hadn't gone through this. You'd probably be justifiably pissed if you got tickets for illegal equipment or if your bumpers fell off in a minor collision that you're reasonably expect them to survive.

[CleanAzzE30z]

Ive always wanted to know that shit. Thanks for posting it. :)

[92 mtechnic cabrio]

Just take pictures of a US spec E30 in the same color, and work around any problems you run into doing so.

Like the vin tag, just do that, no biggie.

Besides, half of that stuff looks like some really easy stuff to work around. Like the side mirrors, if you want, I'll make you a couple vinyl stickers you can slap on the mirrors that you can scape off later.

[ColdAccord]

you can't do these on your own

a registered importer has to do the work. or at least it has to be a certified place that the RI can confirm with


and you still have to pay the import fees, which are thousands and thousands of dollars

I want to find an e30m3 and use it as a track car until the 25 yr period is up

[92 mtechnic cabrio]

Oh, sucks.

[Bimmerfanatik]

Re: IF ANYONE EVER WONDERED WHAT FEDERALIZATION Is-read this!

imagine if you bought a gray market car that hadn't gone through this.

You mean like this? Below is what they DIDN'T do to my grey market car....I especially like the recall part, since you can't get them done on your fine imported vehicle - you don't show up on the computer systems here in the good ol' US of A.

4) Install a high mounting, third brake light
5) Modify/Replace door locks with US certified door locks
6) Install a tire information label
7) Replace the passenger side mirror to reflect "OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR"
9) Install door beams into the doors to comply with side impact protection regulations (FMVSS-214)
10) Install a rollover valve
12) Install VIN location label
14) Remove and document bumpers
15) If necessary, modify and reinforce bumpers to comply with US federal bumper standards (FMVSS-581)
16) Determine if there are any outstanding recalls on this vehicle
17) Remedy all outstanding recalls
18) Submit a compliance package to the DOT, documenting with photographs all the modifications performed to bring the vehicle into compliance with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

[uflnuceng]

The sad thing is many nice M1s were butchered during their import to the US, primarily because of the gas cap rollover valve. By butchered I mean they are still nice M1s, its just that they have features that make them look not-right and hurt their resale value.

However, the ones that were done by importing pros who knew what they were dealing with can make the required upgrades look awesome. Depends on who brought it in and if they had my dollars than sense.

I read an article on a VW site where they brought in a special edition GTI that had to go through all this paper work but they were able to drive it on tracks, but not on the roads. Seems like a lot of hassle to go through for cars that are rather similar to the ones we had here. Engine swaps are easy enough and after market suspensions are better than the stock ones you would find.

That being said, what I would like to import is the 635d which does 0-62mph in 6.2 seconds and gets 30+ mpg. Oh so sexy.

[mph]

Re: IF ANYONE EVER WONDERED WHAT FEDERALIZATION Is-read this

8) Install a seat belt & key warning buzzer
15) If necessary, modify and reinforce bumpers to comply with US federal bumper standards (FMVSS-581)

Everything except the above was done with my cabrio. The gauge cluster has a seat belt light on it now that looks like it has a light behind it and is supposed to be lighted when the seat belt isn't on, but it doesn't work.

They never did anything with the bumpers. I have a paper from the National Highway Safety Transportation Admin. saying it doesn't meet the federal bumper safety standards but complies with theft prevention standards. To get past the federal bumper safety standards, the person who imported my car had to pay a bond equal to 150% of the value of the car. Something I just found out now reading through the papers that came with my car.

J.K. Motors out of Baltimore did the conversion on my car.

[bkelsey86]

you can't do these on your own

a registered importer has to do the work. or at least it has to be a certified place that the RI can confirm with

'

Yeah there is a plaque on my drivers side door sill that says imported by John Burchett in Maryland or something like that.

[DanGillan]

buy 2 e30's one euro spec, one shitty matching US spec, register the US car, put plates on euro car. end of fucking story.

[Dave]

you can't do these on your own

a registered importer has to do the work. or at least it has to be a certified place that the RI can confirm with


and you still have to pay the import fees, which are thousands and thousands of dollars

I want to find an e30m3 and use it as a track car until the 25 yr period is up

What did you ever do with yours?