Bring a 356 to the UK

[neilbardsley]

I've just recieved an email to say my car is on the ship. It is expected arrive in port by the 18 Jun!!

[neilbardsley]

My 356 is scheduled to arrive at port next week! I'm in the final states of getting paper etc sorted but this morning noticed that the chap's web side that I bought it from isn't workiing anymore.

http://www.356sales.com/

Hopefully it just one of those forgetting to pay for the domain names things? A couple of people that I spoke to had been working with him for years.

Anybody know if Bob Campbell is alive and well? I'm not completely sure way I'm worried because I suspect if they car is not as advertised then I have little chances of doing anything anyway. However, it isn't a good sign that web site vanishes. I did send him an email about 3 weeks ago asking about what type of lights it and didn't get a reply so just assumed he had moved onto his next sale.

[Bootsy]

Just looked up the URL details for you.

It's registered to :

Pending Renewal or Deletion (this was just be the name of the service he registered his URL through)
P.O. Box 430
Herndon, VA 20172-0447
US
570-708-8786

Record first registered on 17-May-2000

Record expired on 17-May-2012.

So the explanation could be that he didn't renew his URL and it expired on the 17th of last month?

[neilbardsley]

Just looked up the URL details for you.

It's registered to :

Pending Renewal or Deletion
P.O. Box 430
Herndon, VA 20172-0447
US
570-708-8786

Record first registered on 17-May-2000

Record expired on 17-May-2012.

So the explanation could be that he didn't renew his URL and it expired on the 17th of last month?

fyi? How did you do that? Sometimes I don't believe that I have 1st in Computing! However, it was a few years ago! My mobile phone is more powerful than the pc I bought to do all my course work

[hot66]

looks like he was posting on 356 reg forum a few days ago

http://www.porsche356registry.org/356talk/1/30462.html

[Jeremy 356 (Jez 356)]

At least if your car is on the ship then it will be arriving in a week !

Bob Campbell is pretty well respected so I am sure you will get what you are expecting

We all look forward to an update re the delivery and lots of pics!

All the best

Regards Jeremy

[neilbardsley]

Does anybody know how I can get my hands on a certficate of conformity. The V55/5 document says that I need one to prove it's ok to be driven in the UK.

[Lightweight_911]

Available from Porsche Cars GB - was £55 + VAT ... or free if you're a PCGB member

[neilbardsley]

Available from Porsche Cars GB - was £55 + VAT ... or free if you're a PCGB member

Thanks I contacted the club office so it appears that I also need a certificate of authenticity. This is starting to get a bit complex!

[neilbardsley]

My car has just cleared customs! I'm picking up on Monday and taking for MOT preparation. Mrs B will follow me in our Landie just incase. I'm taking some oil incase it's low. The only other thing I can think of is that the battery may be flat after 5 weeks of sitting. If it's a 6v I'm guessing that I can't jump it from the Landie but we will cross that bridge if we come to it. I was thinking of checking the brakes and then driving it slowly away. Anything else I've missed?

[roy mawbey]

Maybe a can of petrol are they not empty when shipped? If so, the battery might have a job getting enough fuel up to fill the carb bowls from the pump. Don't forget to move the fuel cock to 'reserve' inside the car.

Does this problem of starting cars after along period not happen all the time? Do the port authority not have a battery tender they can use to get it started for you? Somone on here must have been through this. I would phone them to ask.

As you have a L/rover take a good tow rope with you. The towing eye that is just under the battery box area needs to be in good condtion before you use that!

Take a tyre pump as well 6 weeks you never know.

Best of luck Neil. Hope you have a good day with the new car.

Roy

[neilbardsley]

Maybe a can of petrol are they not empty when shipped? If so, the battery might have a job getting enough fuel up to fill the carb bowls from the pump. Don't forget to move the fuel cock to 'reserve' inside the car.

Does this problem of starting cars after along period not happen all the time? Do the port authority not have a battery tender they can use to get it started for you? Somone on here must have been through this. I would phone them to ask.

As you have a L/rover take a good tow rope with you. The towing eye that is just under the battery box area needs to be in good condtion before you use that!

Take a tyre pump as well 6 weeks you never know.

Best of luck Neil. Hope you have a good day with the new car.

Roy

Thank you that is useful. I've found the fuel cock on a diagram. Why not the open position?

It will actually be my first time starting/driving/sitting in a 356. I assumed it had a manual choke but I can't find one (from the diagram)! What else do I need to know about starting it!

[roy mawbey]

Okay Neil,

1). If you leave the fuel cock in the 'auf ' position ( thats means 'on' in German ) and you only have a gallon of fuel in the tank it will not go down the 'auf' delivery pipe in the tank. The reserve pipe is lower in the tank so it will deliver fuel on 'reserve'. If you run the car on auf then when it gets very low on fuel the engine will stop and then you move the lever to reserve to continue driving. So set it on Reserve.

2). There is no choke on the carbs. Once you have full float chambers there is a seperate accelerator pump chamber inside the carb with a piston. When the engine is cold if you pump the accelerator pedal say 4 times fully to the floor it will inject fuel straight down the venturi's on each press. Do not wait after pressing 4 times but turn the ignition key. It might be a good idea to first turn the motor over enough to fill the bowls before pressing the pedal. The mechanical fuel pump will push fuel up to the carbs. ( sometimes owners have fitted an electric pump has your one been fitted with this?)

3). After 6 weeks the fuel has probably evaporated in the carbs so you will need a good battery to spin it enough to fill those bowls. Remember also the cranking speed on 6volts with an old car will probably be much slower than with a modern 12v.

Roy

[neilbardsley]

Thanks again very useful!

[Mr Pharmacist]

My car has just cleared customs! I'm picking up on Monday and taking for MOT preparation. Mrs B will follow me in our Landie just incase. Anything else I've missed?

I thought that you weren't allowed to drive an non-uk registered car on the road - even to it MOT? Is that correct? I thought it had to be trailered until it is registered with the DVLA?

it'll save me some hassle if you can drive it to the MOT station rather than trailering!