The journey begins - My cruiser is coming to America

[Beau]

So as some of you know already, me and my family have moved to Florida on a pretty permanent bases. Ever since the move I've been dealing with ways of getting my cruiser over here with me. Not just because it's a fantastic machine. But it's been with me and my family since year 2000 and we've had so many memories in that cruiser. No vehicle could simply replace it. And trust me, I've already tried the best america has to offer.

On the 6th July Trevor will be helping me transport the cruiser down to Southampton where she'll set sail on the 11th, arriving at Brunswick port around the 26th. Hopefully it'll all go smooth at both ends. Big thumbs up to Trevor here helping me out with this, means a lot!

Things like how I did it and cost, I will post up after the car arrives so I can total things up!

Now that me and the cruiser are leaving, the one thing I regret is not coming to more of those club events/meets. I only got to meet a few of you guys in person.

Will keep this updated as time goes by!

 

[clivehorridge]

Well it's good news that the "family" will all be back together, Beau.

Happy cruising in Florida, when she arrives...

 

[Bob]

Best of luck Beau. have many good memories in Florida, from cruising up the east coast from Miami to Daytona, to being an overgrown child in Orlando on honeymoon, and Christmas dinner in Clearwater. Hope the yankees are good to ye

 

[Trevor]

I'll say one thing Beau, if ever you happen to be back in the UK when a Lincomb event is on, you have an open ticket to ride shotgun with me so you can get to meet the guys. Don't forget to get some photos in as your truck starts it's US journey.

 

[Beau]

Thanks Guys, I've been planning and preparing this for over a year now, so this last month is really exciting for me. As far as I know, she'll be the first 90 series in the US. It's like Christmas has come early

Trev, appreciate that mate. I'll definitely be travelling back to England often. I miss it already, but it's also great to have a opportunity like this to experience things on the other side. England will still remain my home and in few years to come, if I haven't settled down quite as I'd hope here, then I'll just drag everyone back home

I'll probably be clocking a lot of miles on her here. Plus, if there's anything here in the US that you guys are interested in, I'll be happy to help anyone out. They have a ton of aftermarket parts here for 80/100 series cruisers.

 

[Ben]

Good luck with everything Beau.

I'm curious to see/read how easy it is for you to get it registered and road legal over there.

I'm not sure if its all states but certainly some of them seem to let vehicles on the roads that would never be allowed on the roads in most advanced countries!

 

[silvercruiser]

Best of luck living in the US of A

 

[chadr]

Best of luck to you and your family Beau, look forward to seeing and hearing about your adventures in the good 'ol US of A.

 

[Beau]

Good luck with everything Beau.

I'm curious to see/read how easy it is for you to get it registered and road legal over there.

I'm not sure if its all states but certainly some of them seem to let vehicles on the roads that would never be allowed on the roads in most advanced countries!

Thanks guys!

Without going into too much details, the hard work has been done already. I used this awesome guy who's a registered vehicle importer who was able to get me exempt from EPA/DOT regulations due to my immigration status into the US along with a few other details. This means I don't have to do any modifications to the cruiser to get it road legal. Once it arrives, I simply show DMV (equivalent of DVLA) my V5 and they make up a fresh Florida title from it. There on, the car is road legal throughout the states. It'll be on a temporary bond/visa for 2/3 years, before customs officially says it can be kept in the US permanently. During this period I can't sell her, which I never had planned anyway!

 

[Beau]

So Dad's just sneaked her down the road and given her a wash! After 8 months sitting, batteries still connected, no trickle charge, nothing, she fired up instantly!




Also, you may recognize I'm back to the pre-facelift Bumper. About a month before leaving the UK, the cruiser was involved in one of those staged crashes joining the M25. It was such a shame as I finally had the front end where I wanted it. Was unable to post pictures as the investigation went on for months. The cruiser was deemed written off on "CAT C" terms. Thankfully, the MOT had 8 months more, so I fixed her up and used her prior to moving to the US.

Joining the M25 via a slip road, slowly increasing speed, and at around 50 mph the guy in front slams his breaks on. No break lights. So I ran into the back of the Ford Galaxy at around 30 mph. I had no escape path at all. Anyway, pulled over and saw the ford driver swap around with the passenger which was when I thought something strange was going on. Exchanged insurance details and drove home. Was not a good day. Investigation went on, but apparently they managed to get away with it. All claiming whiplash a week later....

The outcome...
Before.

After


And couple weeks later I managed to fix her up like brand new again! At least the Bumper's unmarked now...

 

[chadr]

Truck looks pristine Beau.

Shame about the "accident" (barstewards!) but I think the "proper" bumper looks better on the Collie - but then again, I would, wouldn't I?

 

[Shayne]

Bugger ! I assume your ABS did a wonderful job of making absolutely sure you crashed instead of stopped glad it all went back together ok . Can i ask if you feel the hidden steel bumper did much to limit damage ?

 

[Beau]

I like the facelift Bumper because of the fog lights which gives the truck a modern look.

Yup, the ABS didn't make matters better. Saying that, even without ABS and a good foot I would have still hit the back of it. By hidden steel Bumper, I assume you mean the small steel piece behind the Bumper? If that's the case, it didn't do much other than take a little bit of the crumble, which is what it's meant to do I suppose. When re-building it all, I put a 2mm, 4 inch rectangular hollow bar across filled with expanding foam in the event of another accident. Overall, I felt that the front end bent up and squashed a lot, but then isn't that what there designed to do?

Anyway, I'm just glad she's now back to like new condition. Not a scratch on her now!

 

[Shayne]

Cheers i removed mine when i did the body lift and didn't bother replacing it because i figured it serves no purpose and sits in front of the rad which is why i asked . Your truck looks as good as ever right down to the red spare wheel cover

 

[Beau]

Well tomorrow's the Big day! Trev and my dad will be dropping her off down at Southampton in the early morning!

 

[Scott]

I know exactly how you feel! Good luck, I hope all goes well for you.

 

[Beau]

Well today went smooth! Cruiser's dropped off at Southampton Dock and will set sail on the 11th. Massive thanks again to Trevor for lending me a hand

 

[Beau]

Update!

Cruiser is now home and parked in the garage! However it was not all good news... I picked her up at Brunswick port Georgia where customs released her and paperwork was all in order. I then drove her back home with my dad behind me (250 mile trip).
First problem was she took a lot of cranking at the dock to turn over, I thought maybe the fuel drained back... but after both batteries going flat, and getting another jumper cable on she fired up shortly after more cranking. I set out and 140 miles later I ran into some trouble, temp gauge started climbing, I backed off but still climbed. I pulled over and left it to idle while I popped open the bonnet. One of my coolant hoses going towards the intake manifold melted/split open and water was pouring out. Switched her off, at this point temp gauge maxed out in the red+ zone. Left her to cool down hoping for the best! Tried filling the rad back up but the water kept wanting to boil in the system so I waited a little more and then topped up the system with rain water (pond nearby). About a good hour later, temp was about 1/4 and I tried cranking. Cranked strong but nothing. More cranking and priming of pump, nothing. Cracked open an injector... No fuel. Spill control valve gone again? Cranked until batteries died and then went to get a car transporter and truck to bring her home safely.





The good news is, she's in the states and I didn't run into any paperwork trouble. The bad news is I have to wait a week for my brother to come back from the UK with my new pump. However the really bad news is, once I get it started, will the head/head gasket be ok? It was really hot, I've never seen the temp gauge max out like that before, and I did hear some crackling as it was cooling back down. It's my fault entirely as when I did those hoses they were a temporarily thing and I totally forgot about it!

 

[Shayne]

Fingers crossed for you mate with luck the gauge sensor was dry which would explain why it went off the scale cold water in a hot engine is not a good idea though

 

[Beau]

Fingers crossed for you mate with luck the gauge sensor was dry which would explain why it went off the scale cold water in a hot engine is not a good idea though

I'm hoping the fact it wasn't at those high temps for very long the head will be saved, but this is just a thought. I didn't fill it back up until temps came back down and the water went into the rad.