Gordon_M

Too true, the snag is that if you force the issue you can always find a way round, but worst case is that HMRC will assess what you have for value, then add something for shipment, then add 20% VAT to the lot. If you have a complete jeep which is (now) valued at £15k, the calculation would run something like; £15k vehicle, plus £2k assumed freight and insurance cost, times 1.1 for 10% import duty, and then the total times 1.2 for the VAT, so regardless of how inaccurate that detail is, there is a bill of about £5500 between that theoretical case and getting a registration number. Pleading that it was imported in bits, valued at £500 total, will get you nowhere with HMRC, and rightly so, even if that was the case.

Further to what Pete's said I can give some practical advice here, having been through much of this, and knowing other people that have. When it was imported it will have come in either as a vehicle, or 'parts' If it was incomplete and not running when imported it may well have come in as parts. IF it came from America it is unlikely to be a Hotchkiss. You need just one thing - a Customs document ( I think the document is/was a V386 or some number like that ) and that document has to show that it was imported by reflecting the chassis number, AND that chassis number has to be on the jeep chassis stamped / marked / plated. The same document will also show the amounts of import duty and VAT that has been paid. Bottom line is that if the current owner cannot show you import document with duty and VAT paid, either from the US or anywhere else outside the EC, or that document is not directly traceable to the jeep by stamping / marking / plating, then you are buying a complete unknown. I've been through this a couple of times myself with vehicles that I have imported in poor condition, one of which I sold on, and the new owner had grief getting it registered. Bottom line in that instance was that I had the customs document with the chassis number showing duty and VAT paid, so it was just a tedious paperwork exercise. I'd have to add here - not applicable to your case - that if I was buying anything direct from a US seller I'd need to know it had a 'title' ( US equivalent of a V5 ) as otherwise your purchase can get dockside US and then US Customs can refuse to let it out. I'm aware that you can get vehicles out of the US without a title, just pointing out that there are considerable risks.

I know what you mean Tony, though the way you phrased that raised a chuckle .... Is it just me, or are those wheels small ? It looks small to tow behind a 3 tonner

Welcome. The Scottish section of the MVT may be of help to you too, depending on which bit of Scotland you are in, of course. I'd suggest something small to start, and crucially as complete as possible. :-\

If you get a Weapons Carrier, you need a late 12 volt one. Of course, if you can afford a Carryall you won't have to worry about the Northumberland weather.

Thanks Howard, I'll ease back a bit then. :blush: I understand the logic of a hole somewhere there, and you wouldn't want to weaken the structure, but does seem a little strange, and two holes as well, where one would have done ( one each side of driveshaft I suppose )

Is there a definitive reason for those two small holes to be there Howard, apart from letting anything that's on the wrong side of the partition fall on the driveshaft? ( Oh, and you might slow down a bit as you are embarassing the rest of us ) :cool2:

Lots of people in your area with vehicles Vic, maybe visit some locally? I'd suggest the MVT, the NEMVC, and Denny Thomson in Rothbury area initially. Lots of good individual vehicle advice on here, all I would suggest is not to be too ambitious, and preferably to get something as complete as possible.

.... and the real world one. In the real world nobody is going to complain if you are carrying spare wheel(s) jack, petrol, oil, and water - including jerrycans, stuff like that. You'd have a pretty defensible case if you were carrying a 'load' that was mocked up strictly for show and did not constitute a real load for the vehicle - for example if your GMC was full of empty wooden crates, or maybe that 'jeep-in-a-crate' box that the 514th were craning into and out of the GMC and Chev at the recent do using that nice big Brockway Crane. I'd have to point out the huge grey areas though - suppose you put your jeep in the back of your GMC to take it to a show ? Perfectly reasonable thing to do, well within the limitations of the vehicle, but definite grey area. You could argue that in that case the 'load' itself was a historic vehicle so it shouldn't be a problem. Actual commercial use of a WW2 vehicle, needing full compliance, taxes, insurances, licenses, and the like, must be a nightmare. I can only think of tour DUKWs and goodness knows how much paper they need to operate.

The piggyback bracket was part of a retrofit kit. I'm not sure if there were different versions, but it could be fitted to the left hand headlight guard on just about any early truck, certainly Dodge, GMC, and Chev

When you said land-locked Corvette I was looking for a Chevrolet .... :shocked: Nice set of pics.

The north east one I think, also on here - and very nice.

Yes, there are some happy owners somewhere :-| and that shiny paint is a little too shiny, but I suppose leaving it out in the baking sun for a year isn't an option to dull it down a bit? As regards the gun mount. Have a look round on here to find the excellent thread on the Dodge Light Repair truck and its' clone. The owner has posted some great shots of the contemporary spotlight mount and cowl reinforcing on that thread which could give you a load of reference info. http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?38135-1918-Dodge-Light-Repair-Truck-and-clone/page5&highlight=dodge+light+repair Gordon

Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension, or something like that. Basically when you stare at the side of the thing the suspension springs are horizontal - sigh

It's terrible when these things are over done. Next time you walk past 3/4 ton Command Car, have a look at the side of it. The door edge cutouts have wire turned edges, with the distinctive knurl. The joint where the side panel meets the floor panel shows as a distinct line of spot welds. ... etc None of this was ever fixed or smoothed over on the production line, so why should it be massaged away during a 'restoration' I'd far rather see a Dodge, jeep, or GMC with a coat of mud on it - have you noticed the owners of muddy trucks always look happier?

Very nice addition. The tractor tyres do look a little odd, and it looks like the shield sides have been relieved to clear the original tyre size. Going to find the proper tread for it, and donate the tractor tyres to a deserving cause?

Just a basic M37 with a different bed. I'm sure you have already worked out that all the red metal is just to allow the winch cable to be run over the roof to the back of the truck. I don't recognise the body at all, but I don't think that is significant. There was a very limited run of M37s with a dump body - it might even be one of them

At a guess it is a post war Chrysler car shot for an ad, along the lines of "we used to make those, and now we make these"

Bill Murray needs to know what this one is ... any ideas ? -------------------------- The vehicle pictured here (and sorry for the quality, but wartime photos from Russia in the 1941-1943 time period tended to be a little scratchy) is either a 1500-A or 2000-A Mannschaftswagen (Crew or Troop Transport) Several prototypes were made by Auto-Union but the production versions were done by Steyr,Phänomen, Auto-Union using the licensed Steyr design and Mercedes for the most part in the 1942-1944 time period. This particular vehicle is totally different from any version I have ever seen and after over 5 hours of research I am no further than the first 5 minutes. It resembles the 3 photos I have of the Auto-Union prototypes, two different ones, but it has an entirely different motor hood. I have a sinking feeling that the answer is obvious and I am just missing a brain cell or two as to what make it is but I just cannot retrieve it. Perhaps one of our WWII buffs or one of our European members has a clue. Thanks for any assistance. Bill Murray

Lovely - can't wait for more progress. I was wondering about the unusual bracing on top - till I realised it was the Peerless.

It's looking better all the time. Nice little thing and doesn't break the bank to restore or to own. What you'll need then will be two Laurel & Hardy costumes from Sons of the Desert and you'll be all set :cool2:

Not impressed, I've always considered this pointless and potentially dangerous :embarrassed:

Tried it - I was useless with it, but it does look like the sort of stuff you would need to practice and practice some more. I was trying to use it on sheet metal and got nowhere. It may be fine for castings and solid lump repair. Have a look the the You tube videos though

Worth knowing. I always thought the curved boom was later but now I know. Seems to be the one truck type that didn't get the draughty open cab too. I know with that wrecker setup it wouldn't have lowered the height,but then they went open cab on other trucks with fixed body heights

I think the curved boom is the identifier, but the same standard truck may have been made by others too.