Lada USA Discussion Board

[gblackwo]

Where to begin.. I am a mechanical engineer and studied Russian at Purdue University with my soon to be wife. We both have lived/worked in Siberia which is probably what started my Lada fetish. We are planning to return for Sochi, but in the mean time I have a 1986 21063 to work on. I will try to document my work here with a level of detail that is useful to anyone looking to import or work on a Lada.

I imported the car with the help of my friend Igor, who I met here on the forums about a year ago. I transferred money to Igor, and he handled the purchasing, deregistering, transit plates, transport of the car from Vladimir to St. Petersburg, and Russian customs. I paid about $2500 for the vehicle, and when all was said and done, about another $1100 for Russian customs, transport, and replacing some parts. This may seem steep for an 86', but it was purchased from friends of friends, and the car has no major rust- has been garaged most of it's life, and is running soundly. I'm okay with this price tag.

For these steps, I wrote a bi-lingual sales contract, (here is a template based off mine). I also needed to translate the registration for my side of customs.

I ended up using Atlantic Ro-Ro for shipping from St. Petersburg to New York City. Based on what port you export from will limit your choices for import. I initially chose New York over Baltimore because the state of Maryland does not issue transit tags to non-Maryland residents while New York does. As it turned out, a New York DMV told me that the Russian transit tags would be okay for getting it back to Indiana. So- I did drive the Lada all the way with the Russian T-plates. I wasn't stopped, but I was prepared with all my documentation just in case. Also- the way I understand it- only some ports are able to accommodate the Roll-on Roll-offs, and the receiving dock in NYC (Red Hook) does not. That is what I was lead to believe as Atlantic Ro-Ro opted to put the car in a 20' container at their expense. The shipping was $2160, which included loading and unloading.

I insured the lada through state farm. They have the Canadian signet in their system, and that is what my insurance card reads as the model- even though that is technically false. The insurance ended up being around $35 a month with good liability.

I am glad I used a customs broker- I do not recommend attempting an import without one. She saved me from many headaches and added legitimacy to an odd looking import. The broker costs ended up being $750, but this included the additional NYC port costs including the surprise $400 dollar container X-ray (Gotta keep the guns and drugs out).

So, what I initially intended to be a 4-5k project turned into a 6.5k project. Initially, Igor and I were trying to fill a 40' container with three vehicles and parts, which seemed feasible until everyone involved lost interest when it was time to put money down.

Of course the vehicle needed to be at least 25 years old to be exempt from EPA and DOT requirements. Other paperwork included a signed odometer statement from the previous owner, which I need to register it in Indiana. This will vary state to state.

I had a couple headaches when I went to retrieve the car. Firstly, the dock office had just switched to a new computer system and even though my paperwork was in order, the vehicle wasn't flagged for release in the system. It took a good part of the afternoon to finally release the car to me. Secondly, the guys who unloaded the car from the container apparently left the lights on, because when I got to it the battery was drained. They gave me a jump to get it out of the warehouse, and another jump when I was an idiot and shut off the engine when I got it back to the office. Luckily, there was a Pep Boys about two miles from the docks and I was able to snag a new battery and install it right there at the port. Finally, I was able to leave Brooklyn, and she drove fine all the way to Indiana.

For now, the car is garaged, I'm not going to be able to start working on it until May.

I think I've covered the main points of my import- if anyone has any questions or would like me to elaborate on any areas, let me know. In the mean time- I will add some pictures.


Original plates, grill, mirrors, roof rack, hubs - all soon to be replaced with 2103 classic parts.

2103 mirrors and grill, transit tags, hubs not shown

Transport to St. P

The dash, stereo removed[/img]

Very dirty when it came out of the container, probably from the Vladimir to St. P transit

This is my buddy helping me replace the battery at the docks.

Hubs waiting to be installed

After a good car wash. Also notice the plastic rain/sun guard came off the driver's door. Not sure when it happened, it was in the back seat when the vehicle arrived. Not concerned anyway, because I'm not keeping any of them.

I can't wait to get to work. I will continue to update this thread when I do- I've learned a ton from this forum, and I will be giving back.

[Ben]

Excellent job, in the future if you think you'd rather have plates you can register any car in Vermont with just a bill of sale, even if you're not a Vermont resident. It also means that you will have it registered in the USA and not need to deal with too elaborate paperwork to transfer to your state.

www.benboyle.com has a blog post I wrote about it.

[gblackwo]

I've adjusted the picture sizes- the thread is readable now.

That is very interesting Ben- so basically Vermont will issue plates to anyone with bill of sale?

I will still be registering and getting plates in Indiana- compared to the importing process, registration is a breeze.

[Ben]

Yep, just a bill of sale. Michigan takes FOREVER to process foreign titles. I have gotten to the point to just do it in Vermont then transfer to Michigan. Saves alot of hassle.

[justincase]

thanks for the thread... good story and lovely images. don't think I'll ever be importing directly, but you're the guy I would call for advice!
_________________
Lada Niva 2005 1.7 MPI, ZF power steering, 50mm lift

[gblackwo]

Okay, the Lada has been officially registered and titled in Indiana.

I needed to provide:
- An ownership document. My bill of sale, and the previous laminated registration of the Lada were sufficient.
- An odometer statement, this one page form was provided by Indiana, and I had Igor fill it out months ago, then I simply had to sign it.
- A VIN inspection. This was fun, I printed out the affidavit form for my father, and the city police department sent a unit out to inspect the VIN. The officer inspected it, and tried to run it through the database. Of course it wasn't in the system, so they had to send out a state trooper who eventually did sign the VIN inspection.
- The next item on their list was a letter from manufacturer stating compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). THIS WAS NOT APPLICABLE and NOT NEEDED.
- The final customs entry form from my broker.
- The HS7 department of transportation form.
- And the EPA 3520 emissions form.

I'll have plates within a few weeks.

[gblackwo]

I got a good amount of work done last week.

[lalunette]

Weel done on the rims & chrome covers !!
_________________
Richard "Lada" Loiselle
'91 2104 - 5 spd - 1.5L - Weber carb

A bad day working on the Lada is better than a good day at work.

[randomizer_hu]

Incredible effort. Especially in the USA, it is fun to restore one here as well, but we still have relatively god supply of original parts.

Why have you changed the grill to a 2103? And the chrome wheel covers are not for a 2106 either. What is the engine size of the car? 1200 cc?
_________________
Lada 1500/VAZ 2103 1978
Lada 1200/VAZ 2101 1978
Lada 1500/VAZ 2107 1990 Hungarian Police
Lada 1500s/VAZ 21061 1985
Zhiguli 1500/VAZ 2103 1974
Zhiguli 1500/VAZ 2103 1973
Zhiguli 1600/VAZ 2106 1976
www.veteranzsiguli.hu

[gblackwo]

I was originally looking for a 2103 to work on. This 2106 became available, was the right age, no major rust, good engine, and the right price.

I much prefer the 2103 grill, mirrors, hubcaps etc. It simply won't be a true 2103 when I am done with it, but I am okay with this.

In a way, it will be even more "authentically" Russian since it is a hodgepodge of cars.

Engine is 1300cc.

[SickFinga]

Do you know how much the RO-RO option would be?

[33rus]

$1960

[gblackwo]

Throughout the process we saw lots of different RORO and container quotes for many different ports.

Since mine was not a RORO, I can't speak to what customs would cost in addition to the numbers below.

The RORO quotes change year round. Generally speaking though- from Europe, quotes can start as low as around $1400, and from Russia, around $1800.

Those numbers are on the low end, and highly subjective to change.

[gblackwo]

I don't know if any of you need some more Lada pictures, but in any case, enjoy. High-res images are included in the links below the pictures.


http://blackwoodlife.com/21063/IMG_20120808_194859_big.jpg

http://blackwoodlife.com/21063/IMG_0258_big.JPG

http://blackwoodlife.com/21063/IMG_0266_big.JPG

[lalunette]

I love the juxtaposition of these two long-time enemies... nice little wink to history.