For about 7 or 8 years I was looking for a Perana V8 from time to time, since I heard the first time
of these cars. I find it fascinating, this rather small and dainty car
and if you open the bonnet, there is a big fat V8 in it.
Then I really found one on a South African car trader site. After contacting the owner by the phone
, I checked the VIN and engine number.
In this time I really phoned a lot of money to South Africa. At the end there were a few discrepancies, if
it is a genuine Perana, but Justin, having a homepage about the Perana too, told me,
that he has to sell one, too. Incl. certificate etc. And even not so expensive!
So I cancelled the "first" car.
But the "second" Capri still had to be sprayed:
Then there were all the formalities, like police clearance for export, going to the South African
Vintage and Veteran Association (SAVVA)...
Also the method of payment had to be cleared, there are a few strange laws for remittances
from foreign countries in South Africa.
Röhlig Grindrod (PTY) Ltd, South Africa, made the transport. Just a few little probs
at the beginning, then absolutely perfect. Thank you, Jayshree!
In Johannesburg the Perana was loaded in a container and brought to Durban by train. There it was loaded onto the S.A. Sederberg, one of the 4 "big whites" of Safmarine.
S.A. Sederberg was build in France in 1978 and is registered on the
Bahamas. She is 258.5 m long, 32.3 m wide and makes 22 knots.
After 21 days the vessel arrived in Rotterdam and the container was received by Pors as agents.
Pors is specialised in importing Oldtimers. I imported the Perana via The Netherlands,
because I asked the "Zolltechnische Prüf- und Lehranstalt" in Berlin and they told me, that the car
is to cheap(!), to import it to Germany as an Oldtimer.
It is rare and old enough, also the condition is okay, but as it is not more expensive than a comparable
Capri (2600 RS, 2.8i) or Mustang V8, it is no extraordinary protection worth cultural thing
or something like that! I even did not find any translation for the words of these German officials!
And that means, I would have had to pay 10% customs and 16% import tax for a used car.
The Netherlands do have the same EC laws, but they only want to know, if the car is older
than 30 years and then it is an Oldtimer. And for an Oldtimer you only have to pay 6% customs and no tax.
Wonderful EC!
Pors unloaded the car, made the customs and brought it to my home. After all in all about 7 months,
since I saw the first ad, my Perana finally arrived at the 5. December 2002!
About the condition of the car, problems with the German license etc. I will report here from time to time.
| 07. Dez 02 | IT is alive - and it sounds hungry! |
| What mad man ever got the idea, to build in a V8 in such a small car?
I just wanted to remove the starter and had to notice, that first the steering has to be removed! But I want to overhaul the steering anyway. |
|
| Interior is removed. Also in Africa there is rust, but except one metal sheet it is not bad. |
| The restoration goes on, slow (I also have to do other things), but sure. But the German "TÜV" makes probs. Now they want proofs, that the car is a Ford! |
| The front wings are cleaned inside from the bitumina protecting the underbody, on the left side the rust is cut out. The rust went from inside to outside. Anywhere else there is no rust! |
| After a long time and a lot of b***s*** something new: The car now is at a friend "Friesen-Bernd" - just about 500 mls from me. But now hopefully something will go on. And another good news: It now is registrated with a special Oldtimer licence! |