wandering S3

[BER2709]

Hi all E type lovers. I have since 2008 a left hand drive car wearing an unknown color paint( a goldy fearn green! ).
The first thing I did was to ask JDHT if "the beauty" was knowned.
So i sent all the different numbers i fouwned on motor chassis and boxe.
In return i had: S3 2+2 LHD, manufactured sept 1971,manuel, Ascott Fawn, the same numbers, plus the first registration ADU 743 K issued in Coventry.jaguars cars Limited was the original dealer for a Personal export Delivery in oct 1971. The first owner B Heb.......went to Collaroy Beach,NSW,
AUSTRALIA!
So questions were a lot! Why a LHD car in Australia, when occured the travel back to EU and in France?
I tried different reseachs on the web on french and australian registrer services....... Silence!
Who has any idea is welcome especialy from the other side of the planet.
thanks to every one.

[Heuer]

Have you checked www.XKEdata.com - put in the car number and if there is anything known it will tell you.

[BER2709]

Thank you for the suggestion! the only ADU743K you obtain on the web is directing you on XKEdatas and...........you see the different datas i have myself injected! 1S72326 and so on!

[AussieEtype]

Interesting - as a new/near new LHD vehicle it would not have been registerable in NSW.

Garry

[PeterCrespin]

Interesting - as a new/near new LHD vehicle it would not have been registerable in NSW.

Garry

Would it have been usable for a grace period of up to a year as a temporary personal import?

I think Australia /NZ are the most 'pure' RHD markets. Other RHD countries in Asia/Africa, or the UK, are bordered by LHD jurisdictions within reasonable driving or car ferry distance.

[AussieEtype]

Would it have been usable for a grace period of up to a year as a temporary personal import?

I wouldn't have thought so but I am not sure. It could have been a "cheap" buy and imported with the intention of converting to RHD (but unlikely as it is still LHD).

I am not sure of the rules then but now the vehicle has to be over 25 or 30 years of age to be registered with LHD.

The only LHD vehicles on the road would have been tourists who brought their vehicles into the country for use while travelling but these would retain their country of origin registration as they do now. (exception or US diplomatic or military personal private vehicles that could always be (and still are) left as LHD).

Of course the vehicle may have been imported with no intention of registering - for whatever reason.

NSW registration authorities will no longer retain registration records for this period as the manual system was digitised a while back and records before about 1985 did not get transferred over.

I wonder that if the car is still LHD and ended up in France - did it actually go to New Caledonia and Aust was just a stop on the way.

Garry

[BER2709]

I see that my post gave plenty of ideas, and i truely thank every one for all theese suggestions.
At the other end of the line i cant' go far enough in the french registration administration. But if some french E lover could help on some way in our adminitration..!

[AussieEtype]

The earliest Australian E type register that I have is from 1991 and the vehicle, the Aussie owner and suburb is not on it - while the register would not have every vehicle in it, most would be there. So it would seem that the vehicle left Australia before 1990.

When going through the register I did find one other LHD Series 3 and a number of of LHD Series 1 and 2s, so it would seem that it may have snuck in before the Australian Design Rules came in proper preventing LHD.

Also - you would not normally expect a brand new vehicle that was to be exported to be registered in the country of origin - my guess is that it was registered as a demonstrator by the dealer (hence its UK registration) and then purchased at a reduced price and shipped off. Aussies used to buy vehicles in Europe and go for a driving holiday around the continent then ship the vehicle to Aust - a possible scenario.

Good luck with your search

Cheers

garry

[PeterCrespin]

Also - you would not normally expect a brand new vehicle that was to be exported to be registered in the country of origin...

This was SOP for Jaguar when Americans or others wanted to avoid duty or some kind of tax. Pick the car up at Browns Lane, go touring for a few week in UK-Europe on a British registration then ship to the USA as a used car. There's a Jaguar promotional video about a Pale Primrose FHC that gets driven down to Itsly and then shipped to California from there.

The unintended benefit 50 years later, is that when these cars are imported back to the UK the DVLA will often re-issue the car's original reg if suitable proof is offered.

Pete

[AussieEtype]

This was SOP for Jaguar when Americans or others wanted to avoid duty or some kind of tax. Pick the car up at Browns Lane, go touring for a few week in UK-Europe on a British registration then ship to the USA as a used car. There's a Jaguar promotional video about a Pale Primrose FHC that gets driven down to Itsly and then shipped to California from there.

Pete

Yes - same here. For me to import my used E-type 12 years later - I needed to have owned and used it in its country of origin for a year to be exempt some horrendous import duties here - the rules for new vehicles that you described also applied here.

I did have a copy of the video you mentioned and looked for it on Youtube but couldn't find it as I was going to link it.

Over to the OP to try and track history - good luck with it. I have rego documents for every owner of mine but I was in the UK at a time when these were still accessible. (mine had 10 owners in its first 11 years then one for the next 34.

Garry

[BER2709]

thanks to Garry and Peter for your answers.It highlight possibilities i didnt' imagine.

[PeterCrespin]

...mine had 10 owners in its first 11 years...

All of whom doubtless learned a new dimension to the word 'thirst' and that the term 'fuel economy' could be an oxymoron... :-)

[Woolfi]

A "well done" EV12 with a Getrag and a 2,88 diff runs roundabout 16 - 22 miles with a gallon. My EV12 6,0L takes 13,5 L/100kmon long distance driving and up to 17,5 L on short-distance driving. Not so bad.
Regards Wolfgang Gatza