I noted on your site that Andre Pine wrote that one must get a 73 or a 74 Falcon as anything newer will require thousands on U.S. spec bumpers and sheetmetal. I read his post and wanted to expand on it somewhat with a couple of links and information I've received from the respective agencies concerned.

I am heavily invested in an Interceptor project which is underway even as I write and send this. I could not have started the project and slept at nights without having first obtained the following information to ease my "pucker factor". The information I share is direct from the agencys concerned and links are provided for those wanting to read the fine print for themselves.

I am currently modifying a 1975 John Goss Special and am in Seoul, Korea with the U.S. Government working at the military hospital here - the 121st General Hospital. Prior to undertaking my Interceptor project, I wrote the NHTSA and specifically to George Entwistle, Chief of the Certification Branch, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, Washington, D.C.

At the following link: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/elig9807 it states that ("any motor vehicle that is at least 25 years old" is not subject to import restrictions.) After reading the NHTSA's site information, I explained to Mr. Entwistle my intent to bring into the U.S an Australian Falcon upon return from my overseas employment with the U.S. Government. He wrote me back and the memo from his office on 400 Seventh St, SW states: _______________________________________________________________________________________ "DOT approval is not required if the motor vehicle is 25 or more years old. You must provide proof to the U.S. Customs Service that the motor vehicle is, in fact, 25 or more years old. Acceptable types of proof are title, registration, or a letter from the factory or a recognized Club or Organization. If your vehicles meet this requirement, they would be eligible for importation under Box 1 on the DOT HS-7 Declaration Form." Sincerely, (original signed) George Entwistle Chief, certification Branch Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance _______________________________________________________________________________________

Basically Andre is correct in that 25 years of age for my 1975 Aussie Ford Falcon John Goss Special to enter the states is the year 2000, which in my case is just around the corner as I expect to return about May 13th 2000 (unless I get extended, grrrr). Were I to try to bring it back NOW in 1999, I would no doubt have some problems. A little time waiting to bring a 1975 or 1976 Falcon back can make all the difference.

As to Customs: For those such as myself overseas on extended assignment with the U.S. Government, you will not be required to pay customs if you acquired the item while abroad and meet certain other requirements.

Customs publication 520 revised November 1992 "Importing A Car" has some good info. For those working for the U.S. Government abroad who fall within the scope of 19 CFR 148.74 and subheading 9805.00.50, they can bring the car back duty free as part of their household goods.

Weekend warriors or those on TDY military status briefly overseas cannot take advantage of the Customs exemption. For those overseas such as those in Europe who may well be there for extended periods dealing with the mess in Yugoslavia and who would technically meet the time requirement, the kicker is they will probably not be able to get a vehicle in their possession while in Europe prior to returning back or even have time to do so if they wanted. This does not even address the scarcity of Aussie falcons in Europe or the expense in shipping one. In my case, I'll be having my car shipped to me in Korea from Australia - not too far away when compared with the distance from Australia to the eastern coast of the U.S. Command sponsorship or a transportation agreement as part of employment is critical as well.

As far as EPA requirements, see the following link: http://www.epa.gov/oms/...Regs/LD-hwy/impamnd.txt 40CFR I. A. says "Vehicles greater than 20 original production (OP) years old will continue to be exempted from the emission requirements and do not have to be tested."

It later states: "EPA has determined that the new emission standards in this rule will not have a substantial adverse impact upon air quality. This determination is made, in large part, due to the relatively small number of vehicles subject to these requirements, which is not expected to increase significantly, if at all." It goes on to add that in 1989, there were 400 vehicles and in 1991 less than 200 vehicles such as Aussie Ford Falcons and other models meeting this criteria that were brought into the whole of the United States.

This indeed is very few and a drop in the bucket compared with the number of vehicles in the U.S. State laws will of course vary and are another matter altogether.

Although I did the research and have the regs in front of me and photocopied, I went ahead and personally wrote the EPA, DOT & CUSTOMS so I could have memorandums with my car when it returns to the states so that in the event I get any beaurocratic hassles reference say DOT requirements, I can pull out my memo from DOT in D.C. and show that I've done my research and that the car is legal.

In fact, I fully expect to receive some static from some of the military types when they see my car and when I present it for shipment. The military mindset is to say "No" to everything they do not understand or have not researched and make everything more difficult and complicated than it needs to be. Besides, so often they don't like it when somebody else has something nice and often try to make things more difficult on purpose. Sad, but true.

What I'm doing is legal, but rare. When I get an officer who says "No, you can't ship it" when they see the right hand drive, having the memos in hand from the D.C. offices of the agencys concerned will help tremendously.

Interestingly enough, when the IMF hit Korea and the won lost half its value against the U.S. dollar, many officers and senior enlisted military types rushed off post and bought Ford Explorers and other U.S. cars exported to Korea and bought them at half price because of the exchange rate doubling the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar almost overnight. It was a madhouse. Every other car on post was one bought half price from a Korean car dealership because the U.S. dollar was so strong. A lot of Americans lucked out during the IMF in Korea - mostly officers and senior enlisted and not the junior soldiers.

After all of these cars were bought, lo and behold many were found to not meet U.S. specs as they were manufactured for foreign markets. It was a big mess with a great deal of pucker factor going around, but there was a hell of a lot of looking the other way and a lot of folks got over with minimal modifications.

I also got the memos from the respective agencys because in the event rules change to the negative making it more restrictive to bring in such a vehicle, I would have purchased mine before such changes and as such would be better able to request a grandfathering / appeal since I was abroad on government business at the time the car was legal to have been imported. Let's just hope that for us few collectors, things will remain the same.

Within the next couple of years, things should relax somewhat for those thinking of bringing in Falcons to the states - especially the later years 1975/1976 of the XB. Although some folks have their cars in the states and have met the federal criteria, there are those who still cannot register and drive theirs until next year or the year after due to their state requirements. It depends on your states requirements as well. Hope this information helps and is food for thought. Seriously pursuing an Interceptor project begins with the legal legwork first.

Regards, Steve Pilant