G'day From Chris - Melbourne, AUSTRALIA

G'Day Everyone,

My name is Chris and like to tell you a bit about myself. About 5 years ago i bought an old civilian Land Rover and restored it, then this led to purchasing an Ex Army Land Rover as i always had an interest in Military vehicles, I recently Joined a Melbourne MVC called Victorian Military Vehicle Corps. Such a great club with enthusiats owning all sorts of Vehicles from the Military.

This year i went to an event in Corowa NSW, Australia called the Annual GPA Swim in, this was the 32nd Annual Anniversary. Year of the British and European Vehicle. I was astonished when i saw all sorts of MV's come out of the wood work, Willys Jeeps, Dodge's, Studbakers, M813, and other British, European & Aussie Vehicles that were there. This is when i thought yes it would be great to own something different, what could i get?

I have always liked American Military Trucks and i am interested in buying an M35A2 and bringing it Back to Melbourne where i live. I can imagine roaming the streets on a weekend in Melbourne, im sure i will turn heads! its fun and im sure the VMVC would love to see me to be an owner of an M35A2 drivng in convoy on a club trip with, willys jeeps, hummers, dodges, etc. i cant wait!

so now i am doing some research on where to buy a truck from, Shipping to a seaport in LA, customs clearance, applying for an import approval, etc. I know about Eastern Surplus in PA and i am thinking of buying from them.

i am hoping to make this happen over the next 6-12 months.

All the Best,

Cheers,

Chris

G'day!
Welcome aboard! Good luck in securing a deuce. Wonder if it would be beneficial to secure a spare multifuel engine and stow it in the cargo bed. Good idea to have a spare down under for those just in case moments.

G,day Chris and welcome. I'm sure there are plenty of options for your idea about obtaining a US MV, however I must warn you that a large part of this group is unfamiliar with the export laws and often will chose not to sell their rigs to non-US citizens.

You will probably realize your dream by purchasing a truck from a West Coast vendor who is familiar with the export regulations, and can deliver a truck to port in Los Angeles for Roll on/ roll off transport to Aus. There are heaps of import agents in Melbourne who can quote you a price for importing your rig.

Regards,

Rick

Welcome to the site from Salmon River Country! I think Alex at Idaho Motor Pool in Fruitland Idaho is set up to do exporting. He has a large selection of trucks for sell and spares (engines)if you wanted to load the bed with goodies.

Jim

Welcome to Steel Soldiers! I'll ve visiting Melbourne, and possibly Adelaide, in late June. I agree with the guys telling you to get an M35A2 from somewhere in the western US. Once you identify a truck you can likely get some Steel Soldiers to check it out for you prior to a deal being signed. You will definitely enjoy that truck. They are simple in design, dependable and relatively easy to work on. They definitely turn heads, especially winch trucks.

Welcome from the Missouri Ozarks ! Great to have you on board !

There was a pretty detailed thread about that a while back, and another one that was pertaining to shipping one and whether it would fit in a container vs a flat rack.

They got quite a bit of input and a few of the guys, mainly on the West Coast, were very helpful and knew about the shipping part, working in that field !

Am headed out the door, or would try to pull them up, but the search function works pretty good, and if it doesn't do too well, I go back to Google and it almost always brings me back here !

Thats how I found this great place to begin with ! Good luck and enjoy the massive amount of information and resources here !

OPPS!! I stand corrected!!

My memory is fading, right along with my good looks, evidently.I just reviewed the IMP site and he sells to Canada but not overseas.

Jim

welcome to SS. i hope you can get your dream truck on its way soon. you will love the duece. i can imagine the landscape down under being a suited terrain for that truck. send us some pics of your neck of the woods please

Welcome Chris from Middle Tennessee.
You couldn't have found a better MV site to be a part of.
The folks here are the best.
Good Luck on getting a Deuce. You'll love it.

G'day all,

Thanks for the warm welcome, i'm glad i found Steel Soldiers and thanks for the input so far you are all very helpful indeed. Filling the bed with spares is a clever idea too!

I have found a Import Agent & car dealer downunder who knows the owner from ArmyTrucksInc in LA and they brought over some M811 6x6 trucks in a 40" highcube container for the New Mad Max Movie that is being filmed in Aus.

He will get back to me with some vehicles he is selling, and said if i can do the export paper work they can meet my needs!

Once i am happy with a truck that i like, i'll arrange for an inspection & if thats all good ill make my offer. Then the next part is before i place a deposit or pay for the truck in full i have to apply for an Import Approval with Australian Customs, if i get the approval im one more step closer to my dream! secondly the next big thing is Customs Quarrantine, i am ringing them tomorrow to find out what their requirements are as they are really pedantic about dirty vehicles / machinery being brought into the country! Any import vehicles older than 30 years, theres no import duty fee!

i have spoken with VicRoads our local transport Authority they said i need to get a Heavy Rigid licence to drive the truck, and as the vehicle is 30 years or older it can stay as a left hand drive. We also have a new scheme here for club registered vehicles you can get them on a 45 or 90 day club permit wich comes with a log book and can be used with the club and non club events. a 90 day permit costs around $100 & 45 day $60. So Cool........! a fella in my club has an army British Saracen on Club Rego! LoL

Cheers,

Chris

Welcome from the sprawling megalopolis of Sand Rock, AL.

Have you considered trying to buy one of the movie trucks.......if they don't destroy them in the process.

Cool thats not a bad idea too, i'll chase that up see if i can track down the production company worth a try, if they dont get destroyed LoL

downunder said:

Cool thats not a bad idea too, i'll chase that up see if i can track down the production company worth a try, if they dont get destroyed LoL

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Mad Max is on hold, as broken hill is ablaze with color from the floods, not desert like they need and the Aussie dollar has made it not financial viable to continue filming, they are storing everything for at least 12 months to let the dollar and the landscape settle down before they start up again, it is also rumoured that they may ship all the vehicles, props and wardrobe to Sth Africa and shoot it there, but nothing is going to happen for at least a year.
Peter.

downunder said:

G'Day Everyone,

My name is Chris and like to tell you a bit about myself. About 5 years ago i bought an old civilian Land Rover and restored it, then this led to purchasing an Ex Army Land Rover as i always had an interest in Military vehicles, I recently Joined a Melbourne MVC called Victorian Military Vehicle Corps. Such a great club with enthusiats owning all sorts of Vehicles from the Military.

This year i went to an event in Corowa NSW, Australia called the Annual GPA Swim in, this was the 32nd Annual Anniversary. Year of the British and European Vehicle. I was astonished when i saw all sorts of MV's come out of the wood work, Willys Jeeps, Dodge's, Studbakers, M813, and other British, European & Aussie Vehicles that were there. This is when i thought yes it would be great to own something different, what could i get?

I have always liked American Military Trucks and i am interested in buying an M35A2 and bringing it Back to Melbourne where i live. I can imagine roaming the streets on a weekend in Melbourne, im sure i will turn heads! its fun and im sure the VMVC would love to see me to be an owner of an M35A2 drivng in convoy on a club trip with, willys jeeps, hummers, dodges, etc. i cant wait!

so now i am doing some research on where to buy a truck from, Shipping to a seaport in LA, customs clearance, applying for an import approval, etc. I know about Eastern Surplus in PA and i am thinking of buying from them.

i am hoping to make this happen over the next 6-12 months.

All the Best,

Cheers,

Chris

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Welcome Chris! Sounds like your plan would be feasible. One man you may want to contact here on the west coast would be Mark aka 100dollarman, he's got the goods and very knowledgeable fellow. Good luck to ya'!

BTW; have you looked into roll-on-roll-off carriers? Another fellow here on SS (forget his name) shipped a Volvo from Sweden to the US and he claims it is the cheapest way.

yes Roll on Roll off is an option and ill compare both types of shipping costs. ROR is easier where as fitting the Truck into a Container requires a little more effort as parts of the vehicle will need to be removed for it to fit in.

I've had to put the purchase of an M35 on hold as my daily driver has died and i am gona need a new 2nd hand car, bugger! I will continue collecting info and research and still hope that i can persue my purchase for an M35 Truck in a few years time. thanks for the heads up on ideas and people to speak with!

cheers,

Chris

ahh bugger, i hope they don't go overseas to shoot this Mad Max film its good to see more films here but the AU to US dollar and our weather has had an impact. Movies create jobs. Talking about movies, the Landrover that is in my avatar pic this vehicle was used in the new to be released film "Killer Elite" out on September 23rd this year. It was hired out for one day and is used in the scene at the Oman Military Police Base! was my first time on set and was a great day off Work!

downunder said:

the Landrover that is in my avatar pic this vehicle was used in the new to be released film "Killer Elite" out on September 23rd this year. It was hired out for one day and is used in the scene at the Oman Military Police Base! was my first time on set and was a great day off Work!

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Cool, I work in the film industry myself, I have just sold my land rover that was used by Natalie Bathingswaighte in the movie Prey, here is the cast at the back of it

that's fantastic ! you get to meet and work with great people. very cool.......!

Heyy Chris yeah I am 16 and I love ex military stuff

Yeah Chris I am also from Melbourne and I have all ways been in
to army stuff. The last couple of days I have been looking at the M35a2's and there awesome!!! I can't wait till I'm older to get one

downunder said:

ahh bugger, i hope they don't go overseas to shoot this Mad Max film its good to see more films here but the AU to US dollar and our weather has had an impact. Movies create jobs. Talking about movies, the Landrover that is in my avatar pic this vehicle was used in the new to be released film "Killer Elite" out on September 23rd this year. It was hired out for one day and is used in the scene at the Oman Military Police Base! was my first time on set and was a great day off Work!

Click to expand...

Hey downunder. Welcome to you from here in the Commonwealth of Virginia! Glad to have you on board.

I didn't know about another Mad Max sequel coming out. I loved those films: Mayhem Majesty. What's the new story all about?