USA Delica Owner

[WS Skoo B]

Hey there Deli dudes... Yes I have a fully registered 89 Delica that I purchased from Canada and imported to the US. Many of told me it couldn't be done and many of you ruled it out. As far as I know very few have imported these to the US. I have been a Delica enthusiast for quite some time as I have family in Canada and travel there frequently. I will post pictures soon.

[Mr. Flibble]

Cool! It can indeed be done with any vehicle 25 years old or older. It is nearly impossible to do it with one that is younger than that however.

You are in luck though, you are allowed to upgrade parts like the engine and whatnot - so you could put a newer model engine and other bits in it. What you can't do is change the chassis and the vin.

[WS Skoo B]

Mine is a 1989 which makes it 23yrs old as of right now. As far as upgrading the motor, if I did it myself sure.. However, i don't have access to parts nearly as easy as you do in Canada and also there isn't any techs that work on Delicas over so I am at the Mercy of CVI if I want to get any work done as I do not know how to do any major mods on it myself.

I will say this, Butch over at CVI knows his F'n stuff! that guy was so helpful and honest that I would prefer he was the only one that worked on it except the distance between us makes that not really realistic. Plus after the hassle I had at the boarder importing this vehicle (not easy at all) I wouldn't even really want to try and drive it back across since Boarder officials seem to do whatever they want there and can be rude about it.

As of now, the one thing I notice that may need attention in the future is the turbo has a slight leak somewhere, I noticed oil on the top of it (not a whole lot) Butch told me he re-sealed it but not sure where its coming from exactly so im just watching the oil level for now.

[Mr. Flibble]

How did you get around the 25 year rule? As far as I am aware you can only get around that with NHTSA approval or the "luxury" import rule which has a limit on the number of miles you can drive in a year, and it is generally only allowed for vehicles that are manufactured in batches of 500 or less. I know it can be done; but is usually extremely expensive and extremely hard.

I ended up with mine here due to a legal loophole in obtaining my green card, where I was not allowed to bring it back to Canada. So now I must keep mine confined to my property.

[WS Skoo B]

Oh wow I just noticed you are on the EastSide. So are you saying that you cannot drive your Delica and it must remian at your home?? ?

I have heard of what you are talking about with the mileage thing and all that but mine is fully registered and ready to roll, plates and tabbed. I doubt anyone else will be able to get around the 25yr rule, mine was a unique case. Most these people on the site will just tell you it cant be done, mainly because they are canadian and do not need to care about importing to the US. Guys like me do the extra research and go the extra mile but it isn't about money surprisingly. It's more about the laws and what they actually mean. Many people probably think im blowing smoke but my Deli is sittin in the garage right now. PM if you want.

[FalcoColumbarius]

Welcome to Delica Canada, WS Skoo B

... Many people probably think im blowing smoke...

I think it's alright to blow a little smoke at start up... smiles.

Falco.

[WS Skoo B]

haha ^^^^ yep..