The big move begins...
 

Bike and car loaded and heading to New Jersey. Then into a container for the long boat ride to NZ. What could possibly go wrong?

https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...TA_Move_30.jpg

Are you going to NZ?Tom

Yes - sold the house and most of the contents. My wife is already there (in her 4th day of managed isolation). I'm heading out on April 13th. Looking forward to a change of pace.

What part?I spent 3 weeks down there a few years ago.LOVED it.Be careful of the one lane bridges!Tom

LOL!

Well, that's one way and the best way to get away from all the B.S.

Good luck!

Good luck. Best wishes. Pa to NZ hmm.climate change I guess.

Been driving weekly through Holidaysburg to Holiday Bowl in Altoona. Any old Pontiac parts being scrapped, that i should pick up?

I’m jealous!
I wish I could commit to such a change.
You’ll love it, I’m sure.
This country is going to h - e double hockey sticks as Radar used to say.
No worries.

Wishing you and yours the best of luck!

Waihi - small town in the North Island. Bought a property there pre-COVID before house prices went silly (well sillier than they already were in NZ).

https://youtu.be/LQ507hrcHd0

At least you don’t have to go through the Suez Canal.

New Zealand has a huge car scene.

Sent from my SM-T585 using Tapatalk

Just thought of something,will you have to convert steering?

Good luck on the move. You picked a good guy to transport,Russ is a detailed guy.

Any issues with personal firearm ownership over there ? I could NEVER give up my guns.

Tim john---

Check this out
 

A couple of friends visited New Zealand a couple of years back and attended this event. They still talk about it. We dream of getting there ourselves one day soon.

https://americarna.com/event/classic...ericarna-2021/

Check out these links too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F1WdrIURR8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2YtBNUNxt4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-so7f2lq-60

You are going to have a great life over there. Travel safely.

And no, to the very best of my knowledge, no need to convert your classic cars there

Thankfully no. NZ generally doesn't permit LHD vehicles but they do make limited exceptions for unique/classic vehicles. They are very strict on the condition of the vehicle particulary if there have been previous rust/collision repairs performed.

Best wishes on your move. Beautiful country. But why are you leaving PA, I travel the so called PA Wilds and love the area.

Gun laws not as loose as US

That's what would keep me as a visitor, and not a resident.


Good luck with the move OP! It certainly looks like a beautiful country.

If you get into SW fishing north island can be fantastic.A friend of mine from so Cal moved there years ago.I fished with him when I was over there.Your going way back in time when you go to NZ.Good luck on the move.tom

Good luck with the move. I hope all works out well. Which shipping company are you using to move your car to NZ?

Schumachers for the shipping, GT Logistics for the..... logistics?

Hi Peter,
What have you been told regarding quarantine on your car & bike once they are unpacked in NZ? Are you getting them steam cleaned before packing??

Over here, in Oz, the quarantine go ballistic if they find any brake stuff or exhaust sealant which may contain asbestos. Also any signs of plant life, built up mud etc.

I know a guy here who imports a lot of older cars from America and Europe, he is meticulous in removing the brake shoes etc washing everything back to new finish, checking exhausts and so forth. I imagine NZ are equally as zealous??

Good luck with your move mate.

Ian:ausflag::ausflag::ausflag:

The rules changed after a white sepremist from Australia killed 51 people in 2 mosques in march 2019.
I would check out the Kiwi rules before you go, I think you have to be a member of a gun club to register your pistol.
If you do the FB . A page, Pontiacs downunder, run by a Kiwi and welcomes the information from over the ditch, will be must to meet like minded Pontiac people.
John L.

Sent from my SM-A426B using Tapatalk

Yeah - NZ is tough as well. Not all personal shipments get the full cleaning treatment on arrival, but from what we can gather most do. We are shipping a 40FT container because we have some of our house hold goods and personal effects going as well. That includes some outdoor furniture so we have budgeted for the full cleaning treatment at the other end.

I don't think NZ is as strict on asbestos - but anything's possible. I know we are going to have some hurdles with getting the T/A certified in NZ as they are very strict on rust and prior repair work. We may even end up having to strip the car to get the prior work inspected. Basically we are hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst - even a full restore if needed.

I've owned the TA 20+ years - I couldn't bring myself to sell it.

In NZ and out of quarantine - that's 14 days I don't plan on doing again anytime soon.

T/A is in a 40ft container and on a ship - currently somewhere off the east coast of the US. It's scheduled to arrive June 24th.

You in your house or a Motel 6?

Put Marine Traffic on your phone.Find out the name of the ship and you can track it on your phone.Also can do it on your computer.Tom

Woohoo! Container has left Brisbane and arrives in Auckland in 4 days. Hoping the T/A starts without too much trouble once the battery is reconnected.

T/A arrived safely in NZ, but the battery is completely dead - so we uplifted it from the logistics company in Auckland today and it's on the charger as we speak. Heading back to try and start the car tomorrow and then it's off to the begin the certification process on Thursday;

https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...ogo/001(5).jpg

It's parked beside a scruffy (but nice) XC Cobra or XC Cobra tribute.

Glad you had safe voyage.

If that ford 2 door falcon is the real deal, ozzie muscle car, somebody has paid big to get it to NZ

Sent from my SM-T585 using Tapatalk

are you retired and made the move or did you relocate or just make a total change and going to find work???? sounds interesting. been thinking of doing something like this myself.

Retired. I'm originally from NZ - been in the US for 22 years. Felt like a change and needed to be closer to family.

Charged the battery in the T/A and it fired right up - pretty good for it's first start in 4 months. Looking forward to driving it on Thursday - even if it is just a short trip to the compliance center.

Interesting tidbit - when we first saw the car the other day one of the trim rings was in the back seat - I assumed it must have fallen off in shipping - but the customs broker told me that NZ border control often pop a single trim ring as part of their process to check for drugs.

Well that explains to me, why a yank decided to move to Kiwi land, bet it's great to be back down under.

The drive was fun today - it was a short trip from the customs broker to the folks doing the certification. Technically the car is not supposed to be driven on the road until it has passed all of its checks.

Weird being on the LH side of the road AND the LH side of the car;

https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...go/001(42).JPG

Cool. Glad everything made the journey in one piece!

You'll be a Facebook legend soon. Look familiar?

That's too funny!

It's been a while, but the car is finally booked in for a compliance inspection on December 30th. COVID lockdowns really slowed the whole process....

I have a number of things to correct on the car prior to the inspection and I'm working through them now. I have the headliner out currently as the foam degraded and the vinyl fell away. I'm also trying to get the windshield washer pump operational.

I bought a 1981 Honda CB900F with me to NZ and that passed compliance really easily. Keeping my fingers crossed that the T/A will as well.

They love their bikes in NZ ... vintage piece like that and people might have had a sudden attack of blurry vision or something :)

Wow, Your a long ways from U.S. Was looking at the map. Lots of water(sea) around you. looks beautiful there. Hope everything goes well for you. Maybe the wife and I can make a trip there someday.

I was pleasanlty suprised at how easy it was to get the bike through the NZ compliance process. Being older (the bike not me) helped I think as there are lots of requirements (ABS etc.) that did not apply to an older motorcycle. I was also concerned because the bike has some 'period' modifications to it.

There are definitely some nice roads and scenery around (Waihi Beach in the background);

https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...o/IMG_2615.JPG

Being a bike fan myself ... curious, mileage? I see you have replaced the shocks, pipes and and added a damper ... anything else?

I had that same bike sometime around 84,85 Last bike I owned,loved it

Good eye! Aside from a fork brace the only other major changes are Dymag wheels and 31mm Keihin CR's. Frame, motor and bodywork are stock - she has 32K miles.

Slowly getting through the list of things that need to be done ahead of the compliance check on the 30th.

Not sure if it was the heat or the humidity in the shipping container, but the headlining completely came away from the backing board during the trip. The mirror button came unglued from the windshield as well.

Removed the headliner last week and had it recovered - got it back in today.

https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...o/IMG_1720.JPG

I just need to refit the seatbelts. Also removed the trim rings to clean up the wheels - and glued the mirror back on to the windsheild.

https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...o/IMG_1715.JPG

Nobody in their right mind would prevent that car from being on their countries roads :)

In fact, it should be on the NZ flag!

Are they gonna let you keep those PA tags? All kidding aside, happy for you that you got out, looks like a nice part of the world.................