[Oak]

Hi.
I just got the PHS fax-back papers on my 68 Firebird.
It said:
Charge to : Zone 40 Dealer 220
Ship to : Zone 40 Dealer 001

I looked at http://ultimategto.com/art18.htm , and found out that Zone 40 Dealer 001 was Stacks-Holden in Australia.
Does it mean that my car was ordered and shipped to Australia when it was new?

Thanks
Johan , Sweden

[RA1John]

Yes

[JimFB400HO]

Is it a right-hand drive?

[Oak]

No ,it`s a left-hand drive.
Maybe its been converted here in Sweden, but everything looks like stock. No signs of any modifications.
Man, my car has done some traveling.. first from US to Australia , then shipped to Sweden where it´s been since 1976.
Thanks for the answers..

[Heybuck]

Hi, seeing as I'm here in Australia I'll tell you what I know and what I think.

What I know.
If your car WAS destined for Australia, it would NOT have been made or shipped out here in Right Hand Drive form. It would ONLY have been supplied as a Left Hand Drive car and any conversion work to make it RHD would have been done in Australia. That is a fact!!! Don't let anyone try and convince you otherwise.

What I think
While I fully accept your car may have a dealer code of 40 on the build sheet, I really doubt it would have been shipped over here. Somewhere, somehow, I think you car never made the journey down-under. It may have been re-directed to another dealer in the USA before it was prepped for shipment? Maybe they were short of stock so it was sent elsewhere??

What I REALLY think what happened is:
Those cars were RARE in Australia when brand new. They were super expensive and VERY hard to sell. Buyers were very few and far between. Back in those days, it was illegal to sell a car that was NOT RHD. EVERY LHD car had to be converted before being sold. And converting a car has never been cheap to do. So I would think that simply, you car was ordered by Stack & Co. (they were based in Sydney), but quite possibly if Stacks were finding the cars hard to sell, they most likely asked Pontiac simply to not ship it over here and to find a dealer in America who wanted the car for stock.

Interesting story though. I would still think that your car would be a very rare car having that dealer code.

PS, the law here nowadays is that a car that is over 30 years old can be registered if it is LHD. There are still some brand new American cars being sold here but they are now being made in RHD (Jeeps, Chysler & Dodge mostly), and also Corvettes in extremely limited numbers but those are imported LHD and converted. Incredibly expensive cars.

[Oak]

You´re right Heybuck ,with a second thought about it , my bird was probably never shipped to Australia.
I mean that why should anyone from Sweden buy a RHD converted car in Austraila ,when he could buy a LHD car back home or in the US..
I can post a picture of Car Billing History when I get the real copy from PHS in the mail.

Appreciate all the info.

[Oak]

It´s been along time since I started this tread, almost forgot about it
But here´s a pic of the PHS
Regards / Johan

[Cammer-6]

Im trying to understand why they would export from the USA when they had a plant in Europe that made Firebirds.

[Oak]

I don´t have a clue either.. all I heard was that the European factory was in Antwerp , Belgium.
It would had been fun to know where my car was delivered to , since it never came to Austraila, but I´ll guess that there isn´t any way to find it out.

/ Johan

[Cammer-6]

destination fee may hold a clue

[400HO F-BIRD]

I'm not sure that the list at the ultimate GTO site is 100% correct. I think that Zone 40 was used for all cars that in some form were bought from abroad, not only Australia.

My Firebird was privately imported to Sweden and on my car billing history card it says:
Charge to: Zone 40 Dealer 222
Ship to: Zone 40 Dealer 006. This is Mercer Auto Storage, Bronx, N.Y. according to PHS(even though it says otherwise on the GTO site). From there it was probably put on a boat destined for Sweden.

I can see on your car billing history card that you have option 804 just like me. This is speedometer marked in km/h (or KPH as the actual text says), don't they use mph in Australia?

[Oak]

400HO F-BIRD

Well, I also belive that they use Mph speedos in Australia.
Did your car come to Sweden as new in 68?
Mine did not , like I mentioned earlier the year my car came here was 1976.
Date of first registration: 1976-06-29
I just wanted to know if there was some one who would have a clue where my car has been between 68-76.

/ Johan


( Sorry guys for the poor English...still learning )

[400HO F-BIRD]

Yes, my car was imported to Sweden brand new. Invoice date may 5:th 1968 and date of first registration in Sweden is august 20:th 1968.

So the zone codes is for the export to Sweden, not through GM but privately.

[Oak]

Originally Posted by 400HO F-BIRD

So the zone codes is for the export to Sweden, not through GM but privately.

If Zone code 40 was for private export to Sweden, my car should have come here in 68 not 76. Right? I don´t belive that it sat in a garage from 68 to 76 unregistred.
I should try to get in contact with the first owner here in Sweden ,
maybe he could fill in the missing bit.

/ Johan