Ok, so possibly crazy idea here, but i am putting it out there for comments, suggestions, ideas but please no abrasive criticism.
Here in Portugal, importing vehicles is expensive and importing older vehicles is even more expensive…
There are obviously MX 5s here, all models and a good following but they are expensive to buy. BUT we have our 2 UK Mk1 NA cars here which i either bite the bullet and matriculate at probably 6-7 thousand Euros each(!!) Or I source a Portuguese vehicle of same era which has been in an accident and rebuild using all the parts from our cars, obviously converting to lhd at the same time, then re-registering on the previous Portuguese plates?? What do i need from the original Portuguese NA to do this in terms of retaining chassis numbers and therefore identity??
One additional issue which the purists might object to, is that my particular car is a BRG Limited Edition…
Useful comments appreciated. Thanks
Sounds like you need to find out if reshelling a car in Portugal using a used shell is legal. Its probably not legal to change the identities of your existing cars into Portuguese spec cars. Presumably after “repairing”, say, a red Portuguese 1996 1.8 car, it needs some sort of inspection, and turns, after the “repair” up now green (colour change) and a 1.6 (engine change). The inspecttor might well smell a rat. Would you be at risk of having the car seized?
Note, late NA LHDs in Portugal have US style dashboards, which are completely different.
If you can find a wrecked NA in Poriftugal (big if, as only about 500 were ever sold there in the first place), then you are going to essentially repair them using your cars for donor parts. You are unlikely to have much of a choice of cars to repair, so they might need repairs to the actually chassis, and you are going to reduce what are probably nice cars to scrap.
You say the price of NAs in Portugal are crazy.
2800 Euro for US spec car with PT plates. Interior needs a hose out.
Tidy stanced Euro car for 4000 Euro
Euro spec car, probably had a front bump, 4000 Euro
Prices do go up to 12000 Euros, so 3000-12000. These are not crazy values for a NA and similar to the UK.
Cars comverted to LHD tend to end up as garbage . I’d sell the cars in the UK and start again. The extra cost is just something to suck up as part of the cost of emigrating to Portugal.
Thanks for your response and comments, appreciated. The suggestion to “convert” came from a Portuguese “petrol head” friend of mine but having now been looking for a suitable base car to convert, with all the good bits off our cars, there appears to be nothing around.
If we found a “shell” then everything would be transferred to replicate the original spec, so no upgrading or changing, apart from the colour, but I take your point.
Thanks for the adverts, we are going to look into them to perhaps buy here and then I will press on restoring the BRG Ltd Edition and return both cars to UK for selling.
Btw, the first car was advertised in January 2021…
Further update…first car suggested, no response so as the advert is old they have probably sold without updating; second car, guy now lives in France, car looks online and “on paper” lovely but he wants the money upfront as its with a transport company in the north of portugal, saying i should just trust him; third advert, absolutely no response…why did you suggest its had a bump?? Thanks
Bumper is distorted.
I wasn’t actually trying to find a car for you, but seeing what the price ranges were, and they seem comparable to the UK, though mileages seem to be much higher. I wonder how many are actually Portuguese cars. Some are US Miatas, many others could be from all over Europe. Germany was the biggest market for NAs.
Yes, fully appreciate that but it was worthwhile following up on the adverts and it has given us hope of more Mx5 ownership soon, but then this appeared:-
Crazy or what?
Thanks again for your input
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