The first place to start with a car hobby is to obviously get a car.  Although a car is not required for joining ACCCC, having one is highly recommended.  ACCCC's charter recognizes antiques, classics, and general interest vehicles.

An antique car can mean a variety of things.  Some consider any car over 25 years of age to be an antique.  Others may consider it to mean vehicles built during the period of 1886 to 1915.  Classic cars are usually an expensive or usual class of cars built during the period of 1925 to 1948.  General interest vehicles are just that, vehicles people find interesting for a variety of reasons.

Generally, it is far more expensive to restore a vehicle than it is to buy one already restored.  People restore cars for personal enjoyment and they almost never recover the cost of their time and materials in the work.  As an investment, older cars usually hold their value or gradually appreciate over time, depending upon the what vehicle styles are in vogue.

Procuring Your Car

Once you have decided upon the make and model vehicle you are interested in as well as as its state of repair (or disrepair), you need to get one.   There is no one best place to find the car of your dreams.  eBay is an excellent place to start for vehicles in any condition.  However, if you find your perfect car in the USA, do NOT buy it unless the car comes with a clear title.  Cars without titles cannot leave the USA.

(To be continued)

Hemmings Motor News http://www.hemmings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/articles.tips

Great Old Cars http://www.greatoldcars.com/definitions_of_automotive_eras.htm

Classics in Canada

HotRod HotLine

The Classic Car Marketplace

PreWarCar

Importing Cars into Canada

Often, people find their cars in the USA and Americans will usually have no problems selling their cars to Canadians.  However, getting the car into Canada is not as simple as buying a case of beer and a gallon of milk.  The US Customs & Border Protection (USCBP) requires all vehicles exported from the USA to be inspected.  The procedure requires the Canadian vehicle importer to fax to them the vehicle's title (ownership certificate) 72 hours prior to the vehicle crossing the border.  This implies that vehicles without proper titles cannot leave the USA.  Don't think that you can cut your untitled parts car in half and bypass this requirement.  A parts car has to really be in unreassemblable (is this a word?) parts to get through without a title.

If you have faxed your title in to the USCBP as required, they will not acknowledge your fax and your fax machine's confirmation sheet is your only proof that you sent them the title.  If there is a problem with your title, USCBP will not call you.  In fact, if you call them prior to departing with your vehicle to make sure that there will not be a problem, they won't look up your file so that you could know either way.  Upon your arrival at a border crossing they will inspect your vehicle.  If everything is in order, they will stamp your title with multi-colored ink indicating that it was inspected by the Vehicle Export Office.

Canada Customs will only allow you to import a vehicle if the title has been stamped by the Vehicle Export Office.  Without this stamp, you will be turned back to the USA so make sure that you visit US Customs first.  There are two ways of importing a vehicle.  You can either import it as one that will be licensed or one that is not.  Even if you only want the parts, consider importing it as one for licensing, which would allow you more flexibility in selling the shell of the car to someone who might want to turn it into a hot-rod.  Don't forget, vehicles with air conditioning are still liable for the $100 federal air conditioning excise tax.

If you live in southern Ontario, you have two options for importing a vehicle.  You can only either cross at Detroit, MI or at Lewiston, NY.  Even though Detroit may be a bit farther for some than Lewiston, you may want to consider it because only Detroit is open 24/7.  Lewiston is only open Monday-Friday, 8am to 4pm.

Useful US Customs Automobile Export Links:

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/export/export_docs/motor_vehicle.xml

http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/toolbox/publications/trade/exportingvehicle.ctt/exportingavehicle.doc

Your vehicle export options to Southern Ontario:

Send fax with vehicle's title 72 hours prior to arrival and be sure to include the car's VIN in the cover letter in case the number in the title doesn't fax well.

Lewiston, NY (Queenston-Lewiston Bridge)
716-282-1400 tel
716-282-2414 fax
Open 8-4 M-F
(local towing services can store vehicle overnight if you arrive too late)

Detroit, MI (Ambassador Bridge)
2810 West Fort Street
Detroit, MI 48216-0000
313-226-3139 tel
313-226-5347 fax
Open 24-7

There has been a great deal of construction at the Department of Homeland Security's office at the Ambassador Bridge at the end of 2005.  The office is only reachable by first going to Fort Street West (which runs underneath the Ambassador Bridge) and then following 22nd Street.  This area is poorly signed and directions from locals are difficult to follow.

Directions to US Customs at the Ambassador Bridge