Hi from the UK, hopefully i will be coming to Oz this year and want to bring my 63 Split with me.
If anyone has any experience of this I would be interested in your comments.

Also, where's the best place to live in Brisbane ?

Where are you going to be working?

Northside - southside suxs

I am really not too sure at the moment, I will be working for Nova systems nr Ipswitch ? they have two offices though in Brisbane, one in Brisbane and the other in Ipswitch. We are still in negotiations.

I need good schools for the kids and most importantly a massive garage !

Well western brisbane would be the best bet as peak hour traffic in brisbane is shit. There are some nice places around Ipswich, and also the western suburbs

pm sent

Thanks, is forest lakes , Springfield and Greenbanks any good ?

erm.. depends on what you like in an area?

Hey, cool - Brissie is a great city, so hope the move all works out for ya.

I moved here from Sydney with work almost 8 years back, and altho it was meant to only be a 2 year move I've ended up staying... I love the place !!!



Anyway, each Brisbane suburb has a very different personality and 'feel' to it... and yeah, knowing where your office is going to be is an important to factor in. Traffic is nowhere near as bad as say Sydney, but it can be a large chunk of your day if you're going with the flow, and the rail networks here are a lot less than what you see in Europe.

My advice would be line up some temporary accommodation either in Brisbane City, or maybe somewhere like Kangaroo Point or South Brisbane for the first few months you're here... then travel around, get the feel of suburbs, price ranges etc. and then make decision on where to go. Coming from UK, won't it take like 3-4 weeks for all your stuff to arrive anyway ?

Coming into a suburb cold, or just on our recommendations can really wreck the experience.... 6 other guys from my company and their families moved in at the same time from Sydney, Perth and Adelaide... and the ONE guy of that group who didn't do the temporary thing first ended up somewhere difficult to live with, and so 12 months later him and his fam moved back home again. The rest of us all turned the 2 year transfer into permanent moves... as the real estate types say it's all about location, Location, LOCATION !!!

As to getting the split rego'd etc.... well it's RHD presumably, so providing not too crazily modified and in resonable mech condition is definitely do-able !!!

Welcome to Aussieveedubbers and and our community. Like Sides says, rent somewhere first as it will help you enormously. I live in Mt. Crosby which is about 20 minutes from Ipswich or a 45 minute drive to Brisbane. It is a small acreage area with lots of room to build a big garage if there is none there already. Forest Lake and Springfield tend to be smaller blocks of land so less room for sheds etc. I don't know much about Greenbank for housing but there is a big Army training ground there.

Once you rent somewhere, you can drive around and see what these places look like for yourself so you can see if they suit you.

To import your splittie will not be too hard under the personal import scheme but you have to apply before the car gets here. Follow this link and there is lots of info and links to the forms you will need http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/vehicle_regulation/bulletin/importing_...

Good luck with the move here.

Yogie

http://ironladyimports.com/  can help you bring it with you

Sides you've made some good points - maybe renting somewhere for a while is an option, then spend your weekends driving around different areas to see where you and the family want to settle. I commute/drive to work everyday into Brisbane and it can be a bitch, however there are some nice areas in between Ipswich and Brisbane like Chapel Hill, Kenmore, Brookfield and Fig Tree Pocket. Good luck with your relocation!

Quote:

Originally posted by Sides Hey, cool - Brissie is a great city, so hope the move all works out for ya. I moved here from Sydney with work almost 8 years back, and altho it was meant to only be a 2 year move I've ended up staying... I love the place !!! Anyway, each Brisbane suburb has a very different personality and 'feel' to it... and yeah, knowing where your office is going to be is an important to factor in. Traffic is nowhere near as bad as say Sydney, but it can be a large chunk of your day if you're going with the flow, and the rail networks here are a lot less than what you see in Europe. My advice would be line up some temporary accommodation either in Brisbane City, or maybe somewhere like Kangaroo Point or South Brisbane for the first few months you're here... then travel around, get the feel of suburbs, price ranges etc. and then make decision on where to go. Coming from UK, won't it take like 3-4 weeks for all your stuff to arrive anyway ? Coming into a suburb cold, or just on our recommendations can really wreck the experience.... 6 other guys from my company and their families moved in at the same time from Sydney, Perth and Adelaide... and the ONE guy of that group who didn't do the temporary thing first ended up somewhere difficult to live with, and so 12 months later him and his fam moved back home again. The rest of us all turned the 2 year transfer into permanent moves... as the real estate types say it's all about location, Location, LOCATION !!! As to getting the split rego'd etc.... well it's RHD presumably, so providing not too crazily modified and in resonable mech condition is definitely do-able !!!

Not sure how the mods would affect the import side of things. To get approval to register here though, it can stay LHD due to the age so that would not be a problem. You would have to get the headlights changed to RHD lenses and probably have amber blinkers. The Subaru would also need to be approved by a local engineer so any photos of the build should be brought with you to show the engineer. It would probably also need the brakes upgraded if not already done and for them to be approved by an engineer as well.
Yogie

Hi Yogie,
brakes are disks all around. Due to the year it doesn't have amber flashers they are single round red ones, so they flash like in the USA and the flashers in the front are white - this is all legal in the UK. I'm confident that the Scoobie install is engineered to a good standard, but would it be easier to convert it back to air-cooled then re-fit ? I see that there is a specialist subaru / vw garage in Brisbane so what do you guys do when you change the engine from air-cooled to Scoobie ? do you have to have an engineers report ?
The headlights should already by RHD for the UK yearly test.
My plan was to convert it back to air-cooled and put the Scoobie engine inside the bus when I send it over - along with the contents of my garage !
keep the comments coming, maybe we'll hook up for a beer sometime.
Andy

Custom Off Road in Stafford do the subi conversions here. Have a look on the governments website that I sent to see about the engine for import. I would have thought it would not be too hard to bring it in with the new engine in it but you will need a local sign off for it before registration. Same for the brakes. It is probably easier if they are brakes from another vehicle (Porsche for example). Still think you would probably have to do something about the blinkers though.

Let us know when you are here and we will meet up.

Yogie

engine and brakes will be no prob, i can give you the number of the guy in brisbane that approved my split (also with subi motor)

Darren (Rossi46) imported a modified beetle and had a bit of trouble getting to the right person.
Have a look here
http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=94572 

maybe send him a PM

things like dropped spindles and such are frowned upon.
Some of the disc conversions are as well.

Good luck and see ya soon

Quote:

Originally posted by kombibob engine and brakes will be no prob, i can give you the number of the guy in brisbane that approved my split (also with subi motor)

Put the air cooled back in, at least then you can use it when you come over, then look at what's involved with the Scooby conversion.
Also the rules recently changed and I believe it basically must be stock , ie height engine, brakes, wheels ect, I know the custom car sellers are having a hell of a time trying to get modified Yank cars into the country.
You won't have a problem with it being a left hooker, the closer you can get to it looking as stock as possible the easier it will be to get into the country.
I think you will have a problem with the disc brakes, they won't even allow some genuine ones here , ie if you even fit Porsche ones you have to get them engineered, I have heard of an engineer not passing CSP brakes as his excuse was he hadn't seen them before so he wouldn't pass them?
Also some places say you have to have demisters , two speed wipers ect if you have a later engine fitted, it all depends on the engineer and how they interperet the rules, you first problem is getting it in the country and regoed first

Quote:

Originally posted by kombibob engine and brakes will be no prob, i can give you the number of the guy in brisbane that approved my split (also with subi motor)

My ride.............

More

[URL=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/857/img00151201112181419.jpg/][/UR

ha ha love it!
Samford is a nice place to live semi rural and still not far from every thing, i live just up the hill from there.
But yep chuck the aircooled back in for the trip and trust me you will have no probs getting the rest engineered in QLD once you have the customs stuff sorted

Can't wait to see that split at some shows ,

Oh yeah I live in Arana hills right next to ferney hills lol.
Nice place

Northside people are generally deluded about the desirability of their suburbs.

Some very nice suburbs in south Brissie along with ordinary ones.
Southern side of Brisbane has all the new road networks so you can get around a lot better IMO

Quote:

Originally posted by vassy66T1 Northside people are generally deluded about the desirability of their suburbs. Some very nice suburbs in south Brissie along with ordinary ones. Southern side of Brisbane has all the new road networks so you can get around a lot better IMO

Quote:

Originally posted by kombibob engine and brakes will be no prob, i can give you the number of the guy in brisbane that approved my split (also with subi motor)