UK Mods?

[Windsor58]

Does anyone know what would have to be done to a Marauder to drive it in England? I know that I would need yellow turn signals. I figure I can swap out the lenses for a set of CV lenses. I figure the headlights need to be re-adjusted so I don't blind the oncoming drivers on the worng side of the road. But beyond that, I am not sure. I think they may also require rear fog lamps, but am not sure about that.
Does anyone here know what changes would be required?
Thanks

[Aren Jay]

With the side bulbs you shouldn't need to swap anything. You might have to but could get away with a modifcation on your side illumination lights.

You will need to have headlights that point to the other side of the road though. They will need to be changed or adjusted. If you are in or around London there is an American car place in Kingston upon Thames. (American Carriage Co. 144 London Road , Kingston-upon-Thames) I used them with my Mustang, mind you that was 15+ years ago.

You will need a number plate made to fit the number plate slot and a front plate. That is easy to do.

Your car will need to be MOTed and you will need to register it there, again not very hard to do.

Shipping to England is expensive and takes 6-8 weeks.

Shipping it back is cheap less than half, I used a Ship that was returning empty after dropping off Japanese cars, Took about 5 weeks to Washington state.

If you are coming back to North America, and have a good driving record, keep insurance here. for around $25 a year you can get record upkeep insurance. It just keeps your driving record up to date and when you come back they don't consider you a new driver. You also have a spotless record, while away.

You may need to get a License in England. I was asked to after 2 years, Luckily I shipped my car back and no longer required it as I was driving a British Toyota, after that.

Insurance is very expensive on North American Cars in England. Top bracket # 20.

Comprehensive was for my Mustang 15+ years ago $7000 a year. I just used 3rd party fire and Theft. It was only $2000 a year, on a clean driving record. Mind you I was less than 25 back then.

Hints.

If you don't have a guest, and you go to a parkade make sure you have barbque tongs with you, you will need them for the gate ticket to get in/out.

Lorries / trucks are hard to pass as you can't see around them without a passenger. I considered a Mirror but a camera (forward Looking) on the right front bumper would have been handy too. With an Indash display.

North American Radar detectors work in the UK but might be illegal and don't work really well. They use different radar there. Our radar detectors can detect their radar but not like they do here, it will for radar not laser give a funny chirp at long range and only works for some forms of radar.

Yes everyone speeds in England, even me, but only in England.

Beware the narrow streets. I had to backup for a block in my Mustang because the cars parked to close together and I couldn't get through a street in Oxford. Luckily I didn't have anyone behind me.

Narrow sides roads are a blast, until another car comes. Even worse with a truck. Parking in my Mustang was hard there, I can only imagine what a Marauder would be like.

Rear fog lihgts are optional, or atleast they were. New cars are required when sold there to have them, not sure about Old cars now but back then it wasn't necessary.

The single middle finger works there but the peace sign backwards works better.

Gas is two to three times what you are used to. It is in pounds though so you don't notice as much.

The road is called the road, the sidewalk is called the pavement.

The middle lane on a 4 lane road is the unmarked lane between the two lanes on each side. Yes they consider any place 3 cars can drive side by side to be another lane. Reguardless of how it is marked.

There are very few stop signs or lights in England. Most everything is a Roundabout or traffic circle. Just like here, although few know them, there are rules to circles. The inside lane can use whatever exit it wants. The outside lane must use the first, next, exit. If you don't want to use the next exit go to the inside lane. If three lanes the inner ones are considered inner the outside is just the outside unless otherwise marked. There are double and even triple circles. They get complicated. Follow the arrows.

[Vortex]

If you are being assigned there in the military your transportation office should be able to tell you pretty quick. I believe in the Status of Forces agreement you dont have to change anything but things might have changed since I was assigned in the UK (what, 34 years ago??!!!)

[252life]

I know that I would need yellow turn signals. I figure I can swap out the lenses for a set of CV lenses. I figure the headlights need to be re-adjusted so I don't blind the oncoming drivers on the worng side of the road.
Thanks

The CV taillights work great,( But you gonna need to do separate brake and turn signal wire)
Some people use tape on the headlights.
And you also need side indicators on the fenders

[Aren Jay]

They constantly change the requirements for the signals lights, just before I sent my Mustang over they said i would need to have yellow lights put on the wings (we call them fenders) but when I got it there they were no longer necessary. I had yellow rear turn lights so I don't know about that.

If your in the forces the automotive facilities on your bases are second to none in England.

[MM03MOK]

Reach out to "OUTLAW427" - Greg. His business in importing muscle cars in England. He can tell you....he's looking for a Marauder himself!!

http://www.outlawmusclecars.com/

[Windsor58]

Thanks a lot guys. I appreciate the info.
I've driven a lot over there, but always in a rental. I am not in the military, but am considering taking a temp (2-3 years) job there. I will have access to on-base fuel, though, which makes a big difference in cost. I would just hate to put the MM in storage for that long.

[wchain]

I helped a Armed forces gent a few years ago fit Amber turnsignal CV tail light asemblies onto his car.

[2,4shofast]

Thanks a lot guys. I appreciate the info.
I've driven a lot over there, but always in a rental. I am not in the military, but am considering taking a temp (2-3 years) job there. I will have access to on-base fuel, though, which makes a big difference in cost. I would just hate to put the MM in storage for that long.

If it is only for 2-3 years I would leave my car behind. Europe is prone to a lot of car accidents and it would be a shame for another Marauder to be destroyed. I left a car behind for 5 years while I was stationed and Im very glad that I did. The car that I took over didnt make it back and it was a constant PITA to get parts, oil, etc. Just my .02

[Black Dynamite]

I lived in Cambridge about 10 yrs ago. There were a lot of American cars over there because Mildenhall AFB was nearby. IMHO, leave your car here. It would be cool to have one there, but it would be a TOTAL pain. The Americans I talked to over there wished they had left theirs behind. Just buy a little civic or something you don't care about for the short time you'll be there.

[whd507]

I think I would buy a european-spec American car while you are there, and bring it back with you. even though its a minivan, a diesel caravan would be neat over here, or a euro-spec Ranger, go to France and get a LH version.

or the focus convertible, hey they still have the GT listed on the swiss ford site.or if you go down to saudi arabia, you can still get a grand marquis with the LSE option (floor shift)

[Vortex]

Id sell it personally. The streets are tiny, gas is going to cost like a sob even on base. Id go buy a Hyundai or Kia and ship that over. You can always buy another MM when you come back.

[Aren Jay]

If you take it, the streets are tiny. Gas on bases is a plus, as are their mechanical abilities. Fixing it isn't a problem.

Insurance is a killer. Personally I thought about it, but would probably store it here, keep insurance on it you will need to keep your insurance here anyway. Just make sure your insurance is for storage and insurance upkeep only.

Over there you can get an older diesel Smart car, they are left hand drive, or pick up and enjoy a used Jaguar. They are cheap in England get better MPG than a Marauder, also come in Diesel form over there - 41 MPG, are cheap on Insurance being a British made car, you get an insurance break for British made cars, and you can have fun figuring out what you like and what you don't. There are also Aston Martin, older Rollers and Bentleys. All affordable and while Insurance is higher for some, they are also gas hogs but they would be much less to insure than a Marauder over there.

For a good Marauder replacement, Even a SC'd Marauder, you might want to get something like this:
http://jaguarauc.2ndbyte.com/control.cfm?MREQ=app_viewVehic leDetails&StockListID=597081
or this if you want a Diesel:
http://jaguarauc.2ndbyte.com/control.cfm?MREQ=app_viewVehic leDetails&StockListID=633008
This one is cool looking:
http://jaguarauc.2ndbyte.com/control.cfm?MREQ=app_viewVehic leDetails&StockListID=592849

They are close by where I used to live in England, they all have Nav systems, and if you are 6'5" tall you will fit into them.

If you look around there are lots of Jaguars for sale some cheap some not.

They even come with Warranties: http://www.lancaster.sidcup.jaguar.co .uk/control.cfm?MREQ=app_usedCarHo mepage

[2,4shofast]

There are a ton of good running cheap diesel cars available over there. If you go to my cardomain page you can see the Citroen that I picked up for a gas saver it averaged about 55mpg. It was only $500 and I had it for a few years with no problems what so ever... as Diabolical1 CC said insurance rates are insane so the less HP the better and you wont have to worry too much about fender bender etc if you have a beater.

[Windsor58]

Thanks evryone. I was especially intrigued by the diesel S-types. When I was little, my Dad had an XK-120M roadster, so I have always had a soft spot for Jags. I got rid of a diesel VW just before I got the MM. The mileage and torque were both impressive. But current diesel fuel prices are really high where I live. Even with the better mileage, it may only break even compared to a similar gas powered car.
Getting something over there would probably be my best bet. I would likely not bring anything back, though, as I currently have 6 vehicles here. I might sell 2 or 3 but would keep the other three. I just hate to put things in storage.
Anyway, it will be a month or two before I make a decision.
thanks again, everyone.

[Aren Jay]

The Jaguar XJ series is lighter bigger and faster than the S-type. It also gets better MPG.

Just remember when driving in England don't tell the cops you were driving down the pavement and the pedestrian jumped out in front of you. Their Pavement is what we call the sidewalk.

[Windsor58]

I like the XJ. I just have too many toys, now. I would be hard to justify another big 4-door. No matter what, I am keeping the MM, even if I have to put it in storage for a few years, (along with my guns - assuming I do take a job over there).
Up in Northern Scotland, the main roads are two-way but "single-track" and (if memory serves) the speed limit is 60mph. Every so often they have turnouts (they have some odd name for them that escapes me at the moment) - basically wide spots where two cars can pass. Add that to the fact that they don't seem to be able to build a straight road, and makes it quite interesting when you find yourself head on with someone at 120+ mph closing rate. Makes you keep on your toes. Not to mention the workout the brakes get (the wide places are short).

[Aren Jay]

Now I see none of my links worked.

The first link was for a XJ Super V8 Short Wheel base, blue with 70,000 miles 2003MY.

Basically a Very fast, 0-60 in 5 seconds, 4 door with a 19 MPG US combined rating. Very nice car. White leather and 16,495 pounds. Pricey but you should be able to sell it for good money in a couple of years. It is in the Manchester area. Remember England is small.

http://jaguarauc.2ndbyte.com/WebImages/Internet/G04890.jpg

The Diesels S-types with NAV systems, a must for driving in London or any other city, cost about 13,000-14,000 pounds. Get around 29 MPG US combined and are a wee bit smaller and slower than the XJ. Resale is also less
but they are still great looking cars and less thirsty.

And while they are Marauder like, they are not as Marauder like as the XJ.