That's awesome...

I can get NPR at 88.something, so it gives me something to listen to, the Orange MGF has an iPod input, so I can listen to my own music or stream any radio station in the world, I will have to try the BBC thing at the next show...

I've been using the Jap stereo for 8 years now, even though it only goes to 89.9 FM  I have XM radio, the AM band is huge, but also useless.

I have left my stereo on at car gatherings, windows and sunroof open radio playing BBC news via XM, people have asked how I can pick up the BBC ?, I've told a few that it still had the Brit stereo, and they go Awww yes, that makes sense.

And the stereos from Japan are useless in the States as they only go up to 90mhz? on the FM, well in the Jap Mini's that seems the case.

I LOVE the 15 year Canadian rule! Cool Japanese market cars are getting almost commonplace.. Skylines abound, Mitsubishi Delicas are everywhere. I have found my little niche with MGFs quite by accident. I brought one in, simply because I had been waiting 15 years since they were launched, so many people asked me to buy it, so I sold it and bought the Orange one pictured above. Someone else has hounded me to buy that one, so now I have a BRG with Tan roof and interior...

They all came from Japan Ro-Ro and arrived safely with the exception of the green one, somewhere between Japan and Vancouver, someone helped themself to the stereo.

 As regards shipping costs from Japan, instead of having the car 'c-canned' can it not go ['ro-ro'] roll-on roll-off?   This was a cheaper option I could have used to & from the U.K. 
 -John

 

First the Escort Cossie in BC on BaT  last year and now MGFs!!! Curse the US 25 year rule! I so wanted that Cossie. If only my closest Canadian friend hadn't emigrated and gotton US citizenship, he could have bought it with my money and I could have 'kept an eye on it for him' down here until it was legal to sell it to me. SIGH.

I would say the prices Big Al mentioned are about right, I would think that container shipping for 1 car would be more, but if you brought over a couple you would get cheaper. I have bought a couple MGF's from Japan and those costs seem in line with what I have paid, mind you I am in Victoria, so no rail shipping, just a ferry trip.

Lets say $1.500.00 a car via container to Vancouver-

$500.00 max for handling storage

 

HST- on $5K = $650.00

CPRail to Toronto- $1,300.00

 

Pick up in Toronto-$250.00

Insuranc, DMV fees, transfer fees on top of the above-

And if you wanted the mini to go thru to Halifax N/S , then another $500.00

Gets pretty pricey-$4K or so and that is only if you have people to handle the transfers for you-

This is just a ball park estimate, but costs are realistic-

BIG AL

 

 

 

 

And now this-

"gerry wadman at Sussex sporting cars in Brighton would be the expert.  he speaks Japanese  and was exporting about 1000 minis a year in late 90s to Japan.. AND adding AC to them.. "

Maybe more Tim Hortons' Coffee shop gossip or maybe not- ??
BIG AL-

BINGO!

I am sure there is an age limit as well as the mileage limit. From what i gather they basically make it not finacially feasable to keep the car.

I don't understand why a 50k limit on the mileage would come into play...don't the Japanese folks know how to replace a speedo with a new unit?  How about just unplugging the speedo cable and rehooking it up once a year at test time?  Seems simple to me...

"There are other parameters as well ... suspension etc"

I figured there must be a minimum ride height over there as most Jap spec ones i have seen have Hi Lo's installed and quite a few with coil springs also.

From Wikipedia:

A typical shaken costs between ¥100,000 (US$1,285) and ¥200,000. (US$2,571)

Cars under 10 years old may emit not more than 1% carbon monoxide, and not more than 300ppm unburned hydrocarbons.^{[dubious – discuss]} Cars older than 10 years may emit up to 4.5% carbon monoxide and up to 1200ppm unburned hydrocarbons.^{[dubious – discuss]} This emission standard is laid out in the Japanese Emission Standard legislation.^{[citation needed]} High flow catalytic converters are allowed.^{[citation needed]} All oxygen sensorsmust be in working order along with any oil catch tanks.^{[citation needed]} Exhaust noise is tested at a 45-degree angle, 50 centimetres (20 inches) from the tailpipe outlet^{[citation needed]}. Vehicles up to 10 years old may emit not more than 96 decibels; older vehicles are allowed 103 dB.^{[citation needed]}

 

There are other inspection parameters as well...suspension, etc. etc.

Thanks Yowzaa, this is the real info that l am looking for-

Bringing them by container from Tokyo to Vancouver is no big deal,  but shipping them to Ontario via CPRail is around $1,300.00 each-

Still looking at the # of Jap spec minis produced- Someone said 50% of the last 4-5 years of U K production went to Japan-This has not been confirmed-

BIG AL-

There is still a great # of Rover minis in Japan. I am not aware of the emissions rule about swapping out your engine due to emission concerns. I know as a fact, minis in Japan are not swapping out the engines after 50,000 kilometers. Japan has a strick vehicle inspection (called SHAKEN). The inspection for the locals can be very expensive compared to what I have to pay (I get a good discount since I work for the US Government here in Japan). The owners of minis might be selling their cars due the inspection cost. In addition, Japanese do not like to purchase used vehicles that have too many recorded kilometers on the car. This is good for buyers outside of Japan. Minis do rust over here! Rover started using a guage of metal that was not as thick as the older ones and they will show more rust damage than the older ones. Auto transmissions are poupular here in Japan due to the stop and go traffic. I owned one when I purchased my 1st mini. My second Rover mini was a 1.3i stick and it was a blast to drive. They do have auto trasmission minis here (1.3i MPI). Japan's summer weather is nasty (very high humidity)! You need to have A/C installed in your car otherwise you will suffer. Owners of older minis swap out the original engines and will install a 1.3i engines with A/C. It is not uncommon to see MK2 minis using 1.3i engines over here.

That's what makes (relatively) low mileage Japanese motors and full half-cuts available for transplants. BTDT. Given the typical longevity of an un-abused Japanese motor, they are considered by many to be a bargain, especially if long term, reliable high performance is the goal. 

from my knowledge Rover engineers couldnt make multiple injection work with the auto transmission

The '97 on Jap spec cars are MPI blocks with a coil pack with SPI injection units and a side mounted rad to overcome the space limitations with the a/c compressor.