Hi my name is Jerry I am from Vegreville, Alberta and I am importing a 1991 Holden HSV ute. I know this is an elcamino site but this really is a elcamino with a different name. I have posted some pics in the 5th generation section keep in mind they are from when I was in Australia but the ute will soon be here. I would possibly like to meet with other elcamino owners in the Edmonton area this summer. Let me know what u think of my ute or if u have any questions ask away

What steps did you need to take to import?

Very cool indeed, If you are going through the trouble to import one the HSV is the way to go. My brother in law was over there last year,tried to get him to pick one up for me while he was there :lol: How much $ and trouble was it to import?

Well I dont actually have it yet it is about half way here but transport canadas only restriction is that any vehicle that does not conform to canadian safety standards is not allowed in unless it is 15 yrs old or older hense why I am importing a 1991. With the work I have done to it it looks similar to the VY HSV ute or 2003 2004 for those who dont know Holdens

Please post pics when you get it in. We're all just itchin to see an Elky (Or at least its' cousin) newer than Guns' N Roses first album!

:)

I have posted pics already of it in the 5 gen section if you want to see. I just got word today that the boat arrives early next week so I am really excited now

Sept 2007 $39,000 for the SS...will it have Elky badges on it...maybeeeee!

I'm not usually a real lover of green cars, but this one looks metallic, and not tooooo bad :cool:

Do you have to convert from the right hand drive, to left? Not sure what Canadian laws are. Also, stick? Automatic? Disc brakes? Air? Engine? HP?

Just curious to know a little about it. I have a friend from school that lives in Queensland - are you from there?

Don

Ya I am not a fan of green vehicles either but this is a unique color that we do not have here in Canada. I saw this color on my first trip to Australia and fell in love with it. These pics dont do it justice as you have to see it in the sunlight to appreciate the color. As for conversion I do not have to change it which is a good thing as it normally costs around 20,000 to convert. Because the vehicle is 15 yrs old I dont have to change it. The ute is a 5 speed although I wish it was a 6 speed like the new ones. It has disk brakes and airconditioning. The enguine is a 304 5 litre that is still stalk with 180kw of power (Australian) or 244Hp (Canadian). I am a born and bread Canadian but in the last couple of years I have obtained a permanent VISA for Australia which allows me to come and go from there. I work in the golf course industry in Canada so in the winter I go over there and work on a golf course until spring. I have lived in Alberta all of my life and now live in Vegreville which is 45 min east of Edmonton on the Yellow Head Hiway. To be honest I have never been a big Elcamino fan until I went to Australia and seen the modern day version of the Elcamino. Since then I have sourced every possible angle to get one of them home. I really wanted a new ute but Canadian import laws would not allow it so this ute I bought at the time was the only one that I could bring over. I was however very fortunate to find this particular ute as it is an extremely rare model. It is an HSV LS ute. There was only 54 of this model of ute ever made and mine is build number 34. I have only known of 2 other LS utes left in existance #'s 33 and 48. So not only is this vehicle unique to Canada but in its own country this is almost a one off.

Jerry,

That is a neat story! And you are fortunate, not to have to change it over to left hand drive. Not to mention, the vehicle being rare. Wonder why they made so little of that particular model? Not that it really matters. . .

Can it be converted to a six speed, without too much expense and work? Or, is it really worth it?

What you should do now, is import one of our El Camino's down there when you have to work there? 8O That way, you have the best of both worlds, going which ever way. . . :P

Nice story - be sure and post some additional photo's when you get it. Interior, engine, etc.

Don

Ya it doesnt really matter if it is a 6 speed or not and it probably would not benefit to spend the money to change it over. I will be posting pics up as soon as I can and for Edmonton and area members maybe we could have a meet and great some time in the near future

That's a nice looking ride. I'm not all that familiar with the Utes, although they are definitely cool. What has been done to it at this point? I would expect the wheels are aftermarket, has it been lowered? Are those lower body panels stock? You said this package is rare, but what is special about it to make it different from another Ute? Again, cool ride. I'd buy one if they were easier to import to the US.

Devin

Actually I have done quite a bit to it: The body kit (Front bumper,rear bumper and side skirts) are after market, the hood is a GTO hood (Monaro hood australia), 18" akuza chrome rims, preformance head lights altezza tail lights, HSV clubsport leather seats, and slim line hard cover. All of these additions have changed the apperance quite drastically but as I stated before I did want a new one and this was my only option. I have taken a 15yr old vehicle and given it a new look. When seeing my ute besides a new one you have to really look to notice that they are different.

It also has been lowered and I will have fun driving around with some of the potholes in the area but i will be carefull. All of the rest of the car is standard trim for the year. Under the hood on the fire wall is a special plate that designates that the ute is a LS ute and build #34 and that it was built in November 1991. Only HSV vehicles get these and they are a way of being able to tell if a vehicle is legit. Also by the VIN but the plate is cool. Why they only made this ute for 3 yrs and only 54 build I dont know Holden sometimes make short supplies of models to hold value or demand may not have been there at the time as HSV made the Maloo as well in the ute at that time. HSV only makes one ute now and thats the Maloo.

To this point importation has not been a real issue you source out a shipper, have it delivered to loading area and pick it up when it arrives. It cost me 5700 CAN to ship and a good chunk of that was in insurance. You can pick any rate of insurance and that will determine cost of shipment. Now once I pick it up this week I will find out how tough it is exactly to get it thru customs that could be interesting but so far it has been a breeze

G'day, great to see a ute landing in canada
I have to admit I want your ute.

Although growing up in Aus I think I might be worried about ending up driving on the wrong side of the road if I didn't change over the wheel.

I just sold my old Monaro after living away for the last 9 years, couldn't justify keeping it stored and registered to do less than 1000km or so every 2 years.

Do you know of any other utes in canada?

Someone told me there was a Dodge here at the Moncton car show a few years ago that was from Aus.

The new rear 1/4 on the later models is def. nicer looking than the early commodore utes but your's looks great with the updated panels.

I might have to settle for a commodore, sorry G8 when they arrive next year.

As far as I know this is the one and only VG/VP/VR/VS ute in Canada or the USA. I do know that GM had a right hand drive VU in Eastern Canada and a left hand drive VY Maloo in the states for testing. I am sorry to hear your Monaro is gone I feel sorry for you you are really only one of a few people in Canada who know about Holdens and how great they really are. I too will be purchasing a Commodore when it arrives and "changing it back to a Commodore shape" as I think they changed too much on it. I would have prefered just a simple rebadge and nothing more as to keep the authenticity as close to a Holden as possible. Oh well a new hood (sorry bonnett to you) and 2 new guards and it will look much better. As for the ute I wanted to make it look as modern as possible. It will more then likely be for sale if your interested after this summer as I would like to upgrade to a Maloo, unless I change my mind. Anyway anytime you wanna chat about Holdens let me know or wanna check out some nice utes try www.proutes.com cheers

Hi Jerry!

Firstly, any elky owner worth their salt in Canada knows about Utes :D Perhaps Canada should exploit the Commonwealth bond with Australia to bring a few more Utes over and we could supply the US. Anyways, I'd love to hear more about your Customs exploits. I'm in Calgary and have been to Vegreville quite a few times as my wife has family there. When you get it, I promise I'll come visit to have a look see (and maybe swing some sticks on the links). Congrats on getting the Ute and hope to see you around the site.

Hey that sounds great the golf is on me come on up and see I just got it home tonight was a bit interesting getting it thru the mountains driving a right hand drive vehicle but other then that it was a breeze with customs much easier then I expected. The weather was also good so that really helped

Hi Jerry, now you know what I mean about RHD, I never had any issues going back and forth from each way when I go home to Aus. But I can always assure myself I'm on the right side by where I am sitting in the car, I just be scared of recreating the scene from 'the world fastest indian' when he first landed in the US.
On the subject of convertinmg I have often wondered about the Caddy Catera, which was opel based, if it shared enough body to serve as a donor for conversion to LHD, these are getting cheaper as they get older. Would certainly make it alot cheaper to convert if it could done from a wrecked caddy.
In Aus the 70's camaros that were imported usually were converted with holden parts from the HQ-Z models. You could do most of yourself and then get an engineers cert.
I just don't know how the system works here.
Keep me up to date with how things go with your ute, Id love to know the reactions of people the first time it surfaces at a car show!

I always thought about bringing over a ss ute and doing it this way, but I'm not sure that they share enough DNA.
I can just imagine the DMV Guy trying to figure out what to register the thing as!
Mostly just dreams though I guess, as I have 2 kids and a ute with only 2 seats might be a hard sell to the Mrs!
Cheers

Hey that sounds great the golf is on me come on up and see I just got it home tonight was a bit interesting getting it thru the mountains driving a right hand drive vehicle but other then that it was a breeze with customs much easier then I expected. The weather was also good so that really helped

That's fantastic Jerry and you've got it just in time for the good weather so you can tour around. Are you planning on doing a lot of car shows? You'd turn a lot of heads if you did shows between Vegre and Calgary *nudge, nudge, wink, wink*

I actually go plan on hitting the car show scene around the province as time will allow me. In reguards to the Catera I looked into changing it over to a commodore clone preferably a clubsport but then found out that the catera is a smaller version then the commodore and the body panels from Oz wont fit on it. So that finished that idea hence why I ultimately went this route for importing. Since I got home with it last night I have had massive amounts of people approach me wanting to know what it is they all think it is so cool

I actually go plan on hitting the car show scene around the province as time will allow me. In reguards to the Catera I looked into changing it over to a commodore clone preferably a clubsport but then found out that the catera is a smaller version then the commodore and the body panels from Oz wont fit on it. So that finished that idea hence why I ultimately went this route for importing. Since I got home with it last night I have had massive amounts of people approach me wanting to know what it is they all think it is so cool

What was cutoms like to deal with? What were the hoops you had to jump through? I've ordered smaller items from different countries and I can't tell why sometimes it flies through customs and other times it stagnates. It seems like they have no rhyme or reason.

Customs was actually the easiest part of the proceedure. They were happy with my paper work and was in and out in about 1/2 an hour

it pays to be prepared eh? Glad to hear it was hassle free.