> and it has me wondering.  Are kit cars exempt from the US emissions and
> safety regs.? If so what qualifies as a kit car?  Could someone establish a
> company that buys mexican buses and partly disassembles them (say pull the
> motor, tranny, seats, doors...the easy stuff) then sells them as "kit" cars
> in the US?  Wondering if anyone knows anything about this or is my
> assumption about kit cars, baja buggies etc. way off base?

now that is a thought. i recall that there is a company in
Houston, TX, that imports a replica(r) of the Porsche 356
(about 1965 version) from Brazil ... but the car is a 'kit
car' made of fibreglas, and has everything ready to go
(lights, wiring, seats, doors, brakes, etc) but you, the
purchaser, has to specify (or buy without) an engine and
transmission. you can get a beetle engine, a porsche engine,
or a type 4 bus engine. only real downside was that the cost
of the thing was over $20,000 ... which is what you'd pay
for a decent condition restored original porsche of the same
type and year. :(

so if they can do that, maybe they'd be interested in
getting some buses in the same way?? :)  the company was
Blue-Ray something or other. anybody in Houston that can
check this out?

joel