Australian classic car owners

[ACR]

Originally Posted by prototype

Is asbestos banned on vintage cars?

Yes. We have zero-tolerance laws to asbestos imports and the onus is on the importer to prove the car has no asbestos which means you pay to have commonly suspected parts tested by an Australian NATA accredited laboratory. Think brake pads/drum shoes, engine gaskets, etc. To put this into real world perspective, the 69 Camaro I have arriving within the fornight is a four-wheel drum brake car and all the brake shoes had to be removed on the US side as they all had asbestos. One of the first jobs once I get it home is to install new drum brake shoes on all four corners (and probably replace the missing parts when the drums were disassembled which has happened before on a previous car). I have witnessed cars come through with engines in partial states of disassembly for similar reasons. Bureaucracy can turn a perfectly running and driving car into an in-op import and you'll pay for the privilege.