How to get a Skyline in America
 

Most of you have probaly already seen this. Thought I might as well post it though.

How to Get One of the Most Desirable Sports Cars in the World

By: John Pearley Huffman

Date Posted 05-19-2005

When you think "gray-market" cars, European exotics usually come to mind first. Back in the 1970s, the only way an American could get a Ferrari 512 BB or a Lamborghini Countach into his garage was to have a converter slip it under the government's emissions-control radar. In the 1980s and 1990s, however, it was German machinery like the Porsche 959 and a Mercedes-Benz Gelandewagen that became the automotive forbidden fruit of the moment.

Today, it's the turbocharged, all-wheel-drive Nissan Skyline GT-R that's the darling of the gray-marketers. The right-hand-drive-only supercar, which Nissan has never sent to America, sits atop the Japanese performance pyramid. It's the standard to which the Subaru Impreza WRX STi and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX aspire. It's the obsession of tuner magazines, and it's the car all those tweaked Hondas are pretending to be.

But gray-market cars have always been fraught with risk. "We're flattered by the enthusiasm," said Nissan spokesman Dean Case when asked about gray-market imports of the Skyline GT-R, "but Nissan isn't supporting the car in this market." That means parts and service will be an improvisational challenge for anyone who wants to drive one in America. A factory warranty? Forget it.

Despite this, a trickle of Skylines has made it into the United States. In fact, buying one can be as simple as typing "Skyline for sale" into Google and writing a chunky-sized check. And if you're lucky it'll even be a legit and legal car. If you're lucky.

But there's also a less risky way to get your hands on a Skyline. Read on.

The Ones to Want
Nissan built the first Skyline GT-R way back in 1969, but it didn't ascend to its throne until the eighth-generation Skyline ("R32") debuted in 1989 and the GT-R was endowed with a spectacular straight-six engine and world-beating chassis.

The new 2.6-liter double-overhead-cam 24-valve six engorged by twin turbochargers was rated throughout the car's life at 280 horsepower. But that figure was only there to satisfy Japanese government engine-output regulations — it more likely made somewhere near 330 hp. And it didn't take much to boost that to 400 hp or beyond. Well beyond.

The new chassis carried an all-independent suspension, all-wheel drive and Nissan's Super HICAS electronic four-wheel steering system. Taking the power from a rather conventional five-speed manual transmission, the "ATTESA E-TS Electronic Torque Split 4WD System" varied the distribution of torque from 100 percent to the rear all the way to 50/50 front and rear. Complex? Absolutely.

By 1993, the slightly larger and more luxurious R33 was in production. The R33 was clearly an evolution, and carried the best stuff of the R32's engine and drivetrain. But GT-R fans felt the R33 was too big, so Nissan retightened the car's dimensions and sharpened its styling to create the "R34" Skyline GT-R for 1998. Again clearly evolutionary, the R34 retained most of the drivetrain with the addition of a Getrag six-speed transmission. The R34 left production in 2003.

Demand and respect for the R34 is still so high in Japan that Nissan's performance arm NISMO recently bought back 20 slightly used R34 GT-R V-Specs to completely rebuild into the ultimate GT-R: the Z-Tune. For about $170,000 the Z-Tune offers 500 hp, fortified suspension and drivetrain, carbon-fiber bodywork, and disc brakes the diameter of a sumo wrestling ring. Designed as the ultimate street-going vehicle, NISMO claims a Z-Tune will crush through a quarter-mile in just 10.6 seconds on street tires. That would make it the hardest accelerating "production" car ever.

In America, though, the R34's highest profile came in that 2003 cinematic classic 2 Fast 2 Furious where actor Paul Walker's character drove one. During filming, the actor was so impressed with the car he bought himself a 2001 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II. And then he spent a fortune exaggerating its abilities with the dozens of aftermarket components available for the car from Japan. And if Paul Walker can get one, so can you.

How to Buy One
Most Skylines in America ultimately come from Motorex in Torrance, California. Nissan never exported any Skylines to the United States, so a few had to be sacrificed to prove their crashworthiness to the Department of Transportation (DOT), and it's Motorex that did that testing. It's been applying what it's learned to producing DOT-approved Skyline GT-Rs ever since and has put somewhere between 170 and 180 on America's roads, says General Manager Quincy Yamada.

The conversion process is straightforward, explains Sean Morris, who used to work for Motorex before opening his own shop, RB Motoring specializing in Skylines. "The biggest thing was proving to the DOT that they were crashworthy," he says. Getting the car's emissions in line takes some work, but it's doable. Then there are dozens of details like making sure all the labels and identification numbers on the car conform to standards that go into making a car strictly legal.

A few less-than-strictly-legal Skylines have snuck into the U.S. and registered. But if law enforcement catches up with one, it's likely to be confiscated and exported — or worse. If you want to import a GT-R yourself, be prepared to learn all the intricacies of certification that a company like Motorex already knows. And Motorex isn't sharing its knowledge.

But if you're determined to go it alone, start with the Web sites of the federal agencies with which you'll be dealing: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Customs. All three are packed with information on importing vehicles, but none make the task appear less than daunting.

What It's Like to Own One
Just remember, there's nothing more tempting than forbidden fruit, but there are always risks when you bite into an exotic apple.

"My biggest challenge was the difficulty of getting the DMV in the state of Ohio to issue a title to a non-standard VIN number," explains Kyle Bacon, 33, of Columbus and the owner of a 1995 R33. "They just couldn't handle a VIN that had dashes in it. They needed a 13-digit number without any special characters. So we took out some dashes and added some zeroes."

Fortunately while the Skyline GT-R is a unique vehicle, it's not so exotic that no parts interchange with Nissans sold in America. "I haven't had any problem with parts," says Bacon. "A lot of filters and stuff can be substituted with items originally sold here for cars like the 300ZX Twin Turbo. RB Motoring has cross-referencing information that it provides. Of course it's not like I can wreck the car and just go pull a body panel out of the junkyard. And I can't expect to ask the Nissan dealer for a titanium exhaust for a Skyline and expect them to have it in stock."

For Bacon and other buyers, the most serious challenge is dealing with driving a right-hand-drive car in left-hand-drive America. "If you're not paying attention, you wind up driving down the center of the road," Bacon says. "I scuffed up the left-side rims when I was parking. And the turn signals and windshield wiper stalks are reversed so that when you click on the turn signals you wind up turning on the wipers."

Ultimately, though, Bacon has found the car very satisfying. "I had built my old car, an RX-7, to be a 600-hp beast," he says, "and I wanted my next car to be an 800-hp beast. I looked at a three-rotor version of the Mazda and the Toyota Supra. But I knew I'd have trouble with traction. I wanted all-wheel drive and that's what led me to the Skyline."

The GT-R That's Coming
Motorex has such a large backlog of cars already in its shop that it has stopped importing Skylines until it's caught up. It does have a few used GT-Rs for sale (R32s and R33s ranging from about $48,000 to $72,000, with the R34s going for around $95,000), but all the R32, R33 and R34 GT-Rs that will ever come to America may already be here. But this isn't the end of the GT-R story.

In Japan, the current Skyline two-door is the car known as the Infiniti G35 Coupe in America, and there is a GT-R version coming. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has promised that this GT-R will be exported to the United States. It's about time.

Strongly rumored to debut in production form at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, the "V35" GT-R will likely use a twin-turbo version of Nissan's often lauded VQ-Series, DOHC, 24-valve V6 displacing somewhere between 2.8 and 3.5 liters and making power at least comparable to the gray-market engine feeding a new all-wheel-drive system. And unlike every previous GT-R, this one will be produced with left-hand drive. Don't expect the "Skyline" name to make it over to this country, though, as it will likely be called the Infiniti GT-R.

Will the next GT-R make anyone forget its predecessors? No. But buying a new one at any Infiniti dealer may make the hassle of importing an older one less attractive.

But don't count on it.


http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=105699

good article. thanks.

if the monocoque chassis of the 2007/08 GTR is not based upon the current FM plaftorm, it will not be called "V35" as that already exists with the V35 GT350 Skyline.

if anything, they may drop the series designations of 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, and call it something else. or they will call it "....36."

maybe!

cool. i didnt know that. article is like 6 months old. thanks for the info. :)

IF it is based upon the V-chassis, it will probably be called V35 GT-R. but it probably will NOT be referred to by it's chassis code if it is an Infiniti.

so all of the millions of articles that refer to it as "V 35 GT-R," and the earlier "R 35," are sort of barking up the wrong tree --the demographic who will buy the GT-R will not care ONE BIT about it's chassis code --already, stateside, Infiniti "incorrectly" calls the Skyline a "G35." the only technical reference in that designation is the "35" part --3.5L. the "G" is bogus. so ALREADY, they have begun to "hide" the car's technical traits from consumers.

for example, if you say "i have an S14," most people who will be able to buy the new GTR will have NO IDEA what you are talking about. even the same here: you say "i have a V35 GT 350," and MOST people who will be able to buy the new GTR will have no idea what that is. so i doubt Infiniti will call the GT-R by it's proper chassis code. why? -nobody will care.

i must make a correction. i should have said "if the GTR is not based upon the current V chassis, it will not be called "V 35." this is the main "unknown."

instead, i said "FM platform," when i should have said "chassis": there is a difference. and i will explain that in the Arcane thread later.

Only problem i see in the artical Sean doesn't own RB he just works with them and sells cars from time to time. Jack actually owns it.

I don't under stand how Kyle had some much trouble getting his titled. I had mine titled in Ohio a year before his so it should have been no problems.

rumors?
 

Ok, now i've read that article before, and I've heard some rumors. I wonder if anyone on here can put them to rest. I've heard that Motorex is no longer importing skylines until they have gotten rid of their overstock. True or False? I have also heard that motorex will not import any more skylines into the US, period. True or False? Now, I haven't heard much about RB Motoring. I do know that I haven't been able to get any email response from either company concerning their skyline importation. No, I haven't called them b/c I am not going to be close to being able to even afford a skyline until mid-late '06 at the earliest. I'm just trying to do my homework. If anyone has any feed back, drop me a line please. I would like to know about how long it took from start up to delivery. Also, were there any snags I should be made aware of? The other question I have about the skyline is, what are insurance premiums like? I know the car get's labeled as 'grey market' or 'exotic', I was just wondering what a ballpark figure in price difference might be. :smilie_th

MotoRex lost it's R.I. status, Hiro (the owner) let paper work fall behind and did a few illegal things. Which means there no longer able to bring in anymore skylines.

They can legalize what cars they have here or had on the way here before they lost there R.I. Something in the ball park of 25 or so. There are about 10-15 are already paid for. What's in the U.S. is it sorry.

Now RBmotoring get's there cars through MotoRex they have a few legal ones for sale now. Sean used to work for MotoRex he helped Hiro start it. RB is a R.I. and is working on getting certified but the DOT is giving Sean a hard time now.

The whole process takes a while because MotoRex drags there feet big time took me about 6-8 months to get mine. I know of people that have been waiting for a year for there's.

Insurance: If you have more than 2 tickets forget about it no 1 will insure you. If you under 21 forget about it too.

Most places will insure it as a stated value vehicle call AAA, or American Family or Farmers. Make sure you read the fine print though because most places won't cover aftermarket parts. I pay 2,400 a year between my 95 GT-R and my 99 F-250 full coverage and 500 deductiable,

you don't need motorex or rb motoring to get a skyline.

To get a street legal one you do, unless you can find one that has already been legalized by Motorex for sale.

thanks
 

Thanks alot real, that clears alot up. Maybe RB will be squared away by the time I have some money to purchase one, or I can find a good deal stateside. Appreciate it. :smilie_th

RB Motoring
 

I did some checking last night, and was scouring the NHTSA website for RI's. I found RB Motoring listed as a qualified RI on the website.

Being an R.I. is only part of the step they have to become an I.C.I to and get sone D.O.T. certification.

Here's some helpfull links:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/

http://www.mirageautosports.com/GTR/Importation.html

Here's 1 for the kit car policy. Some people have gotten some throught by saying it's a kit car but it is still Illegal. They can take the car export it or crush it, up to a 25,000 fine and or up to 3 years in jail. (it ain't worth it.)
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/imports/kitcar.htm

GT-R imported as a race or show car is perfectly legal
 

perfectly legal way is to import it as a show or race car only. you will not be able to street the car legally, but you can tow it to a track to drag or auto-x it. and you will not need to pay the exhorbitant fines or EPA/DOT fees. you only pay for the GT-R, and the import/insurance costs. you can buy an R32 GT-R in Japan for as little as 8 to 9 thousand $USD.

add container fees, dock fees, plane ticket to japan to go shopping, and throw in the cost of your trailer to tow her, and you can get away with a GT-R package around $16k or less --much more reasonable and realisitc a price for the machine.

going this route, all you need is a certified race driver's license (add to budget) and/or a shop to "sponsor" the car. this is done routinely. and legally. is a no-brainer. any registered importer of goods can import the car this way. it comes over in a container. as any shipment for commerce would. and you can take a race-driving course to get certified.

once you have your prize sitting the garage, you can worry about registering it later, if you want to. as for me, i would NOT want to drive the GT-R anywhere but to meets or races anyway. i would NEVER want to advertise that i have one, parking it at the supermarket, only to have it stolen or vandalised.

i know it is fun to drive the japan-only GT-R around town as a daily driver. legally. those who do are fortunate and deserve the attention. but if you can not float $35 to $65 thousand for the car, then you can always find another way. and you are not beholden to RBMotoring or MotoRex's "supply" of cars.
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there are illegal tricks to get the car "registered." but i would be of bad character, as well as stupid, to suggest them here on an international forum that is monitored by the government.

use your imagination. it ain't that hard.

While most of that is true before the car can be allowed on to american soil it has to be approved. You have to provide photos' a list of races you will attend not one's you plan on. Plus other things.(long process)

And you still have to meet all EPA requirements and some nhtsa. And to meet the EPA requirements u need an I.C.I.
http://www.nhtsa.com/cars/rules/impo...osd072003.html

from that site (i really get a kick out this stuff, in a negative way):

"VEHICLE ELIGIBILITY

In determining whether a vehicle is eligible for importation for show or display, NHTSA will consider the following factors, among others:

-Whether a vehicle of the same make, model, and model year was manufactured and certified for sale in the United States.
-Whether a vehicle of the same make, model, and model year has been determined eligible for importation pursuant to 49 CFR Part 593.
-Whether the vehicle is currently in production.
-Whether more than 500 of the vehicles were produced.
-Whether the vehicle is a kit car, replica, or special construction vehicle.

If the answer to any of the above is affirmative, you should not expect NHTSA to grant permission for importation. If the answer to item 4 is affirmative, the applicant must establish that the vehicle is of exceptional technological and/or historical significance."
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ok, bottom line, i have seen people with GT-Rs that did not do any of that, and they're sitting in their garages. they're not street legal, but the cars were imported here. they made it off the container and to the garages. it can be done.

i will not say any more than that.

Why???
 

But what good is having a nissan skyline gtr if you can't drive it around your own town and show it off. It is, from what I've heard, the most fun car to own and drive ever. Why get one just to do all that work on it, if you can't show it off by driving it to the local 7-11? It kind of defeats the purpose doesn't it? I don't have all this money to be putting into a car that I can't drive.......:uppydown3

My point exactly a car is ment to be driven no mater what it is or what's done to it. Other wise it's useless.

pros and cons of driving the GT-R every day
 

true. so get in line at RBMotoring or MotoRex. they will finance you. all you need is a downpayment. around $5000 for the R32. then sign your name and hope for the best. your payments will be around $600/mo for about 5 years.

then if you smash the GT-R when a person cuts you off at the traffic light, you still have to pay for the car, and the treasure is gone. when i have one, i will probably only drive it to meets or events on the weekends. occasionally to run errands. to me, it would be like owning a classic Pontiac GTO that is fully restored. it would have very limited road-use.

most definitely, i'd take it out to the desert and back on a day trip, for example. going through the twisty mountains and flat lands. then garage it until the next event. or trip. that'd be about it. but day to day traffic? --forget it. what is the point?

just beware of MotoRex.

Skyline
 

That's what I'm talking about though. Why go thru the trouble of importing a skyline only to not drive it. You would only be carting it around to shows and events. It's no fun, and not what a car is made for. Especially the GTR. It was made to be driven. I wouldn't drive it everywhere everyday. But on those beautiful days, when the sun is shining, and you can go out and drive with the windows down and the music up, it's perfect joy. I wouldn't go thru the trouble of importing a skyline if I wasn't going to drive it. So I can do what?, stare at it and wish it to street legalness?? And all those out there who got one here under the radar by listing it as a "kit" car, I hope they find you. I hope you are fined and go to jail. But most of all, I hope they crush your car into a small cube of metal and make you watch. Because it's people like you that make it truly difficult for the true auto enthusiasts to enjoy this car.........but, that's just my opinion..................:waglleybo

well, yes, then we are not so at odds, then, on our opinions. i would not want to drive the GT-R every day. i have a beater for that. i would want to feel the car perform on the open highway and mountain passes most definitely. else, having the car is like having a full scale die cast model.

really, this comes down to money. if you can manage at least $500/mo car payments, then there is nothing stopping anyone from buying this car. if you want an R33, then the price immediately jumps to about $700/mo; with the R34 GT-R being around $1000/mo or more --all not including insurance.

if this is within your budget, then there is no need to fret about importation laws. you just go and buy the car. a lot of people who will be candidates for the new GT-R can already buy an older skyline without any financial hardship. but it is often the younger tuner crowd, with less money, who wants the true "legend."

therefore if money is a problem, inevitably, there are those who will think of every possible loophole or trick to get around the extra expense. this has been covered on other forums probably well over a million times.

people have even cut a GT-R in half, making it a "half cut," and importing the front. then on a separate container shipment, in a different month, importing the rear part. officially, the car is salvage junk this way. then an expert welder here grafts the pieces back together: it has been done. as for me, hell no. i'd never compromise the car and my whole effort by hacking the car up. but with the hacked way, there is no need to do any such EPA, DOT, anything. it is just junk.

people have also had the car gutted overseas and had the shell imported without an engine. or anything at all. no wheels, steering column, nothing. then the parts follow later, with the entire car being reassembled here. that has been done.

that still leaves registration a problem. but believe me, there are bogus ways around that, too. and those have all been done. as we speak, there are illegal skylines driving around. not many, but they are there. it is not really that hard to do. the biggest cop magnet, probably, is the fact that the car is right hand drive. and the rear end looks different, with the "skyline" panel across the back. if you remove or cover that panel, it may lessen the impact, but the RHD still looks funny. and a cop will pull you over, especially in socal. but if you have the papers in order, then they cannot do jack sh!t.

even more stealthy, are the illegal engine swaps that are done here A LOT: nearly every day, someone swaps an RB or an SR into a 240SX. those engines are totally illegal here for the street. yet you will see hundreds of such cars at shows and meets all summer long with these engines.

the real reason for tight importation laws of sports cars is less about safety and compliance, and more about money: uncle sam wants a piece of the action. and he will do business and grant legality to the highest bidder, making the owner jump through flaming hoops to have their coveted "skyline" or treasured rarity. you have to pay to play. or you go down really hard.

engine swaps
 

The RB and SR engines aren't kosher here? I was under the impression that the skylines have the RB engines in them when the are imported, and no detuning is done. Am I wrong?

It's actually legal to put a RB in a 240 and a SR20 is not. Since the RB is in a skyline which is now legal it made the motor legal that's 1 of the only things MotoRex was good for.

No detuning is done they add about 2 cats though. They also add alot of safety stuff from japan the skyline is very unsafe unless some of these mods are done. Front windshield is replaced with safty glass. The seatbealts are modded and a few other things.

JDM to USDM
 

part of the certification process is to bring the whole car up to USDM spec. you have to add american turn signals, 3rd brake light, proper backup lights, airbag if applicable, USDM gauges, bumper reinforcements, and the engine must be brought up to OBD 2 spec, if i am correct.

and no. the RB is not detuned at all. it is brought up to spec to pass with the rest of the car.

and yes, SRs as stand-alone engines are illegal. totally and completely. but there are a LOT of them out there under the hoods of S13s and S14s. more than you'd think. in that circle, if you "still only have the KA24" you are "gay."

i thought the RB as a non-certified with the car, stand-alone engine, was illegal. this is not true? the RB by itself, out of the car, is legal now?

From what I was told since MotoRex did all the EPA and other test it also included the motor. It also included it if it was out of the car.

I was looking into doing a RB powered 240 a while ago.

OBD2 is required on 96 and newer thats the problem with MotoRex they haven't done it on most of the cars. They use OBD1 it's alot cheeper and that's part of what got them in trouble.

Here some of the crash test data:
http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf35/53851_web.pdf
http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf42/69783_web.pdf
http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf42/69794_web.pdf
http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf42/69795_web.pdf
http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf42/69792_web.pdf
http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf42/70703_web.pdf

And NO just because you have this data dosen't mean you can take this paper work with a skyline to a DOT station and have it legalized.

from what i understand, too, OBD 2 is why JDM cars fail emissions. not because of the air quality, as the standards in JDM are higher than USDM. it is about newer OBD 2 test electronics incompatible with older OBD 1 wired cars.

to clarify, USDM OBD 1 cars (ie, already sold in the united states, like my 1991 VR-4, for example) are exempt. but to BRING OVER an older non OBD 2 car, the EPA and DOT require it to comply with CURRENT law. so you have to reverse engineer. and this costs $$$.
----------------

so then what happens if you just buy an RB engine from a JDM supplier? and it has nothing to do with MotoRex?

by the way, thanks for those govt docs. neato!

[QUOTE=bonzelite]
so then what happens if you just buy an RB engine from a JDM supplier? and it has nothing to do with MotoRex?
QUOTE]

It's street legal as long as it a RB25 or RB26. From what i was told.

legality versus money
 

[QUOTE=Real GTR]then if that is true, i am further convinced that the entire importation process to comply vehicles is just a money racket. look at who swaps in the SR20DET: usually (not always) people between 18 and 30, male consumers = slammed hot cars = cop magnets = state revenue = money.

why do they let the RB in, then? --because nobody drifts with the RB. or very very few do that setup. and that same crowd who goes for the illegal and sought-after SR are all typically drifters.

so why, then, is the entire car with the RB, the Skyline, ILLEGAL? for safety? i doubt it. that is the pretext to collect import tariffs in the guise of the EPA and DOT, and myriad other government agenices involved:

were it REALLY for safety and compliance, then they would have every non OBD 2 car ALREADY in the USDM recalled and brought up to OBD 2 spec no matter what, no excuses. but they don't do that. moreover, they'd have all such older domestic cars require current airbag and impact retrofitting, too, just like how they require of the R-series GT-Rs. but are they doing that? nope.

do they require your 1981 honda have airbags and side impact door bars when you go to the DMV for registration? or a 3rd brake light? that it comply with OBD 2? nope. all they do is make your older car comply with smog, because that is a racket. and they require little by little that even OLDER cars comply. it is the same thing as issuing tickets: it is a means of taxation without calling it that. and it can be under the guise of environmental responsibility. anything more would be an obvious ploy.
------------------------

for a legal SR setup, you could get a G20 Infinity, with FWD setup SR20DE (n/a), swap it out, get a Silvia tranny, and turbo the engine, then drop it in a 240SX. and it'd be technically legal, as the engine originated as a USDM product. about 2 summers ago, Sport Compact Car ran an article about turboing the G20. i have the issue and can find the volume and month of it.

I can't say it's a racket. If money were really an issue with them they'd crack down on all the illegal cars not just skylines, the'd really go after people that had been ducking the IRS on back taxes. They made the rules for some reason.

I do know there are some major saftey concerns with the GT-R. I also know the do add 2 big door bars inside each door on every GT-R legalized by motorex.

I cant answer why the goverment let's something fly and on other things there azz about. I've learned to accept it and when in doubt vote change the laws, call your state reps voice your opnion dealing with the goverment isn't easy or always fair. But things can be change with hard work.

I've never looked into the G20 I'll make some calls and if that'll work looks like i have anothe project to do.

i think they do crack down on other cars. skylines get the bad press because they happen to be the most talked about cars in tuning circles and on forums like this. similar consequences befall others seeking to import, for example, the S15 Silvia. this car is illegal in the US. so is the Cefiro. and any JDM Honda or Toyota or Subie. people do import other cars. but they're not as glamourous as the GT-R. and whomever is importing these cars does not have the high-profile status of MotoRex. in fact, it'd be a good idea to maybe seek out these companies and people. to broaden the possible routes one could take to import a non-compliant automobile. in fact, this reminds me, over the weekend, i went to a pre 1983 tuner show in Long Beach at the Queen Mary --man was there some awesome sh!t there! and i talked to a few people who import cars. i got a guy's card, too. there was a DR30 Skyline there, and i talked to the guy who orchestrated the importing of it. he said he could do the same for me. and that was just one guy. there were others. if you have the $$ and the hookup, you can have whatever you want.

about the G20. more than likely, you will get people telling you to not do it, as the USDM version will not be set up for turbo, ie, the head and pistons will not be correct. but it doesn't matter that much if you want to tear down and rebuild. and if you are willing to configure a FWD setup to RWD. i mean, it can be done. and has been done. and is not illegal. there are SR20s here legally, all around us for years, under the hoods of Infinitis, and i think some models of Nissan Sentras. it's a matter of getting one. you could have one pulled from a junkyard next week if you wanted it.

if you do it, i'd love to see what you come up with. ;)

Checked on the G20 and it would be street legal but the whole swap would not be easy to do the block, head and just about everything about the motor is different. Alot of mods would be needed.

And about the skyline you say at the pre 1983 show depending on what year it was it could have been here legealy. The US has a 20 or 25 year rule any car in that time frame can be brought into the country with out any moddifications needed.

Canada's is 15 years that's why they have R-32's there now.

yeah, i figured it'd be a challenging swap. but it'd be legal, if you really wanted to stick by that.

it's just a matter of short time before the old R32 turns 20. hard to believe that. i feel old as hel! now.

until then, i can enjoy my die cast models of it!

I don't think this statement quite works out.

It's the hard core 'car guys' and the service departments that refer to cars by the chassis designation, not the non-car-guy general public. You will never walk into a dealership and have the salesguy refer to the Acura RSX by it's chassis designation of DC5. Nor will you ever have a Mitsubishi sales guy regail you on the highlights of the 2005 CT9A.

So what I am saying is that the official name rarely holds any technical info. And there is nothing wrong with that. The official name is just a snappy marketing exercise meant to get into and stick in your head. Thats how you get the general masses to remember your car over the other 120 vehicles sold in this country.

But us car guys will always refer to our cars by their chassis designation because that name actually means something. So whatever nomenclature is chosen to denote the chassis of the new GTR, that will be the designation we (car guys) use to identify the car.

R

mmkay, you only restated and reinforced what i said.

how you got the opposite is beyond me --you seem to want to disagree with me for the sake of disagreement, only to summarize my post in agreement!

the hard core tuners, "us car guys," use chassis talk. not the cadillac, infinity, lexus, baby-boomer crowd. they don't care. the sales people don't even usually know the chassis code jargon either.

did you not get enough sleep lately?

bad news???
 

Check out this forum from RB motoring and see what you think, it's an update on the NHTSA..... http://www.rbmotoring.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39

partial "greenlight" on older GTRS?
 

so only the R33GTR and GTS will be eligible for importation? why? so R32s and R34s are not? this seems very random and nonsensical.

???

no, it's GTS and GTR models, post 1996, which means the tail end of R33 and the R34

how convienient that post 1996 cars don't conform due to the OBD-II spec regs.

fun.

That i s damn BAD I want a Skyline R34 GTR here in US.
If I can't take one I'll have to import one to Bulgaria Just to have fun during the holidays. Do someone knows the price of a r34 in japan and how mutch it will be to be shipped aproximately
I have no Idea about any shipping prices. I'll be glad if someone give me a clue. Thanx in advance:smilie_th

Shipping for a car from Japan is anywhere from 3000-5000 grand.