1989 ("Gan-nen") R32 GT-R...

[tyndago]

"I"M FREAKING NEW SO DON'T KILL ME" Ok now thats out of the way. I spent some time in Japan (Marine Corps) and I saw for the first time a R34. After that I've always wanted on but I know I can't own one legally here in the US. Ok done with my soap box here is the One Question, are R32 going to be legal to own in 2014? I have someone I'm talking to that has a R32 not legal of course, has converted it to a R34. Now I'm doing my homework and know its not legal but I keep hearing 2014 I won't have to worry.

You will be able to have an R34. The 1999 turns 25 years old in 2024. So its a little way out. Canada is 15 years, so they are just getting ready to have R34's there.

In order to import a car legally, you have to go though US Customs, HS-7, and 3520-1. That way there is a papertrail, you paid tariff, and you are good to go. If you are in California, then we have our own EPA called the ARB, and well, to be exempt needs to be older than 1976.

[kellerk23]

Ok cool! Thank you so much again! Can't wait for 2014!

[Valkyrie]

It has to be a 1989 (Heisei 1, or "gan-nen") car to be legal next year.

You will also need the Japanese export deregistration papers (which you will have to apply for if the car is currently registered or temporarily deregistered) and they will have to say 平成１年 on them. Otherwise you will have to wait a few years. All R32s will be between Heisei 1 (1989) to 7 (1995).

[kellerk23]

Ok, so if I ask the seller this information he should have it correct? He lives in South Korea and has had the car for a couple of years. He has already sent me a pic of the Vin # plate on the frame and told me about how it will not be legal until 2014. But I'm not taking his word on it, so that's why all the questions. I just don't want to end up like you guys say all the time. Empty promises and shattered dreams.

[kellerk23]

http://www.modifiedcartrader.com/for-sa ... an-Skyline

Here is the post and the pic of the Vin # plate.

[Valkyrie]

...mother of god... there is so much wrong with that that I am speechless.

For for record, JDM cars do not have VINs. They only have serial numbers. A VIN is something else entirely. You have to have a VIN assigned to the car when you register it after bringing it to the US.

But besides being a hideous piece of s***, that car doesn't have an R32 engine (apparently) and it isn't stock, so you cannot import it to the U.S. It's not EPA legal.

Not that you should. I mean, holy s***, $48,000 for an R32? The one I'm looking to buy is going for less than $2000!

Not to mention I wouldn't want to have to deal with importing a JDM car that was imported into South Korean into the United States. There's too much that could go wrong with the paperwork... you're better off buying a clean R32 from an auction in Japan.

[AZhitman]

^ There ya go.

p.s. It *is* pretty fugly.

[VandrelSOUSA]

For for record, JDM cars do not have VINs. They only have serial numbers. A VIN is something else entirely. You have to have a VIN assigned to the car when you register it after bringing it to the US.

Yes and no. The chassis number is the VIN, you can research this number FAST and reference it with Nissan...it's the VIN. When the cars come to the U.S. they retain the same VIN, no VIN's are assigned. There are some cases where people have managed to get reassigned VIN's for these cars but by no means does that make it proper unless under certain conditions the vehicle warranted a new VIN authorized by the state of federal government. In rare case some places in Canada were reassigning VIN's for JDM cars, this however has stopped or is in the process of being stopped I believe.

In Japan the most important number to a car is not the chassis number but the license plate number. Every document I had on my car was just that, all they cared about was Y99-33, never looking or asking about the chassis number. But, that chassis number is still the VIN, Japan just doesn't have a VIN system like the U.S. (which makes title inquiries a PITA).

Vehicles manufactured for sale in the U.S. have manufacture assigned VIN's to meet the U.S. VIN standard. These VIN's also will identify vehicles that were manufactured outside of the U.S. or inside the U.S. and can also be referenced to where they were assembled. The JDM VIN's don't carry this much date, again because Japan doesn't have a system to support this requirement.

[tyndago]

.
For for record, JDM cars do not have VINs. They only have serial numbers. A VIN is something else entirely. You have to have a VIN assigned to the car when you register it after bringing it to the US..

You do not want to mess with a chassis number or VIN. It is illegal. The Code of Federal Regulations part 565 goes over VIN requirements.

§ 565.14 Motor vehicles imported into the United States.

top(a) Importers shall utilize the VIN assigned by the original manufacturer of the motor vehicle.
The VIN number of a Nissan Skyline is the chassis number. It is located on the firewall of the car.
(b) All passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, low speed vehicles and trucks of 4536 kg or less GVWR certified by a Registered Importer under 49 CFR part 592 whose VINs do not comply with part 565.13 and 565.14 shall have a plate or label that contains the following statement, in characters that have a minimum height of 4 mm and the identification number assigned by the vehicle's original manufacturer inserted in the blank: SUBSTITUTE FOR U.S. VIN: _____ SEE 49 CFR PART 565. The plate or label shall conform to §565.13 (h) and (i). The plate or label shall be permanently affixed inside the passenger compartment. The plate or label shall be readable, without moving any part of the vehicle, through the vehicle glazing under daylight conditions by an observer having 20/20 vision (Snellen) whose eye-point is located outside the vehicle adjacent to the left windshield pillar. It shall be located in such a manner as not to cover, obscure, or overlay any part of any identification number affixed by the original manufacturer. Motor vehicles conforming to Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 115 are exempt from this paragraph.

565.24 Motor vehicles imported into the United States.

top(a) Importers shall utilize the VIN assigned by the original manufacturer of the motor vehicle.
(b) A passenger car certified by a Registered Importer under 49 CFR part 592 shall have a plate or label that contains the following statement, in characters with a minimum height of 4 mm, with the identification number assigned by the original manufacturer provided in the blank: SUBSTITUTE FOR U.S. VIN:___SEE PART 565. The plate or label shall conform to §565.23 (h) and (i). The plate or label shall be permanently affixed inside the passenger compartment. The plate or label shall be readable, without moving any part of the vehicle, through the vehicle glazing under daylight lighting conditions by an observer having 20/20 vision (Snellen) whose eye-point is located outside the vehicle adjacent to the left windshield pillar. It shall be located in such a manner as not to cover, obscure, or overlay any part of any identification number affixed by the original manufacturer. Passenger cars conforming to Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 115 are exempt from this paragraph.

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/te ... 33&idno=49

And here is a NHTSA newsleter that covers this topic -"Can I Have Two VIN's On My Car or a VIN That Does Not Meet NHTSA's Requirements?" - http://www.gtrusablog.com/2012/10/can-i ... r-vin.html

The end answer is don't touch it, don't mess with it, don't let anyone from the state mess with it. Call the NHTSA for guidance if someone insists otherwise.