one of mass debate that ends in eye gouging

[thebumblebeeguy]

okay. let me start of by saying that after what i consider to be extensive searching and reading all that seemed relative, i do not feel that my question has been answered. is it possible to register and drive a rhd s13 in california? this includes having just the rolling shell brought in and swapping in the motor later. it seems that this question brings on butt loads of argument over law and the topic gets twisted soo much that i begin to think im reading transcripts of Jerry Springer reruns. i have read the "i know a guy who has one" posts, the "let me post all of this garbldeygook lawyer speak", the "motorex are ***holes"(in which i agree with)", and the "no because i think so" arguments. is there anyone from cali that has actually took the time to do this tedious task?

the reason why i have no 240 yet is because i am looking into the RHD first. i saw a posting on the dimequarterly website in which he is selling a rolling s13, with no motor or front body work of course, and the idea seemed sort attainable. all of which led me here.

so either i have not sorted through all of the search matches with the individually highlighted "right" "hand" and "drive" contained within, or the final answer will be posted. and hopefully stickied.

thanks.

[fiznat]

why the hell would you want right hand drive anyways?? I'd imagine that it would be a HUGE pain in the arse driving with our road system-- it's DESIGNED for the left hand driver...

That said, I still think it's legal to have RHD in general. I just remember hearing that it brings more attention to the "not quite so stock/legal" aspects of your car that you would probably not want to be advertising. I mean, what's the point of having RHD if you're not gonna go turbo or SR, and what's the point of worrying about legality if you're just gonna be illegal otherwise. Naturally, RHD is a little more obvious than illegal modifications under the hood... but still: attention from cops is never really a good thing...

I know you said you're looking for definitive answers from people who know for sure or whatever.. but hey. This is a forum. Most of us only know half the story anyways. Just consider yourself lucky if you can get enough stories to piece it together yourself. Good luck with your car.

[thebumblebeeguy]

no way. of course i would wanna go sr with a RHD. i meant i read in a thread that it would be legal to import a RHD s13 if it had no motor and then pop in an sr.

[EZcheese15]

I can tell you right now to answer your question.

RHD cars are 100% legal in all 50 states. Absolutly nothing wrong with that.

However, importing a RHD car is different. Especially in CA. Think of it as two different issues. 1) You want to know if RHD is legal and 2) You want to know if an imported silvia is legal.

So your answers are yes and no. Yes to RHD, no to the imported car.

To bring the car over here requires the car to be federalized. Especially in CA. Meaning the paperwork must be filled out and processed to the EPA that your imported car meets all DOT requirments in CA. Everything from bumper height to catalytic converters to OBDII. This right here is a topic that *has* been covered on this site in other threads, so I won't bother to beat it down anymore.

[EZcheese15]

Oh and as far as putting an SR in...

That's the same as doing an SR swap in *any* car in CA. Illegal.

Theoretically, the RHD car can be legal because you can simply take a USDM 240SX and swap out dashboards, pedal assemblies, etc, to make it RHD but it's still the LHD USDM car (but it's now RHD). That is all cosmetic.

Getting into the engine is the where you find the legality issues.

[thebumblebeeguy]

score. wow, question answered. yikes,so much work with probably twice the headaches...hmmm...the idea looked so much better on paper...

[EZcheese15]

Just to let you know, it's not all that crazy of an idea.

I have a friend who lives in FL who *does* have a RHD SR20DET powered S14. He did exactly as I said. It started out as a USDM 240SX. He stripped the car down to nothing, welded in the JDM firewall, installed the RHD dash, pedal assembly, brake booster, etc. And put in the SR20DET. This car is as legal as any SR20DET powered 240SX can be. The RHD part has absolutly nothing to do with the legality. And since FL does not do emissions testing at all (visual or sniffer), he will never get caught. But as far as the vin and stuff goes, it's legal. It's just a regular 240SX that was bought in the U.S. that had some cosmetic alterations

[specialkonrd]

good job searchingi made a thread about this 2 weeks ago

[thebumblebeeguy]

that very well may be true...but i was looking for an answer that was not going to be found amongst 4th grade bickering...the idea of having a JDM silvia is something that most every 240 enthusiast has thought of, so maybe this should be stickied or part of the FAQ? just a thought...

so what if i found a motorless RHD S13? would that mean that all of these standards would be met becuase it is here and cannot be emissions tested? or is someone being sneaky and trying to get rid of a headache?

[Daunttless]

Japan Silvia = No VIN = Not Legal. If you can get it a VIN ( which you can't ) then it would be legal.

[Daunttless]

Also, you live in Cali, give up any hope of doing anything cool AND having it be legal.

[Dattebayo]

if you really want to do it you could try to put an american VIN on the silvia (or 180sx or whatever) and make it look similar to the way 240's vins are mounted on the dash. its a cosmetic problem on the illegal side but ok to hide if you can get an R title on a wrecker and say it was restored and modified. I heard about it from this guy downtown in D.C.

[drifter]

Also, you live in Cali, give up any hope of doing anything cool AND having it be legal.

As much as I hate to admit it, that's true...traffic laws and the cops are pretty damn strict over here. Almost anything NOT STOCK becomes illegal at one point or another.

[Daunttless]

Illegally modifying the VIN carries a sentence of 5 years imprisonment in a Federal Penitentiary and a $15,000 dollar fine. Of course, if they don't catch you it isn't illegal. If they do catch you, I hope that you are willing to fight to protect your *** virginity for 5 years.