So you want to buy a Skyline in the US....

[tripleJs15]

$hit legal or not where can I buy an r34 for a decent price ????????????

[ventrex]

wow...

[AZhitman]

$hit legal or not where can I buy an r34 for a decent price ????????????

Found one for you:

R34 For Sale 100% Legal

[ventrex]

Lmao and its a clean V-spec II model!!!

[tripleJs15]

sorry got one of those already.....thanks for the help though, it musta took a while to find that I appreciate it

[zdonner]

Found one for you:

R34 For Sale 100% Legal

That made my day!

[Cjmartz2k]

I'm down with grey marketing mine back, but I'm worried it would get caught. One of my driving buddies out here just showed me a picture of his R32 GTSt in his parents driveway waiting for him with FL plates on it in CA. Same car I used to mop the floor with all night long. He said 13k is what it cost him. Pretty steep, but it just keeps me thinking bad thoughts

[tripleJs15]

if someone had the means and the money on here i doubt they would say no.....

[epokh]

So, how can I get a federal-legal r34 into the states?

hehe..I KID!!, I KID!!! I don't really know why I'm even in here, I can't really afford a skyline whether it be black market, gray market, purple market, or supermarket...but hey I'm bored and I enjoy the occasional molestation of a dead horse. My question is this (and I believe it was touched upon briefly a few pages back): Set aside the R32 and R34..NHTSA says quite clearly this aint gonna happen. Take the 96-98 R33...and let's say Johnny Q Moneybags wants to start a Skyline importation business based solely on the "allowable" R33 models, call it "GT 'R' US". Now, under the assumption<--(bad word) that Motorex in fact had R33's 100% legal through all the various agencies(NHTSA, EPA, DOT, etc) would it not be possible for "GT 'R' US", in cooperation with an RI, to purchase/steal a Motorex "fully legal" car, then import another R33, and essentially "reverse engineer" the Motorex car, replicating everything onto the imported car? I'm talking complete teardown of the Motorex car, noting any and all differences between the two. Obviously, this would be a tad pricey, but would only have to be done once, effectively unlocking "the formula". I'm not clear on whether the NHTSA would require the car to be crash-tested, since it has already been done, or if they would simply require everything to be in compliance with the original crash-test data? Just some inane rambling, and as stated earlier, totally irrelevant to my broke ***.(And I have been known to be competely full of various animal excrement from time to time). Keep in mind that I'm talking about someone trying to import them at a business level, this would obviously not be feasible for an individual looking to purchase one for him/her self. Wouldn't help all the R32/34 buyers either....damn government assclowns!!

[tripleJs15]

crazy as it sounds that might work, but it's according how regulated RI's are I guess

[AZhitman]

Epoch - SOLID post, my friend!

And completely feasible, IMO. Hard to execute, but I can't see why it wouldn't work (other than, as you said, the meddlings of some damn Big Government geek with nothing better to do than pick on auto enthusiasts).

[Hype]

re: epokh

That is all well thought out, but unfortunately I believe the problem lies in the fact that the NHTSA rescinded the permit on the R33s because they got pissed they were duped by Motorex. Basically, this kind of spite work is designed (IMO) to prevent even new LEGAL importers from getting into the biz.

I would love if someone could prove me wrong on this, because I'm not exactly gonna have 100k lying around anytime soon to try and buy someone's legalized R34.

[Count Zero]

They pulled the authorization, which was for all three versions, because they were DEFRAUDED (not just duped).....

They replaced the authorization with a more narrow one for JUST the R33 chassis, since that was the only version crash tested.

The only pettiness was not allowing 1995's in the authorization, so that all R33's would have to be OBDII.And even that pettiness is still justified by the fact that one of the crimes Hiro did was marking some 96+ R33's at 1995's when they couldn't get them OBDII compliant.

So, don't blame the NHTSA, blame Hiro at Motorex for screwing things up for everyone else.

[Hype]

So, don't blame the NHTSA, blame Hiro at Motorex for screwing things up for everyone else.

No man, you're totally right on that one. Good to set the record straight.

Gonna take a LOT more penny jars to get a legal Skyline now...

[Enzo_Guy]

No man, you're totally right on that one. Good to set the record straight.

Gonna take a LOT more penny jars to get a legal Skyline now...

Last I heard, JK Technologies will actually perform a legal OBD2 conversion for a substantial fee. Someone out there has the capabilities to do it.

To Epoch, the problem with your plan is that the Motorex cars were never actually fully compliant with emissions laws, so a complete teardown would only reveal Motorex's fraudulent practices and we would be no closer to having an emissions-legal Skyline.

At this point, I'm considering importing a decent condition '89 car as off-road only, restoring it over a few years, then trying to tag it once it gets to be 25 years old. At this point, that might be our only legal course of opportunity (and I want to get mine in case they put a complete ban on the cars in 2014).

Only way I can think of to get an R34 at this point would be to import the car in pieces, but instead of assembling it correctly use DOT-compliant pieces from several different vehicles so that it's not considered a mass production vehicle anymore (some more research into where the DOT draws the line between what amount of parts a car needs to have changed before it is considered mass production would be helpful).

[dcarino_04]

the military will ship it for free im in the airforce and if you have a contract with a RI then the military will ship it to them and then after the work is done you can have it. my buddy is brining back his honda accord SIR i had a gtst r32 but i didn't have the time. i was looking for a r33 gtr or gtst to bring it back but i didn't have the money or time i was just putting it off too much... but the loop hole is there. i was stationed at misawa.

[Enzo_Guy]

the military will ship it for free im in the airforce and if you have a contract with a RI then the military will ship it to them and then after the work is done you can have it. my buddy is brining back his honda accord SIR i had a gtst r32 but i didn't have the time. i was looking for a r33 gtr or gtst to bring it back but i didn't have the money or time i was just putting it off too much... but the loop hole is there. i was stationed at misawa.

On page 7 there is a link to a marine that was stationed in Oki and got his RX-7 back as a kit car (although that's illegal with Skylines). There is a military Skyline running around my way, I'll see if I can find out exactly what he had to go through to get it.

[dasoupdude]

i cant believe this thread still goes on

[Gold Digger]

the military will ship it for free im in the airforce and if you have a contract with a RI then the military will ship it to them and then after the work is done you can have it. my buddy is brining back his honda accord SIR i had a gtst r32 but i didn't have the time. i was looking for a r33 gtr or gtst to bring it back but i didn't have the money or time i was just putting it off too much... but the loop hole is there. i was stationed at misawa.

Yeah, they'll ship it...but that's not the problem. The problem is trying to find some company that can do the modifications to the body and glass, and have the OBD II conversion on the ECU.

While it will make it a little bit more cost effective, it doesn't mean that shipping through the military makes it legal.

[Gatecrasher]

how hard is it to convert a RHD to a LHD?

[USsil80]

how hard is it to convert a RHD to a LHD?

\

NO..

[mikkelclay]

I read an article the other day that if you by a skyline without a motor in it, that customs considers it only as parts and not an import. Do you know this is true?

[Gold Digger]

I read an article the other day that if you by a skyline without a motor in it, that customs considers it only as parts and not an import. Do you know this is true?

Ahhh, here comes the kit-car debate again.

I can't say for sure if what you posted is true, but what I can tell you is even if you do that, then purchase an engine and drivetrain to put into it, it doesn't make it any more legal. It's just a loophole, that's all.

Bottom line, if you want to take the chance to do it that way, and risk losing a substantial amount of money if you are caught doing this, that's your choice. Just be aware of the potential hazards involved with this scenario.

http://www.nicoclub.com/articl...shtml

[Z33_kid]

well i been searching and havent found anything just wondering if your overseas in the military and have a r32 would you be able to bring to usa ?

[Gold Digger]

Could you do it? Yes. Would it be legal? No, not in any way, shape, or form. Read the stickey just below this one (R32 forced to export) and you'll understand what could happen.

[Vandrel]

well i been searching and havent found anything just wondering if your overseas in the military and have a r32 would you be able to bring to usa ?

Yes you can, I can give you exact and specific details on how to do this if you want, shoot me a email at [email protected]

If you own a car that is listed on the NHTSA list and you want to import it, TMO will ship it for you but ONLY if it is on the list.

Could you do it? Yes. Would it be legal? No, not in any way, shape, or form. Read the stickey just below this one (R32 forced to export) and you'll understand what could happen.

That is not entirely true. You can ship it disassembled and import it as automotive parts (not for road use), now if you were to take that exact vehicle and all the parts which were claimed as automotive parts and then reassemble it and have it in running form for road use then yes that would be illegal because you are going against what it was imported for/as.

[Gold Digger]

Could you do it? Yes. Would it be legal? No, not in any way, shape, or form. Read the stickey just below this one (R32 forced to export) and you'll understand what could happen.

That is not entirely true. You can ship it disassembled and import it as automotive parts (not for road use), now if you were to take that exact vehicle and all the parts which were claimed as automotive parts and then reassemble it and have it in running form for road use then yes that would be illegal because you are going against what it was imported for/as.

You make a valid point there, but, we all know, that 98% of the people aren't bringing it in for parts, and do plan on reassembling it.

[EL MAMITO USMC]

That is not entirely true. You can ship it disassembled and import it as automotive parts (not for road use), now if you were to take that exact vehicle and all the parts which were claimed as automotive parts and then reassemble it and have it in running form for road use then yes that would be illegal because you are going against what it was imported for/as.

but the thing is what are car parts for? i guess they are for putting them in a car. you know something that has been running in my mind a while know. you can bring your NON rolling chasis and be legal,. we all are clear on this. but what happens if we buy the remaining parts here in the US,ej: doors, hood, trunk, engine(their are few shops in CA who have all this parts). and the just go and get the car EPA inspected and have paper work proving that the cars passes the epa minimun requirements for emsions. for the OBDII part just put a standalone ecu like AEM, microtech and i think this solves the OBDII part, (some one correct me on this partif im wrong).

if you do this the car cant be seized because it doesnt brake any laws. it cleared US Customs and cleared EPA. and the NHTSA cant tell you how to build YOUR own car. Now if you do this and start selling the cars , it can show a patern of selling cars and then you migth get in trouble.

any REAL experts, and im sure if we could go to court and if all that i just said gets verifed by a court im sure that it would be legal. since the courts are the ones that interpret the law.

[Vandrel]

but the thing is what are car parts for? i guess they are for putting them in a car. you know something that has been running in my mind a while know. you can bring your NON rolling chasis and be legal,. we all are clear on this. but what happens if we buy the remaining parts here in the US,ej: doors, hood, trunk, engine(their are few shops in CA who have all this parts). and the just go and get the car EPA inspected and have paper work proving that the cars passes the epa minimun requirements for emsions. for the OBDII part just put a standalone ecu like AEM, microtech and i think this solves the OBDII part, (some one correct me on this partif im wrong).

if you do this the car cant be seized because it doesnt brake any laws. it cleared US Customs and cleared EPA. and the NHTSA cant tell you how to build YOUR own car. Now if you do this and start selling the cars , it can show a patern of selling cars and then you migth get in trouble.

any REAL experts, and im sure if we could go to court and if all that i just said gets verifed by a court im sure that it would be legal. since the courts are the ones that interpret the law.

From what I gathered from the rules is when a chassis is cleared through customs as "parts non-road use" it can never be used as road use, as in you cannot reassemble a vehicle using that chassis, it's strictly for parts and the frame is either to be scrapped or used in sections for "parts".

Now does that mean it's impossible to reassemble and register? nope. I can safely say I've even had base stickers registered and placed on a few cars, MP's never questioned once... just said "Hey nice car!"

[SamuraiSam]

Hi. I haven't been to this thread since my friend Marc posted in it waaaaay back (Owner of a MotoRex'd R32). Anyways, I am wondering if you will be amending your import FAQ now that Kaizo has finally opened up an actual legal route for kit car building- They are a Japanese based automotive unibody remanufacturer that sells Kaizo R33s, or Kaizo R34's etc with DOT-spec glass, glazing, window seals, door reinforcements and 17 digit VIN's so you can build your own kit car with the exact same legality as a Noble or Cobra kit car, since you are not using disassembled motor vehicle parts

I can post some info in the next few days, there has been a lot of discussion about this route on the FreshAlloy Skyline GTR/GTS baords and one of their US reps from J-Spec Connect (who brought in a bunch of cars for the Fast and Furious 4 movie including the first two R35 GT-R's) giving tons of info out.

I have been involved in learning everything there is to know about vehicle importation, especially the GT-R's, since 2005, and was one of those "No, for this reason, No, for that reason people." Needless to say, I'm really excited that this door has opened up in the last few months.

More info and links coming as my work schedule permits, and please forgive me if this has been covered earlier in this thread.