Has anyone imported a FD to the USA?
 

I have friend who has sent his FD to the USA from Japan to get registered. The importer is asking for a crash test document on any JSPEC FD. Does anyone know where to get this? When I imported both of my 7's they never asked for this.. Thanks for any help...

You can get crash test data from the factory, but if they are looking for 3rd gen data to submitt to the DOT then it has to be from tests done in the U.S. on already converted FD's.

I've been through this one several times, only legal way to do all this is import a handful of FD's (5) and crash test them after making conversions to meet DOT standards, then submitt the data to the DOT for approval along with the other crap, request form, etc.

But many people go the "kit car" route or other ways to avoid the heavy priced legal way.

To put it simple, FD's will have to wait a few more years to be imported without needing crash test data

yep.. only way to do it is illegally.

Never knew that there was a time limit to needing this data. Any idea what it is?

(Sorry to hijack i, know it's slightly off topic.)

I beleive it was 15 years or older do not need to be listed on the accepted vehicles list, which is why Gonz said they didn't ask for his data cause I beleive his was a older model. Once a vehicle is older then 15 years then it can just be straight imported and does not have to meet as many standards, especially EPA for Emissions.

So give or take a few more years it should be possible/legal to import a 3rd Gen via a RI and not need crash test data or have to go through a ICI.

Yup which is why my White one is being stripped and shipped in a container in October :-D

The way I see it, it depend on the state that your importing and registering. See link

http://www.zeroyon.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8819

That post has nothing to do with the state, infact I'm doing exacally what he did which is disassemble the entire vehicle, ship it in a container and then take it to my garage and spend a few months putting it back together. But bottom line is the container is listed as "parts" and the car is not being imported legally as a vehicle intended for road use. Customs and DOT view this as a "Parts Only" importation.

You may have miss the part that it came in CA and the car was registered in PA. I'm not familliar with other state requirements but US customs is very standard all out the US or it just depend on the inspector. There is no DOT inspector going over the shipment but all paper work must go through them prior to shipping out of Japan. All the paper work is in a retrievable data base where the US customs inspector can check if the DOT papers are authentic. The DOT papers will make registration very easy.

Car dealers in Japan have a small posibility of acquiring crash test results from the manufacturer since the RX7 is not a new car. In the event that they get the result it have to be translated. If it does not meet US or state standards its recomended to ship as parts other wise it will get crushed if the fees or penalties are not paid.

Check the DOT site and good Luck with your project

Pass by Canada we have it and it's legal if the car have 15 years old.

[QUOTE=empireautosport;7066225]Pass by Canada we have it and it's legal if the car have 15 years old.

Nice markup!

According to what you're saying the R32 Skyline should be eligible but I was told the gov't has shut down that channel.:(

I guess taking the car apart and shipping the parts separately is the only viable option for now. But I think it's still hard to get it registered here in CA.

Time to get that Nevada driver's license.:)

Update.. The car will not be able to get through this. The shop is requiring crash test data to send to DOT. What I think will happen is..buy a FD shell and part this one out and xfer all the parts.. They will crush the car when it's all parted out.. Sucks real bad but could be worse.. On my other two RHD SA's I brought them back from Japan in 1988 when i forst joined the Air Force. They gave me a EPA exempt leter prior to shipping. I shipped it to a place called JK motors in Baltimore MD and they took care of everything for me. 3 weeks later I picked up both 7's and drove them for 30 days with my Y plates in the USA.. That was pretty cool.. I still got the Y plates in the garage and both 7's.. thanks for all the help on this.. Later.. Steve

in Canada you can import vehicles 15yrs or older

but in the USA the vehicels have to be 25yrs or older...

for info about the importation rules in Canada and how they may be changing in the near future check out www.15years.ca

as for the USA there are a few ways you can get vehicles from japan registered legally but it varies from state to state so you'd have to do some searching you may want to check out the link above as well as there are many people on there who might be able to help...

I see that this thread is a little old, but I had a couple of things I wanted to ask about. First, I have a 92 FD here in Okinawa with the military and I've been told by a few people already that they Will ship the car for me at no cost. Secondly, the route I was thinking about taking that makes sense to me it this. I'm planning on taking the car to Mazda and having them basically do the conversion for me, emissions, safety, body supports / braces, ext. and at the same time get papers certified my Mazda showing the work was completed by the factory to comply with US regs. In the mean time send all my goodies home and put them on when i get there. If anyone has any thoughts on this let me know. I've tried to do some searching but never really seem to find what I'm looking for. Also no one Seems to have tried this route. Thanks.

by the time you spend all the money to get the work done etc etc etc you would have spent less stripping the car and shipping parts back to the states. then buy a rolling shell here and put everything back on. you wont have RHD but who cares. I have inquired about emissions information from Mazda and I got the big ol' DAME (5 years ago)

basically, unless you import it illegally, you wont get it in without TONS of money

another option you have is to pick up the Okimar and look inside for the ad for Tsunami of Colors. They will import the vehicle and register it for 11k. if your 92 is worth that.. do it.

I have a 2000 and i plan to bring it back as a track only car. no registration at all. I dont want to drive a RHD on the street. There is no point. Its like having a LHD in Japan/UK/AUS etc etc.

its up to you.

[threadjack]
when did you get your car? How long are you going to be on Okinawa? If you want to meet some other car guys (and your not already) you should register on www.Zeroyon.com

we have a poker run event coming up on the 29th of March that is going to be a blast. check it out.

[/threadjack]

Money I'm not to worried about, I'm going to be here for another 2 years so i have time to save and already have a little saved up. I got here early in January and bought the car not to long after I got here and I bought it to import. The RHD thing I'm not to worried about, but like most if not all owners, I gotten pretty attached to this car. I want to do everything legit and am already prepared mentally (still have to save more though) to spend the probibly 10+Gs it'll take to do it. I feel like the turn around when I sell it (if I ever do) would bring back a decent amount of the cost, if not, oh well.

I have pics in the "Pics of your FD" thread. I just put them but yesterday so it shouldn't be hard to find.

I'm all for comin out to a meet and getting to know some more 7 guys. Just let me know times and places and I'm there.

Thanks for the input as well.

some body mentioned something about "the kit car way" earlier. i heard that if you register a car as a kit car you can drive it on the road with no probalems. as far as what every one is saying about each state being different i thik florida would be easiest. as my 1st gen sits rite now it is beyond illegal but they dont do emmisions or anything like that so it dosnt matter. i remember seeing an add in the papers here in okinawa a few years back about shipping cars such as skylines, rx-7 ect ect, to flirda and registered as a kit car. this mite be a loop hole of some kind that should be looked into. i think that in order to register a kit car only the frame model of the car "being built" or somethig like that needs to be given to the people at registration. i didnt spend much time on this so i could be really wrong, but then again this is not the first time ive heard of the "kit car" route or florida being the point of "legal" registration of a "kit car"

any word on how to go the "kit car" way

check out the RCCA Poker Run.. also.. whats your SN on ZY?

ANy update on the Kit car process...I have an FD that I plan on taking back too. I'm a FL resident and have searched high and low for FL's import regulation, but to no avail. Any assistance you can share would be greatly appreciated. My other option is to send it to Canada (wife has family there) and register it there and then reregister in the US.

i know the person who does teh KIT CAR WAY here in orlando, florida

my friend a fellow marine imported his r33 gtr through him it costed him $12,000

as for you bro, we need to talk feloow marine i need some parts ...lol

Interesting

couple more months till my fd arrives in north carolina and i should have a decent amount of info for you guys

i'm also waiting on a shell from Oki...once its here, i get to start the fun of trying to get a title for it...