Importing a 97'-02' FD3

[Kman Art]

Can you go through Canada? I know they have a lot of RHD cars over there.

[RETed]

Originally Posted by Kman Art

Can you go through Canada? I know they have a lot of RHD cars over there.

Border patrol knows of that "trick."
If you get caught, they will confiscate the vehicle...

If the federal DOT catches you with the car in the USA, they will confiscate the vehicle.

I understand that this ends up being a "until I get caught" situation, but there are BIG fines and JAIL TIME involved, since this is a federal offense.

The hard part is getting the vehicle to look LEGAL in the USA paperwork / registration.
Since this is a state-by-state jurisdiction, there is a hand-shake agreement between all the states that a vehicle's registration is legal and valid...
So, if you can get the car reg'd in one state, you're pretty much home free...

Another problem is getting the car insured...
Most of your big auto insurance companies have red flags for the most notorious import vehicles.
Most states (if not all) require some kind of no-fault insurance.
Try to explain to them why your vehicle does not come in the (VIN) database, or the year and model does not exist???
Your ass is black flagged after that.

Now, for the exceptions...
I've heard of Nissan Skyline GT-R R32's being reg'd as "240SX", but the federal DOT has them listed as a non-importation model.
The Nissan Skyline GT-R R33 is actually designated as OK to import into the USA, only if certain additions to the front and rear bumpers were made - this was done by the now defunct MotorEx back in the day...
This is the federal DOT procedure which requires THREE identical models to be submitted for CRASH TESTING (they will crash test, total, and dispose of) for the R33 only.
The Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 is illegal in the eyes of the federal DOT.
Now, this all basically became moot when Nissan brought in the GTR R35...

I've seen RHD S30Z's running around down here in Hawaii - these were brought in my military folks who moved from Japan.
These are technically ILLEGAL, but the paperwork went through, since there were LHD 240Z's imported into the USA from 1970 - 1972.
It's a bit easier for this kinda paperwork to get stamped and approved, since 1) military paperwork isn't as highly scrutinized, and 2) there exists a very similar model and year already imported into the USA - basically, the only difference is the RHD versus LHD, and this was pre-CAFE emissions of 1972.

Some states have a "vintage" model rule, where they relax tight (usually) emissions restrictions and sometimes crash testing requirements.
I've seen an eBay auction from Florida that claimed a RHD FC was allowed to be imported and reg'd due to being over 25 years old...
Some states are like that - I can't confirm this is true or not.
Whatever the case, you still got another 10+ more years to get your FD?
Probably doesn't apply in this case...


-Ted