Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ah, yes. A R32 GT-R owner. While you're here, can you answer me this nagging question I've been having?


I've heard that R32s and R33s cannot be imported to the states, and especially Socal, and daily driven because of all kinds of regulations. I've also heard that, yes, you can import them, only thing is: you're faced with a mountain of different forms to make it "street-able".

My friend once worked at a drink shop (the kind of place that makes boba milk tea, and stuff). The owner of that shop drove a R33, Dunno if it was GT-R, or GT-somethingorother. However, I never got the chance to ask the owner how they did it.


So, since you have an R32, could you enlighten me on the process of getting an R32 GT-R here in the states?


Btw: sweet ride, where in Socal do you live?

Could you just write your username on a piece of paper, stick it under the wiper blade, and post a pic for us?

+1 on this notion, I'm afraid. It's a prerequisite, I'm sure you won't mind.

You do, however, seem sincere. I believe, gentlemen, that here we have a 'real McCoy.' Interesting. You're sure not the first member to join under the pretense of owning a GT-R, but you're certainly the first that hasn't gone and lied about it.

It's a pleasure to have you on the team, J.

What sort of work have you done to your R32?

Very nice. Now that's dedication to your passion. Major kudos to you and your efforts to get a GT-R in the states.

Yer. Welcome to the guild Dash, that's a very good example of this car.

All the Skyline family of cars with the exception of the V35-37 chassis models (Infinity G35/G37 in North America) and all pre 1985 model cars as of this year have real problems getting US roadworthy. Be advised if you import a RHD V35-37 chassis you will want to use the USDM engines because the emissions will be the hardest part of your process. The second hardest will be getting issued a state VIN for a car which really just looks like a RHD version of a car that's already here in the states with different badging. The 60 days to export letter was sent to my friend with an ER33. The primary means of registration is through states that take state's rights very seriously, particularly in making decisions on what they determine is road legal. Certain states like Florida/ Arizona are strong supporters of the idea that it is ultimatelty the decision of the state what is allowed on public roads and therefore issue waivers and exemptions. Even California would grant me smog exemption (but I don't dare try it until Immigrations and Customs Enforcement comes to a settlement on the case with the SCV owners involved with The Kaizo Corporation- me included). The rest usually involves outfitting with DOT reflectors and 'all reasonable effort' type stuff with headlamps and tail lamps such as shifting the focus of the headlamps from left to right. Unfortunately due to the nature of the car there is NO USA NHTSA approved legal headlamp. So the best way to do this is get a continental Europe conversion kit for the headlights and say to your inspector you did all you reasonably could to get it to comply. It's all up to the subjective whim of the inspector at that point and he is well within his/her right to fail the car for it but it's not something they would impound your vehicle for unless they determined you smuggled the vehicle or any of its parts into the country. To be honest as much as I'd love to build an R33 or an S15 project with my fiance, I think if I build another Skyline I may just have to source a c110 Ken & Mary chassis and drop an L28/Sr20/VQ35RE/LS1/F20c into it. Leaning towards first two if I do; more likely SR since I don't really want to deal with carburators if it's going to be driven a lot...

@super Panda, by R30 you mean the secretary mobile before the R31 right not the C10 hakosuka? I ask because many people are get them mixed up. this?. I'm not too keen on them as anything but beaters but some folks have done some awesome things to them: I make a distinction between Skyline and GT-R. Much like people make a distinction between Mustang v6 and GT/ Shelby. Non GT-R R32-early33 skylines feel about the same as a USDM 240SX with a turbo just heavier with a tiny bit. It's not that special

As I'm sure Joey Crash will tell you since he comes from the land down under where these cars are plentiful and common, GT-Rs are a good car but they're not the end all of cars. This will always be my true car but I acknowledge there's quite a bit that will outperform it for the price. I could easily build a monster Corvette that would outmatch this thing with the money I've spent on it. They're heavy, they're bad on gas, they are unforgiving when they don't get proper oil changes every month if you daily them, and they will break all the stock parts even mildly tuned (there's a reason there's so much aftermarket parts for this engine). It's a maintenance whore and loves to break things you will spend days searching for a compatible part off of an S13 or a Z32 on. Just an example: My front right Axle boot comes from a 91 automatic Sentra.... The left one comes from an S13.... Not for everyone. It's hard to find a good shoestring build of these cars as usually the hardest modification to find for these is also the most necessary: the fat wallet mod. I used to have one of those till I bought this car.

Kinda funny cause I think a lot of people in Japan think of R32 GT-Rs as some scrub's car; Some hoon/ chav's car in Aus/UK. I'm used to seeing these things but here in the US everyone loves seeing it. When I have guests from Japan over they sometimes wonder why I'm driving "such a cheap old car, when could buy a new, faster USDM car."

@everyone: thanks for the complements. I'll post some more pics and stories later. Some are old but I figured I'd share.

Hey Vegeta, how much did J spend on legalization?


...but seriously. I did spend a little over 9,000 USD on JUST legal stuff. I think if you include attorney fees it comes out to more.