Im looking at a ef9 sir from japan for 5,600 but the car is not registerd. So how hard would it be to register this car in the united states and is there a special licenes required to drive it . Last of all does a right hand drive car need a certain insurance company. Ive also herd its incredibly hard to pass inspection any help would be great.

 

i cant answer your question completly but i do know it is a pain to register in ca my frien had a rhd eg it has to go thru alot of inspections (in ca) you have to go to a state ref for the motor and i believe to the hwy. patrol for the d.o.t. stuff like lighting and body i hope that gives some help ...? we bump for the trial member cuz 5 posts a day =

 

ok first you have to buy the car then you have to take it to the dmv with the shipping and title of sale papers. then you have a CHP look at the car ( and for some reason they knew everything about everything on cars) and he will tell you you have to take the engine out (if its a b16 and it probably is) and make you put in a D engine and he will also tell you to switch some other stuff out too, then you have to pay $5,000 to register the car. And there you go you have a legal JDM EF9 in the USA. It also depends with state you are in, some states you do and pay less some more. so right now after that you are probably paying $12,000. is it really worth it?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Zaakro &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ok first you have to buy the car then you have to take it to the dmv with the shipping and title of sale papers. then you have a CHP look at the car ( and for some reason they knew everything about everything on cars) and he will tell you you have to take the engine out (if its a b16 and it probably is) and make you put in a D engine and he will also tell you to switch some other stuff out too, then you have to pay $5,000 to register the car. And there you go you have a legal JDM EF9 in the USA. It also depends with state you are in, some states you do and pay less some more. so right now after that you are probably paying $12,000. is it really worth it?</TD></TR></TABLE>

that sounds like bs... you can pass a B16 smog legal with the correct tuning and mods.. There has to be another way around it. And besides he's in Texas

 

also you need to have it crash tested

 

The easiest, fastest, and cheapest way (but, not legal) is to buy some beater with a clean title for cheap and swap the vins. Just make sure you dont get caught.

It will work as long as you swap all of them.

If you want to do it the legal way then it is really expensive and not all that practical. You basically have to convert the car to US spec taking away most of the point of having a jdm car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NismoMugen &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">also you need to have it crash tested </TD></TR></TABLE>

like that is really practical.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by OptimusPrimeX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

that sounds like bs... you can pass a B16 smog legal with the correct tuning and mods.. There has to be another way around it. And besides he's in Texas</TD></TR></TABLE>

its not because of smog, they want you to put in an engine that was made in the cars of that type here. and it doesn't matter that he is in Texas because pretty much everywhere is the same except in Arizona & Utah its a little easier

 

They make you jump thru hoops to get a Euro or JDM car into the States, to the point where it's not even worth it unless the car is REALLY rare and cannot be had in the states. Things will need to be swapped over to US spec and pay like 5-10K after it's all said and done. You'd be better off converting a USDM car with JDM parts.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Zaakro &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">its not because of smog, they want you to put in an engine that was made in the cars of that type here. and it doesn't matter that he is in Texas because pretty much everywhere is the same except in Arizona & Utah its a little easier</TD></TR></TABLE>

well assume that you bought a car in the states with a swapped engine, you wouldn't have to go through all that. I guess you would only because it was imported? ah i see....


well in that case, better off converting a usdm with JDM body and engine. I guess the only thing desirable would be the right hand drive and the authentic "i have a jdm vehicle fo sho" to brag about

I've heard of swapping vins from local heads, but i wouldn't do it myself, too much of a hastle and risk.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sand1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
It will work as long as you swap all of them.</TD></TR></TABLE>

How do you expect to swap the firewall one?

To OG Poster....

There's ways of doing it if you know the right people. If you don't, then it's going to take a lot of time and a lot of money and for what?

Talk to a company like Motorex or other companys that import cars over and see if they will let you in on what all is involved. If not, better start by calling your local MVA and just ask what one would do if they moved over here and brought their car(s) with them.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mr Hammond &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How do you expect to swap the firewall one?.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I have seen it done, just gotta get a good welder to do it. i

Its actually not really that hard as long as you get a good welder you are friends withto do it.

the only hassel of the firewall vin is that you ave to remove the dash and things behind it, but it not really that har taking that into consideration, when you compare it to the other (legal) options.

 

So when you get pulled over and the cop looks at your RHD and runs your plates. The information that he gets back on his computer won't make him question why you have a RHD car?

Don't be stupid

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mr Hammond &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

How do you expect to swap the firewall one?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

easy u pull the motor and swap the WHOLE firewall so that the RHD has no weld marks around teh vin number, it gets trickey with the master cyl. but it wasnt too hard in the end..

il tell you one thing an EF9 is 10X easier then swapping vins with a STI...

 

sounds like you've done this before.... :blue lights: :blue lights: lol

Please don't swap vins... that is so dumb. Every time you're pulled over, the cop runs your tags/lisence. If the cop knows anything, he'll ask questions about it. Next thing you know, your $5000 baby is in the impound lot...

I've heard if you convert everything to DOT specs, then you can move on to registering it. ie windows, seat belts, head lights and tail lights, and some other things... Not 100%, but thats what I've heard.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well assume that you bought a car in the states with a swapped engine, you wouldn't have to go through all that. I guess you would only because it was imported? ah i see....</TD></TR></TABLE>

The only thing is, if a car is imported, it must be inspected. When you buy a used USDM car, it doesn't have to be inspected. Nobody knows its a swapped motor until they pop the hood.

 

you could register it in canada and then import it from there. canada has a rule about importing cars that they must be over 15 years old, importing a car from canada to the states is about as hard as buying a bigmac.

 

if you are going to spend $18k on a plain CRX SiR, you might as well buy an R32 Skyline from Motorex instead. it's more cost effective and a far bigger bang for your buck.

 

ef love is what's its about

I know about canada has the easier less restrictive laws on cars.

Hmm, the whole total VIN switch would be the way I'd go IMO. Just keep the usdm car somewhere in your hands to show proof if you ever did get caught or whatever.
You can just say you swapped the firewalls even. Bah, no wait, I can't lie, crap, such a quandry.

 

search around I have an encountered 2 authentic ef9 RHD cars on these boards all bar certified and completely legal the legit way in California...which might I say has some of the strictest smog rules.

I would imagine TX is much more lenient much like AZ and surrounding states.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Nerologic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

easy u pull the motor and swap the WHOLE firewall so that the RHD has no weld marks around teh vin number, it gets trickey with the master cyl. but it wasnt too hard in the end..

il tell you one thing an EF9 is 10X easier then swapping vins with a STI...</TD></TR></TABLE>

I was waiting for someone to say this. That has to be the biggest pain in the *** ever. Especially with everything being backwards. IMO WAY to much drilling and fabbing and remounting stuff just to drive on the oposite side of a B16A CRX. Other cars "might" be worth doing.

 

dude, JDM CRX or EF9s go for US $1500 in Japan. thought you should know.

 

Motorex's website states that it cost $16,000 to $25,000 per vehicle to convert to USDM standards and have a VIN issued. I'm sure this is jacked up some so that Motorex can profit from doing all the work/paperwork, but this should give you an idea that it's going to cost quite a few thousand to have the car inspected and have a VIN issued.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mr Hammond &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I was waiting for someone to say this. That has to be the biggest pain in the *** ever. Especially with everything being backwards. IMO WAY to much drilling and fabbing and remounting stuff just to drive on the oposite side of a B16A CRX. Other cars "might" be worth doing.</TD></TR></TABLE>

its not that bad...

 

IMO its the biggest waste of money and time, unless you have lots and lots of dough to throw around, and have a collection of cars. Its so much easier to just get all the EF9 parts and swap a B16.. so much less time and money wasted. Albeit having an authentic SIR is awesome, but otherwise, waste of money if you ask me.

 

how bout if you register it in Mexico..... you just give the guy 500.... and is a mex legal car....