Ok I wasnt really sure where to post this, but I thought you guys would be the most knowledgeable on something like this...

I have had a certain project car in mind for sometime now. However, this car is nearly impossible to find stock and in good condition in the US. I have looked into a number of sources about possibly importing the J-spec version of the car (which are readily available and cheap in Japan) but am still in the preliminary phases of finding out all the requirements and paperwork that is needed (not to mention cost). BTW, the car is a Series 5 FC3S TII (89-91 RX7).

Then I started wondering about front clips. They are not that expensive, can be had in good condition, and there is no need for extra customs and registration fees. So then my question is, has anyone seen or heard of a front clip being welded on to a US shell? I have access to a body shop and a couple friends with experience with the car's structure (one has a 502 swap). I have talked to some people in an RX7 forum and a nissan guy on there actually had an S13 clip attached to his car, and he said if the body shop did quality work, you shouldnt even be able to tell the procedure was done(which is what he said in his case).

What does everyone think of this? I know its not a Honda, but its like asking, can I stick a JDM DC2R clip onto my GSR? I ask on here because I know theres alot of knowledgeable people on this board. Thanks in advance.

My main concern is just gettin the car for now. A nation wide search on autotrader didnt come up with a single stock Turbo II.


[Modified by fiebru1119, 2:31 PM 3/26/2003]

 

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Can you get front clips pretty easily? Sure, if you have the hookup over seas to ship it - http://www.JDMshit.com/clips <-- shows you some of our empty junk that gets picked up for trash.

Can you weld the front half onto a US car? Sure, I've seen it done, but there's a couple ways of going at it. Do it the CORRECT way, and that's to dealership spec, with every spot weld and so forth. Then your car will structurally be rigid and safe if in an impact. Otherwise you can do it the "not-so-safe" way / ghetto way of cutting your car in half and welding the front clip to the rear of your US car. And if you get into an accident with that setup, the weld(s) are going to break and your car will probably become 2 halves again - I've actually heard of this happenning to somebody who got T-boned.

 

Thanks for the post, yes I realize about the dangers of having a weak junction especially at such an important point. Out of curiosity, where would you get he (blueprints?) for the factory welds? Also, could I just cut out the fire wall of the USDM car and replace it with the firewall of the JDM car.. so that the RHD conversion wont require so much drilling and modification. Just exploring the options..