How do you make a backwards R?

How do I make a Nissan skyline GT-R R-33 CA State Legal?

• Ok, I have done tons of research and I have never found the exact answer. All I get is that it will cost "tens of thousands of dollars." Also, I've heard that I need to "just forget about it" and "stop before you make a fool of yourself," First of all I don't believe that it costs "tens of thousands of dollars". Second of all, even if it did I have the cash it's not a problem. I want exact details on how to make it CA legal. Some people say it's as simple as bolting on a cat-converter. But I have a feeling that isn't true. No, i don't want a stupid answer like, "just swap the body on a car that has an identical chassis," because I'm not a fool and I'm legit, not a poser. R-33 GT-R is my favorite model and I been saving up for like several years so I can do this. I just need to know how. Please help. =)

• Answer:

  "First of all I don't believe that it costs "tens of thousands of dollars"" So you don't know what you have to do, but you know it won't cost that much? Wow. Ok, simple answer: You can't. Long answer: The reason you "can't" is because you don't know what modifications have to be made to the structure of the car to make it safe to meet federal crash regulations. I'm giving the short story here, but basically a company named Motorex did import a number of Skylines a few years back and obtained the crash test data needed (by wrecking the Skylines). So they were able to make the necessary changes and submit the data to the federal government, which in turn allowed certain Skylines to be legally registered. Unfortunately, due to legal pressure from their competitors, Motorex closed down and decided to take the secrets of what modifications have to be done with them to the grave. So in short, you can't legally register the car not because of state regulations (which involves emissions problems), but because federal safety information is not on file with the US government for that car. Your only hope, to the best of my knowledge, is to find a car either older than 25 years old (which the R32 isn't, since it was released in 1989, 25 year old cars don't have to meet federal crash test safety regulations); or find a previously converted Motorex car (remember, they got a few cars sold before they shut down), but these are almost impossible to find and can fetch $50,000 plus dollars. So yes, technically it WILL cost tens of thousands of dollars... Now some people will claim to sell you what is called a 'grey market' GTR. There are a few ways they go about getting these cars registered (note: I didn't say LEGAL, just getting them through the system), one of the most common being swapping a VIN from a junkyard car and getting a salvage title for the other car calling the GTR 'rebuilt' and hoping the DMV worker is a total moron. The other being disassembling the car in another country, shipping it into the US, and reassembling it and calling it a "kit car." However, it should be noted that both methods (and any accompanying "grey market" GTR) are highly illegal, they carry felony sentences (funny enough, this practice was made specifically illegal BECAUSE of the GTR). For your own sake, don't do it, they'll arrest you and simply crush the car. For more, read this VERY well put together article, not only is it informative it's actually pretty interesting: http://reviews.ebay.com/How-to-Legally-Import-amp-Register-Nissan-Skyline_W0QQugidZ10000000006110167 Edit: I would just like to point out that while you CAN do what jonathan is suggesting, it IS a felony, on a couple of different accounts. And at the end of the day, the car winds up getting crushed, so you just lost that couple grand you spent on the car, AND your in jail. It's not worth it, yes you may be able to skirt around the system for a time but one call or one traffic stop by a halfway knowledgeable cop and bam, car is a cube. One more edit: If you want a Skyline that badly, wait 5 years. We're coming up to the point where you can get an R32 since it's 25 years old. Just wait till then, and you can import it legally since cars 25 years and older don't have to meet federal crash test regulations. One final edit: I know the feeling, it sucks loving a car and not being able to get it. Hell, I've pined over a GTR myself, and I'm not even a big import/Japanese car fan. My recommendation is get another car you enjoy, and be happy with it for a while. Might want to look at a 240sx or possibly a WRX or EVO. They're turbocharged AWD cars, so it's about as close as you'll get to a GTR here in the states for a while. Good luck to you whatever you do.