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Japanese Domestic / Right-Hand Drivers / In the US
The Loft / EvoM Car Talk CornerThe landing pad for automotive discussions, news, articles, and opinions. A place for the community to kick back and chat.
It's not that laws have expired. It's the 25yr rule. Cars over 25yrs old can be imported. And there's finally more desirable cars falling into that age..
Good Ol Jalopnik has a page dedicated to this importing process
Heres a quick cut/paste on that 25 year mark:
Here’s the crazy thing about all these regulations. After all the words I’ve written above; after all the EPA restrictions, and DOT regulations, and crash tests, and bumper strength laws; after all the rules and guidelines and mileage limits; after all that … the day a car turns 25 years old, it’s legal to import, with no restrictions at all.
And I mean 25 years old. And I mean no restrictions.
Of course, if you live in Caif, non of the above applies
Yeah, sucks for those of us in CA.
I saw a '94 Supra with low miles for about $19k, off the boat. That's REALLY nice compared to U.S. prices for a hard-top TT MkIV. Really tempting. I'm bummed to see the R32 GTR triple in price. With the cost of maintenance & restoration and the condition of the leftovers we're getting, I had to let that one go. It's just not worth it.
I have no issue owning a RHD car as a toy, like how I drive my Evo. Daily? Nah. Even after you get used driving it, you still can't safely pass cars on a two-late road. I can just imagine being stuck behind a Semi down FWY 41, on my way to the coast. LOL. It would take 6hrs to get there. My fix was going to be to stick a camera on the passenger-side mirror and run it to a 7" screen. But anyway...
I'm kinda sorta looking into what's involved in importing a car that was sold in the U.S. (like the Supra). I'm guessing still not legal in CA, due to "safety" blah blah.
An Evo 1 in Japan isn't as expensive as 16k. Most of the money is going to the importer to find and ship the car over here. They obviously give themselves a huge cut of the sale. If you did it yourself then you could save a decent amount of money. It could pass regulations in California if someone figures out how to wire in an OBD2 and emissions system. I see the Evo 1 having a DSM/EVO knowledge gap that could easily be bridged once someone with the tools and experience figures out a way to make it CA legal. When they do they could make a cushy living prepping these older Evos to pass CA emissions laws.
An Evo 1 in Japan isn't as expensive as 16k. Most of the money is going to the importer to find and ship the car over here. They obviously give themselves a huge cut of the sale. If you did it yourself then you could save a decent amount of money. It could pass regulations in California if someone figures out how to wire in an OBD2 and emissions system. I see the Evo 1 having a DSM/EVO knowledge gap that could easily be bridged once someone with the tools and experience figures out a way to make it CA legal. When they do they could make a cushy living prepping these older Evos to pass CA emissions laws.
Making non-U.S. cars legal in CA goes further than emissions. They also have to be brought up to safety standards. G & K (http://gnkauto.com/) converts GTRs by adding emissions equipment and upgrading crash beams and other items (their secret sauce). The same would have to be done for the Evo I. But first, someone would have to figure out what the requirements, as MotoRex did for the GTR.
The really good cars are climbing in value, but US legality has driven prices up worldwide. R32 GT-Rs were half the price they were before they became legal in the US. I see clapped-out rusty R32 GT-R projects go $8,000+ in Japan now. Don't buy a cheap Evo 123, because you'll pay BIG in repairs. A higher mileage, un-maintained car will need a lot of work and will probably cost more than a great example in the long run.
There is nothing 'wrong' with having a RHD on LHD roads. It gets a bit dicey on two-lane highways and waiting at stoplights to turn left against oncoming traffic. That said, the Evo 123s are not exceptional cars. They are very raw, and they feel cheap. The aftermarket for them shrank years ago and some parts can be next to impossible to find. There is exceptional collector potential with mint 1-3 RS cars, however. I'm too deep into my Evo 1 RS to ever sell it and some of the parts took years to find. I probably wouldn't do it again if I was building a race car from scratch.
The main concern I have is that the roofs rust on every car and no replacements are available and transmission parts are long obsolete. The DSM guys used up all the Evo stuff on their drag cars. If you want a car that has over 450 ft-lbs of torque, you'll be stripping 3rd and 4th gear frequently. Stocks of gears are going down worldwide. PAR makes a straight-cut synchronized gear kit to take the power, but it's around $5,000. The Evo I has a weak 3/4 hub & slider that explodes over 400 ft-lbs, no replacements are available. The Evo II/III hub and slider is very strong, but stocks have been gone for years. The 5th gear setup is basically unobtainable now. The center diff is weak like all DSMs and should have a 4-spider conversion, otherwise you risk taking a lot of damage. The center diff/lsd is a stupid design and is not replaced cheaply or easily.
A lot of the parts for racing are custom-made and not available from a single source. For custom suspension stuff, RaceFab makes most of it (check the prices). Dampers are mostly JDM and quality units aren't made anymore. Ohlins *may* still make a kit. I have Toda dampers on my car, the price was insane on them. Big brake kits are available from AP Racing for the front, but nobody makes anything for the rear. A lot of guys swap to Brembos from a later car, requiring adapters ($$) and some modification is required for the e-brake mechanism. Wheel hubs are very hard to find, as a local road-racer found out when his packed in. Bushings are almost guaranteed to need replacement. My 30,000 mile RS needed every bushing replaced, so I went with Ralliart stuff in 2010-2012. You can't find that stuff anymore, so you'll need a full kit by SuperPro, which can cost up to $1,000 landed. Engine mounts are patchwork - Cusco made a kit that can still be found. Braces are available from overseas and don't always fit.
Engines are easy. The 7-bolt from the DSM is pretty much equivalent, so the options are endless. Radiators and intercooling can be done as a custom job. Body parts, a bit hard to find, especially in North America. You can run 215mm rear tires if you have the perfect rear offset, but 205mm are the norm on stock bodywork. They are puny. Widebody parts are available to run 255s, but very expensive and hard to find. Truth Motorsports in Japan makes the most tasteful rear flares. There are fenders from Japan, but they can't be shipped for less than $500, since Japan has a 150cm size restriction for their mail system.
Essentially, if you need a part, it's at least 2 weeks away and not cheap. Overseas shipping, as well as taxes/duties apply to just about everything. That is a major killer if you're racing the car. You can graft a lot of later Evo parts onto the chassis, but the conversions are usually complex. The one thing Evo123s have going for them is weight. My car weighs 2540 lbs with minimal weight reduction.
I would buy a mint Evo 123 RS as a garage queen since they will be worth a fortune some day. The Evo I GSR is trash, in my opinion, it's barely a performance car. Lame suspension, lame diff, outdated Recaros and the cars don't look very good. If you want a 123 as a race car, be prepared to have over $20,000 into it if you want something that will hang with an Evo 8/9 on track reliably. If you want a car to use on weekends, get an Evo II GSR. The III is the same car as the II, except it has the iconic bodywork and will cost thousands of dollars on top of an Evo II. Do not buy any early Evo as a daily driver, period.
I would probably buy an Evo V if I had to restart.
That's why I pretty much leave my cars (drivetrain) mostly stock ,now. I'm not trying to deal with all that BS. Too much time and money invested for a small amount of time driving in between. No, thank you. I feel your pain, though. 'Been there.
I also couldn't imagine trying to daily drive any JDM car, due to unavailability of maintenance items. No way.
The main concern I have is that the roofs rust on every car and no replacements are available and transmission parts are long obsolete. The DSM guys used up all the Evo stuff on their drag cars. If you want a car that has over 450 ft-lbs of torque, you'll be stripping 3rd and 4th gear frequently. Stocks of gears are going down worldwide. PAR makes a straight-cut synchronized gear kit to take the power, but it's around $5,000. The Evo I has a weak 3/4 hub & slider that explodes over 400 ft-lbs, no replacements are available. The Evo II/III hub and slider is very strong, but stocks have been gone for years. The 5th gear setup is basically unobtainable now. The center diff is weak like all DSMs and should have a 4-spider conversion, otherwise you risk taking a lot of damage. The center diff/lsd is a stupid design and is not replaced cheaply or easily.
A lot of the parts for racing are custom-made and not available from a single source. For custom suspension stuff, RaceFab makes most of it (check the prices). Dampers are mostly JDM and quality units aren't made anymore. Ohlins *may* still make a kit. I have Toda dampers on my car, the price was insane on them. Big brake kits are available from AP Racing for the front, but nobody makes anything for the rear. A lot of guys swap to Brembos from a later car, requiring adapters ($$) and some modification is required for the e-brake mechanism. Wheel hubs are very hard to find, as a local road-racer found out when his packed in. Bushings are almost guaranteed to need replacement. My 30,000 mile RS needed every bushing replaced, so I went with Ralliart stuff in 2010-2012. You can't find that stuff anymore, so you'll need a full kit by SuperPro, which can cost up to $1,000 landed. Engine mounts are patchwork - Cusco made a kit that can still be found. Braces are available from overseas and don't always fit.
Engines are easy. The 7-bolt from the DSM is pretty much equivalent, so the options are endless. Radiators and intercooling can be done as a custom job. Body parts, a bit hard to find, especially in North America. You can run 215mm rear tires if you have the perfect rear offset, but 205mm are the norm on stock bodywork. They are puny. Widebody parts are available to run 255s, but very expensive and hard to find. Truth Motorsports in Japan makes the most tasteful rear flares. There are fenders from Japan, but they can't be shipped for less than $500, since Japan has a 150cm size restriction for their mail system.
Essentially, if you need a part, it's at least 2 weeks away and not cheap. Overseas shipping, as well as taxes/duties apply to just about everything. That is a major killer if you're racing the car. You can graft a lot of later Evo parts onto the chassis, but the conversions are usually complex. The one thing Evo123s have going for them is weight. My car weighs 2540 lbs with minimal weight reduction.
I would buy a mint Evo 123 RS as a garage queen since they will be worth a fortune some day. The Evo I GSR is trash, in my opinion, it's barely a performance car. Lame suspension, lame diff, outdated Recaros and the cars don't look very good. If you want a 123 as a race car, be prepared to have over $20,000 into it if you want something that will hang with an Evo 8/9 on track reliably. If you want a car to use on weekends, get an Evo II GSR. The III is the same car as the II, except it has the iconic bodywork and will cost thousands of dollars on top of an Evo II. Do not buy any early Evo as a daily driver, period.
I would probably buy an Evo V if I had to restart.
UK EVO Forum, MLR did an EVO V/VI conversion flare onto EVO I/II/II
That is an option, no idea about the price
A lot of those EVO parts is also taken up by my country, Malaysia toconvert their locally built Lancer into EVO clone(Rear floor pan, rear clip, fuel tank etc)
Parts availability should be fine in this part of world
Personal favorite still EVO VI TME in passion red with stripe and EVO IX GT though
UK EVO Forum, MLR did an EVO V/VI conversion flare onto EVO I/II/II
That is an option, no idea about the price
A lot of those EVO parts is also taken up by my country, Malaysia toconvert their locally built Lancer into EVO clone(Rear floor pan, rear clip, fuel tank etc)
Parts availability should be fine in this part of world
Personal favorite still EVO VI TME in passion red with stripe and EVO IX GT though
UK EVO Forum, MLR did an EVO V/VI conversion flare onto EVO I/II/II
That is an option, no idea about the price
A lot of those EVO parts is also taken up by my country, Malaysia toconvert their locally built Lancer into EVO clone(Rear floor pan, rear clip, fuel tank etc)
Parts availability should be fine in this part of world
Personal favorite still EVO VI TME in passion red with stripe and EVO IX GT though
I tried to get them to ship to me once, they were pointless to deal with. Could barely get responses. In North America, we only have parts that were shared with other cars (DSM, mostly) and from cars being parted out. There aren't many, so everything comes from overseas.
Expect the red Tommi Makinen Evos to be $50,000+ once they're US-legal. That's still 7 years away though.
Oct 12, 2018, 12:28 PM
My fix was going to be to stick a camera on the passenger-side mirror and run it to a 7" screen. But anyway... 
