Hello all,

I am currently stationed in Japan and own a 1990 rx7. It is over 25 years now.

I will be leaving in 2017 and going back to the states and plan to bring it back with me.

I have checked the nhtsa and as far as I can tell, my vehicle would be eligible for importation.

Has anyone out there imported a 25+ year rx7 or knows someone that has?

What types of things should I plan on?

I'm worried about whether or not I need a broker to handle the car or if I can do everything myself.

I'm not sure where it would be arriving yet, but most likely it would be California.

Thank you.

 

It should be a piece of cake to get a 1990 into the US.
It's the less than 25 year old cars that have a problem being imported.

Of course your car would most likely have to follow State laws and be smogged according to the rules of that particular State so expect that to be on your list.

 

And is smog something easy and/or cheap to fix?

 

If emissions systems are still intact, yes lol. Check your state laws on it. My state doesn't have it so I'm all good

 

If its JDM i don't believe there is any emissions on them at all

And being imported, i think it exempts you from having to be smogged, but don't quote me on that

 

Well I hear California is pretty strict on emissions, but it is on nhtsa's list of non conforming, import eligible cars due to it being very similar to the US version.

 

I looked into importing a car from Japan before I found my Tii. While it being exempt from EPA and NHTSA exempt you still have to conform to your state laws. Also be sure to get new tires since Japan's standards for tires are different and need to be DOT certified. Now if you want to import it for race/show only, you'll be good to go but the car can't touch public roads. I've spent hours talking to EPA, NHTSA, and Customs, finding a broker was a pain and found a guy in Canada that imports to the US.

 

Vehicle Importation and Certification Requirements

https://www.veteransunited.com/netwo...han-you-think/

 

that is completely wrong. the JDM cars have nearly the same emissions equipment as a US car, and if it is all there it will pass a tailpipe emissions test easily.

for an S5 FC, the JDM car does not have a precat where the US version does, and the US air pump is bigger. we also get AWS and they do not. we also get a couple of sub valves in the ACV that they don't. the JDM cat has a temp probe in it, but is otherwise the same

in CA you'd need to run a US pre cat to pass the visual test, and if your smog guy is an A-hole, you'd need a US spec ACV too

 

So, easy answer, sell or import, should I just sell it over here before I leave and not worry about it, or should I stick it out because the whole process seems daunting, but really isn't?

 

Its up to you, being as your still over there you could order USDM cat and have it put on. The chances of a smog tester being an a hole is good, idk about them being able to tell the differences between the ACVs

Its all about how much $ YOU wanna spend

Another thing to ponder is see what your year car sells for over here vs there, that would help you weigh the differences between buying one here or shipping it over the pond

 

Good point, I've become accustomed to driving on the right side of the car since I've been here 8 years, so I don't want to give it up...it just feels....right! But at the same time, I'm feeling I should let my project go and keep it where it was born. I'm worried it's not gonna be compliant on something and super expensive to make compliant so I'll either spend a ton or lose the car and get nothing in return.

I've got a year to think about it but I'm very strongly leaning towards selling it here.

Anyways, thanks for the help.

 

It's pretty easy from what I can tell. I have a friend who owns a registered car importation business and brings in 25+ year cars all the time. Look up Driving Right Imports on Facebook. He's located in Oregon and never had a problem getting cars road legal.

As others have mentioned, check your local laws regarding emissions.

 

Just keep in mind that if the engine has been replaced with something else (like an FD engine) or it has any mods there is a small possibility it will get caught in customs. You might want to consider putting stock parts back on it if you want to be 100% sure it will pass.

 

met an older marine yesterday who just imported his fully modified r32. not for street use but he may register in arizona.

jdm fc doesn't have check engine light, or even the wiring for one on ecu. emissions are missing precat, aws and one more valve on back of uim. air pump is different, and acv has two solenoids instead of the jdm that has one. lower intake is different on usdm, cold start?

 

I recently bought an imported 1990 FC TII from J-Spec Auto in Richmond, VA. It was already titled in Virginia when I bought it so I didn't have to do any special paperwork. Only issues I experienced were adding it to my insurance and registering it with the state because the VIN number is much shorter.

Insurance was satisfied that the importer company submitted all proper paperwork to confirm it meets safety regulations (which I don't believe require modifications on vehicles over 25 years). Registration was fine when I explained it was imported, already titled in VA and I'm sure that's the full VIN number.

 

I hope it wasn't imported before 2015...

 

Importation should not be a problem if your car is over 25 years from the date of manufacture.

You have to complete HS-7 declaration form and mark box 1. Also, your customs declarations need to be filed before your car arrives at the port. Fines may result otherwise.

If you are in the US Military, talk to someone in your branch. You are eligible to have a car shipped back home after your duties are completed.