Those of you that have one, and saftied in Canada. What did you need to do for them to pass safety? I've been told to get Canadian approved seat belts, DOT approved light bulbs, day-time running lights and some shops say high mount brake light, but i've never even seen an FD with a high mount other than on the oem spoiler to my knowledge.

I don't want to buy new seat belts so if anyone has a spare set kickin around let me know, unless i can make the ones from my civic work just for the inspection...

 

It really depends on which province you are trying to register the car in.

If you are in Ontario it is really easy.. take the car to any shop that can do a prov. saftey .. they will only check to make sure that the car is mechanically sound. (ie tires, brakes, horn) just as they would any car (it was actually easier to saftey my JDM FD than my STS!)

I am not sure about other provinces.
In BC I have heard there is lots of BS that you have to put up with. DOT lights, markers, etc.
I'm sure the BC guys can elaborate much more on that.

 

im in manitoba, they're being ******** about dot bulbs, an glass on the lights, and seatbelts, its pretty gay, the japanese seatbelts are much stronger than ours

 

For me, my FD needed rubber on the aluminum pedals, amber bulbs (not the JDM white bulbs) on the illum lights, daytime running lights... that was pretty much it for the big things other than a basic safety (tires, rust, brakes, etc.). Overall, it wasn't stressful, more so impatient to get the damn thing on the road!

 

Its true, in BC you need DOT lights, tires, glass, daytime running lights, MARKER LIGHTS.

you will end up buying new head lights, marker lights for the front, wiring up the daytime running lights, and doing a standard saftey.

 

that's funny since canadian FD's didn't have rubber on the aluminum pedals.

 

Oh yeah?

 

last march when my passed OOP in alberta it was super cake, importer got it all done for me and somehow i didnt have to change anything and i dont think they even looked at drl's for my car. mine was fairly unmolested though, bone stock other than rims and a mazdaspeed muffler with 39K on it.

 

^^Alberta is supposedly like BC, in terms of directives have been issued by the province over the last year to mechanics telling them to specifically check DOT bulbs, lenses, glass, and so on on JDM's in particular - which is not to say that there aren't still mechanics who pretty much give it a standard safety and send you on your way, but I wouldn't count on it. A small independent garage/mechanic is more likely to give you an easy pass - a larger shop or chain is more likely to have a manager who's busy watching paperwork, and have more awareness of liability policies and concerns.

 

My advice would be to take the car back to Japan, then man up and buy a nice LHD here. Right hand drives are gay. All people think when they see a cheesy right hand drive seven is "that guy couldn't afford a LHD obviously". Spend a couple thousand extra, you get a car that you know the history on and your sitting on the proper side. Plus by the time you're done converting all the stuff on the RHD to meet Canadian spec and replaced the low compression motor, you may as well have bought a LHD. Probably cost you less in the end. Just my two cents. Whats with these RHD's anyways? There's more RHD's here then LHD's.

 

Economics. Look into it.

Ninja edit : I'm not trying to be a dick, but the RHD ones CAN be cleaner than the LHD ones. This is especially true for FC's. All the FD's I've seen from japan seem to be either totally riced out with mods or have huge problems, except for FOOTBALL's. I want his car. So bad!

 

Yeah you're right. I've seen some clean FC rhd's. Almost all the FD rhd's are totaly riced out and look like ****. They aren't even that much cheaper then a LHD. Spend the initial extra $5,000 on a LHD instead and you'll be happy you did. I know three guys who bought those RHD fd's all from different places and they all have nothing but issues. One guy's engine went in less then a month, both others have low compression amongst other things. They all looked clean and nice when they bought them too.

 

RHD FD- "The poor mans Edition" lol

 

i don't get it, why do so many people hate RHD fd, everyone has their own taste, you might like LHD better, but not other people.
i would say its all about having fun and owning a dream/a piece of art.
this is my own opinion so yeah ..

 

Take your opinion to honda tech where it will be valued.


aww I'm j/k.

But seriously, when someone on this forum builds a nice clean RHD FD (waiting on you the bisnac) than we can give props. Until than, they're all POS's bought by people who have no idea how much rx7's really cost. Whatever you paid for the car, it will be double in maintenace. Just ask thewird.

 

It's not that people hate RHD's because they are after all still FD RX-7's which are sweet, it's just that they are taking over like a plague. Just about every FD you see on the road is a RHD. More importantly, the quality of the ones we get here are garbage. I have yet to see a RHD come over here that is a great running no problem car. They don't exist because all the good ones stay in Japan and the rest get shipped here. They give the car a bad name because everyone who buys one that isn't familiar with RX-7's and has problems with it, spreads the word on how shitty they are. Plus they are driving the value of RX-7's down because they are so cheap. Guys like me, I have a mint LHD FD Turbo with about $80,000 invested into it, will have a hard time selling them for a fair price baecause people who don't know better compare them to the junky RHD's for sale.

 

you are right man, i am sorry and will take back what i said.
your fd must be really nice !

 

Reason is that since you can import these cars for 8k-11k all day that means teen age kids can get there hands on them. You get the Fast and the Furious type ricer kids getting fd's. Makes the rest of us look like douche bags

 

very well said. i have mad my opinion on the RHD several times on here and i agree 100% with u

 

once again. well said. i agree 100%

its the VR imports with 5 different shades of red,cracked bumpers,hangin side skirts,torn interiors,mix matched wheels,dented fenders,broken mirrors,rusted under carriages,and hacked engine bays that really get to me.

 

That's exactly right. If I was 16 years old with this car, I'd be dead right now. I had a 83 GS with a 12a in it when I was 16 and I loved it. It wasn't the fastest car around for sure but it was fun to drive. Im 27 now and have had my FD for 6 years and I don't drive like an ***. They are so cheep to bring here now and make a quick buck on that they seem to be everywhere. The only ones cashing in on these are the sellers and the rotary shops that fix them. The people who buy them end up putting a lot of money into them to make them run and look proper. Guess what's gonna happen when those guy's want to sell the RHD's they bought for cheap, They'll be getting like $6,000 for them when it comes time to sell them because the newer years will be available for about $12,000 - $15,000. Then when the 99 spec ones and spirit R's are able to come here, The older FD's will be worth even less.

 

I'm actually waiting until the second or third year Supras become legal, and than I'm grabbing one of those...but I'm keeping my FC in the family, it'll be too nice when I'm done to sell.

 

All of which just goes to show - LHD or RHD, any car, even an FD, is not an investment - $200,000 '69 Chargers on Barrett-Jackson not withstanding. They are expenses, plain and simple, and only rarely, and usually temporarily, do they appreciate (I'm betting that with the US economy tanking, a lot of people are going wake up to find that moderately rare American muscle cars are NOT going to be fetching 6 figures so much anymore ). So just enjoy the car and know you'll put way more money into it than will ever be gotten out.

 

Yeah but at the same time, who knows what a mint condition, super low km all origional FD will go for in forty years? Nobody ever thought that if they bought a shelby gt500 back then and kept it mint, they'd get $500,000 for it today.

I'm just trying to steer people away from making a big mistake and buying a RHD. Get a LHD because they will hold thier value way better.

 

I'm just trying to steer people away from making a big mistake and buying a RHD. Get a LHD because they will hold thier value way better.[/QUOTE]

what someone cant' find a nice lhd fd in canada would buying one from the states be a better alternative then a rhd? I'm looking into getting one from the US. A fd with 70-90k miles from america is okay, thats not too many miles is it or should I look for one that has lower miles?