Let's go drifting: importing a racecar For help on race monsters, we turned to Jeffrey Shu, owner of Chaste Auto in Pomona, Calif., a shop that has turned quite a few wrenches on rally and race machines. First, any car that reaches U.S. soil, be it race or street, has to clear customs. It doesn't matter what your intentions are, customs agents need to know what it is and what you're doing with it. A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration HS-7 form and an Environmental Protection Agency 3520-1 form must be properly filled out before it can clear customs and be released from the port.
Let's get crazy for just a second:
Pretend you just bought a nice, slightly used 1998 JGTC Skyline. In order to import and register it here, you'll need a letter from the manufacturer stating the vehicle was in fact assembled for racing. The racecar can never be converted to street use, and obviously you can't drive it on the street. Have you ever seen a GT racecar pass you on the expressway? You'll need the vehicle's history, your competition license and a list of the series you plan to race in. You may be asked to provide evidence of your intentions.
There is also a temporary exemption where you can bring a vehicle in for repairs, testing or display purposes only. According to Shu, the competition exemption for rally cars lasts approximately six months, after which you may file for a six-month extension. After this, you must export the car out of the United States. While the car is here you must post a customs bond that is in relation to the value of the car. Nobody said doing this was cheap.
But wait, you say, "I've seen rally cars drive on the streets in the WRC coverage." Yes, rally cars do drive on the streets between stages, but don't think you can import your Silvia as a rally car. According to a source we'll call Mr. X, the manufacturer-run teams, such as Subaru or Mitsubishi, run their cars with manufacturer plates, making them EPA and DOT exempt. Many privateer rally competitors swap VIN plates from junkyard U.S.-market Imprezas to run JDM-spec WRX STis in rally competition. That's illegal, and definitely not what we're trying to focus on here.
But I wanted a street car Reading through DOT and EPA federal importation laws is enough to drive a person mad. You have to comprehend lawyer-speak, government jargon and the old paperwork two-step. When we needed to decipher how to get a hypothetical Silvia into the States, we turned to Sean Morris. An independent consultant often found taking up space at RB Motoring in the City of Industry, Calif., Morris was one of the masterminds responsible certifying Nissan Skylines and one of the few people who has hands-on experience bringing cars over.
First off, you and your greasy friends can't just bring cars into the United States. You'll need to speak with a registered importer (RI) and make sure they are on the federal list of recognized RIs (you can find the Web address in our Hotbox). Then you'll need to check if your car of choice is on the NHTSA list. These cars can be modified to bring into the States. You'll notice the Nissan GT-S and GT-R right-hand drive Skylines are on the list. If it's on the list, then it's a matter of importing the car and performing the modifications needed to meet DOT and EPA requirements. This often entails things like headlights, airbags, seatbelts, door bars or tires. But you have to get the exact parts required by the DOT-correct part numbers and all.
Get past the DOT with a U.S. equivalent What if it's not on the list? Take the Nissan Silvia. If the Silvia came with the KA24DE engine, then it would be similar to the U.S.-spec 240SX. For foreign-market cars with U.S. equivalents, it's just a matter of proving to the DOT that the two cars are identical. The first task on the list is dismantling a 240SX and a Silvia, photographing and documenting every single difference between the two and submitting a petition to the DOT. The petition would have to include proposals on how you plan to make the two cars identical, whether it is which parts you plan to swap or which parts you plan to have fabricated to meet DOT standards. If you can convince the DOT that your modified Silvia is identical to the 240SX in all ways and will function and crash the same, then you're set to move on to emissions.