Imported From Japan

"Bird" (Bird)
06/03/2014 at 10:30 • Filed to: Imported from Japan

It can take a long time to get something you want. I'd say I've been waiting about 15 years, and it's finally happened. We have two JDM cars sitting in our garage. For the past few months we've been on the roller-coaster ride of importing two cars from Japan. A 1989 Toyota Soarer Aerocabin, and a 1970 Toyota Crown Coupe (MS51). This is the story.

I'm lucky and found a girlfriend who shares my enthusiasm for the strange (you guys know her as !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ). We had to delay and re-route our planned !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . So earlier this year we decided to move up another crazy idea we've been planning for a long time. Importing from Japan. These two were a trial run to make sure we wanted to go all the way. So far so good, and right now we're on track to officially be an importer and dealer by this fall.

We didn't want to sell these first two right away. The plan has always been to get the cars ready, and then get a couple road-trips out of them before they go. If you're buying 25-40 year old cars sight unseen you have to expect some surprises. We had planned to have our export partner deal with any major issues in Japan. That didn't work out quite as planned. I'll explain all that later, but those few extra surprises are what's had me working the extra hours in the garage the past couple weeks. I know you guys have been waiting to hear about this. Sorry it's taken so long...and be warned, this is going to be a long one.

Out of all the cars I've owned, the Aerocabin instantly became my favorite. It's just an amazing luxury coupe...and convertible! I keep comparing it to my old E46. It has an awesome digital dash, one touch driver power window, power folding mirrors, digital AC, steering wheel AC controls...the seats even have power lumbar and side bolsters!

If you noticed, it's wearing the SSR Reverse Mesh that Ferrero1911 found on craigslist. She's been !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of those. She had the lips polished and the centers painted in a Toyota white to go with the car. Then we painted the hardware to match the body kit and reassembled them. We ended up getting some pretty meaty tires and have dubbed it 'Vintage Meaty Stance'.

The best surprise of the Aerocabin was the paint. The photo above shows it the best we can photograph it, it's a beautiful blue pearl over white. The pictures just don't do it justice. I can hardly believe it's factory. It's also in amazing condition. We've been over the whole car, and it has one ding. It has an interior to match too. It must have been garaged and meticulously cared for most of it's life. Nothing's brittle like every other 25yr+ car I've had. The only real wear is on the steering wheel and the drivers bolster. We're going to have that repaired, so both seats are perfect.

Unfortunately the car had some bad surprises too. Luckily we had strong compression, but the turbo was seeping badly and had some shaft play. The car ran great, but the turbo was a few thousand miles from turning the engine into a smoke machine. That's out for a rebuild now. While we're at it I'm having the injectors cleaned and flow tested, radiator flushed, changing the cooling hoses, replacing a bunch of seals, and changing the timing belt and water pump. The stock downpipe was pretty beat up from being one of the lowest points on the car, and it already has a very nice 3" exhaust, so we ordered a 3" downpipe to match. We'll throw on a high-flow catalytic converter to replace the worn out one that's on there now, and then we'll have a full 3" stainless exhaust turbo to tailpipe.

The other issue was the top. It didn't work. Mechanically it's fully functional, and right now I've bypassed the control computer and have it working on new switches. The problem with it is actually two-fold. All Aerocabins were delivered from the factory as automatics, but ours is a manual swap. Personally I prefer it that way. Since the Soarer was available with the R154 5-speed, it's an easy factory swap.

What does that have to do with our top? Well, to operate the top, you'll first need to place the transmission in Park. See where I'm going with this? Our car still has the automatic cluster. Probably left to preserve the odometer reading. The shot above is actually ours, and as you can see I've managed to trick it into thinking it's in Park. I'll tie that to the parking brake, so when you set it, you'll also be putting the car in 'Park'.

I still have another issue though. I've been translating the parts and wiring diagrams from the Japanese service manual, and I'm just a couple words short of having it done. After that it's just a matter of tracing the fault. It's actually a pretty simple system of 4 motors, about a dozen switches, and some relays. I have my suspicions as to where the fault lies, but I'll try to do a write-up on the top itself later.

We intend to make sure the cars we sell are always well sorted. You can buy a car from Japan a lot of ways. Our plan is to offer cars for sale after they're landed and prepped. I think there is a market for top condition, ready to go cars. That's exactly what this car will be. As it is, I'm pretty sure it's the best Aerocabin in the country. After I'm done, you'll be hard pressed to find a nicer one for sale anywhere.

This is already way too long, so I'll have to give the full write-up about the Crown later. We're happy because it looks even cooler in person than it did in photos. It's completely original, and all there. Nothings missing, not even the matching full size spare. Which still has a vintage Toyo bias ply tire on it. Unfortunately it came with surprises too. Mainly a couple liters of fuel in the oil, and a lot of sludge. We flushed it out, and tried to bring it back to life, but it only spun over a couple times before the cam seized. We've got a plan how we'll be sorting that though...

We are Bird ( !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ) and Corinne ( !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

We imported two cars from Japan and are working to set up our import business. We're writing about the experience on Oppositelock. To see all of the updates search the tag !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

For more photos check out Bird's website !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Update! Check out our company's website !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . You can also follow us on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to get the updates on our car builds, car shows, and road trips.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

DISCUSSION (100)

Party-vi > Bird
06/03/2014 at 09:40

This is like making a dream come true - having car people start an import company and make sure the cars are in good condition before selling them. Good luck!

edit: I'm assuming that garage is underground - how did you get such an awesome space?

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Bird
06/03/2014 at 09:45

This is awesome! Out of curiousity, given the importation and prep costs, what sort of mark-up do you expect to put on the cars? I understand there're a lot of factors and each car may be different, I've just been trying to get an idea of what the costs incurred by the final purchaser are for the different channels of importing a JDM car. I'm very much the type of person who looks at the process as, "Hey, if they can do it so can I." However, I'm certain there is a lot of headache involved in the process, and I'm trying to weigh that against the cheapest way to obtain a car from an importer.

Dsscats > Bird
06/03/2014 at 09:48

Kinja'd!!!

It was nice to meet you guys and the car is awesome. Good luck with the whole venture!

William Byrd > Bird
06/03/2014 at 09:50

That's excellent, nice work!

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Bird
06/03/2014 at 09:51

"I'm pretty sure it's the best Aerocabin in the country."

This is probably the only Aerocabin in the country.

Great write up I look forward to reading more about your adventures in the JDM world.

Best of luck with getting the dealership setup.

thebigbossyboss > Bird
06/03/2014 at 09:58

Kinja'd!!!

Horizontal all the things!!!!!!

thebigbossyboss > Bird
06/03/2014 at 10:01

Bird, you and Fererro1911 are the coolest cats. I wish I didn't live oh I dunno 4000-5000 miles away so I could come see the cars. I guess Oppo will have to do.

Also let me know if you ever do any Toyota Centuries. That is one automatic toyota I would not mind to own at all!!

CAR_IS_MI > Bird
06/03/2014 at 10:02

I love the Aerocabin and am VERY jealous. VERY!

Party-vi > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
06/03/2014 at 10:07

There are a few others for sale, if-not in country. Going rate looks like $12k imported .

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > Bird
06/03/2014 at 10:17

Awesome. I'm wondering, is it any different to import JDM engines in the us?

The Devil Drives a Mustang (Rotary Pending) > Party-vi
06/03/2014 at 10:19

There are a few others. JDM Legends is one that seems to do a good job. Still, I welcome more competition in this field.

Stradale > Bird
06/03/2014 at 10:20

That Toyota Crown is pretty sweet but I never cared for the 2st gen Soarer, I have a 3nd gen known as the Lexus SC300. That Crown is pretty sweet though!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Bird
06/03/2014 at 10:21

As a Crown owner i approve your chioce. Damn the Aerocabin is nice, better than my crown.

*Altough my crown has a 2JZ. 2JZ all the things!

area man > Bird
06/03/2014 at 10:23

That parking brake/park trick is pretty brilliant. Care to explain a little more?

Party-vi > The Devil Drives a Mustang (Rotary Pending)
06/03/2014 at 10:29

I've heard that JDM Legends is pretty reputable, but they ask for a lot of scratch for old JDM cars.

Basement Cat > Bird
06/03/2014 at 10:30

I'm green with jealous rage about that Soarer

Ultrakill > Bird
06/03/2014 at 10:31

This is awesome, I hope to see a few Celicas and FTOs imported in the future.

Harris_the_Unknowing > Bird
06/03/2014 at 10:34

This is why Jalopnik exist. For these stories to be told. Godspeed to you mam and to you sir...your's is the good fight.

Speakerboy1114 > Party-vi
06/03/2014 at 10:35

I don't think those prices are imported. Why would they list the weight and say "shipping costs are calculated at checkout"?

The Devil Drives a Mustang (Rotary Pending) > Party-vi
06/03/2014 at 10:36

They are pricey I admit, but when they are done it's like the thing just rolled into the showroom in Japan. I would welcome one that just finds good solid cars in Japan but doesn't obsess with making them "as new" quality.

Griffen > Bird
06/03/2014 at 10:39

all I can say is that i am extremely jealous and extremely in awe. You two could quickly become my idols. Either of you happen to have a single attractive brother that is into old Japanese cars?

Angerfuel > Bird
06/03/2014 at 10:41

Kinja'd!!!

That looks awesome, i want this

Frosted > Bird
06/03/2014 at 10:42

These cars are awesome. Love that Crown Coupe especially.

Dsscats > Party-vi
06/03/2014 at 10:43

Yeah, I'm 94% sure those costs are not imported. There would be more detail listed about

TheBryanJZX90 > Bird
06/03/2014 at 10:46

Get me a X90 Mark II Tourer V in three years, please! I'll pay double if you can find the actual car I had when I lived in Japan. The last I heard some Australian guy was using it to win a Drift Matsuri, so that might be hard.

But seriously, you're living the dream and if you're still doing this in three years I am definitely interested.

meatatarian > Bird
06/03/2014 at 10:50

This is awesome!! Please write more about how this goes! And bring in some RHD euro/RoW-spec E36 M3s when the time comes...

Doug Nash > Bird
06/03/2014 at 10:52

Kinja'd!!!

Holy fuck. I didn't even know that was a thing.

Doug Nash > Bird
06/03/2014 at 10:52

Kinja'd!!!

No.

Dsscats > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
06/03/2014 at 10:57

I know of 5 in the US

anacanapana > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
06/03/2014 at 10:59

some shaft play

Tee hee.

Scaggnetti > Bird
06/03/2014 at 11:10

Such a great snag! Good luck with everything I am EXTREMELY jealous!

maxabillion > Bird
06/03/2014 at 11:10

Question for you: will you be able to import from Australia as well, or only Japan?

GoPDemon > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
06/03/2014 at 11:24

Those fiats have something like that?

FCV-8311 > Bird
06/03/2014 at 11:47

Now if only Toyota would sell the Crown Comfort over stateside.

n1zm0 > Party-vi
06/03/2014 at 11:56

$6-12k is the going rate for most JDM cars here in Canada, you can get an R34 GTT here for that much.As for Soarers, we had them up the ying-yang here, mostly the 2nd gens naturally. Examples: http://www.jdmtunersinc.com/VEHICLES.html

n1zm0 > Party-vi
06/03/2014 at 12:02

When you guys get your good 90s stuff in the next 2 years, you will wish you did start an import company, Z32s and FDs go for like $3kish in Japan, by the time it comes over the importers have had made double that, TONS of importers up here in Canada, here's a few from my city alone:

http://www.jdmtunersinc.com/VEHICLES.html

http://b-pro.ca/

http://www.zenautoworks.ca/archive.html

http://jdmconnection.ca/?page_id=7

http://www.importconcern.ca/

Also if you notice something, those JDM supercars that share a counterpart here in North America, I advise you to think about selling it unless you keep it forever, overnight the prices of CDM Z32s/GTOs/FD3Ss/SW20s/JZA80s dropped, you can't sell your USDM JZA80 for 40-50k like you can now, believe me, unless it's something rare in Japan too like an AE86, NSX or 240z, it'll be cheap when its 25 years come to date for the US import rule.

n1zm0 > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist)
06/03/2014 at 12:04

I don't think for engines there are rules unless you state cares about emissions? You can go shove an SR20 in your S13/S14 no issue.

n1zm0 > Bird
06/03/2014 at 12:10

I will be very interested to see what happens in the US for JDM imports from the good 90s stuff, we've been importing that era of JDM vehicles since around 2004 here in Canada, we're just getting into the 1999-2000 S15/R34 era allowable now. We have been through everything from politicians trying to ban RHDs, some insurance companies don't insure RHDs here either anymore, it comes with the influx in the mid-2000s when every 16 year old had a 300hp RWD sports car and they were doing what 16 year olds would do with a car that has that kind of power, some high speed fatalities, lots of law breaking etc

Back on topic im interested to see how it plays out in a country with a larger population, to you guys this is new and exciting stuff just as it was 10 years ago for us.

Party-vi > n1zm0
06/03/2014 at 12:17

Good info. Hopefully we'll see the market for US Supras become realistic when you can get one imported for less than what they're listed for on Craigslist.

Pockets > Bird
06/03/2014 at 12:26

Cool stuff. I looked into doing something similar-in-reverse (ie. exporting to the US, albeit not from Japan) a few months ago - you've got some crazy mountains of paperwork over there. Compared to that fixing up the Crown will be a walk in the park.

Bird > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
06/03/2014 at 12:39

Thanks!

I do know the other Aerocabins are definitely in the US, and that is their price landed. One of them came over on the same boat as ours!

Bird > Dsscats
06/03/2014 at 12:41

Japanese Classics sold one, IVI has two, ours, and what's the 5th? Just trying to keep up. :)

Hope to see you at Supercar Sunday again soon!

Bird > anacanapana
06/03/2014 at 12:42

I was waiting for that...

Dsscats > Bird
06/03/2014 at 12:49

I thought there was one more brought in privately. I'm not sure though

Bird > Party-vi
06/03/2014 at 12:54

Thanks! It's been our dream for a while. We want to spend our time doing something we love. We've both been around cars, and seen there are amazing people who run their business well and support their communities. And there's the ones don't...

We're trying to model ourselves after the good ones. I'm sure you guys will let us know if we fail!

The space isn't quite so awesome. It's a shared garage at our place in LA. That was part of the reason I was hoping to get some things dealt with in Japan. We're really not set up with a space yet. We're actually relocating to the midwest where we can be in a more favorable registration situation than California. We've been looking at spaces, and I've been drooling over lifts I can't afford yet...

Party-vi > Bird
06/03/2014 at 12:57

Speaking of lifts, I'm sure I need a two-post in my one car garage, I just can't justify getting it yet haha.

Bird > The Devil Drives a Mustang (Rotary Pending)
06/03/2014 at 12:58

JDM Legends do have good cars. I've been watching them for a while, and seen a lot of their cars, and some of their restoration work in person. Very high quality work. I would say they have about the best reputation in the business. It looks like they're positioning themselves as the go to spot for Japanese restoration work in the US. They're working on a real KPGC10 GT-R, and a Fairlady Z432 right now...

Bird > thebigbossyboss
06/03/2014 at 13:01

Which direction are you 4000 miles away?...we're going to be moving about 2000 miles east to start the business...are we getting closer?!? lol

I love the Centuries too...I can't wait to get something super luxury. That or a Nissan President.

Bird > Dsscats
06/03/2014 at 13:01

Thanks! Hopefully we can spend more time chatting another time. We were pretty excited when we saw you last time...it was the first time we had the car out in public!

thebigbossyboss > Bird
06/03/2014 at 13:03

Yes!! You are getting closer...and apparently LA (you're from LA right? or close enough for jazz?) to Ottawa is only 2790 miles. Thus we could be within 900 or so miles of each other. #winning.

Maxaxle > Bird
06/03/2014 at 13:03

Kinja'd!!!

A fart can? But why?

Maxaxle > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
06/03/2014 at 13:05

*legitimate JDM world, rather than the "oh I put new hubcaps and a side skirt on it, so JDM" BS you normally hear.

Dsscats > Bird
06/03/2014 at 13:08

It was pretty great to see the car!

Bird > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
06/03/2014 at 13:12

I think realistically, and depending a lot on popularity, you're looking at a couple thousand on up to whatever we can get as a happy surprise if you auction it. I know on these two cars, I'm losing money on my labor. That was to be expected this time around, and we can be more efficient when we're fully up and running.

There's a lot of ways to go about importing, you can go retail, you can get an importer here, or an exporter their to get you access to the auctions. The closer you get to Japan the more you can save. Also the closer you get, the harder it is. It's definitely something you can make money on, and it is doable by anyone who put's in the time to do it. It is hard work though, but that's the reason you can make money doing it...

Search around, a lot of people share their experiences about importing, and their total costs. I'm not going to break down all my costs on these this time around...because of some of our choices, it's not exactly representative of what someone might expect.

Bird > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW.
06/03/2014 at 13:14

Thanks! I like your Crown...we can't have those yet...

*Altough my crown has a 2JZ. 2JZ all the things!

I said we had a plan for the Crown...

Bird > meatatarian
06/03/2014 at 13:16

You know what another amazing thing about Japan is? They love Euro cars too! I've actually seen several very nice E30 M3's, and many Alpina variants going through the auctions....

We'll be doing Euro too...we've both got a thing for the Peugeot 205gti...

Bird > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist)
06/03/2014 at 13:18

There's different regulations involved than cars. I don't know that much about doing just engines...

Jonee > Bird
06/03/2014 at 13:22

Very cool. Lovely cars. I imported a couple kei cars a few years ago and was pleasantly surprised that the process was relatively painless. I've got my eye on a Suzuki Fronte coupe for my next one.

Shinji F > Bird
06/03/2014 at 13:22

I want a r32 but to expensive regardless of the effort but never own your dream car.

Bird > area man
06/03/2014 at 13:25

I'm going to do a whole write-up about it, and post my translations soon I hope...

It was actually fairly easy. Basically just giving the pin in the harness that needed it the proper signal. Just replicate the gear selector switch that's missing. Depending on the signals to those wires, you can put the car in 'P', 'D', 'N', '2', and '1'. (Or as I found out, all the gears at once! lol). Reverse is in a different loom.

Bird > thebigbossyboss
06/03/2014 at 13:26

The best part is watching it shoot across the dash as you accelerate!

Bird > Pockets
06/03/2014 at 13:27

What kind of paperwork did you run into? Getting something out isn't too hard if you own it already.

Bird > Maxaxle
06/03/2014 at 13:29

It's a dual actually...and pretty high quality. From what I can tell, it's been with the car a long time. Don't confuse it with the ebay specials you may have seen slapped on peoples cars. These have a nice soft, mellow sound, with a slight burble on underrun. They're perfect for the car.

Bird > n1zm0
06/03/2014 at 13:35

It will be interesting to see the differences here from Canada. I think we may already have a higher percentage of teens with over powered cars, and that will affect how it's dealt with here...that one's tough to say really though.

I think the most interesting difference is the price curve of the vehicles. When you guys get them at 15, they're around the bottom of their depreciation. With the US, the 25 years puts us in a different place. The value curve is back on the rise...then you add pent up demand from the very large American market...and you get $25-$30k R32's! Not that I'm saying they're not worth it...it's just an interesting combination of factors, and I think some people forget about them when they look to Canada for pricing...

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Bird
06/03/2014 at 13:35

Well, yeah.

I also had a plan for my crown..

*cough* Twin-Turbo *cough*

You should do that too!

Bird > TheBryanJZX90
06/03/2014 at 13:36

Wow...that is a tough one...

I think you might have to settle for a different Mark II...but we can help!

Bird > Stradale
06/03/2014 at 13:38

It's one that grew on me. It gets a lot more looks/attention than I expected. I had an older guy in a MkIV SC convertible checking it out in traffic...I had to wonder if he knew it was his cars granddad, or if he was just 'What's that...I would have driven that in the '90's...'

Bird > Griffen
06/03/2014 at 13:39

Sorry...no single brothers here...

Bird > maxabillion
06/03/2014 at 13:41

We can from anywhere. It's easier in some countries than others, but we're always up to the challenge. When we set out to buy our Lada , we were looking for it everywhere from Russia to the UK...

Stradale > Bird
06/03/2014 at 13:41

Yours being an Aerocabin has some extra awesomeness to it though!

Bird > Ultrakill
06/03/2014 at 13:42

If I can get one, I'd love a TA28 liftback...

Bird > Scaggnetti
06/03/2014 at 13:42

Thanks!

Bird > Dsscats
06/03/2014 at 13:50

I'll have to keep my eyes open for it...I hope someone gets them all together for a group shot sometime...

meatatarian > Bird
06/03/2014 at 13:51

That's fantastic. E30M3 EvoIIs... 190E Evos... 205s, Maybe some old Lancias and 80s Alfas... You've got a good thing going, sir!

Dak Michael > Bird
06/03/2014 at 13:51

Z20 Soarer?

I wholeheartedly approve!

Bird > thebigbossyboss
06/03/2014 at 13:53

Yeah we're in LA now...we'll definitely be closer. We always love a road trip, so maybe some time we'll make it up to New York with something cool, and you'll be even closer...(I don't think I want to drive my JDM vehicle to Canada...I could see a Customs officials head exploding on re-entry when I explain all that...)

Pockets > Bird
06/03/2014 at 13:54

Nah I don't own anything worth exporting or plan to move to the US or anything, it was just "holy shit, Land Rovers go for WHAT over there?!" that spurred me into looking into it. The exporter side of things wasn't so bad, it looked like the import process was a lot more complex than here (which is kind of why most of Europe's Japanese imports come through the UK). I didn't really go anywhere because I don't have any connections over there, so selling stuff would be a total pain.
If you ever feel like branching out from Japanese stuff, Land Rover Defenders and '80s Minis have quite a bit of margin in them.

Bird > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW.
06/03/2014 at 13:54

No hair dryers in our plan at the moment...you should definitely get twins though!

thebigbossyboss > Bird
06/03/2014 at 13:55

Sounds good. Until then I will just keep watching on here haha. Good luck starting your own business!!

Bird > Pockets
06/03/2014 at 13:56

We're going to focus on in now...but we've already talked about it. We need to be prepared to send cars the other direction in the event of a shift in currencies...

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Bird
06/03/2014 at 13:59

Yeah, i'm looking for a modest tune, maybe 350hp is enough.

*At least i'll keep it 350 until my AZ-1 Arrives.

The World of Vee > Bird
06/03/2014 at 14:03

So do you have a site of cars you sell. For perusal? and possible sale?

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Bird
06/03/2014 at 14:05

For sure. Thanks for the response, and good luck! I'm looking forward to more on these cars and future imports from the two of you.

Pockets > Bird
06/03/2014 at 14:08

Sorry, I'm probably not being too clear. I'm in the UK and was looking at exporting Minis and Land Rovers to the US. By "focus on in", you mean "focus on import"? Just to make sure I'm not totally misunderstanding! I need caffeine.

n1zm0 > Bird
06/03/2014 at 14:10

Yeah different outlook on that for sure, the BNR32s coming here in 2004-2005 varied by auction grade and modification level of course, but they never really exceeded $15k or so, there was a GTR I remember built for drag by Mine's iirc, had a T78 and all the goodies, that was about $18k. But different markets of course, different value per customer. The $30k here would get you an NSX Type R or a R34 GTR, will be interesting to watch how this plays out.

Roadster Man > Bird
06/03/2014 at 14:22

Just AWESOME. That is a seriously nice looking Soarer. The JZZ20 Soarer is one of my favorite cars.

Love that digital dash.

n1zm0 > Party-vi
06/03/2014 at 14:24

Well that's the thing too, is alot of us who did import and buy JDM stuff in the mid 2000s have kind of gone looking for LHD domestic market stuff again, idk if it's the new 'rarity' of having a clean, low km LHD S14 like I have myself, but it's getting harder and harder to find, in a weird way it has created a new class of buyers, those looking to get the cleanest of the clean LHD model.

Bird > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW.
06/03/2014 at 14:29

If you're ever in the US we should hang out...seems we have the same off the wall taste in cars.

I'm tall but lanky, and I'm really hoping I'll be able to fit in an Autozam...

Bird > meatatarian
06/03/2014 at 14:32

Yes to all of those things...we've got a long list of dream cars to import!

Bird > Pockets
06/03/2014 at 14:33

Sorry yes, I meant importing. And I misunderstood, I thought you meant Mini's going from the States back home...I know the Germans love to repatriate nice clean California Porsches.

Bird > n1zm0
06/03/2014 at 14:35

Yeah, NSX's and R34's have their own variables...they've maintained value pretty well in Japan over the years.

Bird > Roadster Man
06/03/2014 at 14:36

Thanks. I think they're amazing...I wish we had got them when they were new...

Bird > The World of Vee
06/03/2014 at 14:41

Sorry, not yet. We'll really be opening the doors to the business in the fall. We don't want to represent ourselves as a business until everything is in place.

We just have these two cars right now, but if you want to follow along and see what we get next, watch at my website birdhasacamera.com or my Facebook page .

IvanaTinkle > Bird
06/03/2014 at 14:46

Excellent. I really like that version of the Soarer. I would import the coupe however. After a year or so, people will be able to import these:

Kinja'd!!!

*drool*

Fed(oo=[][]=oo)uken > Bird
06/03/2014 at 14:49

I came, I saw, I came.

Pockets > Bird
06/03/2014 at 15:45

Yeah, it happens sometimes with classics (mostly classic VWs and sometimes MGs), but those 2 were only in the US for a few years while being around here for 40-50 so the difference in supply makes it uneven; the extreme examples are late '80s Defender 110s going for about £4-5k ($6-8k) that would be $25k over there.

maxabillion > Bird
06/03/2014 at 15:56

Very cool, I've always wanted a Ford 4.oL Barra I6. Will you import engines as well?

Delusion77 > Bird
06/03/2014 at 16:13

When I first found out about the soarers I wondered why they were not more popular. I think if I had to import any car from japan, I would place a soarer very very high on my list

Bird > IvanaTinkle
06/03/2014 at 18:04

I intend for a 3 rotor Cosmo to be my 'Company Car'...

I'm counting the days until we can get one here!

MIATAAAA > Bird
06/03/2014 at 18:16

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH That Aerocabin is the coolest thing I have seen.

Where are you??? I want to see this!!!