90's Era Kit Cars?

"Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again." (sir-stig)
07/03/2014 at 18:20 • Filed to: None

What is preventing someone like Nissan from producing older cars like R32 GT-R's and Silvia's today as kit cars or bring your own engine cars? I know there are safety regs but you can't tell me a Caterham is safer then a 90's sports car.

DISCUSSION (18)

Louros > Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again.
07/03/2014 at 18:22

They would most certainly not make any money.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again.
07/03/2014 at 18:23

Not much other than bigwigs having to approve it. Ford does something similar with it's 32 5 window. http://www.autoblog.com/2014/01/14/193…

GhostZ > Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again.
07/03/2014 at 18:24

Factory space. No sane company is going to re-open an outdated factory (that was making outdated cars when they were discontinued) to serve a niche role hoping that regulation won't cut them down.

Honestly, I have no idea why Caterhams are legal but the Exige is not.

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > Louros
07/03/2014 at 18:25

I'm unfamiliar with how one goes about getting a car approved for sale, what would they have to modify/change even if they wanted to make the complete car? I would imagine that a good portion of the development cost would already be complete...

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > GhostZ
07/03/2014 at 18:27

but surely they would sell decently in the FRS/BRZ market with some updated electronics...

camaroboy68ss > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
07/03/2014 at 18:28

Ford mainly gave an outside company the rights to build the cars. They went even further in the 70s with the Shay Model As. A outside company built complete cars with somewhat modern standards of the original Model A and the they were sold through Ford dealerships.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > camaroboy68ss
07/03/2014 at 18:31

It's still technically Ford that chose to have them manufactured and uses some of their old machinery. Didn't know about the model A thing though, that's pretty cool.

Louros > Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again.
07/03/2014 at 18:31

Sure, design and development is all done but they aren't about to retool their factories to start re-manufacturing a handful of old cars for "enthusiasts"

T5Killer > Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again.
07/03/2014 at 18:32

Updating a old car to meet new safety and emissions regs would be very expensive and you would probably lose a lot of what made those cars great in the process.

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > T5Killer
07/03/2014 at 18:34

How many things would have to change do you think?

camaroboy68ss > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
07/03/2014 at 18:46

they were a good idea but were terrible cars. They made over 4 million model As from 1928-1931. The Shays were fiberglass and had pinto running rear. The bodies quality went downhill rather quickly.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > camaroboy68ss
07/03/2014 at 18:48

That's a shame I would've thought they'd be proper stamped steel bodies if ford dealers were selling them.

Kat Callahan > Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again.
07/03/2014 at 19:57

Isn't there enough aftermarket support already? All you really need is to get your hands on a shell.

I mean there are still S13s, 314s, and s15s rolling around all over Japan. I pass by many on my daily commute. R-32s, R-33s, and R-34s aren't nearly as common, but I still see at least one or two a day. Just take a Local DM shell, buy JDM parts?

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > Kat Callahan
07/03/2014 at 20:10

I'll probably import one, it's just tough to find one that hasn't been riced.

Kat Callahan > Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again.
07/03/2014 at 20:21

True enough. But does ricing (which is actually a really offensive term when I think about it) usually totally ruin the car? Can't you just undo/redo the work, remove the Autozone "performance" parts, and de-sticker, etc? Or is your implication that these cars are "modified" but then not taken care of, and therefore rotted inside?

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > Kat Callahan
07/04/2014 at 18:39

Well in al ot of cases it's tough to find ones without body kits and/or ugly spoilers, and in some cases they have stanced the car and stressed components in bad ways.

Kat Callahan > Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again.
07/04/2014 at 18:52

But if you can find a street legal shell, you can always import parts. You're just going to be paying excessive mark ups, most likely.

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > Kat Callahan
07/06/2014 at 14:07

I'm in Alberta so finding one that isn't rusted is difficult.