Legalize the R34 skyline!

"Mathias Rios" (Mars478)
12/23/2013 at 01:57 • Filed to: R34, skyline

Someone made a petition for this, I'd like to see R34's on the road.
!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

DISCUSSION (11)

Cherry_man1 > Mathias Rios
12/23/2013 at 01:12

I signed

Once_upon_a_pvt > Mathias Rios
12/23/2013 at 02:53

Signed and Facebooked. I figure we can't complain about it and not at least try to do something.

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > Mathias Rios
12/23/2013 at 03:33

The petition message is a bit meager but I signed.

I don't know if we should FP this since the first attempt fell flat on its face.

cesariojpn > Mathias Rios
12/23/2013 at 04:13

A better idea would be to rescind the 25 year rule completely. Make it 10 years. That way, the car companies can "protect" their profits elsewhere while allowing enthusiasts to grab car much quicker.

Party-vi > Mathias Rios
12/23/2013 at 08:29

It's still not legal to drive on US roads ever AFTER it turns 25 years old. Seat belts would need to be changed out to DOT approved units, as would any airbags and lights on the car. Plus there's the emissions issue too - if the vehicle isn't over 25 years old it must pass emissions and, as the R34's drive train was never sold in the US Nissan never had to submit it for emissions testing so the Federal government still won't let you drive the damn thing.

TwoFortified > Party-vi
12/23/2013 at 19:05

A) Cars over 25 years of age are not subject to the regulations of the NTHSA, and, therefore, the Seat belts would NOT have to be DOT approved. The stock units are completely legal (see: 60's mustangs that don't have ANY seat belts in them)

B) Presumably (and this is pure assumption), part of this petition would include getting the emissions stuff figured out. I don't see what the big deal is anyway. The thing has an O2 sensor (or two? I don't know) and a Cat. What more do they want?

Party-vi > TwoFortified
12/23/2013 at 19:08

Seat belts were a requirement in the 1980s, not in the 1960s. The car must meet these requirements. I've read the CFR for importing vehicles. If I am in error please link me to somewhere that explains it.

TwoFortified > Party-vi
12/23/2013 at 19:16

My understanding is that once a car is a classic (ie: 25 years old), the NTHSA has agreed to not require people to change out stock parts for any reason, in the interest of allowing enthusiasts to drive them. TBH, I don't have time to hunt down a link, and, yes, Seat belts were required in the 80's, but what does that have to do with the price of tea in China? The R34 has seat belts.

This is all sort of antithetical to the bigger issues though. If swapping the R34's seatbelts for something that is DOT compliant was the only thing standing between us Nissan enthusiasts and ownership, I doubt any of us would complain. I would be willing to bet a small amount of money that the S13 seatbelts swap directly into the R32, the S14 into the R33, and...oh, shit. Ok, so the S13 and S14 were sold here, so my guess is that R32 and R33 seatbelts would just be a matter of hunting down a coupe S13 (the hatches have the auto seat belts) or any S14 to get them. Since the S15 was never released over here...hmm...Ok, well, I wouldn't bet on 240SX seatbelts necessarily directly fitting into an R34. Maybe a G35 would have them? Still, such a non-issue.

Party-vi > TwoFortified
12/23/2013 at 23:07

Ok, looking at 19 CFR 12.73 it appears if the vehicle is 20 years old (date of manufacture subtracted from date of import) the emissions requirements can be waived if it's imported by an ICI (independent commercial importer). 19 CFR 12.80 For any vehicles made after 1968 it must meet any applicable safety standards (assuming safety standards for the date of manufacture) or be brought up to standards with proof being given that the work was completed to bring the vehicle up to said safety standards. We can't just amend legislation to say "ok you can import cars less than 25 years old." We also need to change the legislation governing EPA emissions requirements and safety requirements (maybe a list of countries that meet or exceed US crash standards?). I would love an R34 but it's just not easily accomplished with the legislation in place right now.

TwoFortified > Party-vi
12/24/2013 at 14:52

I agree with you on that one. I love Nissans (you guys may have already figured that out), but I did not sign this petition. It's too narrow. It hasn't been thought out at all. As such, it has no hope of succeeding (even if it got the required number of sigs, which it won't).

Party-vi > TwoFortified
12/24/2013 at 14:55

None of them have any hope of succeeding :/ and honestly it'd be a waste of time. Besides most everyone looking to import one of these can't afford it anyway haha. I'm content to wait a few more years until I have the money to import a GT-R.