Buying a fairlady
 

Hey everyone. Iam currently looking to import a car from japan. I was first interested in the mitsubishi gto, but decided against it when i read about all the problems and upkeep it needed. Seeing as how iam not rich to afford all the repairs, and i have no background in cars to fix it myself. I have recently changed my direction to that of the fairlady. Mostly because of the combination of looks, plus i hear they are pretty fast. Iam looking at some 91 twin turbos right now. Is there anything i should be looking at or be aware of? Future problems?

Thanks everyone.

RE: Buying a fairlady
 

I say be careful with the import laws since there are so many really. Typically if it's not older than 25 years or on the list with DOT, you're going to have to do some special type of registration or bend the rules (read not street legel here). Once you get the okay from DOT for all the safety stuff like crash tests and seat belts and lights and all that stuff then you still have to get the nod from the worst nazi's yet, the EPA and there are some laws they just can't give waivers for like going from an OBDI in the car you want to import to OBDII or whatever (just an example your situation might be different) and all the US version smog equipment. That GTO you probably wouldn't have been able to get legally registered. The Fairlady 300Z is a maybe unless you've done some homework or plan on going "gray market". In the end it might not be worth all the money you put into in when you weigh the pro's and con's. If you just want to run it on a track then it's a whole different (much easier but not necessarily cheaper) story. Don't forget toconsider where you are going to get parts from when something does failand the US dealers don't carry them (probably not many in your case). Those 300Z's are funand can be really fast but are not cheap to work on nor easy under the hood. Honestly the easiest thing to do is find a reputable shop to do a JDM engine swap into a good used "shell" car for you over here. There's one in Cali that does Z's and there are others that do Toyota's. Some of my brothersare going the 1JZ or 2JZ route in their cars since they are a good fit, have parts availableat pretty much anyToyota dealer,are solid motors, and can make insane power. A 1JZ makes around 280 hp stock and a good 2JZ can make more than 300 hp stock. That doesn't sound like much but they have a MEAN spool up time that is pretty much instantaneous and if youwant to throw on some aftermarket stuff you could go as high as 700 hp with just bolt ons and done right still be reliable. I know I know this isa Nissan forum but I've talked to all the guys doing the RB's and unless you have a good connection for parts, the JZ might be smarter. My 2 cents anyways take it for what it's worth. BTW I speak from experience whenit comes to imports as I drive one everyday to work. It can be good or bad. If you really have to be on the right side consider an older Zlike a 240Z. They have some really sweet ones over there going for around 20k (look like show cars almost) and you can get a lot of parts for things over here and the import laws shouldn't apply due to age.