SUPERFORMIAN

Greetings everyone!

This is my first post as I have not used my account much on this forum, but glad I have one nonetheless.

So what I've been thinking about over the last few weeks is cars, like R34s, S15s, JZX110s and the like being imported from Japan into the US through the "kit car" loopholes.

Now before anyone begins to post saying that I need to read a lot more about US importation laws and FMVSS and all that jazz, I'd like to let you know that I have done all of that research over the course of YEARS and I can assure you I know this information.

Yes, I know about FMVSS (I've read the documents that detail the necessary modifications for the R33s), EPA regulations, the WHOLE STORY of the Motorex fiasco (minus a few undisclosed details here and there), Sean Morris and his mesmerizing amount of knowledge, Kaizo Industries, VIN swapping, kit-car loopholes, Show & Display, Florida's JDM abundance & DMV shadiness, Canada's 15-year import ban (and that it's allegedly being increased), and all of the details to the US's 25-year import ban not to mention how this regulatory disaster is all the doing of Mercedes in the 80s.

Yes, I know what to look for when looking to buy a JDM vehicle in the US (HS-7, EPA 3520-1, Customs 7501, bond release, and the infamous approval letter from the NHTSA that mentions the vehicle's VIN and eligibility number).
Yes, I know an illegal car can be seized at any time by Homeland Security.
Yes, I am aware that if an illegal car is never seized that the owner can still be arrested for insurance fraud after getting into an accident.
Yes, I know there are about 200 Motorex R33s, 12 Motorex R34s, and ONLY ONE OBD-II MOTOREX GT-R IN ALL OF THE US.
Yes, I know there are NO bond-released S15 Silvias in the US (however, a user named garagelu claims to have a bond-release and proper import documentation for his S15).
There is more that I know, but this is just to give you an idea.

ANYWAY, to the topic at hand!
So think about this: many whom have imported their R-Chassis cars, S-Chassis cars, JZA80s, JZX110s, among others have done so by removing the engine and transmission from the car and importing the car (body + chassis), motor, and transmission separate from each other. Now, these individual components aren't regulated by the EPA because it does not constitute a "motor vehicle," but it CAN constitute a disassembled motor vehicle. Once they have gotten these items through Customs, they put everything back together and register their car in their state. However, this is a violation of the Clean Air Act, and it makes it easy for the Feds to find these cars if they were registered with their 14-digit VIN. Keep in mind that all of you guys with your SR and RB-swapped USDM S13s and S14s ARE ALSO IN VIOLATION of the Clean Air Act. The key points here are that your cars have 17-digit VINs, your DMV doesn't keep tabs on what kind of modifications you have done to your car, and they don't report to the EPA who in the database is breaking federal law, which thus makes it near impossible and (in a way) pointless to enforce.

So does this mean we should all just replace the VINs on our illegal cars so that Homeland Security doesn't find us?
No, because that doesn't solve the problem with insurance; if the owner of an illegal car with a VIN swap gets into an accident, they will be arrested for insurance fraud (because they lied about what kind of car it was i.e. saying it was a 240SX while knowing it was a car that could not be insured), and they will be charged with Tampering of a Vehicle's Identification Number (or whatever the official name is for the offense).

Think about this: I would take a trip to Japan to find an S15 body in a junkyard or vehicle grave. When I say body, I literally mean just the body. If it has any components still attached to it, like the subframes, glass etc, they would have to be removed and exported separately. After this, I would have the body refreshed (maybe even reinforced, repainted if necessary) and then exported to the US. Although this may be impossible, it would have to be a body that happens to not have been issued a VIN. The reason for this is so that the body is issued a new VIN by the state when I submit documents for a kit car or specially-constructed vehicle. The S15 body all of a sudden has a 17-digit VIN that was placed without violating federal law. Because it would have all the documentation for a kit car/specially-constructed vehicle, it would most likely be insured as such. Expensive, but solves the insurance fraud issue (as far as my hypothesis goes). Now that I would have the body, I would pick up the components from Customs that I earlier removed from the body. Since we're saying this wasn't a complete body (maybe some components from the engine bay were missing, no back seats, carpeting is gone, badges are missing, etc), I would source all other necessary components to complete the S15 body. To ensure that I don't circumvent the Clean Air Act, I would source a KA24DE with transmission from an S14 to install it in my S15 body. For good measure, I would convert the S15 to LHD (yes, with an LHD S15 dash and an LHD S15 firewall because they do exist), convert the speedometer to MPH, modify the side mirrors for LHD, and add the label on the LHD passenger-side mirror that states "OBJECTS IN MIRROR MAY BE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR." I would also add a 240SX logo to the trunk, one on the dashboard (as many of you know, S15s came with the badge on the lower part of the dash on the passenger side), and I would replace the "S" badge on the hood with a Nissan logo (and figure out how to somehow replace the "S" logo on the steering wheel with a Nissan logo). Once everything is wired up and the car is running, it would be inspected by the DMV and issued a kit car title if it passed.

After all of that, the end result would be an S15 Silvia that is technically street legal as per federal law since kit cars are regulated by states and the federal guidelines for kit cars are basic and open for interpretation. If we delve into the specifics, a specially-constructed vehicle for personal use would not meet FMVSS because it is custom-made. I acknowledge that this sort of project would probably not fall under "specially-constructed vehicle" under federal law, but it does fall under "kit car" as per federal law. This is because a kit car doesn't have to be a kit from a manufacturer; it can be a car that started out as a body and had outside components installed to complete it. From what I remember, it cannot classify as a "kit car" as per federal law if the car was manufactured to the point of completion for sale and immediate use. This is in contrast to an actual "kit car" or something similar where the body is completed and given a VIN but it is not given an engine and transmission before it rolls off of the assembly line. But if the S15 body didn't have a VIN to begin with (for whatever reason, use your imagination), who's to say it can't be a kit car? Nothing in the law says a body can't be used to build a car if it wasn't originally issued a VIN (at least, not from what I remember reading).

Would this be expensive? Depending on how you do it, the price will vary. In the end, you may be paying what the car would cost new.
More importantly, this would require a lot of time and effort, since you'd have to vacation in Japan to make sure the body is prepared correctly and then exported along with the removed components a few days after.
But would it be worth it? I understand most would think this is pointless because most don't want an S15 with a KA. A VH41 or a VQ35 is also a possibility. Personally, if I really wanted an SR20, I would do a full JDM swap on a USDM S14a, but I can otherwise live without it if it means having an S15 stateside without issue. Not only that, but it would definitely be a unique S15

What are your thoughts on this? Does it seem viable? More importantly, does it seem like it could actually work?

This is just a hypothetical idea, and probably won't be necessary because I would be able to import a BCNR33 by the time I would be in the market to do this.
I'll just stick with buying a 1990 Cefiro from either JapaneseClassics or Sean Morris for the time being.