s15 silvia left hand drive

I am looking for a silivia to buy which i will turn into a left hand drive vehicle. The reason i don't want just to convert a 240sx is because i need a true silvia in order to make it a neaar exact replica of the signal auto silvia and have the same widebody kit.

( http://www.importspeed-south.com/signalauto-s15.htm )

does any1 know how much it would cost to get a conversion and keep the same dash or do any of you know a place where i could buy an already standard silvia?

I have 25-30 thousand to work with in order to get this done before i start the major upgrades

any info will be helpful

you cant do it....dont bother...stick with teh del sol

Ok Dorikin, I know you don't like many people but is this actually true? Is there some obscure technical oddity with the S-15 that I'm not aware of that totally prevents the chance of converting one to LHD? I kinda doubt this, although I'm not saying it's impossible. But 25 grand is a lot of cash. You can technically do anything if you spend enough and I'd think that $25,000 would be more than sufficient to swap the LHD.

If your just saying this because you think you don't like this guy or that he isn't worthy an S-15 or something, then just don't reply. Don't give false infomation for no reason.

I again apologise if you said this because there is some technical reason for it but I still believe that $25,000 would be enough to find a solution to any problem. I've just lost patience with elitests lately.

Originally posted by CAptynCrunch
Ok Dorikin, I know you don't like many people but is this actually true? Is there some obscure technical oddity with the S-15 that I'm not aware of that totally prevents the chance of converting one to LHD? I kinda doubt this, although I'm not saying it's impossible. But 25 grand is a lot of cash. You can technically do anything if you spend enough and I'd think that $25,000 would be more than sufficient to swap the LHD.

If your just saying this because you think you don't like this guy or that he isn't worthy an S-15 or something, then just don't reply. Don't give false infomation for no reason.

I again apologise if you said this because there is some technical reason for it but I still believe that $25,000 would be enough to find a solution to any problem. I've just lost patience with elitests lately.

I like people. Im a very personable guy. I have many friends, both in person and on the net.

I dont like stupid questions, or people who see a car, whether Ricky Chu's, or Signal's and jump on the bandwagon cause its hot.

First off, 25 grand is quite a lot. However an S15 can costs (keep in mind in Japan) can cost between 15-20,000. Ya ya, in SCC they had an S15 for 11gs, but thats a rare case. However Ill use a car that costs 15,000 for example.

Im assuming to get a shipping container is roguhly 500. Then getting the car on the boat, aranging to have someone buy the car, flying to japan and inspecting the car, and such will easily cost 3000.

Then, you gotta pay bond which is 450% of the value of the vehicle, to keep it held by customs.

Then, you need to do an LHD conversion(depends, however id estimate AT LEAST over 1000).

THEN, the Target widebody kit(1000 at least) shipping and making sure its shipped without getting crushed.

To put that in perspective, my friend paid 1600 yen, which is 16 bucks for a wing. He paid $538 in shipping.

Then getting the T88, engine mods, suspension, CE28Ns made for an R34.

I will safely say your looking at about 30-40grand start to finish

hey this is not somethin i just decided 2 do because i found it in sum magazine. I've been savin up for quite a while. I have a friend in ca who owns an already heavily modified rhd silvia which he is willing to part with for a reasonable price.(around 18k) I've also visited Signal's shop there and they offered to help me (for a price of course) I just asked because i figured you guess would know better than the average joe here in georgia. And don't mess with the sol.. its a total sleeper

Originally posted by slix
hey this is not somethin i just decided 2 do because i found it in sum magazine. I've been savin up for quite a while. I have a friend in ca who owns an already heavily modified rhd silvia which he is willing to part with for a reasonable price.(around 18k) I've also visited Signal's shop there and they offered to help me (for a price of course) I just asked because i figured you guess would know better than the average joe here in georgia. And don't mess with the sol.. its a total sleeper

the only problem is the S15 wasn't made in LHD anywhere. if you imported a JDM S14 and wanted to covert it, that would be easy. just rip a dash off an S14 240SX. but we didn't get S15's over here, so you wouldn't really have a dash to use unless you got a custom made one.

thanx again for the info S13_Iketani

Originally posted by slix
thanx again for the info S13_Iketani

i'm here to help (so long as you don't ask stupid questions ;) )

I just read the first few posts..... THIS WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR UNDER 50k


First off-
S15 Silvia Spec R 6 speed 20k

Then u have to make it road legal...... It costs somewhere in the neighborhood of 16k to legalize a Skyline GTR at motorex..... being that the S15 has never gone through that process....I would guess A LOT more to legalize it.....then u have to crash test em.....

Paint id say around 5k
Body kit 2k atleast
Wheels 2-3k
Turbo 2k
Manifold 1k
Exhaust system 1k
Seats 2k
Engine Managment 2k
Intercooler 1k
Cooling System 700
suspension 5k
intake manifold 750
oil catch can 100
Sr20 oil pan 200
BOV 300
TB 300
WasteGate 250
exhaust gaskets 200
injectors 300
fuel rail 400
fuel pump 150
Race Wing for back Id say atleast 2k for the Signal S15's custom functional race one.
Synchro Tranny 10k
im sure I missed out a good few thousand in misc parts


INSTALLATION 10-15k?

THEN u have to do a LHD conversion.......now a LHD S13 or S14 silvia or 180sx to RHD or vise versa is a lot easier because the cars have factory pieces for either setup(JDM or USDM) so converting a S15 silvia to LHD would be a REAL pain in the ass........not saying it isn't possible cause I have heard of LHD skylines.......

so 3k for a LHD conversion on a S15 is a very conservative price considering LOTS of thing will have to be custom made and it will never quite look like stock....which could be cool for a show car to customize it but you said you want a replica.

then 3k to look and 1k to ship the car from Japan.




so let me add up my stuff and see what we got:


100,650 usd with shipping, legalization, LHD conversion, 500rwhp, and awesome looking body. HMMMMMMMMM

dreammmmmm on

Someone had their dreams crushed...

For 100k, id take an Audi RS6 and spank the Signal Silvia with my 450 factory hp...Im aware the RS6 only has 450....but Ive got 20k to play with..:D

Originally posted by Dorikin
Someone had their dreams crushed...

For 100k, id take an Audi RS6 and spank the Signal Silvia with my 450 factory hp...Im aware the RS6 only has 450....but Ive got 20k to play with..:D

Signal S15 0wnz j00 and j00r Audi.

With 20k an RS6 will match a Signal S15, and STILL have all the pimpness luxury of an Audi...

2xGT2350s
FMIC
Torque Convertor
New Exhuast/Pipes
Chip...

Ownage

Originally posted by Dorikin
With 20k an RS6 will match a Signal S15, and STILL have all the pimpness luxury of an Audi...

2xGT2350s
FMIC
Torque Convertor
New Exhuast/Pipes
Chip...

Ownage

Signal S15 has stripped interior, and was built for racing on a track. it will OWN a modified street RS6. get a race tuned RS6, and it might be a different game. but who cares about pimpness factor when you're driving a 600hp track-tuned Silvia S15? derek, if you say "me", i'm dis-owning you. ;)

WTF, why would you want to convert a S15 to LHD?

Buy the car, learn how to drive it, fix it up, and enjoy the car.

There aren't any "REAL" LHD S15's on the road. All are conversions of some sort. The car wasn't built in any other form other than RHD.

A race car isn't a street/road car.

Just purchase a S15, fix it up however you want. Just don't convert it to LHD.

BTW, I hope you already know how to get one into the US and get it registered.

Word..

Do you own an S15 yourself...

Brian...

4.2V8+3037....I think thats gonna be a nice match...

This is apples and oranges though...

Yeah,
I purchased it from Japan. It's a 2000, Grey and it's pretty much stock. Upgrades and modifications are about to begin. I have to take care of a few more legal/business issues and it's on.

Originally posted by srelick
Yeah,
I purchased it from Japan. It's a 2000, Grey and it's pretty much stock. Upgrades and modifications are about to begin. I have to take care of a few more legal/business issues and it's on.

tell me how you got it in! i want one...

We need pics...

First you have to find the car you want. S13, S14, S15, 180SX. Find the US counterpart that has either been wrecked or sold as salvage. Apply for a lost title. Reomve the VIN plates from the firewall, dash, door, and trunk of the damaged car. Have the damaged car crushed for recycling. Now you have a legally registered Silvia. If you're asked about the car being LHD, tell them it was completely converted.

Remember the firewall and dash VIN plates. Those can't be removed without damaging the firewall or dash. So, that's why you have to keep the original ones from the crushed car. In most places, people won't even question the explaination. Since a lot of people here in the US are now buying front clips for these cars and doing conversions.

Don't try to register the car after importing the Silvia. If you do, you might have to list it as a demo/promo vehicle or show vehicle. That will limit when you can drive it and how it has to be insured. Also, once listed as one of those vehicles, you can't change its status.

I'll have pictures of the car shortly. It's getting some work right now. I'm getting it ready for the summer show season out here on the east coast.

Very clever, though I'm not sure that's quite considered 'legalized'. But, if no one asks questions, or it passes when questions are asked, then it sounds like a plan to me.

Who did you import your S15 Silvia through?
How did you explain the speedometer when the car was inspected and have you ever been pulled over? Also, how much did you pay customs to hold the car for you without being crushed and how long did it take you to get it from japan? I know i'm becoming annoying with all of these questions but is the car street legal and do you use it as a daily driver? Thanks for putting up with my questions.
Peace out

Originally posted by slix
I am looking for a silivia to buy which i will turn into a left hand drive vehicle. The reason i don't want just to convert a 240sx is because i need a true silvia in order to make it a neaar exact replica of the signal auto silvia and have the same widebody kit.

( http://www.importspeed-south.com/signalauto-s15.htm )

does any1 know how much it would cost to get a conversion and keep the same dash or do any of you know a place where i could buy an already standard silvia?

I have 25-30 thousand to work with in order to get this done before i start the major upgrades

any info will be helpful Im sorry man, but that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard... why convert to LHD??? Keep it original or just do the conversion to your "98 240sx" Specs on engine will be the same unless you just want the Silvia tail lights.

First . . .
Dorkin, I've posted how to get the car into the US. It's in a previous post. Just do a search.

Second,
Schramproff108, there are car importers located on both the east & west coast of the US that will import any car you want. It's up to you do handle the legal issues. No one said you couldn't get any car into the US. You can legally register most of them. It took one month for me to get the car after the purchase. There was no customs problems, to them it's just a car. All you need is your paperwork and "poof", you're off! It's not a daily driver yet. It's in storage while a few more legal issues regarding a business venture of mine is being finalized. As soon as it's all taken care of, pictures and specs will be made available. Look into the Grey Market. Think of it this way. If I had a '97/8 US 240sx and did a complete '99+ 200sx conversion, what would I have to modify on the car. Just about everything. So, to the DMV, it's a complete 240sx conversion. You could use the instruments from the 240sx, but why? In my area, once your car has been inspected, it's over for the fine tooth comb treatment.

Third,
GTR4life, you're right, it's not 100% legal. But it is as legal as you can get for a vehicle that the US government and insurance companies have no intention of adding to the allowable list. Now a 180sx can be imported and registered. It was sold here. It could be converted as well, but why ? Wasn't the reason you imported it in the first place was because of what made it different ?

Finally,
Slix, if you can finance all the proposed changes to any 200/240sx, why are you curious as how to get a 200sx? I'm sure with that much money, you could find someone who would sell you a car and export it to the US. Since this will be a RACE car, what's the point of registering the car. Now if you don't have that kind of money, buy a '95/8 240sx, do the S15 front-end conversion, then buy a wide body kit. It will have the same look except for the tail lights. Don't even think about the tail light conversion. That's really hard.
Oh ! One other thing "slix", what's wong with a lhd version of the Signal Auto Silvia?
Create a mirror image? Now a the real wide-body kit is expensive. There are a couple of "blister" kits.

Now . . . .
Just a thought, an Audi RS anything will embarass a Nissan anything. An the Audi will do it with a WHOLE lot more style and cheaper. Audi hasn't been banned from every form of auto racing for cheating . . .

yeah this is a pretty old thread, but looking back, it was a bad idea to do the conversion. I had a contact with a few s15s he was selling in the sates for dirt cheap (around 15k) and thought i could go with a conversion because of the whole legalization process of having a rhd car, but not worth it.

I did however contact signal auto's shop in california. For 5k you can pretty much get an official signal exact replica of the widebody kit, but it requires someone else to do some molding/fab.

(and that's for s14 version 240sx)

i know this is an old post but...

yeah so you do this and you know what you have? a $20k or so car insured for about 6000... and if you get caught it's a federal offense and you will go to jail for fraud.

happy motoring
B-Rad

Originally posted by srelick
First you have to find the car you want. S13, S14, S15, 180SX. Find the US counterpart that has either been wrecked or sold as salvage. Apply for a lost title. Reomve the VIN plates from the firewall, dash, door, and trunk of the damaged car. Have the damaged car crushed for recycling. Now you have a legally registered Silvia. If you're asked about the car being LHD, tell them it was completely converted.

Remember the firewall and dash VIN plates. Those can't be removed without damaging the firewall or dash. So, that's why you have to keep the original ones from the crushed car. In most places, people won't even question the explaination. Since a lot of people here in the US are now buying front clips for these cars and doing conversions.

Don't try to register the car after importing the Silvia. If you do, you might have to list it as a demo/promo vehicle or show vehicle. That will limit when you can drive it and how it has to be insured. Also, once listed as one of those vehicles, you can't change its status.

I'll have pictures of the car shortly. It's getting some work right now. I'm getting it ready for the summer show season out here on the east coast.