Would you drive a legal A31 Cefiro?

[chokudoriS13]

Lets call this post a research study. If you had access to a fully federalized smog-legal A31 RB20DET-powered Nissan Cefiro with decent mileage, would you be interested and what would be the most you'd pay for it?

For those who are not familiar with the car, the A31 is an RB-powered, RWD 4 door sedan built from a mix of S13 and R32 parts.

http://rcweb.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10145/A31S01-1.gif
http://www.motor-p.jp/ps-wave/images/aeromas/a31.jpg
http://www10.plala.or.jp/purinmon/dorib2.jpg
http://noisy_.at.infoseek.co.jp/kickgrafh/newa9.jpg
http://noisy_.at.infoseek.co.jp/kickgrafh/blue2a.jpg
http://dorispot.dezhayes.com/gallery/tas2004/images/tas2004_124.JPG
http://dorispot.dezhayes.com/gallery/tas2004/images/tas2004_130.JPG

[Toahk]

Without a doubt.

[psychedelicbeats]

are you hinting to auto con x ion's cefiro?

[chokudoriS13]

are you hinting to auto con x ion's cefiro?

As of Saturday, AutoConXion had no A31's. Their cars are also for off-road use only.

[that180guy]

a31 = :D

i wished i owned one...:(
a conversion from a old skool maxima would be pimp...sumbody should do it

[AKADriver]

The camber on that green one is just stuuuuuuupid. Hahaha.

You know this is one of my dream cars. It's like a big six-cylinder S13 sedan.

[xS1LV1Ax]

I was talking to my cousin from the philippines. If you could find a way to get them imported, you can easily get one there for like 1 or 2k. BUt then again, we get into the whole importing dealie...blah. I will drive whatever i can get.

[Brian]

cefiros are pimp.
what is an average going price for a cefiro with light/mild tune?

[HyperTek]

My friend just picked up a 91 Q45, is that the same chassis?

[DuffMan]

My friend just picked up a 91 Q45, is that the same chassis?
nope, different

[that180guy]

My friend just picked up a 91 Q45, is that the same chassis?

its the 89' maxima chassis

[young gun]

hell yes, any chance of them being imported any time soon?

[mk20116]

last i've seen there's a company in los angeles selling a cefiro, s13, and some other cars...it was in one of those local car magazines. they didn't post the price for it though.

don't know if it's legalized though..doubt it.

[DuffMan]

This, like any other car thats not a high dollar sports car, is never going to be imported in the US legally, so its kind of a moot point.

[chokudoriS13]

its the 89' maxima chassis

Nope, '89 Maximas are FWD VG-powered. Later Cefiros shared chassis with Maximas.

This, like any other car thats not a high dollar sports car, is never going to be imported in the US legally, so its kind of a moot point.

Never say never ;) :D.

[cali240sxdrifter]

damn, they autocon has this toyota chaser there, very hot car. I think i'll have both of them =D

[phrozen]

the a31 cefiro had no us counter part.. only cerfiro/maxima or what ever you want ot call it that wasnt released with a us counterpart and its pretty much the only pimp RWD one too. I think japanese companys leave out the good stuff

[that180guy]

damn. i always thought its us counter part was the 89 maxima. i feel pretty dumb now....... :faint:

same chassis at least? body does look similar.

edit: nm the shared chassis question

[balmo]

i drove a cefiro when i was in saudi arabia. pletiful in torque and good in top speed.

[elevator]

I like Laurels better.

[kuramaya]

as mentioned up there I would take a Laurel first..but the Cefiros are better then weak sauce 4 door skyline's....

[jessfx]

YES. i love tank drifting.

echo knows it. he got me cefiro model car for christmas.

anyhow, i'm poor. 6G limit for me.

[Kaji]

It's better looking than a Cressy.

[jdm538]

i would get one, they are not too expensive and come with rb's oh yeah!

[yokotas13]

they are everywhere here....a guy drives a 2.5 one and drifts the shit outta it

[Ghettokracker71]

I would definitely drive one. Not those ones you posted pics of though but I'd rock one

[S14zenkiQ's]

do you want to bring mine back for me? I would pay up to 8k for one in good shape stateside. especially if it was RB25 powered, but the C33 and C34 laurels are nice too, and RWD 4 door is good in my book 4 door sliding FTW!!!

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c234/S14zenki/ceffy1.jpg

[Ghost Dancer]

True federalization of a Cefiro would represent an enourmous investment and not be worth the effort from a financial and logical standpoint. If someone was going to put up that kind of money and time why wouldn't they go for something more valuable like an R34 or perhaps a Chaser? The margins on a cheap, old, sedan are crap.

Cefiros are $500 cars here. Taking cost, shipping and other miscellaneous costs into consideration it will end up running you $2000-$3000 to get it into the US. Now since you say these are going to be "federalized" you will have to bring them in under Customs form HS-7 and EPA form 3520 which means the vehicle will have to be sent to an RI to be "modified" to meet the appropriate regulations. Depending on who you have do it you'll end up incurring more cost for the car than what you can sell it for. Of course I could be wrong. You may have an in at an RI that can do the work cheap.

So let's say you've got all that set up and you can get the car brought up to "spec" through the RI for cheap. A low ball estimate of cost in my mind is around 4k. Now if you can sell it for 8k that's a 4 thousand dollar profit. More than likely you're looking at 5-7k which drops that margin even lower. I don't see it worth the effort when you can "federalize" a number of other cars and end up with 15k-20k profits easily.

The only way I could see it being worth the effort of bringing a Cefiro in is to be sneaky about it. You can have the drivetrain yanked out of it in Japan and the motor and body shoved in a container and shipped to the US. Once it gets here there will be no HS-7 attached to the car. Just the EPA form for the motor. Once you pick it up you put it back together. Then you get it registered on a state level as a "kit car" or "assembled from parts". If you go this route there is a worthwhile margin as you didn't have to drop thousands and thousands to get an old, cheap, sedan "federalized" and you're only costs involve the vehicle itself, shipping, pulling/reinstalling the drivetrain, and the fees associated with deregistration/registration. Even if you could only sell it for 5k you would come close to doubling your money. Of course this way is not "federalized".

Of course I could be completely off base here.

[BlackSilEighty]

Wouldn't it be easier/cheaper to convert a Maxima? With a Cefiro front/rear end and Z32 engine/drive train/ rear end?

[FaLKoN240]

I like pretty much any fast RWD sedan. Cefiro is no different. I just wish they brought some of those turbo cool sedans to America. I don't think you can legally import them here. Plus, they're as old as dirt.

[meteorite_flo]

Wouldn't it be easier/cheaper to convert a Maxima? With a Cefiro front/rear end and Z32 engine/drive train/ rear end?
are you serious? "......"

[S14zenkiQ's]

^^ better question, are you stupid? a FF to FR conversion would be rediculously expensive, not to mention you cant just "swap the front and rear end" oh and how is a VG30DETT (Z32) similar to a RB20DET (R32,C33,A31)?

[Ghost Dancer]

You can easily swap the front and rear end man. Don't you know that the the Nissan engineers built special release clips into the front and rear of the maxima so a Cefiro front and rear end will clip right in? Plus they also made the engine mounts adjustable so you can drop the RB20DET in with no problems. Plus the wiring is setup to switch right over to the RB you simply have to push the "RB mode" button on the dash.

Realistically though. If you had a contact in Japan it wouldn't cost alot to get a Cefiro in the US and registered as a kit car. I could get one there, running and registered for a little over 3k.

[BlackSilEighty]

Yeah but you couldnt get it insured or anything I'm sure. Or get it to pass smogging. I would do the VG because they are cheaper and easier to get here in the states. Also, what makes you think you have the right to call someone stupid?

[Ghost Dancer]

Actually it's real easy to get insured. There are tons of "non federalized" JDM vehicles in the US that have gone down the 'kit car' or 'assembled from parts' route. The big problem is if something happens to the vehicle you'd have a hell of a time getting a settlement from an insurance company on that.

A guy I know called his insurance agent and told them the truth about what he was doing. Bringing a car in as parts, registering as a kit car, etc.. They had no qualms about insuring it. They get premiums and if something ends up happening they get to avoid a loss because they have their "out".

Now smogging is a different story. From what I understand some people have gotten their SR's to pass? There is also the pay some guy off for smog route.

Personally I wouldn't even go through the trouble of registering it. I would just run it as a track car and not even drive it on the street.

[liv2drift045]

yea i agree... i think its a waste of time to register it for the street... keep it as a track/show car

[BlackSilEighty]

But if I was going to spend that kind of money I would want to legally be able to drive it wherever, whenever I want. That's my only problem with that. I thought it cost a whole lot more to legalize. Something about crash test ratings, getting insured, tags, plates, smogging etc etc...

[Ghost Dancer]

You are referring to true "federalization". True legality. You can bring in as parts and register it as a kit car.. insured. However unlike the guys who wreck their Motorex GTRs and get a nice big pay check from the insurance company they guy with the "kit car" registered Cefiro isn't going to get shite. Then it gets real messy if you end up at fault in an accident you caused in a "grey market" car :(

[bardabe]

yea i agree... i think its a waste of time to register it for the street... keep it as a track/show car
then what is the point? "yeah see that bad boy over there? never been driven. Oh yeah" I think that is lame. but that is just me.

-Juantons

[ms!3]

i would. there tight.

[flytwa78]

I've seen some in japan with SR20's in them.

[drift_limo]

hell yeah came close to buying one in the states but had no tittle.:"(

[bardabe]

u do realize the thread is 6 months old right?

[drift_limo]

u do realize the thread is 6 months old right?

i do now i hardly post and i jsut saw cefiro i love that car

srry for the l8t post

[JesusFreakDrifter]

rb25 a31, ftw

[liv2drift045]

boo... for rb25 imo... sr coming soon :)

[JesusFreakDrifter]

^^^how heavy is the cefiro, i am getting one imported. i just want to compare something real quick

[jeeper_x]

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/5784/image146zz4.th.jpg (http://img205.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image146zz4.jpg)
http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/5958/image155rh6.th.jpg (http://img230.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image155rh6.jpg)
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/8632/1jzap8.th.jpg (http://img296.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1jzap8.jpg)

im sure as hell would if i can bring my car from thailand.......no more weaksauce s13 for me......1jz-gte woot?!?.......

[s13coupedrfter]

For argument sakes (smogged and registered) I would rock one for sure. Stand out from the sea of s13/14's. I'd pay around 6g's

[liv2drift045]

^^^how heavy is the cefiro, i am getting one imported. i just want to compare something real quick

dunno.. have to look at my registration and get back to you

yea man ive only seen 1 1jz cefiro here...hahaha i talk to one of the mechanics i go to about doing it and he won't take me seriously hahaha... and i already have like 2 1j's laying around... i think that'd be hot... deff take a 1j over a rb20/rb25/sr20

[jeeper_x]

^^^.....show him my pictures....haha.....it is HOT....

[Bbandit]

I used to want one (A31)
Now that I own one.. I love it!
it feels like driving a 4 door S13 especially After I swapped the rb20e with an SR20.
Same exact chassis & suspension parts except the A31 wheelbase is longer.

http://www.aww-kittah-aww.com/up/files/119/gembul%20beres.JPG

http://www.aww-kittah-aww.com/up/files/119/gembul%20beres.JPG

PS.
Picture was taken with shitty camera phone
Yes I like working on cars bare footed. :yum: :rolleyes:
Excuse my buddy's beer belly.

[jeeper_x]

u need to buy some brick headlight for ur celifo....and some new bumper....TBO is a good choice.....i had one on my car.....:bigok:

[liv2drift045]

sr20ftmfw
yea it really does feel like my s13 just a bit longer... cant wait to put the sr in... im kinda waiting for this rb to kick the dust tho... if it aint broke don't fix it ya know haha

and yes... bricks are the hotness.. just put some on mine... pics up soon in the pic thread

[s13gold]

i would love one...i would like a bone stock one with decent milage for around 7 or 8k depending.

[G_sl1de]

Would i drive a legal a31?
would you have sex with Jessica Alba?

I think the answers are the same:)

[liv2drift045]

cefiro's are teh cool