Cosmetic Similarities

[Conrad 2NR]

Hi folks, another lurker on the forum.

In the future I may be interested in doing some minor cosmetic upgrades such as side mirrors and possibly a body-kit for my A31 however it's very difficult sourcing them where I'm from. One will be hard pressed to find an Autech kit in my country and that's exactly what I would like. I won't even have access to an original so that I may mold a copy.

As far as I'm aware most cosmetic parts for the A31 are specific and/or are custom pieces BUT I would like to be proven wrong.

If there are any known substitutes can someone please enlighten me.

Edited November 16, 2009 by Conrad 2NR

[Nic_A31]

Mirrors may be usable from other Nissans, but as far as I know there's nothing.

Other cosmetics you can do...ah...paint the strips on the door the same chrome as the door handles / lining around the windows, Ive seen that and it looks pretty mint.

If you do some searching you'll see what kits are available for the Cefiro's, there's a few in Aus, Japan, NZ, there's even one in the USA that comes up on eBay sometimes.

Check out vented guards by Dmax, they also do a body kit and a vented bonnet as well.

You can convert the front end (guards, headlights, grille, bumper) to C33 Laurel.

Import Monster pulls some cool shit out of YahooAuctions-Japan, like rear roof spoilers, clear indicators, etc.

[Conrad 2NR]

Those stuff are well and good but to get them imported into the Caribbean will prove to be a pain.

Not too fond of a C33 front end on my A31.

Thanks for the points so far though, keep 'em coming.

[funkymonkey]

you can use the C33 laurel mirrors from memory. The plugs and mounts are the same anyways.

as for bodykits, you can use the underskirt of a early pre facelift 180SX, flip it upside down and use it on your standard bumper as a lower lip.

The fitment of the bodykit is unique to the ceffy, but you might be able to shoehorn C33 laurel sideskirts on there.

[Luciano]

Those stuff are well and good but to get them imported into the Caribbean will prove to be a pain.

just curious, whats the difficulty with getting parts sent to you from overseas?

long wait? expensive freight costs? etc?

[Conrad 2NR]

just curious, whats the difficulty with getting parts sent to you from overseas?

long wait? expensive freight costs? etc?

I'm from Trinidad, our situation is special in that there are areas throughout our country that are quite popular for sourcing foreign used parts (wreckers that import containers directly from Japan full of used parts). Most of our vehicles are JDM, Nissan & Toyota are the most popular brands with Subaru taking on a segment of the market relatively recently as well.

Mechanical parts are relatively abundant, especially if you're a regular/popular customer you'll be able to catch a couple of deals. The problem arises for cosmetic parts, they're usually not in the best condition and sometimes they're outright not available UNLESS, again, if you know the correct people you may be able to source what you want directly out of Japan.

To your original question, parts are relatively easy to source out of the US, so polyurethane bushings and other suspension pieces for the USDM 240SX can be bought new. The issue is with car products the duties are between 30%-40% of the invoice value, so often people under-value their parts to pay less duties. Via air-freight from the states, it can take as little as two days from the click of your mouse to picking up. Via sea-freight it can take up to 6 weeks from the US.

From Australia, I'm not quite sure the length of time taken (I'll guess 3 months, similar to what I've heard a container takes from JDM land) but I can only imagine freight will be a killer though. A few items such as chassis braces and Whiteline products have been done before. Due to the already established connection with Japan, parts will be quicker sourced from there.

If anyone is willing to establish connections with local dealers I would say give it a go as there is a relatively large car scene going on despite not having a track to run on at the moment.

The most popular automotive based website in our country, Trinituner.

I personally will love to have a RB30 block and ViPec ECU sourced out of Australia however my budget says otherwise at the moment.

Edited November 18, 2009 by Conrad 2NR

[Luciano]

ahh, understood! cheers.

For sure, budget is everything at the end of the day. You could probably land anything you want there in Trinidad if you have wealth to cough up

Nice Ceffy too by the way!

[Conrad 2NR]

ahh, understood! cheers.

For sure, budget is everything at the end of the day. You could probably land anything you want there in Trinidad if you have wealth to cough up

Nice Ceffy too by the way!

Thanks for the compliment mate.

[a31rb25]

genuine ceffy kits are pretty expensive from Japan - i reckon you should try to find a smashed stock front bar around your area and then get a cheap kit from another car you like the look of. Get some fibreglass, bog and a decent cuttingl tool (Dremel's are awesome) and make your own bar. Once you've got it looking the way you want sand it all back & paint it.