Alen, glad to see that your alive and kickin'...that was a super-nice Integra.
The few people I've met with RHD Type R's, were in the military overseas, bought the car in Japan, and had it shipped over with some kind of military shipping services. I don't know about registration though...here something I found on RB motoring, they used to import JDM vehicles:
RB Motoring is not longer a Registered Importer and is not importing any vehicles
from Japan.
-Importing vehicles to the United States
How to import vehicles from Japan. - Most Japanese market cars are right hand drive (RHD)
- Most vehicles sold in Japan do not meet United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS)
- The Japanese vehicles do not meet US FMVSS as they were not built to meet these standards. This does not mean they are any less safe than a vehicle built for the US, it just means it was not built to meet US standards
- Japanese vehicles are not built to meet US emissions standards
Vehicle Importation Guidelines - US NHTSA
Vehicle legalization and registration
Most people can not grasp the difference between vehicle legalization and vehicle registration.
- Legalization a vehicle in compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, and Environmental Protection Agency standards
- List of Non-conforming vehicles able to be brought into Federal Motor Vehicle Safety standards
- Registration - registration is the responsibility of the individual states and localities. Most states do not check to see wether a vehicle is federally legal. If they see the vehicle, and are paid the registration fees, they will give registration for the vehicle.
- Many people seem to get confused that if a vehicle is registered, that it is legal or "legalized". A registered vehicle is just a registered vehicle. Registration could still be revoked by the DOT, EPA, or customs service, if the vehicle was found to have entered into the country fraudentley.
Ways to import cars
Normally Abnormally- As parts, a vehicle body with no engine and no driveline is not considered a vehicle by the NHTSA.
- In a container not declared as a motor vehicle
- As a Kit car. Kit cars are a very grey area. The Clean air act states if a vehicle is taken apart to avoid importation regulations, then that is a violation of the Clean air act. Mostly, if a body is imported, then the owner declares it a kit car, and reassembles it, its up to the states to register it.
- Driven across the border. US Customs at the border does not seem to check over most vehicles. Its not illegal to drive a Canadian vehicle in the US, so a vehicle that has been registered in Canada, would not get much scrutinty.