i've tried looking on ebay motors and googling the topic. but all i seem to find are stupid 240x conversions. i need the true thing not some knock off. will you do me the service of pointing me in the right direction. oi and nads please put those titays away their distracting and and reek of pork rings.

ernest  

Japan.  simple answer

just to elaborate - s14 or s15?  if you want an authentic jdm s14 silvia, you are much better off doing a conversion.  the s15 can only be imported, but you wont be able to register it, so itll just be track only, or a big garage paper weight.  a US spec s14 240sx with an sr20det motor is the exact same thing as its JDM counterpart.  its in no way a "knock off"

if you wanted to import a s14 you would basically spend more money getting it here and trying to smog and register it than you would have spent on the car itself.  you will also have to run a different ECU since JDM cars are tuned to run on Japans glorious 100 octane as compared to our 91 crap.  so if you have enough money to buy about three s14s just to bring one over that would be "real jdm" go right ahead.

the only difference between a jdm s14 and a US spec s14 is the motor (and right hand drive).  you can find a SR20det motor anywhere, they are all over the place and they swap right in.  

so compare the cost of buying a US s14 and an SR20DET - the car would cost around 6,000 - 8,000 (this is for a 98 in great condition, give or take) and the motor swap would be between 2 and 5 grand. (it varies with cost of motor and labor) lets call it 10,000.  for a JDM Silvia, with the exhange rate, you will be spending more than 12 grand on the car itself, then another 10-15 grand just to have it shipped, then countless other fees and other unforseen expenses that will top the cost of the car.

i know JDM is "cool", but you can have the same exact thing for a fraction of the price.  its not like a US spec S14 with an SR20DET is any different.  the S15 on the other hand is a totally different story.  

If you want a jdm go to supaca imports.