Nissan Skyline GT-R s and GTR Information : R32

Mar 1, 2025

Skyline GT-R Restomod Built by Legends Founders - The Creative Drive Podcast

By Sean Morris March 01, 2025 built by legends, R32, R33, R34, racer, video

Built By Legends is the brainchild of Masa Kuji and Katsu Takahashi, two automotive visionaries driven by a lifelong passion for Japanese performance vehicles. Their innovative restomod project breathes new life into iconic '80s and '90s Japanese tuner cars, blending classic design with modern engineering. Having honed their expertise through the co-founding of GTChannel and Best Motoring International alongside Taro Koki, they bring a unique global perspective to their craft, bridging the gap between Japan's rich tuning heritage and a worldwide audience.

Join us to listen to their incredible story on how they’re bringing Japanese classics to life for a new generation of enthusiasts.

00:00 Intro

00:25 Built By Legends cars at SEMA 2024

01:20 Built By Legends Restomod R34 Skyline

02:37 Working with Toray to customize the R34 Interior

04:25 The importance of showcasing partners in a project

04:50 Details of the Built By Legends Restomod R34 Skyline

05:22 What is Built By Legends?

07:15 Where does Katsu Takahashi’s style come from?

10:00 Masa Kuji’s history with Japanese cars

11:12 The story of Taro, Masa, and Katsu working together for the first time

13:20 The genesis of Best Motoring International

16:28 Creating automotive-related phone apps

17:52 Masa Kuji on founding Built By Legends

19:20 Is Built By Legends the Singer of Skylines?

22:51 Biggest challenges when building cars

23:54 What is the build process for Built By Legends?

26:48 Why does Built By Legends partner with Mines for engine development?

29:25 Other iconic cars Built By Legends is working on

30:20 Working with legendary Japanese tuners Spoon and Mines

35:25 The importance of social media for Built By Legends

38:40 Katsu Takahashi’s perspective on the current JDM scene

39:40 Built By Legends’ relationship with Top Rank Importers

40:40 What build has been the most meaningful thus far?

44:10 What advice would you give yourself at the beginning?

45:40 New projects for Built By Legends

47:35 The balance of innovation and restoration in a car build

48:12 Built By Legends schedule at SEMA 2024

49:42 The creative dive of Katsu Takahashi and Masa Kuiji

Buy USA Legal R32, R33, and R34 Skylines at Toprank Importers!
Index and Start Page
Nissan Skyline Parts and Toys

Nov 14, 2024

25 Years Ago : MotoRex Era Begins : First Bond Released car

By Sean Morris November 14, 2024 Big Bird, Featured, Motorex, R32

McNasty. Aka Mean and Nasty. Ken named it although I don't think he remembers why anymore.

November 15,1999. Twenty five years ago.

That was the day that MotoRex got the first Bond release on a Nissan Skyline GT-R That bond release was the the paper that the NHTSA gave that really says nothing, but it says everything. They say more or less, we didn't check the car, but from everything we see, for the FMVSS items, we will allow you to legally have this car in the US. The odd part about this, was that VCP-17 hadn't even been approved yet, and it wouldn't be for several more months.

Early MotoRex logo, type R style R. I had them change it to the GT-R "R" later

You probably have heard a lot of things about MotoRex. Most of it is bullshit. Most of it is third hand information parroted by a guy that knew a guy. I know, I was there. I was the one that put that first petition together. I was the one that got that first release when I worked at MotoRex.

This R32 GT-R got a bunch of HKS upgrades. Made around 500 hp then.

The current owner of the car contacted me this week to talk about some things, and he mentioned that it was nearly 25 years since it was legalized. While I remember the chassis number of the car, I didn't remember the date. That date is November 15,1999. Funny as today we are out in Texas for GT-R Festival.

R32, TV2 R34, Black R32, The HKS R33 would become Big Bird

McNasty wasn't the first car imported, but it was the first car that went though the full compliance. After it went though compliance, it was sold to a customer in San Diego, and it still resides there with the second owner. Check out some of the photos of my time at MotoRex. I was there from April 1999 to April 2002. In that time, we imported/sold about 60 or so cars. Total was right around 120 cars over the seven years they existed. Now at Toprank we do more cars than that per year.

Nick, myself, Yaska, and Hiro. I still work with Yaska at Toprank

The MotoRex story itself is complex, but your overall takeaway should be that Hiro and MotoRex did try from the start to bring cars into compliance with NHTSA, EPA, and ARB . Many were, some were not. What the NHTSA knew, and what they allowed, was not what they said later. Afterall does anyone in the government ever actually tell the truth? More than 20 years on from MotoRex now, the R32 GT-R have been legal under Show or Display (Nismo) since 2012, the normal cars since 2014. More than 10 years we have had FMVSS exempt Nissan Skylines. The R33 GT-R since 2020. The R34 GT-R this year. You can read a bit about the Cult of GT-R in a book by Ryan Zumallen

Some truths, and some false stories in this 0-60 article

One day, I may post some more stories, or videos of my time at MotoRex. Set some shit straight from my view, till then, you just get the half truths and videos from many people that think they knew.