Only recently have U.S. enthusiasts been able to officially take the reins of Nissan's lauded GT-R — Godzilla to some. Today, has a GT-R wannabe that's been terrorizing Tokyo since 1970.

The Skyline dates back to days before Nissan purchased the Prince Motor Company, but despite its birth parentage, the car is one of the best known of its adopted parent's children. First introduced in 1968, the C1 model was one of the last developed under Prince, though it was introduced post-merger, and arrived with a Nissan badge on its boxy ass.

By 1970, when today's candidate rolled off the Tochigi assembly line, a new model and engine was made available- the 120-bhp 2.0-litre six powered 2000GT-X. Officially the KC10, the 2000GT-X offered an additional 15-kabukis over the 1.8-litre four that had previously been the top engine offering.

Today's JDM refugee is a made to make it look the part of a GT-R. The rear flares and black-painted alloys help it play the part, as does the expected PMC.S sicker. But pop the hood and things look less GT-R and more GT-Are your Kidding? In place of the GT-R's 160-bhp DOHC 2-litre is the stock single cam unit. Despite that disappointment, the engine is clean and original, from its SU-aping Mikunis, to the creepy sperm-like plug wires wriggling over the brushed aluminum cam cover. Backing up the 2000GT's little six is Nissan's 4-speed that will feel very familiar to anyone that's driven a 510 or 240Z. The shifter is topped by a period-correct beer-tap lever, and falls readily to your. . . left hand. One bit of JDM authenticity you'll need to get used to is leaning waaay over to get your food at the drive-thru, as the car is right-hand drive.

Overall, the car looks good in pictures, but the seller does the honest thing and has included some shots of the bubbly rust that permeates cars of a certain age, much like liver spots do people who have managed to stick around as long. That being said, there doesn't appear to be anything that would require a firm understanding of ordering parts in Japanese, or a wallet deep enough to afford the shipping of body panels across the Pacific.

So, it's not a real GT-R (and in fact there never were any 1970 GT-Rs), it's got some uglies hiding under the paint, and you have to drive it from the passenger seat- although that could make for vexing of those pesky red-light cameras. But does all that outweigh the fact that it's a pretty cool car, and there just aren't that many of these things rolling around here where the buffalo roam? And does that make the $20,000 asking price seem like a deal? Or, is that a penthouse-worthy price to view this Skyline?

You decide!

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