Hi... wondering if anyone on the board has undertaken a similar experience - either from LHD to RHD or vice versa?

My ex-US car (LHD) has just arrived in Australia (a RHD country) and I am just waiting for Customs to do its thing and clear it at the moment, before the 'fun' of the conversion and restoration begins. The car is mostly rust free B20F / M41 and i got it at a 'couldn't say no' price.

Not that this is a big issue compared to all the other stuff you're going to have to deal with, but I believe there is also something about the exhaust down-pipe -- in LHD cars the pipes are horizontally next to eachother where they make the bend at the firewall. I think that in RHD cars they may be vertically paired to make room of the streering column.
Bob S.

Okie, thanks for the tip... because if this so, it's not mentioned in the parts catalogue.

The info at hand suggests that the exhaust down-pipe is P/N 682110-2, which is universal except for the B20F with auto transmission.

If those bits are indeed different (and aren't listed as such) it promises to be a more interesting exercise...

They were sold as RHD when new, I guess you could find all the parts from a donor car if you looked hard enough. It would be a very extensive change, though. Dash, wiring for dash, steering column (maybe), steering box, idler arm, batter box/pedal box, hardware with the pedals (they have a shaft that goes back to the left side where there is room for the brake booster). I frankly don't know if it would be worth the expense and effort compared to just buying a complete RHD car - maybe a worn out one you could merge with yours.
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I'm JohnMc, and I approved this message.

Hi John,

Reproduction RHD dashes and dash components are still available, so that didn't seem to be a problem when i'd first considered the project. My concerns began when i delved into the parts catalogue and noticed significant differences in the battery box, firewall, and pedal box sheetmetal between RHD and LHD versions, as you've pointed out.

It appears it's not as straigtforward as converting something like a 140, which (IIRC) used a common firewall pressing and where they already had the sheetmetal appeared to be pressed to accomodate either LHD or RHD, from what I remember of the 140 I had over 10 years ago. I'd imagine that conversion would be far simpler. Much of the mechanical side of the conversion would be a matter of pulling out the rubber plugs already in the firewall and moving things over, but the 1800 is a totally different beastie in that regard.

For the steering box, I'd considered using a power assisted unit out of a 164E which sold in good numbers in Australia and would seem to have reasonable parts availability. The column itself seems to have common componentry insofar as what I've seen in the parts catalogue.

But the typical price of an 1800E in Australia is generally around AU $12k - $14K for a rough unit needing a lot of work... that is, if and when you can find one. Finding wrecks is even harder.

I've managed to purchase this car in the US and import it for less than half of that figure. With most of the mechanical and electrical work being done by me, I figured the cost of buying the thing, importing it and the conversion wouldn't exceed the $12K figure - in fact, I figured i'd be in front to the tune of $2-3K with a good, solid car.

However this issue of significant sheetmetal differences that you've mentioned has me a bit concerned, and so i figure the good folks on here may have had some experience with a similar type of conversion.

Cheers.

Hi

Did you know that car over 30 years old can be Fully registered in either LHD or RHD in Australia(I would check this with the transport Dept in your state)I think it Australia wide. I have see a few old US car in LHD format with full rego on them

If you still want to do a RHD conversion I can point you in a direction of some people who may be able to help you with parts. Where do you live in Oz

George

Cars I own
Restoration project
Personal import 1974 144gl B20a M40

Everyday car
1989 740 turbo B230ft/AW71

Cars I have owned
1982 244GL B23e/M45
1986 760GLE B28f/AW71

Hi George,

No, i didn't know registering a LHD is possible in Australia, unless it's under a conditional or vintage / special registration. My desire is for this one to be a daily driver when complete.

I'm based in Sydney on this side of the pond... and any leads you have on parts would be most appreciated, cheers! The usual suspects (A Class and A Twins) didn't have much in the way of 1800s when i phoned them.

Hi

I looked at the NSW RTA site on the web. I found this

Registration of left-hand drive vehicles

New South Wales legislation requires that:
• A motor vehicle with Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) over 4.5 tonnes must have right-hand drive.
• A motor vehicle with a GVM not over 4.5 tonnes must have right-hand drive if the vehicle is:

- less than 30 years old.
- required by the law to have right-hand drive.

Under these requirements left-hand drive vehicles that are 30 years old or older and have a GVM not over 4.5 tonnes may be registered in left-hand drive configuration.

This is copied from this page. There is more info on this page
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registration/downloads/vsi/vsi40_rev1.pdf

I understand the LHD 30+years old rule is the same in all states

George

Cars I own

Restoration project
Personal import 1974 144gl B20a M40

Everyday car
1989 740 turbo B230ft/AW71

Cars I have owned
1982 244GL B23e/M45
1986 760GLE B28f/AW71

Cheers... many thanks for this info.

The 'difficult' Australian Design Rules applicable to cars in 1972 were little more than having seat belts and PCV, if i recall correctly... so an 1800E will have no problems passing these.

If doing a LHD to RHD conversion gets too crazy, it's good to know it's possible to road register it as is.