Converting LHD to RHD

[Spannerhead]

I have been wondering how shops like Zag etc convert cars to RHD . I am curious where do they get all the dash parts from ? Do the cut and shut with existing parts or use a complete RHD dash ? If yes where do all the RHD dashes come from , new, used ? Has anyone had it done and how much do they charge ? Lots of questions I know but there are so many done it would seem not so difficult , yet when I think about it seems not so easy either.

[michel]

Usual quote will be 20k plus or minus . Some shops and a local one to me bought a long time ago a stash of new RHD conversion panels -this was in the height of the conversion frenzy.... 

Do porsche still have these panels? Not certain. Factor in cost of finding a crashed and or economically unviable rust fukd RHD  car. 

Yes lesser conversions chop cut n shut the lhd dash Some can attest this creates an interesting and unintended crumple zone 

i now  some are converting cars back to LHD . Go figure 

[LeeM]

  Don't bother seems to be the usual response from most in Porsche world.

 As Michel pointed out,  is it economically viable to drop 20k for a conversion? Better off buying a car from Hong Kong, Sith Ifrica or the UK and clean it up.

 Left hookers should stay left hookers, as there's a worldwide market if you wanna sell later on

[Spannerhead]

Yes I was not thinking of doing so much as whats involved and how well they do it here . The notion of weakening shell is interesting , when I try to envisage it there is a lot to do and to get it right ? 20k does not surprise me . So options rust prone UK imports ect or iffy conversions ? How do you go about finding out how well its been done , apart from the obvious ? 

[michel]

A conversion doesn't technically weaken the shell , or shouldn't. 

 

I was referring to the filigree patchwork approach taken by some when doing a chop shop dash conversion... The actual bulk head etc should not be affected. 

Look at the smugglers box/ front apron , and pedal area.

compare to an orig car 

another potential indicator than a less than comprehensive approach,  though not necessarily poorly engineered, is front trunk wiring loom routing , gauges not factory position for RHD and particularly on longhoods heater controls in funky positions 

[Steve88]

Starting a LHD to RHD conversion in a few months I will be documenting on here so will let you know. When I get to that part

[tomo]

An  old Autohaus page: http://www.autohaus911.com/conversion.htm

[MFX]

If you have a look at some of my early videos, you can see how my dodgy conversion was done. Mine was just a cut and swap situation. The better ones cut out and swap the entire dash, firewall and back half of the froot, but you cannot legally remove the VIN plate at any time so you have to cut around it. If you have a look in the engine bay of a converted car, one of the tell tales of the conversion is the smugglers box, as the RHD and LHD are very different. I have tidied up my conversion quite a bit, and I have had to modify the smugglers box to make room if I ever choose to add a brake booster.

 

[Fraz]

Easy 

 

[Merv]

So if you spend 20K on a conversion that used the correct panels for conversion and then the car is also worth 20K less than it was originally as a 'conversion' (the case for early 911's) on an international market, it is an expensive ($30-40K) move.  Driving a LDH car after two days is like second nature in my experience.

[SC 3.2]

Driving a  LHD a/c 911 is a 100% fun experience,driving a RHD a/c 911 is a 95% fun experience

LHD is more comfortable.....simple as that.

[LeeM]

  Just my opinion, but I respectfully disagree

 LHD, as easy as it is to get used to in the brief time I had one, is annoying. Glad I don't have one anymore, and will never own one again.

 I'm used to RHD since I started to drive, so its natural for me, and that I'm a bit OCD with the way I do things. I don't like change where I can help it

 

[clutch-monkey]

that's okay Lee, most tracks favour RHD i have found haha.

[SC 3.2]

Yes,that is a good point with mainly clockwise directional circuits the drivers position is on the outside of the car.Not ideal for weight distribution, and sighting the apex,still with my crook back I find it more comfortable,comes down to personal preference.

[michel]

What I want to hear is a centre cockpit conversion

[Coastr]

I've never had a close look at a converted car, but it's correct that all the panels are different under the frunk.  Not sure on wiring looms and the rest, but you do have to move the mirrors and wipers and lots of other stuff.  I imagine the dodgy versions jsut cut the dash and relocate the pedal box and call it done.  The thorough versions would unstitch the specific panels and weld in new ones.

Like many euros of the era, the RHD version is compromised in terms of things like location of the engine/hood pull, indicators, passenger footwell and on it goes.   Newer cars are engineered to have all that stuff on the right side ex factory.

I doubt anyone will commence conversions anymore save for a few RHD conversion reversals to restore value or RHD conversions where it is part of major work and a case of 'while you're in there'.

funny thing about lhd and racing circuits, as a young fan I was convinced DJ couldn't win in the green mustang because he was on the wrong side of the car.  Nothing to do with the mustang being a POS according to my analysis at the time

i enjoy driving a leftie as something a bit different and as a bonus can park both cars in the garage and both have drivers doors in the centre where the internal access door is.  Plus nailing apexes on left hand side of road is fun and reverse parking is a cinch.  Only downside is having to do Hail Mary overtaking which means starting further back, dropping back gears and pedal on floor.  What a shame.

[SimonN]

I own lhd cars in the UK and didn't think it was an issue, but i am not so sure over here. The one thing that is a total pain is overtaking. Sitting on the "wrong" side of the car makes it far harder. In the UK, there are very few major roads that are effectively single lane each way, while it seems that here in Oz, a lot of major routes go this way once away from major populations. If you are only going to use the car around town or for SMT's where there is no traffic, lhd is fine.

As for decent conversions vs poor ones, it has shocked me just how badly some seem to be done and that they get through inspection. MFX's car is one in point, but I have seen others like that or worse. On the other hand, there are cars that you simply cannot tell they have been converted, because they have been done with all the right parts, welds have been ground down to smooth out joints etc. My car has every little part including things like the card brake pipe protection by the steering arm. If the car has the original big smugglers box, i personally would be suspicious. When i bought my car, I asked how easy it was to tell the car had been converted and the reply was that a specialist would know. I have since compared cars and the only thing i have found is that the spot weld pattern is slightly different, although I would need to see another car to see if that can be explained in manufacturing differences.

I am not claiming that my car is any better than some other converted cars out there, although I have the comfort of knowing it was done by Porsche themselves in the factory but simply pointing out that there is a whole range of conversions out there, ranging from worrying to hard to tell the difference. I think if you are planning a conversion, surely the aim has to be to get it to as close as original as is possible. 

[OZ930]

I have posted this previously, it's a good read.  Have met the guy and driven the car too, prior to him selling it to someone in Sth Australia.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/272316-australian-project-left-right-3-2-a.html

Enjoy

[LeeM]

  That looks very similar to a converted car my mate in WA bought a few months ago

 

 

[OZ930]

  That looks very similar to a converted car my mate in WA bought a few months ago

 

 

Does it have a small dint in the right rear extension panel ?

[ANF]

This whole debate intrigues me, there is no right or wrong answer.

What has puzzled me for years and is loosely related to this, apart from the current 919 which is LHD why have all prior lemans racers (prototypes) from Porsche (as far as I can tell) been RHD? As far back as the 60s, and it is not just P cars...... is it merely to do with the Le Mans circuit? If so why change now?

[LeeM]

Wouldnt have a clue mate. He's at Goodwood at the moment, so I can't find out

This be it. It had a whale tail etc, and he's mucked around with it a bit to turn it into a track based hot rod thingy, and possibly for sale in the future. I'd love the wheels for mine!

 Probably not the same car, as it has clear side marker lights

 

[SimonN]

What has puzzled me for years and is loosely related to this, apart from the current 919 which is LHD why have all prior lemans racers (prototypes) from Porsche (as far as I can tell) been RHD? As far back as the 60s, and it is not just P cars...... is it merely to do with the Le Mans circuit? If so why change now?

I haven't checked every circuit used, but the garages are on the right side of the car in every case i can think of. I can only think of a handful of circuits that don't have the pits on that side and they don't host F1 or Endurance. Back in the day of gear sticks, they used to have the seat on the right and the gear stick to the right of that - sitting on the right and driving like a leftie!

[SC 3.2]

ANF,great comment about European Sports Racers being RHD-Apparently a throw back to when all the major circuits were run in a clockwise direction thus the manufacturers built the racers in RHD to better enable drivers to apex the corners.

[ANF]

I haven't checked every circuit used, but the garages are on the right side of the car in every case i can think of. I can only think of a handful of circuits that don't have the pits on that side and they don't host F1 or Endurance. Back in the day of gear sticks, they used to have the seat on the right and the gear stick to the right of that - sitting on the right and driving like a leftie!

I think most single seater have the gear lever on the right too. My Formula Vee did