ok guys....i'm looking to put some kind of unique spin on my car....i found a guy online that suggested making it right hand drive. he said he is working on a vette now. i havent called him to get all the particulars...cost, work involved, etc etc

but i wanted to hear what "the people" had to say....pros/cons please

i am sure there is something i am over looking...

does anyone else already have it? is it legal? mine is a dd so i am on the road everyday in it

again, PROS/CONS please

 

There are a few Austrailian Vettes out on the board that are set up as right hand drive, not sure what is involved in swapping everything over, but like anything, all it takes is money.

Seems to me that it would end up being really inconvenient, but if unique is what you're going for, that would do it.

 

I can't think of any pros

 

Before talking about neatness, uniqueness, or even how-tos , think about safety, a right hand drive car is not safe AT ALL in a left hand drive streets, you cant control your car properly, and there will A LOT of blind spots while you drive. Simply, its not safe.

 

It is realy not as bad as you think it is! I have driven a right hand drive skyline in a left hand drive world and have never had any problems.

 

I had a RH and now only have a LH drive car In Aus.
To change everything over for a C3 is about 10 thou, then deduct another 10 thou because it's not original. So in the States it's worth nothing.
The RH was a manual and there were rods under the dash to transfer the brake and clutch operation. The clutch was hydraulic but still very stiff, and I mean very.
The issue with visibility is overcome if you have a L and r side mirror.
I find it very easy driving LH on the left hand side in Aus,
because I am not use to driving on the right hand side of the road it may feel unusual in the States when I ever get there.
My car is an auto so the manual might be a bit tricky for me.
If I could dissuade you from converting the car I would, in my opinion
Corvettes are ruined when converted to RH drive.

 

i've driven plenty of RHD vehicles here in Michigan. It really isn't as bad as you think. You WILL get a lot of attention at every stop light, even in a normal car, much MORE so in a C3 i'd guess.

you can control your car properly, you just have to adjust mirrors and stuff a little different and get used to sitting differently. and it IS legal, or else the automakers wouldn't be able to register the vehicles and get plates and registration and insurance for the ones i had.

now, ease, cost and whether the job would be worth it is different IMO. I only looked at doing it for a subaru once a while ago, and even though RHD subarus are already built, buying all the used parts from a salvage yard was still thousands of dollars. for a C3, parts alone, then labor too? i would guess the cost would be a deal breaker.

 

why? not worth the extensive work and high cost.

 

 

Davew/75,
The idea is good, but the implementation will drive you crazy.
FACT: The C3 Corvette has the engine mounted about one inch to the RIGHT of the car's centreline, to give more room in the (left hand) driver's footwell. If in doubt, just measure the brackets between chassis and engine mount.

FACT: It is almost impossible to use the LHD steering box on the right side of the car. The flat mounting face ( to the chassis ) is on the LEFT side of the box. You need to mount the RIGHT side of the box to the inside of the chassis ( for RHD ). In Australia, where cars less than 25 years old HAVE to be converted to RHD, there are plenty of RHD donor cars such as Australian Ford Falcons and Toyota Crowns which have a steering box that is suitable, but not perfect.

Look at the right side engine mount bracket in your car. Not only is it about two inches shorter than the left side one, it is mounted further back in the chassis, right where you need to mount the steering box. So you will have to chop out a fair lump of the bracket and possibly also the chassis, then reinforce it somehow.

Then you need to remove the HVAC unit and modify the firewall to mount the master cylinder/booster setup. And a clutch master cylinder if a manual. Then modify the LEFT side firewall to mount the HVAC unit.

Still with me? Then there's the dashboard. Acquring a longer speedo cable is the easy bit, everything else will drive you mad, if you aren't already.

You'd be better off to grab a Camaro, preferably a straight six, and convert that to RHD. Heaps more room in the engine compartment, and the dash is steel, easy to cut and weld.

The best car to convert would be a Dodge Dart, which were sold in Australia as a Chrysler Valiant two door coupe, and there are plenty of RHD parts that would bolt straight into the Dart. You just have to import them from Down Under.

Please don't start cutting up the Vette. Its value will plummet, and your lack of easy access to RHD parts will see this car more than likely end up as a cheap sale of a parts car, as that'll be all it's fit for.

Have a great day.

Regards from Down Under

aussiejohn
15 months to go

 

With respect, that's a load of
Everybody who drives a Corvette (or almost any American or foreign car) in a right-hand drive country is in the same position. Every time we Brits travel to another country with our cars we're driving on the 'wrong' side of the road. Every time I get in my Vette I'm driving from the wrong side.

It's not unsafe in the slightest. If you can't control a car with the wheel on the wrong side then you shouldn't be driving. Period.

 

If you're on a busy two lane road, following a large truck, and you're driving a car with the steering wheel on the "wrong" side of the car, passing (overtaking) something like a large truck becomes very dangerous.

However, on a multilane expressway (freeway here in Calif.) it's pretty much irrelevant as to which side the steering wheel is on.

 

the corvette summer film car was set up for right hand drive for filming purpose. if you want a different car, there are tons of ways to it without going through all that.

 

Unless I just had to deliver mail in a c3 corvette I don't know why you would want to. I understand the reason for doing it in Austraila as their toilets even flush in the other direction.

 

I think the driving question is "why?" If it's just for uniqueness, save a few bucks and have someone paint Elvis on your hood. That ought to do the trick at a much lower price. Oooh! Oooh! I know! Put hydraulics on it!

 

Again, based on my experience I'd disagree, but
Driving behind a truck from the 'wrong' side you have to stay back and leave yourself enough room to see past the truck safely. In many cases this actually makes you safer than someone who's hanging off the truck's rear bumper waiting for a tiny gap before pulling out.

I've owned my Vette for 13 years and driven in Europe on the 'wrong' side in my RHD cars so have a lot of experience of the way it feels.

I can't understand why the OP would want to convert a Vette to RHD if he's keeping it in the US, but if the car's a keeper and he's moving to a country where he'll be driving on the left then I can understand the motivation. It's no worse than many of the extreme mods we see a lot in these forums, provided it's converted to a high technical standard.