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Well guys this will be a bit long I will add pics every couple of days, its about importing a C5 to Australia and what we go through with having to convert them to Right Hand Drive.
I brought this Tripple Black 6 speed 1999 C5 from a friends wife at Carlisle 2003 with 417 miles on the clock, it was late 2004 when it arrived here, the shipping company lost the car in transit, I sacked the shipper and gave it to a guy I knew, he found the container sitting in Ningbo China, anyway the car got here, it was so badly packed and tied down with other stuff I was importing that every panel was scratched, car needed a full respray.
The conversion to RHD takes 300 man-hours and would scare the crap out of most folks but its what we have to do, legal requirment
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Attached pics is the car coming out of the container 2004, looks like ****, well not really, I'm sure we will all agree on that, so hang on for the ride.
Conversion starts, my car was the first of many we did for Australia, getting the car passed and approved took 2 years, the engineer was such a dick and you can't change half way through, the Australian government compliancing were also not smart guys we had to lead them through every stage and record everything we did with pics, they were to be nice simply frustrating to say the least. I wont add pics of work done to heater box and dash mods, I have hundreds of pics the electrical work is complicated just splicing the dash loom took me 2 full days, door switches have to be changed over , fuses boxes and brake booster , new RHD steering rack, clutch and brake pedals etc etc, mirror conversion at its best.
Car stripped, don't stress here it gets worse Firewalls cut out inside gutted, ya scared yet. coming back together Painted Engine bay painted and AC & Heater pipes redone
Can’t imagine having to do all of that just to prepare for inspection and then having to deal with the stupidity of government bureaucrats and all of the red tape.
Why not keep it left hand drive? Is it illegal in Au?
Yes. Kind of like how we have stupid protectionist measures that don't allow us to import vehicles under 25 years old, they have similar. And the worst part there is each state has its own guideline, it's not even at a national level.
This is quite a project and I wish for the best outcome. Looking forward to the pictures when it is all done.
I can't help but ask. When considering all the time, material, and expense for this conversion, would it have been more economical to purchase a left handed C5 locally? Of course that would take out the fun of doing the conversion.
i remember finding a company about 10yrs ago that specialized in RHD conversions for Corvettes & GM trucks down there... it's likely this dude.
Originally Posted by Z06ster
This is quite a project and I wish for the best outcome. Looking forward to the pictures when it is all done.
I can't help but ask. When considering all the time, material, and expense for this conversion, would it have been more economical to purchase a left handed C5 locally? Of course that would take out the fun of doing the conversion.
he did purchase a left-hand drive car - because that's the only way they've ever been made.
Australian rules force him to convert it to right-hand drive to be street legal... so yeah, it looks like he decided it was worth it to drive a Corvette there.
Freaking sweet thread! Can't wait to watch this one. 300 man hours for all that? Wow! You are one dedicated individual. I wouldn't touch doing that with a 300 foot pole. LOL
I'm interested in knowing how this is possible with a modern, but older car. With so many custom parts that have to be re-engineered, only to make one or a few. And things like a right-hand drive dashboard.that doesn't exist. We can't even get a replacement EBCM in the US because no supplier thinks there is a business case due to the liability if something doesn't work right.
I bought an Australian Ford with RHD that had been brought to the U.S. on a U.S. Navy ship by one of the ship's officers. It was an antique so no emission issues. Apparently there is no rule prohibiting a RHD vehicle from being registered here. GOOD LUCK with the project and please post updates...
This is very cool and interesting. I would also like to see more. I get the impression from what he was saying is that the project has actually been done for awhile, he is just sharing it with us. I know for sure that I've seen a completed RHD car from AUS on the forum before. This is certainly cool. I'm sure the C5 is VERY unique down under. Can't be too many of them with all the work required. It's nice that the C8 is available with RHD from the factory. Good luck actually getting one though.
Why not keep it left hand drive? Is it illegal in Au?
We have 2 years to have it booked in for conversion to RHD, if we don't the car has to be dismantled for parts or shipped out of the country, it can never be registered.
Cars that are 30yo or more when imported may remain LHD.
Australian C5
