What would it take to do a RHD conversion of an Italian import?

[DavidLaver]

This question came up a little while ago but we didn't get to the bottom of it as the "need" went.

Are there holes in the right places in the shell?  Are the steering box and idler handed or can they be swapped?  What about peddles and dash?  Wipers?

Then there are the "UK import" items you need to do even if it stays LHD.  Headlamps are the obvious, anything else?  Rear fog in the wrong place? 

[fay66]

This question came up a little while ago but we didn't get to the bottom of it as the "need" went.

Are there holes in the right places in the shell?  Are the steering box and idler handed or can they be swapped?  What about peddles and dash?  Wipers?

Then there are the "UK import" items you need to do even if it stays LHD.  Headlamps are the obvious, anything else?  Rear fog in the wrong place?  

Brake master cylinder needs moving to other side, also remake brake pipes, battery carrier and battery.
To be honest I don't think it's worth the Aggro!
Much better to learn to live with Lhd, and have someone who has driven Lhd cars sit with you, it's all about confidence,.
There are advantages particularly if coming on a motorway or any junction where you have to look to the right, on a Lhd car you can see far better.
I found you tend to hang back and look up the inside of the vehicle in front to get a better view of on coming traffic, it also makes you a bit more cautious pulling out to overtake, and do so from further back.
Brian
8227  

[peterbaker]

Agree with Brian and worth remembering a left hand drive car can be sold into a much bigger market.

[DavidLaver]

The other thread went into "is it a good idea", the interest here is academic.

Is the steering box a RHD only part?  What else?

[ColinMarr]

Picking up on Brian’s point about “you tend to hang back and look up the inside of the vehicle in front to get a better view”, I am reminded of something I once wrote about the pleasures of driving a LHD Renault 4, which I recalled was very agile on winding roads. Let me repeat it now:

I am reminded of one particular experience in about 1973. One summer Sunday evening I was driving my LHD Renault 4 (on UK plates) across the lanes of Essex with Mother-in-Law as front-seat passenger. I was taking her to catch a train at Hoddesdon to get her back to London. It was late and I had to drive fast. I knew the lanes and its bends very well and managed to overtake several cars (yes, the R4 does lean out a lot), while Mother-in-Law sat bolt upright clutching the straps of her handbag in front of her. Then, to my dismay we came across unexpected road-works with a red light. I had to stop and cars caught up with us. To my horror and then amusement, an angry driver behind us got out and came alongside – he rapped hard on the off-side front side window and shouted out: “You f***ing stupid old cow – you have been driving like a f***ing maniac – you should be banned”. At that point the lights went green and I was pleased to move on. Mother-in Law seemed confused.

Colin

[Angle Grinder]

I have to second what Brian says, I've been driving a LHD Thema as my daily car since 2007 and it really isn't a problem. I don't even think about it and found it easy right from the start. You won't find yourself wandering over to the other side of the road, your parallel parking will improve and you'll find that you can position your car with great accuracy when it comes to judging the apex of a left hand bend (no kerbing issues).

LHD is also not much of a hindrance when overtaking up here in Scotland as we don't have so many roads where the line of sight is blocked by hedgerows, so you can usually watch the road far enough in advance to judge when to safely pull out.

[frankxhv773t]

Nobody is really answering your technical (and academic) question. I wouldn't even think about it unless I had a RHD scrapper to get all the bits off. On earlier cars you might have to cut out the firewall and steel dash panel to graft onto the LHD shell. I'm pretty sure older cars don't have an ambidextrous shell. Any dash top trim panel will be handed, the wiring for the dash is wrong and you may need to replace the wiper set up and mounting. On a Flaminia the steering box is handed. Once you get into later cars the wiring becomes a major issue as there is far less space to move the loom for a RHD dash. I think you would have to tear so much of the car apart that you might as well restore an original RHD car. If you had a rotted out but otherwise good RHD and a sound LHD import it might still make more sense to cut chunks out of the good shell to restore the RHD one. A final indicator of viability might be to consider whether you have ever heard of it being done.

[fay66]

Nobody is really answering your technical (and academic) question. I wouldn't even think about it unless I had a RHD scrapper to get all the bits off. On earlier cars you might have to cut out the firewall and steel dash panel to graft onto the LHD shell. I'm pretty sure older cars don't have an ambidextrous shell. Any dash top trim panel will be handed, the wiring for the dash is wrong and you may need to replace the wiper set up and mounting. On a Flaminia the steering box is handed. Once you get into later cars the wiring becomes a major  as there is far less space to move the loom for a RHD dash. I think you would have to tear so much of the car apart that you might as well restore an original RHD car. If you had a rotted out but otherwise good RHD and a sound LHD import it might still make more sense to cut chunks out of the good shell to restore the RHD one. A final indicator of viability might be to consider whether you have ever heard of it being done.
[/quote
Frank,
I would have thought the items I mentioned would be serious concerns!. And there are many more including the mounting points for the steering box and idler, and possibly steering arms.
Unless you just want to throw money at it, it doesn't make economic sense.

Brian
8227 

[Neil]

Also heater boxes may be handed as is with Fulvia s2 coupes as the pipes and control mechanisms are reversed between RHD and LHD.

[Justin McArdle]

Bonnets on the 2000HF are different for LHD and RHD

[DavidLaver]

Wow!   Have looked at some pics.  Is it the layout of the vents?

[KeithWade]

Can't help with the hole positions etc but I can tell you that mine is such a conversion after my late father carried out the work in 2001. He did use several bits and bobs from a UK donor car I know that.......

[bobhenry999]

I agree with the other chaps.

I have driven my LHD 815 Coupe since I imported it from Italy in 2012 and the fact that it is LHD has never been a problem. I could understand the issue if you were going to use the car as an everyday car, but as with most of us here, we only use our cars as weekend toys, so I don`t think it`s worth the trouble in converting it.

However, I would be cautious about the alternative option of restoring a RHD example, as most of them will have been subjected to our propensity to throw salt at our roads during the winter, which allied to the climate mean that any car will almost certainly be in need of a lot of work, and be very expensive to restore correctly. Having owned numerous Flavias/2000s over the last 36 years, the best two that I have owned were both imported from Italy, one of which won the club`s Concours award at the AGM. (A 2000 Sedan VHJ 470L), and the other is the Coupe that I currently own.

So if I were you I would just stick with the LHD, and you will be surprised how soon you become accustomed to it. (Although I still find myself coming out of the petrol station shop and attempting to get in the right hand side, much to my wife`s amusement !)

Bob