Hi Folks,
I brought my VW Kombie with me from Europe. As it is LHD I am having a hard time from the RTA, insurance, etc...
Has anyone done LHD to RHD conversions ? How much would it cost roughly ? It looks like a simple job ....I know I need to get an engineers report..I'm looking for a price to carry out the conversion. I'm in Sydney. I would be prepared to travel (< 100K) a bit to get it done ...
Cheers,
Dave
Why us the RTA giving you a hard time. It is perfectly legal to register a LD drive car now if it is over a certain age?
Blank
What year is it??
I thought you could get 25yr old vehicles registered as LHD.
Dont know if i would want a LHD daily driver though
I would start by calling Vintage Vee Dub on 9789 1777.
Cant imagine it is going to be cheap and/or quick though
What condition is it in??
Does it need a rebuild now??
Usually only cost effective on say a vert in need of a full body resto
Futue te ipsum!!!
it's a 1978 bay window.
the body has been restored.
I'm checking with the RTA now about the 25 year old thing. Never heard that one before. Thanks.
It looks like a simple job. The pedal places are already moulded on the right hand side and the speedos etc fit into the glove box department exactly and the old speed place becomes the new glove box.
Thanks for the advice.
from what i have seen kombis were made fairly universaly, so if u had a donor bus for some of the behind-dash brackets, you can actually use your dash, pop in a km/h speedo (the holes for the glovebox and speedo cluster are the same size as each other, u just switch them), new rubber strip with grab handle on other side, donor pedal assembly and linkages, i cant see that it would be too hard.
Reimagined/Recycled/Upcycled Cool
its nice to see a bus coming from europe to oz and not the other way round.
hope the conversion goes well.
Simply Cruzin'...
Don't forget that there is quite a bit of work to do on the front beam to make it RHD, you'd be better off getting a second hand RHD one. You also need to get brake, accelerator and clutch levers for a RHD, and cut a few holes under the floor from what I can remember. Don't forget to change the headlight lenses too!
Cheers
Steve
oh yeah, forgot to add the front beam bit!
Reimagined/Recycled/Upcycled Cool
there is a free camper on the forum. it might be of use for parts...
Simply Cruzin'...
Is the front beam actually different on a LH drive bus? Both my '75 and '76 have a central idler arm connecting the tie rods to a drag link forward to the steering box. I would have assumed that only the drag link and steering box would be different? I guess I learn something new every day!
About the only difficult thing I could see about the conversion would be putting the slider in the LH side, but that's not really a necessity anyway. Even better - find a slider for the LH side and turn it into a double-door!! :thumb
Kruizin Kol
Yes the beam is different, the mount for the mastercylinder and booster
FAHRVERGNUGEN;
Description of a pleasurable sensation,
Experienced when a car and it's driver are in mutual harmony, A unique driving experience, Pleasure, Satisfaction,
A feeling experienced by Volkswagen Drivers.
The RTA said only LHD vehicles 30 years old or older with a Gross Vehicle Mass
not more than 4.5 tonnes can be registered. What a bummer. My lights are already set up for driving over here. I drove it around the UK for years.
Thanks for the advice. Anyone know how much it would cost to do the conversion ?
Hi Folks, I guess LHD to RHD isn't done to often over here, but I would love to know a ball park figure if at all possible. Thanks Dave
Left-hand to Right-hand drive conversions are very common over here, but usually on American muscle cars, not models that were available locally.
I would be finding a wreckers with a suitable donor and get the stuff Dave Becker mentioned, and enlisting the help of friends to swap it all around. It should be possible to do the job for under $500, I would think.
Don't forget that you have to alter the wiring loom to the relocated steering column, switches and gauge panel. The under-dash wiring loom is not the same in LHD & RHD models, due to the fact that the fuse panel is always on the LHS. 🙂
Kruizin Kol
why did you bring your kombie with you?
they are plentiful over here with less rust.
wouldnt you have been better to have sold yours over there saved the $3000+ shipping fee and bought a nice one here?
marcel
I brought it here because I am a sentimental twat !:cry
