What's the cost of converting a beetle from a left to a right hand drive?
Needs extensive fabrication, welding etc...?
Or anyone here ever shipped a german classic from Japan?


Thanks

Csaba.

Welcome aboard Csaba. What year is your beetle?

When you do this, you will have to have an engineering sign off for it so look for an engineer in your area before you start so you can keep them involved during the swap.

Basically you will be best to buy a beetle of your model year and then you can cut out the dash and maybe even the firewall from that car and weld them in to your car. You can then also swap over the front suspension and steering as well as the lights/blinkers and wipers if need be. Lastly, you will possibly be needing to fit seat belts although I would still do that even if they aren't legally needed.

When we swapped our stuff over on our S Bug, we just left the fuel tank there as there is spacing under the tank steering columns for either lhd or rhd. I don't think that matters for earlier models but not surel.

I am not sure if you are aware but, generally speaking, you do not have to convert it to rhd to register it but it is easier to drive on our roads if you make the swap.

Good luck with the job.

Yogie

Thanks Yogie

I am desperately looking for a '60s bug, but seeing Australia's market...well im just about giving up.(carsales makes me laugh). I don't wanna hurt anyone, but seems people don't know the difference between patina (overused meaningless) and bucket of rust. Everything is barn find, patina'd, one lady owner, head turner, thumbs up nowadays. A plain old bug in reasonable condition (reliable) is extravagant. And I am a self-employed. I thought, I would buy a german built bug in a fairly good condition, somewhere, anywhere, ship it over and change, but I wouldn't wanna cut up a good candidate. Won't happen I guess.
I might turn to gen 1 mazda mx 5s.

Thanks for the info again.

Cs.

I think you'll find Japan is RHD, the same as us that's why you always see all these 4x4 Delicas etc on the road. They're all personal imports

Even though Japan is RHD most of the air cooled VWs for sale there are LHD. Interestingly all of the new Porsches, Ferraris, Lambos on the road there are LHD. Regs are very different to Aus.

I've just acquired my first VeeDub and am very new to this forum so my VW experience is zero. However, I also dig American muscle cars, trucks, and vans. I have a 1983 Ford E-250 that I imported. It's a lefty and will remain that way. Not in my wildest dreams would I ever convert a LHD car to RHD unless the body was perfectly symmetrical left and right or to put it another way, if it could be done in a day with hand tools, no cutting or welding then yes but I would not cut dashboards out and section them, cut and weld drag links, or anything of the sort. Maybe VWs are like that but my Ford was never made in RHD so I don't have that option but honestly, driving a lefty in Australia is not that big a deal. True, overtaking is next to impossible and you can't go to the McDonald's drive through unless you have someone with you but aside from that, just be careful turning right at an intersection if there is another car opposite doing the same and you'll be fine. Import your LHD VeeDub and drive it as it is.

Csaba, did you go to 'The Nationals' ? If not, you should be going to that sort of event, and meet/mix with people who may be able to help. Make it fun.

The VW you are after is, no doubt, out there somewhere, but it could take a while to find it. When/if you do, you must be prepared to 'meet the market'. By that time you should have a pretty good idea of values. Meanwhile, an MX-5 may have to do...they are a great little sports car, by the way.

Thanks for your kind words guys.
I see the light at the end of the tunnel