LHD to RHD and taking sides

[Plaid Otter]

I am going to convert an American LHD 1977 Type 2 to RHD for Ireland. Like all projects, I start with reckless optimism about how uncomplicated this will be. Experience, however, says to consult with those who actually know what they are doing. RHD parts are impossible to find in the USA, so I know I will be importing those. The main concerns are about steering and the pedals and whatever brake-line issues there might be.

[notchboy]

Ah, it will be a piece of cake. Make sure to get all the bits.


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[AshC]

I guess it has been already decided that the conversion must be done, but... I drive a LHD bus in the UK and while its interesting for a passenger on narrow roads, being on the side of oncoming traffic with no control, its overall no bother with plenty of visibility. That especially as you aren't doing a lot of overtaking in a bus!

Otherwise, sorry, no useful details on this.
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- 79 CA FI Bay Window Bus
- 92 Mk1 Golf Cabriolet

[Globespotter]

I'm sure it can be done, but yes - a ton of folks in the UK drive LHD buses.We have people here that drive RHD Japanese sportscars.
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1977 Westfalia - October 2015 - Current
1971 Super Beetle - May 2012 - Current
1979 Westfalia - 1986-1991
1971 Super Beetle - 1977-1980

1971 SB Survivor Story: https://globespotter.com/
Road Trip Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=511800&highlight=
My 77 Westy Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=647114&highlight=

http://vw-mplate.com/mcode.php?lang=EN&id=30990
https://vw-type2-id.xyz/mplate/72067382

[skills@eurocarsplus]

it's ALL different...

steering box, pedals, cables, master cyl linakge etc. plus extending all your wiring.

UK folks buy up USA buses all the time so i think souring all the bits is going to be a huge challenge.

iirc there are tubes/linkage brackets welded to the frame as well
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[vwwestyman]

Seems like it might be easier to just import a RHD bus to the states and register it.
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Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing

[notchboy]

[TDCTDI]

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php...words=RHD+


Guaranteed that any of these would be cheaper than what it takes to swap one.
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Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[vwwestyman]

OP, are you planning on swapping the side for the door, too?
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Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing

[MorkC68]

A fair few of us brits here in the UK have LHD buses (we have a 1973 and a 1977) and love them.

I for one dont mind being on the left just a bit more careful thinking after switching from my daily driver and thats about it. Never been a problem.

We head into countryside with narrow lanes but Michelle keeps lookout for me, especially with high hedgerows. Again, no problem.

Its all about enjoying the bus for me, never drove a RHD bus though but I dont feel like I need to.

Thats just my experience mind
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Major; 1977 Westfalia Campmobile
- Subaru EJ20
- Koni Classic adjustable dampers & Empi Heavy Duty Anti Roll Bar
- 180W Solar System

My blog: https://twolatebays.wordpress.com/

[notchboy]

[TDCTDI]

[jakokombi]

To the O.P. : Does Ireland require that the car be RHD?
If not, I would forget the whole thing. If they do, I think there were posted some nice busses you could drive (and boat) to Ireland from the UK.
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70 Sunroof Kombi
69 Tin Top
73 Thing
72 Baja

[Abscate]

Once Op figures out he importing the car into the EU, this will die On the vine
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.ssS!

[NASkeet]

One can obtain forward-facing periscopes or small video cameras with remote-mounted monitor, to position on the passenger side, to see forward when driving a LHD vehicle in a RHD country and vice versa. That way, one doesn't need a co-pilot!

https://www.4kam.com/continental_cam_lhd_rhd_car_camera.htm
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Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

http://www.vwt2oc.net

[jtauxe]

I can provide a good bit of resources (photographs, etc.) of the Irish RHD setup, as I own an Irish RHD 1978 Type 2. It happens to be a double cab pickup, but all the relevant things are the same. Note that mine never had a brake booster.

I would say that if you want to do it right, this will be quite the daunting task, unless you love fiddling with mechanical bits.

There are many RHD-only parts, including the mirror-image steering gear box, pedal and linkage, brake cables, accelerator cable, speedo cable, floor cut-out section, ... I think you can get it all from Just Kampers and VW Heritage, though you'll be lucky to find a RHD steering gear box.

Then there is the RHD instrument panel, and dashboard. Oh, and heater cables. And the wiring will be different, so you get to redo all that.

And the seat mounts. And the controls for the airbox vents in front. As I think of things, the list goes on... but you get the idea.

If you really want to do this, browse these photo archives of the restoration for the ones pertinent to the RHD business. You will also notice that this pickup got a nose grafted from a 1977 Type 2. It was LHD, so you can also see what modifications were needed for it to work for RHD.

The actual full names of these are as follows (with a space inserted after the // to keep The Samba from recognizing it as a URL -- BE SURE TO REMOVE THE SPACE AFTER PASTING THE URL INTO YOUR BROWSER)

https:// photos.google.com/u/1/share/AF1QipOoxd39vlRZO1cXEH-yA8MHWkVQlbwU05o9rI6X2L5wafjtXtJDuGyRWgP7TMWXkQ

and part 2:

https:// photos.google.com/u/1/share/AF1QipPrNGr1s3PGlq_kCbBu5q_4Hr6qxRhcZOREddpH__nLCVNz9zG72z2sP33DTnnubQ

Warning: There are over 2000 photos in these archives. I realize that these should all be uploaded to TheSamba, but that is a major chore. Maybe someone knows a quick way to do that? I have all the photos on my own drive, too.

Also note that the file names are all over the place, so it is best to sort by date if you can.
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John
"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
http://vw.tauxe.net
1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD

[NASkeet]

Don't forget that unless the LHD vehicle is of the double sliding-door variety, the sliding door will open onto the live roadway rather than the pedestrian pavement.

This is one of the disadvantages of the Brazilian-built, 1997~2012ish, LHD, "bay-window" VW 1600 (air-cooled flat-four | Bosch Digifant fuel injection) & 1400 (water-cooled in-line-four) Type 2s that were imported into the UK; some of which were converted to RHD by the importers Beetles (UK) Ltd.
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Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor (semi-retired) of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

Much modified, RHD 1973 VW "1600" Type 2 Westfalia Continental campervan, with the World's only decent, cross-over-arm, SWF pantograph rear-window wiper

Onetime member, plus former Technical Editor & Editor of Transporter Talk magazine
Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club (Great Britain)

http://www.vwt2oc.net

[jtauxe]

On the plus side, the driver gets to simply step out onto the curb. That is the only advantage to driving a RHD vehicle in a drive-on-the-right location.
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John
"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
http://vw.tauxe.net
1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD