south australia here

N

nifty

Active member
Joined
Apr 3, 2009
Messages
42
Location
whyalla
g'day.... im from south australia....found this site by a link in another corvette forum im in.... WWW.AUSTRALIANCORVETTES.COM
notice a few familier names on here.
im no longer a vette owner, wanted one for 30 yrs, finally got a sweet 74 coupe, and the dream was broken.
more to it than that, but the car was sold.
it had a worked 400ci in it, shift kitted turbo 400, and was converted to right hand drive.
went a lot better than a standard vette of the same year...
loved the car, hated the fuel bills....
miss the stereo the most.10 stacker clarion with 2 x 10inch subs, and a powerfull amp.....the BEST stereo ive had in any of my cars.

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Welcome to the motley crew of the Flying Dutchmen....

sorry to hear of your problems there, maybe another vette can be found that is more to your liking....

ME, it's a hotrod, my '72 gets about 22 on the highway...not so awful evil...

course today gas is ~2 bux/gallon yesterday was a speculators' nightmare...

:crap:
 
I have always wanted to know how you guys are doing the RHD conversion. From your picture I see the booster and master cylinder moved over and (I have heard) that a RHD Ford frame mount steering gear is used.

How is this done?
 
BBShark said:
I have always wanted to know how you guys are doing the RHD conversion. From your picture I see the booster and master cylinder moved over and (I have heard) that a RHD Ford frame mount steering gear is used.

How is this done?
Click to expand...

YES, me too, but the mechanicals can be done with anyone with some fab skills, MY question is HOW in hell the cosmetics are done?? dashboards/etc???

where do you all obtain a RH steer gearbox for the steering??

in a RH drive, are the controls normally on the opposite sides of the steering wheel?? meaning say turn signal on the right side as opposed to left over here?? ignition key on the right/left??....etc...

then the gear shift position, on a shark, it's over to the left side of the car, is that too changed over??? if not, it's a sure way to 'cop a feel' off your date....a old trick going back some 50+ years here....

:smash::smash:
 
great questions... there are a few different conversions available.
there is a chain drive unit, which keeps all of the steering box,brakes etc etc on the left hand side.a double row chain contects it all to the right hand side. it fits up under the dash, and doesnt change the steering geometry...
other conversions move the steering box to the right hand side, but leave the master cylinder for brakes on the left. and the full mirror conversion which was what mine was.... EVERYTHING is swapped over, brakes,steering box ( ford or sometimes toyota) etc etc.
mine still had the indicator stalk on the left of column( took a bit of getting used to as aussie cars are on the right hand side)
ive somtimes seen the the speedo/tacho swapped over as well, but they normally kept as thay should be.
gear lever is also kept on the left side of the tunnel,
the dash is normally a fibreglass replica made in mirror image to accept the conversion.
limited foot room for pedals is a downside of being on the right (wrong) side.
more often than not the engine is also moved over to the left to accomodate the steering box, MINE WASNT.... total hell job to swap the spark plugs.
took me 10 mins to swp the left bank, and 3 hrs to do the right bank, as no matter what tool i used it was no good. 2nd plug from front was the trouble,right where the steer box was. swearing, knuckle crunching and only being able to get a 1/32 of a turn on the spanner at a time makes an easy job into a mofo.
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here is an interesting link i just found of an aussie converter

So, how do we convert them, it's not easy, all six models differ in the conversion process (we currently don't have anyone doing conversions on the new C6 due to certain rulings relating to importing etc but I'm sure in time this will change). In the following example we'll use a C3 model...First the firewall is cut away either side or completely, usually the engine is removed for this. The brake booster is swapped with the A/C box or fan box on a whole new modified glass firewall, the brakes are re-used usually also, however the lines are re-routed as too is the accelerator cable and other lines/cables on the engine, most dash/engine wiring is removed and replaced (& sometimes extended where necessary). The dashboard is cut out and replaced with a new modified one, many parts are re-used though, eg. glove box or map pockets etc. Steering column is generally kept un-modified. In a lot of C3 conversions a (dare I say it) Ford steering unit is used as the drag link and other parts can not safely be modified from original. Most common modifications to rear lights takes the form of cutting out the centre reversing clear lens and replacing with an amber turn signal lens, this is usually moved to the outside position. Lots of other small items are generally changed too, eg. often the external mirrors are swapped so the driver has a flat glass not curved. The car then goes through a rigorous Australian Standards test before being passed and 'road worthied'. I think we must epitomise the word enthusiast after going to this much trouble for our cars. On the down side, after so much modification it is impossible for us to keep our cars in perfect "Survivor condition" so Bloomington Gold or NCRS awards will never be bestowed upon our cars. Average commercial price to fully convert by a business is between say AU$10-12000 for a C3 or C4, up to AU$25000 for a C5! This is why SOME people take the time (& it takes a LOT of time!) to 'Do It Yourself' kits, starting from about AU$8000 Retail.
 
nifty said:
I think we must epitomise the word enthusiast after going to this much trouble for our cars. On the down side, after so much modification it is impossible for us to keep our cars in perfect "Survivor condition" so Bloomington Gold or NCRS awards will never be bestowed upon our cars. Average commercial price to fully convert by a business is between say AU$10-12000 for a C3 or C4, up to AU$25000 for a C5! This is why SOME people take the time (& it takes a LOT of time!) to 'Do It Yourself' kits, starting from about AU$8000 Retail.
Click to expand...

You got that right. To go to this much trouble and expense is the greatest test of enthusiasm!
 
especially with a c4....NOBODY in buiseness has the accredited license to offer c4 conversions anymore....the big factories seem to have forgotten their routes, and are to busy converting c5's and c6's....
in australia, with the exception of western australia there is a 30 yrs rule.
any l.h.d. car stay l.h.d. IF the are over 30 yrs, (15 yrs in w.a)
strict conditions apply to register a lhd car...
the go over it with a fine tooth comb,and if something isnt right, then forget gaining rego.
 
Nifty, welcome to VetteMod, I think you will find the knowledge in this fourm is second to none. It's been a great help to me, again welcome........tm
 
tahnks for all the welcome.... its much appreciated.
australia has a strong corvette following.... if its no problem with the mods, i would like to post up a link to a great and friendly forum....
www.australiancorvettes.com
owner of the forum has had his 1980 featured in the usa VETTE magazine...in fact 4 of the ACA forum users have had there cars in the same magazine.
hope to see a few of you in that forum as well.
 
nice vette man

oi, mrvette, know a guy her in nz bought 2007? new mustang, it cost him $28,000 he told me to have it converted to right hook!
Russ
Later gator:nuts::nuts:
 
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