LHD to RHD

[John_F]

In my hunt for a decent 914/4 I've located one in the Irish Republic. At this stage, I have only seen photos. It is a 1973 2.0 which looks in very good condition with a rebuilt 2.2 litre engine. However, 2 years ago it was converted to RHD.

I have looked at some threads on this site regarding LHD to RHD conversions &, as I understand it, the main problems involve the pedals & the petrol tank. I believe some strengthening has to be carried out to the bulkhead.

According to the proprietor of the garage in Ireland, the changeover was very straightforward as all the controls - clutch & accelerator cables - run through the central tunnel so, apart from the handbrake cable, it was just a matter of swapping everything over to the other side of the tunnel. They had no problems with the petrol tank nor did they have to strengthen the bulkhead.

Have Irish mechanics found a simple way to do these conversions or should I be very wary of this car?

The car was at some time registered in the UK - SAX 579T - although this number does not seem to be recognised by the DVLA. VIN No: 4732913844. I don't know for which market the car was originally produced.

I do not want to waste money by visiting Ireland if, in the opinion of members, I should avoid this car. Its not cheap - 18,500 Euros.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

John.

[jonat127]

Moriarty on here has done two RHD conversions so hopefully he will be along soon and answer your questions.
I wouyld say the floor where the pedals mount will need strengthening otherwise the pedals will eventually pull their mounts through the single skin floor and you don't want that happening under braking.
Also I cannot understand how they could actually fit the pedals on the right hand side without cutting the bulkhead and hence fuel tank. From memory, I thing on that side the footwell is shorter and less tall.
Get them to send you some close up photos of the footwell area and under the car where the pedals are mounted. That should help.

[kvinyl]

Where in Ireland is it? If it's anywhere (mostly) on the West coast I can take a look for you. I also know of a guy that converted one of these in the past (LHD to RHD) so I can ask his thoughts if needs be...maybe it's the same car?!

[John_F]

Where in Ireland is it? If it's anywhere (mostly) on the West coast I can take a look for you. I also know of a guy that converted one of these in the past (LHD to RHD) so I can ask his thoughts if needs be...maybe it's the same car?!

Hi Kvinyl,

The car is in Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath. Here's the link to the website:

http://www.cookslandclassiccars.com/vie ... _id=678796

I'm afraid its more East than West Coast. The proprietor of Cooksland Classics says that the Porsche Club of Ireland have been to look at the car a couple of times. Last year it won a 'Concours' prize but I don't know where.

Many thanks for your interest.

Kind regards,

John.

[moriarty]

Hi John
Yes i have converted to rhdx2, have had a look at the car the website and i think it's really nice car, however as regards the rhd conversion ---
1. They don't appear to have used a porsche pedal assy ( to do it properly should be 911 rhd assy)
2. the pedals look too close for the normal driving position, (possibly due to the bulkhead not been modified which in turn would eliminate the need to modify the petrol tank)
3. the hand brake has not been moved to the rhs thus avoiding the need to fabricate an indent in the rh sill.
This makes the rhd conversion a lot more straightforward and avoids fairly major surgery on the bulkhead/petrol tank!!
Having said that, I think the only way to do it properly is the way that Crayford did and move the bulkhead back as i have done on both my conversions.
Hope this has been helpful.
Cheers Maurice

[John_F]

Hi Maurice,

Many thanks for your observations. From what you say, it would seem that I would have to spend more money on the car, at least having the floor/bulkhead reinforced. As Jonat127 comments, I would hate to have the floor disintegrate under heavy braking! Also, as you say, the pedals look closer to the driver's seat than when they are on the other side. I don't have long legs so maybe able to live with this (I'm 5'9").

Can the bulkhead/floor be reinforced without surgery to the fuel tank?

Otherwise, the car looks in really good condition, judging from the other photos I have been sent & there are zero miles on the rebuilt engine.

Many thanks, once again, Maurice for your comments - very helpful.

Kind regards,

John.

[914-6]

Hi John
I have seen a couple of l--r conversions where niether the tank nor the bulkhead were touched, they were okish for very short people, but if you are really after a RHD either buy a Crayford or find one that's been done correctly, else you could end up spending a lot of dosh to get it sorted.
BTW I think that car in Ireland looks very nicely restored and providing it's not full of putty is a great looking little car (apart from the conversion)

Happy hunting

Cheers

Ian

PS If you want to have a look at my Crayford to see what it's like when the bulkhead & tank altered to accept the pedals just let me know (it is tucked away in the back of the garage but we can get to it)

[John_F]

Hi Ian,

Many thanks for your comments. I think that I had better give this one a miss.......

Thanks for your offer of showing me the Crayford. Unless You're thinking of selling it I shall probably stick to viewing LHD examples (unless another RHD example comes up)! There is a restored LHD example soon to be available at Gmund cars, Knaresborough which I will look at when its ready.

Kind regards,

John.

[Jasper]

Reality and fact, porsche's are much nicer to drive LHD, respond better and pedal box is not skued, I love lhd porsches the feel and response is so much better. Drive and decide.

[rhd racer]

Hi John

Like Maurice, I too have a RHD 914 - not a Crayford, but the bulkhead was moved as suggested earlier and I grafted in a section of 911 floorpan with a 911 pedal box to make it all work. I am 6ft 2, so this was crucial, and I would not be able to drive one without the extra leg room. However, being slighly less lanky ( ) you may be ok with that one, and to be fair none of us know how well the pedal box is fitted / what reinforcement has been done.

There are some shortcomings to RHD in a 914 as Jasper says - the gearshift in RHD does not work as it does in LHD - the linkage travels up the tunnel in a diagonal, which means the throw is in tune with the directino of travel when LHD. It has taken years for me to fully appreciate the impact of this, and finally, after much messing about, by re-engineering the linkage to travel square down the car through a sperical bearing in the rear bulkhead I have a totally reliable gearshift. Also, the shifter is too far away from the driver in RHD form, because it is 2" further to the left because of the wiring loom routing. To get around this, I made a lrge blanking plate and moved the shifter 2.5" back down the car towards the driver. This together with the linkage changes, means that I now finally have a shift location and movement that is like any normal car.

The car in question, I think, looks stunning. As Ian says, if it has been done as well as the pictures suggest, then it is worth a look. It appears that they have not scrimped on anything, the engine bay is nicely dressed and the S4 battery is a good one. The handbrake is curious though - I have a centrally mounted one between the seats which took lots of trial and error, but I recognise from my own experiments that the one on the white car looks like a hydraulic fly-off handbrake - which make me wonder whether it has been adapted to cables or not as suggested by your comments.

Anyhow - I am firmly in the camp that RHD just makes a rare car even more unusual - and all the more satisfying when you actually iron out all the issues that the conversion creates.

Up to you, but hope this helps. Again, happy to show you around mine but am some way away in Nottingham, though am competing at Gurston Down (Salisbury) and Clay Pigeon (South West so can't be far) in June if you want to come along and say hello.

Cheers
Wayne

[irish9142000]

John,

I have a 914/4 which I am considering selling, which is converted to RHD. My friend converted a 916/6 at the same time.

The footwell has to be extended and the petrol tank modified to do this correctly which has been done in this case. The pedal box is a proper 911 pedalbox, and the handbrake is inside the sill with a indent as it was on the left. We moved the fusebox across as well so the rh side is really almost a mirror image of the left side, except for the gearhandle which is biased to the left as the previous poster has outlined. The pedal box area has been re-enforced similar to the right and there is absolutely no problem in that area. The only problem really is the gear change as its a bit far away and first and reverse take a bit of a push.
All electrics and dash lights/ interior light work as it should. I fitted a small period radio in the dash, and the glove box is shallower but looks the same from the front.
The car was originally a 1.7 but is now a 2.0 with fuel injection. Fuchs alloys etc. Very solid body, all new rubber, tyres, shocks, etc. Fuel pump has been relocated. New ss brake lines and master cylinder.

If you are looking for a decent 914 rhd this is worth a look for a lot less money if you are willing to travel to the West of Ireland.

John D.

[John_F]

John,

I have a 914/4 which I am considering selling, which is converted to RHD. My friend converted a 916/6 at the same time.

The footwell has to be extended and the petrol tank modified to do this correctly which has been done in this case. The pedal box is a proper 911 pedalbox, and the handbrake is inside the sill with a indent as it was on the left. We moved the fusebox across as well so the rh side is really almost a mirror image of the left side, except for the gearhandle which is biased to the left as the previous poster has outlined. The pedal box area has been re-enforced similar to the right and there is absolutely no problem in that area. The only problem really is the gear change as its a bit far away and first and reverse take a bit of a push.
All electrics and dash lights/ interior light work as it should. I fitted a small period radio in the dash, and the glove box is shallower but looks the same from the front.
The car was originally a 1.7 but is now a 2.0 with fuel injection. Fuchs alloys etc. Very solid body, all new rubber, tyres, shocks, etc. Fuel pump has been relocated. New ss brake lines and master cylinder.

If you are looking for a decent 914 rhd this is worth a look for a lot less money if you are willing to travel to the West of Ireland.

John D.

John D,
You have PM.
Regards,
John