Is it possible to convert '89 SC to RHD?

T

ThundaDownUnda

Registered User
I have a friend who brought a sweet black SC to Australia in 1995. it really kicks ~~~ over anything we have here. problem: aussie laws blow and it cant be registered without a full conversion to australian standards including emissions/pollution, right hand drive, seatbelts (!!!) and an engineers certificate of approval. he has been slack, just getting temporary rego when he wants to drive it, but i have offered to buy it and do (or spend) what it takes to get it legal or at least RHD. opinions, experiences, ideas on what to do would be great.

i know the A in S.C.C.o.A. stands for America but we have no super coupe clubs in Australia (6 SC's in the country i'm told).
 
Im sure it would take alot of hard work to get it converted to RHD, im not sure if any of the thunderbirds were ever produced in RHD. It would be interesting thought to see it done. I know it could be done, it will probably just cost alot, anything CAN be done with the right amount of money


Derek
 
Aussie Conversions

90XR7Cougar5spd said:
Im sure it would take alot of hard work to get it converted to RHD, im not sure if any of the thunderbirds were ever produced in RHD. Derek
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There never were any RHD '69 Mustangs either, but there are some in Austrailia that have been converted. Last time I read about this, it cost about $30K to convert a car. That's on top of the 100% import tax that the aussie gov. put on the value of the car IN AUSTRALIA. Not the actual price paid in USA, but what they "figure" it's worth down under (which is about Double what you'd pay for a restored car here). I saw pics of one '69 stang, that had an aussie falcon dash grafted into it. Also in the '69 stang, the engine is offset to the passenger side, to clear the steering. When converted, the engine must be offset the same amount, in the opposite direction. Gas, Brake, & Clutch are in the same arrangement, only on the opposite side of the car (like British & Japanese cars).

68COUGAR
 
It's possible that they made them. I was on some New Zeland car classified ads and found a bunch of RHD Mustangs (94+), some were even RHD Cobras! Now that would be sweet to have one here...
 
there is nothing like it. there are newer ford v6 turbos from ford, holdens (gmc) with v8s and japanese cars galore. all crap. there are older 60's mustangs converted but not for 30k some can be done for around 5000 (speaking in aussie dollars). but i just found out there are only 3 SC's in australia and im not sure if they have been converted. i have found one workshop that does conversions and am waiting for a reply. if its 30k i will cry:( i really want this car!
 
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why dont all these companies just agree to a damn standard.... left hand side.... im pretty sure 3/4 of the people on the world are right handed...
 
Its not impossible, but you will probably need to spend some money, not quite 30k if youre capable of doing most of the work yourself. The biggest problem I see may be with the dash and the AC system. You'll need some custom parts to complete the project.

Right hand drive rack and pinion, may need an adapter to fit the crossmember or custom power steering lines, unless you convert to manual rack.
Custom made passanger side exhaust manifold and exhaust down pipe to clear the steering shaft.
Cut and weld pieces of the Firewall to make the holes on the passanger side.
Relocate your AC blower system to the other side of the car, including heater core, all of the hoses, etc etc .. or just get rid of it alltogether.
Then you can mount up your pedals, relocate the E-brake ( might need a custom center console made if you want it on the other side ) or add a length to make it a foot pedal.
After that, its all cosmetics and some work with the dash .. I dont see why you couldnt strip the material off your dash, cut the left and right sections off, and swap them over. Then you'll need to lengthen some of the wiring beind the dash for all of the systems, etc etc ..

Definately not a project to take lightly. But there is no reason why it cant be done, its just alot of work.

- Dan
 
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the rules are so annoying. totally designed to protect the pathetic local car industry here by making it so difficult to bring in good cars from elsewhere cheaply. i spoke to a mechanic with an f350 and a pontiac trans am and he is still trying after more than a year to get them to pass roadworthy. and dont get me started on insurance...
im starting to think its not worth the bother. not giving up just yet though.
 
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