VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 1931 Right Hand Drive conversion

I am curious as to what is all involved in switching an imported 1931 Right hand drive car to be Left handed?
I figure one would need a left hand gearbox and all arms as well as pedals. But what firewall, body and dash board issues would there be? As well as clutch mechanisms will arise? Would one need a different bell housing?

The conversion of the mechanicals is one issue. There are a bunch of parts required but most of those parts are not too difficult to find. The body may be a different story depending on which body is on the car.

Hi,
If you go back to June 13 in this forum you will find where Chevrolet6 listed all the parts and what else is required to do this conversion, the only body changes required is the steering column "dent" in the dash where it will attach it to the other side.
Good luck with it.

While I am not answering your question, I would suggest that you consider leaving it RH drive. I have a 31 Phaeton RH, came from Uruguay. Not hard to drive at all, although I did live in Australia for 5 years so am used to driving a RH car. I just put a big stuffed dog in the Left seat, really fun to see people do a double take as the get a glimpse of the dog seemingly driving the car. It gets a lot of attention as shows and on tours.

I agree. I would also recommend leaving the car RH drive.

Actually depending on the body the firewall, dash, steering column mount, floor boards may all have to be changed or modified. Just ask those that have done it. Not as easy as most might think.

Converting right to left hand drive shouldn't be all that difficult but there is a lot of time involved. The best thing to start with is a parts book that lists all the specific right hand drive parts in brackets, it is surprising how many differences there are. You shouldn't have any problem finding the lhd parts you need. Having converted a 1930 Coach from lhd to rhd I don't think it is worth the effort unless you plan on driving the car a lot. I have a lhd Coupe here in Australia and have been driving it lhd for a while now and you hardly notice the difference once you are used to it, I have a spare steering wheel that my wife holds up in the passenger seat some times just for a laugh.

I have two right hand drive cars and drive them frequently here in the US without any problems.

All the Best, Chip

If you look at your firewall where the steering column goes, it should have the same cutout for the column on the LEFT as on the RIGHT .

On the dash, the steering column mount will have to be duplicated on the left. My roadster did not have a heater , so not sure if a RHD car the heater should be on the left and vice versa , to clear the brake and clutch pedals.

If the car is Australian built ie HOLDEN BODY , no idea what firewall would look like.

mike

Thank you all for your input. I am only in the initially stages of the purchase and will make a decision soon. However in regards to roneyers and junkyard dog's views, I appreciate your sentiment but I want to make the car look and drive like an American car. There is also a safety factor with the shifter as well.

That is totally understandable. However, have you considered purchasing a left-hand drive car instead? That way you would not have to go to all of the work and expense to convert a right-hand car to a left-hand car.

One thing to keep in mind is that some right hand drive cars do not have identical body stampings, hardware, etc. as USA built cars. If the body was exported from the USA or stampings from USA or stamped identical to USA parts then converting to left from right can produce a vehicle that looks like a USA production vehicle. Otherwise you may end up with an expensive mess.

Yes I have, but 31 Phaetons are as scarce as hens teeth and the ones that are available are way out of my price range.

Yep, I know what you mean.....without a doubt, 1931 phaetons are expensive. But, you know the old saying, usually you can buy a turn-key car cheaper than you can do a complete quality restoration on one. Anyway, left or right hand drive 1931 phaetons are cool!

This car is a turn key car!

Great!

67ImpalaSSConv

Can you tell me what the safety factor is with the shifter?

PS you don't have to change any body panels to convert from left to right so why would you have to do it from right to left, just asking.

One main thing you need to know is whether the car body panels were made in the USA or whether the car is a HOLDEN BODY made in Australia.

These are different than USA stampings and in my opinion the Holden body is not worth as much as a USA car.

The Holden body will have a tag at the bottom of the firewall side panel on the outside. Its a square bronze/brass emblem with a lion in it I believe.

mike lynch

Living in the US I have always driven on the LH side of cars and would find it quite odd for one to drive on the RH side. But mostly I would want it to look American.

The car is South American.

Okay, if the car was assembled on the GM Buenos Aries Argentina assembly line, then the body panels would be supplied from the Tarrytown NY plant and shipped by boat. It could be shipped as a completed car RHD or as components to be assembled on the line. The records as to production do not exist that I am aware of .

Maybe the Mario Caplan family who exported a lot of these cars to USA from the early 70's, might have that information. Apparently his sons run the business.

Argentina and some other countries up to 1939 were right hand drive. My 35 roadster came from argentina as a right hand drive.

You should try and find a roadster dash left hand drive to make that easier. All the correct holes will be in the lower firewall for steering column LHD.

Note the windshield will have the wiper vacuum line and mounting on the wrong side also.

mike lynch

The only modifications you will have to make to the body regardless of the country of origin is the dash where the steering column bolts to it, You will need a different timber floor for the relocation of the hand brake , the toe board also timber has to be remade to accept the pedals, you will have to drill the chassis to accept the steering box and bracket and I think everything else is a matter of finding the correct parts and fitting them. A parts book for 1931 lists all the parts for rhd export and you will have to find replacements for all of them.

Sorry gentlemen, that one got away and was sold out from under me... But I just bought a 1931 Deluxe Sport Roadster...an American Roadster, lol. So no need to do a conversion on this one!