RHD

This may be a dumb question but it has bothered me for awhile. In a RHD car what is the shift pattern for the gearbox/shifter? Is it the same as a LHD putting first gear up and away from the driver or do they change the pattern to put first up and next to the driver. Thanks.

Why would the shift pattern change? Did the trans move? :D

It does not change in Triumphs and I doubt it does in any (many?) cars.

Of course the TR8 has reverse out beyond 5th, so it's screwy anyway. . . .

Jack

No change. RHD is much more fun though, only cause it surprises people.

I'm thinking about converting my Bug Eye to RHD also.

This is sort of related. When I bought my Mini, I was happy to find a left-hand-drive car. It just makes it easier to drive in traffic. However, I recently came close to buying a Honda that had been converted to right-hand drive. Weird, huh?

The belief that RHD cars are more difficult to drive in a LHD world are wrong. Even my ADD riddled wife had no trouble adapting in about 5 minutes. Left handed shifting is no big deal. Now, having the turn signals and wiper stalks reversed can be a bit amusing. The most difficult thing to adapt to is simply walking to the correct side of the car to get in it!

My brother was stationed in Japan and my brother-in-law working in Australia (who balled-up a Merak in a accident. Another story) never said they had too many problems driving either. David why was the Honda converted? Was the previous owner into JDM stuff too much?

The Honda was converted. It was a second-gen Integra that appeared to be nicely converted to XSi specs, including the engine, dash, etc. The seller didn't do the work, as a previous owner did. Asking price was about $4500, which seemed fair. The plan was to make it a track car. Something about the car and the conversion just caught my eye. In the end, I went with a B16A-powered CRX. It was local and less money. It's probably quicker, too.

When I was stationed in Japan, I adapted to RHD without too much trouble. I have been thinking for some time about converting my 65 MGB to RHD, just for fun. I even found some of the parts I need, but some other issues took precedence, so the conversion is off for now, but not forgotten.

Ron

...Semper Fidelis...

Hey Guys, I have owned a RHD Fiat X1/9 since 1988 and can say that it si not really a big deal. You will get lots of looks though. The biggest hassle that I see is when I try to pass other cars on a two lane road. That IS a challenge at times.

I love the unique nature of the RHD Fiat. Not many of those around.

I have MGB that I converted to RHD years ago. There was no learning curve at all as far as driving it. The only problem was the headlight dipper switch was awkward in the stock location so I installed a latching headlight relay in the headlight flasher circuit to eliminate the foot switch. I must admit that the novelty wore off pretty fast and I regret converting it. I'll switch it back to LHD one of these days.

There is a huge difficulty in driving RHD cars... but only in the larger ones. A RHD Bentley is worth something like 25% less than a LHD model in the US... with good reason... visibility is extremely poor.

With a Mini, MG, etc, you crane your neck a little and you have nearly the same sight line you would in a left hooker. I've found no real issues at all with the smaller cars.

Bill