how did they convert those originally RHD racing cars?

[JJ]

in racing, utmost reliability is a must. having seen originally RHD cars converted to racing cars, how did they do the steering conversion? did they change the steering box, or what? just for instance, Gaby de la Merced's EK hatchback was obviously an RHD and converted to LHD. so pano nila ito ginawa, while still retaining the steering geometry the car had from the factory? is there a "by the book" method in doing this, or do you have to "re-engineer" the steering geometry to have it at par with the original setup from the factory?

if you buy an original LHD steering box, is it a bolt in method? how about the autoplus(?) R34 GTR, they had converted it to LHD but AFAIK walang LHD counterpart ang GTR. so did they do it the traditional subic way?

thanks, just wondering lang po.. 

[Conan]

The Autoplus R34 was shipped to the US for conversion. There was a shop that specialized in conversion there.

[mailboxck]

Try mo ask si TurboAWD or check his site http://www.turboawd.com.ph/.

[Emong3]

sa civic EK you need to replace the following parts para ma convert into LHD

dashboard
aircon
switches
pedals
rack and pinion
tie rods
cross member
firewall
LHD brake lines
LHD clutch lines
LHD fuse box and the entire engine harness
throttle cable
wipers
wiper cowl
side mirrors

if all parts are replaced with LHD orientation, you car will be just as reliable as a factory released LHD. Assuming the shop that will do the conversion knows how to install/replace all of these.

[splerdu]

Backyard engineering doesn't automatically mean it's unreliable.
After all, even the great mechanical companies started off with a man in a shed.

As for your question, it really depends on the car. For everything there has to be a certain amount of re-engineering done, more for some cars, less for others. For inline-mounted engines a converted car might end up with fluid reservoirs on the same side as a hot turbo or manifold, so aside from the obvious work that has to be done with the steering rack, components like those reservoirs might have to be relocated. Cars like Subaru naman, with their all symmetrical layout are quite easy to convert.

Trivia bit: ALL Subaru WRC cars are actually conversion jobs. This is because homologation car is the JDM Spec-C, so even though according to WRC regulations the car has to be LHD, Prodrive has to start from the RHD base car. They do the conversion at the same time as the rally car build, creating their own steering setup along the way (which is incidentally much more durable than the road car's). Thus the best, most reliable LHD subaru isn't the orig LHD version, but the Prodrive conversion job (and there is a certain white spec-c running around sporting just such a conversion kit).

[JJ]

how about those cars na walang LHD counterparts? will it still have the precision it had even with fabricated parts?

[speedyfix]

if there is no lhd counterpart then you probably won't get the reliability unless you spend the big bucks to convert and fab up the custom parts. pero in that case the amount you save for buying a converted car is pretty much nullified and you might as well find another can na orig lhd in better condition.

[Accord GTR]

Just wanna add, converted race cars, like that of Gaby de la Merced, are properly reinforced also with roll cage, seam welding, racing harness etc, aside from the conversion.  So definitely, safer and stronger than a street car.  But street cars that are converted, are a touchy issue because they do not have the safety systems that race cars have so if there was a critical component that would fail, the driver's survival is left to God and luck.

A good conversion basically replaces all the RHD componenets with the oem LHD parts, including the firewall, crossmember, etc.  I have seen and driven some converted cars that were welded and modified instead of the above process.  No problems naman but you have to understand that manual welds can weaken and fail in the long run, given enough stress and time.