RHD Converion

[hondatunerz2002]

hey ive been reading up on RHD conversion and came to a conclusion that it would be proably better just to do it yourself rather then importing specially with all the emission and legal issues you would have to go through just to get it here. so . i was thinking about doing a RHD Conversion on my 00' EJ8 but i wanted some of your oppinions on this issue i now it proabably wouldnt be cheap? how much? Skills needed? info on process? thanks -

-Anthony

 

[BlackHopeDC5]

it took one guy on here who has expierience with cutting welding and engine work months to do. Its probally the hardest thing you can do to a civic.. difficulty level 10

 

[qwikxr]

Basically, you have to disassemble the entire front of the car.. I dont mean pull off the bumpers, etc.. I mean take apart:
Bumper
motor/trans
suspension
fenders
strut towers
front frame horns
brake lines
fuel lines
dash
ac box (if equipped)
heater core assembly
fanbox assembly
wiring harness
brake booster
clutch master cylinder
pedal cluster
steering column
steering rack
crossmember
windshield
carpet

and that just gets you close to what you need to remove!

Then you have to do it all over, for the donor car..

This is all if you are going to actually replace the firewall, rather than butcher one out and weld it back in, half-assed... And nowhere near all that actually has to take place.. just a little of what has to come apart..
Like blackhope said.. it is in no way, an easy task..

 

[96 DX Hatch]

Get a front clip, minus the motor (yes you can find them like that)

remove your motor

remove your dash and all that s**t

carefully cut out the firewall of your car

carefully cut out the firewall of donor clip

weld donor clip firewall into yours

reinstall all the dashboard s**t from donor clip

done...easier said than done

 

[qwikxr]

^^^ the last line is the most important..


Remember, the firewall area is an intricate part of the strength, structure and safety of the car... NOT to be taken cheaply..

 

[Jezek]

If you have someone do it for you....including the price of the clip...over $5,000 for sure

 

[qwikxr]

easily...

 

[blueline]

By boy Ross over here at Precision said he doesn't touch them for anything less than $4500. That's just to do the swap...and hoping everything goes without a hitch.

 

[stealthy]

if you dont do it yourself, and have good help with welding experience, i dont see how it would be worth it. one day i will do it, when i can afford another month of downtime, but i will definatly be doing it myself.

 

[qwikxr]

I've driven two RHD cars in my life.. and it was cool! one was in Europe.. and one was in the US.. In Europe, it wasnt a big deal, as I obviously was on the left sde of the road...
Here in the states (it was about 10 yrs ago) and it was f**king wierd!
I was running off the edge of the road all the time, because I was scared that the left side was over the centerline! haha!
I was such a puss..

 

[strictlybusines]

f**k shifting with the wrong hand i cant do it.

If you race remember that!

Ill do it on my cruiser car someday!

 

[qwikxr]

what would that matter - which hand...
All it is, is practice.. just like the past 2 yrs you've had your licence, and have become quite the 'racer'

A couple of days driving an RHD car and it becomes old hat..

 

[bcivichb]

theres a huge thread on honda-tech about this. alot of people have done it, but it is a HUGE project

 

[FRODO]

we are in the middle of doing my friends 240. It is really not all that hard as long as you have some knowlege on the subject. like they said you basically tear down the whole front half of the car. drill out the spot welds on both firewalls and swap them over and weld her back in place. The big thing is is that it is time consuming work. we are about two months into it.

 

[crx2003]

This is just my opinion, but what is the point of doing a conversion? I understand that importing a rhd civic sets you apart from the rest, but cutting your car up just to have the steering wheel on the other side when your not improving anything. Why waste the money, use it the make the car faster, handle better, or look better! But I guess to each his own.
peace
Kris

 

[qwikxr]

This is just my opinion, but what is the point of doing a conversion? I understand that importing a rhd civic sets you apart from the rest, but cutting your car up just to have the steering wheel on the other side when your not improving anything. Why waste the money, use it the make the car faster, handle better, or look better! But I guess to each his own.
peace
Kris
RHD conversions=

Ok.. Just for debate sake, Kris...

Do you usually drive alone, or with someone? Me? Alone.
Which side of the car do you sit in? The left.
Which side of the car is the motor in? The left.

Kinda makes the car a little "left-side heavy".. Not drastically, but it does. try putting your car on race-scales.. It's definitely LF heavy. I've done it.

So, in theory (and mathematically), moving the driver to the right side will actually 'ballance' the crossjack weight out some. so this will, in turn, make the car (as you say to spend money on) handle better. Instead of spending 10's of thousands of dollars on importation of an RHD (yes, I've researched it many times. It isn't cheap. a base RHD civic will run you 3-4000$ on average. shipping is another 1-2000, and Federalization is anywhere from 4-10K, depending on year of civic. it's 50-65K to Federalize a '94 Skyline, btw )
And you know as well as the next guy.. looking at or driving a RHD car in a sea of lhd normality is definitely a check in the cool column
Put a little more thought into your statements, before making them.

 

[crx2003]

Ok so I will agree with the fact that it could balance the car out some and I guess the cool factor. Yes importing a car is very expensive, that is why I haven't even taken that into concideration. But it's just not my thing.

Do you usually drive alone, or with someone? Me? Alone.
Which side of the car do you sit in? The left.
Which side of the car is the motor in? The left.

I see your point, But wouldn't it be cheaper to swap in a k20? The motor does sit on the right side, so that would balance the car out and you would have a great starting point for a fast,cool, good handling car. IMO

P.S. I don't want to piss off anyone that has taken the time and put thier blood,sweet,and tears into a project like this! Its just an opinion nothing more.

Kris

 

[qwikxr]

Oh, true. not pissed, at all.. I just read your post as somewhat contradictory

 

[postal21]

First Id learn to spell conversion... then go from there.

 

[qwikxr]

^^ school teacher