Apart from cherrying out a Ford Mustang, it is difficult for the purist to imagine anybody tampering with the iconic little pony. But that is just what some people do when they have a Ford Mustang right hand drive conversion. When a car owner gets a job or marries someone in a country where they drive on the left-hand side of the road, it can be a choice between having the car converted or leaving it behind.
Ford Motor Company released the 'Stang on an adoring American public early in 1964. It was the first in a new genre of "pony cars, " sporty coupes with a long front hood and a short rear deck. Other motor companies soon followed suit, and that's how we came to see the Dodge Challenger, Plymouth Barracuda, Chevy Camaro, Pontiac Firebird, and the AMC Javelin. There are even rumors that the pony car inspired the creation of the popular Toyota Celica and the Ford Capri.
For such a classic car, moving the steering wheel from the left-hand driver's seat to the other side is tantamount to a sex change operation in a human being. No fewer than five major panels have to be removed, then guy in the shop has to drill out all of the spot welds. Next, he replaces them with new, right-hand drive panels that have been stamped at the factory.
Once the panels are out of the way, the instrument bezel, dash pod, and dash trim can be installed. Some people find that installing a rack and pinion, either manual or power, makes the car easier to handle. Countries where driving on the left is the norm include a few in southeast Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (this includes England, Scotland, and Wales).
As might be expected, opinion is divided on whether such drastic surgery is worth it. On the one hand, if you have spent years and years and thousands of dollars restoring a classic car to its original condition and added a few performance-boosting enhancements, you are not going to want to hack it to pieces. On the other hand, making the switch will make it easier to overtake other cars on the road.
The down side of converting, according to some, is that it will not enhance the resale value of the car and may, in fact, reduce it. Advocates of keeping the car in its native state say that it doesn't take very long to get used to driving an LHD car on the left-hand side of the road. There is a brief period of reaching for the door handle when looking for the hand brake, but you soon get over it.
The Australian federal government regulates such major automotive surgery as the RHD conversion via its Vehicle Safety Act and the National Code of Practices. Before you commit yourself to the operation, it pays to look into whether similar protective legislation applies in the country to where you are moving.
Converting your car to right-hand drive is a huge decision. Changing it back is a risky proposition if you decide you don't like it and it may affect its desirability to new buyers should you decide to sell the car at a later date.
Ford Motor Company released the 'Stang on an adoring American public early in 1964. It was the first in a new genre of "pony cars, " sporty coupes with a long front hood and a short rear deck. Other motor companies soon followed suit, and that's how we came to see the Dodge Challenger, Plymouth Barracuda, Chevy Camaro, Pontiac Firebird, and the AMC Javelin. There are even rumors that the pony car inspired the creation of the popular Toyota Celica and the Ford Capri.
For such a classic car, moving the steering wheel from the left-hand driver's seat to the other side is tantamount to a sex change operation in a human being. No fewer than five major panels have to be removed, then guy in the shop has to drill out all of the spot welds. Next, he replaces them with new, right-hand drive panels that have been stamped at the factory.
Once the panels are out of the way, the instrument bezel, dash pod, and dash trim can be installed. Some people find that installing a rack and pinion, either manual or power, makes the car easier to handle. Countries where driving on the left is the norm include a few in southeast Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (this includes England, Scotland, and Wales).
As might be expected, opinion is divided on whether such drastic surgery is worth it. On the one hand, if you have spent years and years and thousands of dollars restoring a classic car to its original condition and added a few performance-boosting enhancements, you are not going to want to hack it to pieces. On the other hand, making the switch will make it easier to overtake other cars on the road.
The down side of converting, according to some, is that it will not enhance the resale value of the car and may, in fact, reduce it. Advocates of keeping the car in its native state say that it doesn't take very long to get used to driving an LHD car on the left-hand side of the road. There is a brief period of reaching for the door handle when looking for the hand brake, but you soon get over it.
The Australian federal government regulates such major automotive surgery as the RHD conversion via its Vehicle Safety Act and the National Code of Practices. Before you commit yourself to the operation, it pays to look into whether similar protective legislation applies in the country to where you are moving.
Converting your car to right-hand drive is a huge decision. Changing it back is a risky proposition if you decide you don't like it and it may affect its desirability to new buyers should you decide to sell the car at a later date.
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