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 Post subject: rhd using lhd rack
PostPosted: November 17, 2017, 2:50 pm 
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Joined: November 13, 2017, 7:35 pm
Posts: 49
I had a thought while I was upside down replacing the bilge pump in a boat earlier today. The thought of building a rhd excites me for some reason. Maybe because its different in the states. Couldn't I take the Volvo rack that I have, shorten it to needed length and mount it upside down in front of the front axle line. Would I be able to swap steering knuckles from left to right to make that all work?


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 Post subject: Re: rhd using lhd rack
PostPosted: November 17, 2017, 4:47 pm 
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Joined: January 1, 2012, 12:44 pm
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Location: Boise, Idaho
Using the rack for Front Steer on RHD will work. Moving the uprights will mess with the Ackerman if the steering arms are part of the casting. If they are bolt-on, then you could fab some new ones to put the outer tie-rod end in a more favorable location (usually as close to the brake rotor as possible).


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 Post subject: Re: rhd using lhd rack
PostPosted: November 17, 2017, 10:55 pm 
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Joined: November 11, 2013, 4:47 am
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Location: No. Nevada
If you go RHD in the states plan on building a roadster and NEVER put a top on it.
Once on the road you will quickly learn that left turns and narrow roads take extra care and can be difficult if the top is not transparent all the way around.
I still miss my RHD Series Land-Rover, but not dealing with LHD traffic in it.

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 Post subject: Re: rhd using lhd rack
PostPosted: November 18, 2017, 1:09 am 
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Joined: January 11, 2017, 11:06 pm
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Location: Alberta
Hmm, check out the location of your upper and lower balljoints. There's a very good chance that flipping them would result in your castor going the wrong way, which would be very dangerous.


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 Post subject: Re: rhd using lhd rack
PostPosted: November 20, 2017, 3:24 pm 
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Joined: November 13, 2017, 7:35 pm
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seven13bt wrote:
Using the rack for Front Steer on RHD will work. Moving the uprights will mess with the Ackerman if the steering arms are part of the casting. If they are bolt-on, then you could fab some new ones to put the outer tie-rod end in a more favorable location (usually as close to the brake rotor as possible).



I really need to learn how steering and suspension geometry actually work and what changes will do what.

RichardSIA wrote:
If you go RHD in the states plan on building a roadster and NEVER put a top on it.
Once on the road you will quickly learn that left turns and narrow roads take extra care and can be difficult if the top is not transparent all the way around.
I still miss my RHD Series Land-Rover, but not dealing with LHD traffic in it.


I haven't thought of that. and with it being such a small car it could end up being dangerous to drive, especially for someone who wont be driving it a lot, like my wife. Might just stick with LHD


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 Post subject: Re: rhd using lhd rack
PostPosted: November 20, 2017, 4:28 pm 
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Location: BC, Canada. eh?
Yeah, if I were you, I'd stick with LHD. The insurance stats back that up - here, at least (where there are a LOT of used Japanese-import cars, micro-trucks, etc.) the likelihood of being in a crash is something like 4X that of driving a LHD, IIRC.

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 Post subject: Re: rhd using lhd rack
PostPosted: November 20, 2017, 7:21 pm 
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I drove a LHD BMW in the UK for years and it was a pain in the butt. Very hard to overtake and drive throughs were a challenge.

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 Post subject: Re: rhd using lhd rack
PostPosted: November 20, 2017, 7:33 pm 
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Joined: May 27, 2006, 9:46 pm
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Location: BC, Canada. eh?
IMHO, the enormous safety implications overwhelm the quaintness factor...

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 Post subject: Re: rhd using lhd rack
PostPosted: November 20, 2017, 8:43 pm 
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When I lived in England I took a couple of continental holidays with my RHD car. Had a few REALLY scary moments in France, totally related to RHD.

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 Post subject: Re: rhd using lhd rack
PostPosted: November 22, 2017, 4:35 am 
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Joined: March 27, 2011, 7:43 pm
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I own a couple of RHD sports racers and a RHD street car, and I live in the USA. The disadvantages of RHD are overblown: when driving, my head and eyes are only 10 or so inches to the right of where my head would be if I was in the left hand seat (particularly in a sports racer). Pretty negligible, and you get accustomed to it almost immediately. And there are advantages to RHD: mid engine cars with right hand shift usually have a straight rod from the transaxle satellite shift box to the shifter, leading to really precise shift quality and feel. I personally enjoy the experience of driving something unusual and different, and RHD is that. So I say go for it.

Jack


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