Greetings people.

Sitting here in sunny central rural France I am tempted to acquite a Series 1 300 ES to keep my Series 2, 6 pot landy company.

My question here is assuming that I can source an interior, how hard for a reasonably competent DIY spannerman would it be to convert a series 1 300 Disco in to a Leftie?

Dunney

 

Very hard. Not impossible, but I see some major modifications and fabrications in your future.

What's wrong with the right side?

 

Perhaps locate an American military or diplomatic post, where persons there are frequently transferred to/from US, and have had their LHD shipped over with them. A D1 in running condition in the US can be had for $2000 or less frequently, which is a lot less than you would spend on relocation of components. But once off road, who cares what side you drive from, the mud does not care!

 

nothing really wrong with having a RHD over here as opportunites to overtake with a disco don't ocur often. However my lad will be learning to drive soon and if he is going to have lessons n a LHD car I can't expect him to practice in a RHD car so a LHD really is going to become a must. List off the top of my head that I would need would be a correct dash board, wiper motor loom steering rack, handbrake, poss pedal box. All should be available from a breakers if I can find one being broken but I was wondering how man structural problems I would run into. For instance is the bulkhead different.

A US import would be an idea but it would have one of those lovely V8s in which I could not afford to run Sadly I want one of those nasty smell diesels.

 

re: Sadly I want one of those nasty smell diesels.

Many have the same feeling!

 

Why not an LHD V8 and swap in a diesel? Find one with a blown engine/heads (shouldn't be too difficult) and you could really get it on the cheap. Probably cheaper and (relatively) easier. Plus you keep the structural integrity.

 

Since you already have a land rover, get the lad a decent car that's easy to drive and safer than a disco. The discovery is a heavy car with poor brakes and abs that doesn't work. It has only the two airbags and poor side impact protection. The handling is truck-like and small mistakes can result in heavy damages. It's great to learn on if you're in a plowed field or out with a few cows, but when the lad goes into traffic with real people you want to give him a better chance.

 

All good advice chaps. Perhaps a dead LHD is the way to go if I can't find one at a realistic price, I also take on board your obs Binvanna and you are probably right. A modestly sized normal car might be in order. Wash my mouth out with soap and water.

Dunney

 

To do the conversion you will need a LHD steering box, panhard bracket and right hand swivel housing. The pedal box will unbolt from the right side and will swap over to the left. If you have a 5 speed you may need to worry about the length of the hydraulic hoses from the master to the slave cylinder. But you can probably still by those parts from Land Rover. The instrument binnacle will swap as will the upper and lower steering columns. It's really not as immense a job as some people make it out to be. I can't tell you how many conversion kits (steering box, bracket and swivel housing) I've sold to the Philippines where they frequently convert RHD DI's imported from Japan. I've also sold these kits to people in the UK converting 90's and 110's from RHD to LHD for export to the US.

 

easy way for those guys to make $20k... listing those trucks on us ebay hah