Right hand drive in the U.S. ??

Pedals are all in the same order.

HTH

Cheers
Jamie

 

A few years ago, I bought a 1970 Jaguar XJ6 Series 1 in Southampton, England while I was over there on business. Had it shipped back here to the States and had a total blast driving it and getting all those quizzical looks from other motorists! The pedals on a RHD car are in the same order as on a LHD car, as well as the gearbox pattern, my Jag's four speed manual was in the typical H-pattern with first up and left and so on and so forth.

It's a little *different* driving a RHD car over here, especially making turns! But I drove the heck out of it and forced myself to adapt to it. Since I'm a southpaw, I actually preferred the gear shift being there to my left!

Since I kept the English plates on the car (I mounted the Ohio tag under the rear bumper, on the valence, barely in sight), a lot of people assumed I was a British citizen who brought their car over here for some touring

A RHD car will always have less value over here, so be weary of that before you buy. And I'd advise to only buy an English car in RHD, as the effect is then "proper".

Cheers,
Aaron
'82 GTSi
'83 400iA

 

I have a 64 Honda S600, which is also RHD. I had to choose between LHD and RHD when I bought the car, and I went for a RHD model for the "shock value". Most people think it's a British car, and have no idea they drive on that side of the road in Japan too. The only problem I have is at the drive thru lanes of fast food places, otherwise, it's no problem.

I'd have to agree, though, that you would only want a RHD car from a country that drives on that side of the road, i.e. Japan, the UK, Australia, etc. Italy and Germany drive on the same side of the road that we do, so no help in getting a RHD car from there.

 

Years ago I owned a RHD Maserati for several years. In some ways driving it on our roads was very disorienting. Drving by yourself on two lane roads became an adventure. Your were always locating your position by the lines painted on the road. If you were the only one in the car, passing on a two lane road could be traumatic. On roads without a centerline, you constantly found yourself in the center. And learning to shift a five speed with your left hand does take some getting used to. My feelings are that they are best on roads where everyone else drives a RHD vehicle.

 

Looks like a nice car except for "the curse". I've worked on a lot of RHD British cars for collectors and even did a Concours restoration on a Series 1 E type roadster for a customer who liked the shock value of being different. This car will never have a real big value here with RHD (maybe knock 15 - 20K off the price of one that's "normal"). Factor in the cost of shipping it here and the price better be pretty low.

 

Forget about it...
WAY too much...
I offered for a 400 '81 auto 9000€ overhere in belgium,nice black on magnolia full leather.
Owner refused,he sold it 3 wheeks later for 10000€...
That's about +/- 7500£....
Speedman

 

Forget about it...
WAY too much...
I offered for a 400 '81 auto 9000€ overhere in Belgium,nice black on magnolia full leather.Car had been trough some expensive overhaul and had some history and bills.
Owner refused,he sold it 3 wheeks later for 10000€...
That's about +/- 7500£....
Speedman

 

Dinodan has his 246 from UK here.....

 

There's a 'glass 308 F/S in Vegas, also. No one actually drives it....

 

I have had several RHD cars and found that it was not a problem. In fact, I enjoyed them because they were different. I had one of them almost 20 years and for 5 or 6 years it was my only car.

The only things that were a little inconvenient were going in and out of parking structures where one had to take a ticket out of the machine and the embarrassment of going up to a "regular" car and getting in the wrong side.

I think the parts consideration could be a factor on an older car. I wonder if a RHD Dino clutch cable is still available.

KraigG I sent you a PM.

 

Parking garages, toll booths, drive-thrus, ...

... and those southern cops who (according to one E-type owner) say,
"Son, yall want to slide over to this side, and bring that steering wheel with you".

It's one thing to get a car whose domestic version was RHD. But it's another to get a RHD adapted car. There's a very small pool of spares for LHD designed cars adapted to RHD for a specific market.

 

Indeed. Left-handed shifting is not as difficult as most people think. I learned to drive in the UK, but even people driving our Dino for the first time (not that I let very many people do it) get used to it pretty quickly. Reverse is a bit hard to engage, with that required strong downward push way out to the left.

Luckily, not many toll-roads around here, and I generally don't take it to parking garages. That would be a pain without a passenger.

The biggest drawback is visibility for passing on two lane roads when there's no "spotter" in the (left-side) passenger seat. This can be mitigated by keeping well back from the vehicle to be passed to improve the sight line, then mashing the throttle in second or third gear! That's where the Euro-spec engine helps.

I'm sure that the car would have to be sent to England (or Japan) to fetch a good price.

 

I lived with my UK-RHD TVR Griffith in Monaco for some time and I soon adapted to driving on the "wrong" side of the road, it just made overtaking trucks on those mountain roads a bit more exciting.

Toll booths etc can be a pain but the fun of seeing other road users shock when the person they thought was the driver (in the passenger seat) throws both hands in the air was hilarious.

Going to other countries and hiring LHD cars. I find that with about 10mins high concentration I am driving relaxed and normal. However I find that I cannot fully be in "autopilot" when driving on either the wrong side of the road or the wrong side of the car.

 

A very interesting discussion which should perhaps move to the general section.

My 212 Inter is right hand drive, as most Ferraris until 1952. I will probably be driving it this summer after a six year restoration, and I am worrried about the RHD.

Position of the car on the road and managing the non-synchro gearbox are my two big fears. Whenever I am in a passenger seat I try to imagine myself driving and changing gears, and it feels WEIRD. My left arm feels all floppy.

You guys reassure me somewhat, and I had never thought of the "shock value" element. I look forward to that.

Cheers,

Julio

 

One of my customers had a RHD alloy bodied E type that he vintage raced. He had no trouble winning races, once we got him an engine that would stay together.

You'll do fine driving that 212, if it doesn't work though give me a call. I'll drive it for you.

 

I drive a RHD Turner in vintage races and have found that shifting with the left hand is not really a problem at all. It felt a little strange at first because the left hand wasn't used to that activity, but it quickly became second nature.

The main issue on the road in the U.S. with a RHD car are the toll booth (get EZPass or your local equivalent) problem and being able to see around cars before passing on two lane roads.

John

 

I have a RHD old bentley (with a supercharged chevy 400). For the first 10 minutes it was alittle weird.
I'm a tiny bit more careful when moving from the right to the left lane. The car is an automatic, so no shifting problems. Had to think about the pedal question. that means I didn't notice anything different and their in the same place.

alittle weird with my window open driving in the left lane and being a foot away from the a driver on the right lane.
all in all, not a problem and kind of cool, especially since it's an english car with english plates.

I'm told that the RHD here reduces the value of a car by 20%, which is ok by me since that means you can get 20% more car for the same money. May make it slightly harder to sell. some people might not entertain a RHD, which explains the price difference.

I use the car pretty often, daily driving duties. biggest issueL have to move over to the left to swipe my parking card at my office and health club.

all in all, no big deal.