Sheds Moderator Posted March 9, 2003 Share Posted March 9, 2003 Academic question (for the time being at least). Having just landed a job in France I will be taking the 7. If it all works out and I never come home then there may be a LHD conversion. An initial poke round suggests this would be very easy owing to the simplicity of the car. I reckon - swap battery side, swap ECU side, change footwells over, move master cyl & pedal box, new rack, new dash (ouch), reassemble. Can anyone think of any insurmountable obstacles, like the s/column fouling something in LHD form? To me it all looks fairly symmetrical. The car is a 1.4kss, '96. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dino ferrana Posted March 9, 2003 Share Posted March 9, 2003 I have no idea what the problems are but I am sure I have heard that it is very difficult and full of pitfalls. I am sure that the Caterham RHD and LHD chassis are different in some way (no idea how though). I could be wrong but I would have thought it would be more difficult than you suspect. I would reckon that it would be more economic to sell yours and buy another in France (already approved for use etc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Locust Posted March 9, 2003 Share Posted March 9, 2003 FIA bars are handed. Wipers are too but you might get away with it if you dont clatter the motor with your knee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fast Westie Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 Don't bother, keep it RHD and on English plates. You won't be able to sell it there (or with a great deal of difficulty). The car in front is a Westfie1d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris K Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 I asked JW about this when I was first trying to register a car in Finland.. they said they wont let in RHD cars.. JW said that the job is a big one and I might just aswell get a LHD chassis n rebuild.. he said that if I did decide to do it that he wouldnt be intrested in taking the work as he think it would end up as a bodge Chris Now, Beakie, we'll just flip this switch and 60,000 refreshing volts of electricity will surge through your body. Ready?.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jf_renard Posted March 10, 2003 Share Posted March 10, 2003 1- RHD cars are allowed in France. 2- The steering column fouls the exhaust manifold. You have to rotate the rack and to slightly crush the manifold (at least on some K series) 3- I think (have to check in T. Weale's book) LHD and RHD chassis are basically the same since 91 or 96, and that right footwell is wider than left footwell: you'll have to buy narrow shoes! 4- Caterhams are much more expensive in France so buying one here is not the best idea. If you can keep your English plates it's easier, if you can't you'll have paperwork troubles, but some did it. Where are you in France (I'm in the very north) Jeff Cosworth 1600 BDR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheds Moderator Posted March 10, 2003 Author Share Posted March 10, 2003 Thank you gents, it seems, as I had suspected on reflection, that it's likely to be more trouble than it's worth. Jeff - I am going to Saumur (49). Email me off line if you are nearby. Far north to me means either Nord/PdeC or Normandy. Also, in a few weeks I will be passing in the 7 - the route is Dover-Calais (probably) followed by RN's to Saumur. I shall avoid the autoroutes if poss. as they are boring. Alternatively I may sail Portsmouth-Caen/LeH, I don't know yet. Anyway if you are near the route we could meet up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaspipe Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 I kept my Caterham in RHD when I moved to Holland. Registering in Holland was easy, albeit expensive. To be quite honest, the Caterham is so narrow, you hardly notice the difference between RHD and LHD when blatting along. Lets face it, MOST pre-war sports cars built in mainland europe were RHD any way (eg Alfa and Bugattis). So if it was good then, it is good now. You will probably have to change your headlight alignment and speedo to KPH to register in France. (I should think/hope the Nationalistic French Authorities have progressed beyond insisting that a French built engine is installed). G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dippy Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 Caterhams may be very expensive in France, but Caterham UK will sell you a new LHD machine for about a thousand quid more than the RHD one. Not sure if you then have to pay an import tax to change it to French plates. However, make sure it is homologated for use in France. I've just had a 1.8 refused to be imported into Portugal, I believe as it is non-homol (still to be confirmed). You should be OK with a 1.4 or 1.6. A guy in Portugal is selling a 1994 1.4 k, 130bhp and a few other bits, for 22.5k€ as his lowest offer. They are over 40k€ here, new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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