31 replies to this topic

[starmag123]

I have recently bought a left hand drive mini Mayfair, the previous owner lives in new York but never had chance to send it there, but he had it swapped to left hand drive ready, how easy is it to swap back, the clocks are all in the middle so I don't have to worry about that just a matter of switching the pedals to the right and also the steering Collum

[Gulfclubby]

The pedals, the master cylinders, thus the piping for clutch and brakes, new LHD steering rack and wiper assembly and that's the bulk of it.
Quite a bit of work.

[Cooperman]

When I bought my Innocenti 1300 it had been converted to RHD, but the Innocentis were ever only LHD as original. I put it back to LHD and it was quite simple. The wiring loom will reach to either side, the steering column just moves over and you need a new RHD rack.
The brake and clutch master cylinders just move to the other side, but new brake and clutch pipes are needed.
Wipers remained unchanged as did the instrument cluster/dashboard.
It really was quite a simple job.
However, why change a LHD road Mini back to RHD. LHD is fine for normal driving and I had a LHD car for 17 years. You just get so used to it after a short time. In fact, I love driving my LHD Inncenti and it's actually nicer to drive on the road than my 1964 'S'.

[bmcecosse]

Or - sell it on to someone in a LHD country........

[minisilverbullet]

Or - sell it on to someone in a LHD country........

And for a higher price! I know minis here in Sweden tend to be about 40% more than in the UK

Edited by minisilverbullet, 11 February 2012 - 08:49 PM.

[Ethel]

You can convert them without swapping all the parts the factory did differently for left & right. It's about the same amount of work, whether you end up with a true right hooker depends on how thoroughly it was converted.

[bmcecosse]

" I know minis here in Sweden tend to be about 40% more than in the UK " - exactly - there could be a good market for it as it is...... Plenty of RHD cars here ...... no need to convert this one back.

[Cooperman]

Or - sell it on to someone in a LHD country........

And for a higher price! I know minis here in Sweden tend to be about 40% more than in the UK

Could you PM me what you think my completely rust-free Innocenti Cooper 1300 Export, LHD, with everything in top condition might sell for in Sweden. I would appreciate it. It's the blue/white car on the left.

Edited by Cooperman, 11 February 2012 - 11:14 PM.

[govig]

I'm just in the process of converting RHD to LHD. The parts for a modern 'servo' mini are just about impossible to get now unless you raid scrapyards in europe.

Are you really selling that Innocenti Cooperman, or just fishing for a price :) ?

Edited by govig, 11 February 2012 - 11:51 PM.

[Cooperman]

It is almost finished now and just requires new biscuit colour seat covers from Newton Commercial plus a new set of beige carpets to the correct original specification. I'm searching only for a couple of very hard-to-find parts, namely then moulded door bins in the correct colour (almost impossible and may have to settle just for the newly fitted door cards) and an original radiator expansion tank.the rad is the original Innocenti one, but the expansion tank seems unobtainable.
The only other thing to do is to fix the rev counter which just 'flickers'. It is a Veglia so I'll have to find someone who can sort it, or get another.
Then it will be for sale. It really is a mint car, although not really 'concours' as I like useable cars, not show & polish. They are to be used.
It needs to go by about June as I need the workshop space to do a full restoration and re-preparation of a 1966 historic rally Cooper 'S' Mk.1. I've done a lot of work on it and it has lots of new parts and re-built everything else. Engine is now at 1330 cc with the standard twin carbs, etc. Full spec available on request complete with photographs of each stage of the work.

[AndyR]

Cooperman - this will give you an idea. It is Norway, not Sweden but cars are pricier in Norway. Norwegians often buy cars from Sweden as they are cheaper - but there are a bunch of taxation hoops to jump through

http://www.finn.no/f...AKE=7147&sort=7

Andy

[eeae6000]

my mini is lhd right now and i want to convert to rhd, im in the same boat as you, heard something about the gas pedals being different?

[govig]

The accelerator pedal is different as in a LHD there isn't much clearance between your right foot and the heater. They got around this by moving the heater about 1.5" to the right and having a different accelerator pedal. The heater is easy to move back to the RHD position and there are plenty of RHD pedals about.

If its a servo dual circuit mini (assuming a 88 is) , I think you will need a pedal box and pedals as well as the obvious steering rack and be prepared to do some piping for the clutch and some wiring. Don't give your LHD pedals and pedal box away as they are rare things to find. I had to get all mine off a scrapper in France. The hardest bit to source new is the LHD brake pedal with the long bar that goes from one side to the other under the dash.

[eeae6000]

thanks for the info, ya my clutch master cylinder is on the driver side but the brake servo and cylinder is on the passanger (right )side, when i get new pedals, would i need to move the brake setup or will the pedal connect to it where it is at, and the mounting spots for the pedals, will they already be in the right place or do i need to make them?

[govig]

The brake servo etc stays where it is. The RHD pedal box then works it directly rather than via that long rod under the dash. The clutch master cyl moves over to the other side. All the mounting points should be there in the shell as well as the holes etc for the rack.