Discussion
There are one or two about but in my experience they are worth far less than a lhd Vette as nobody actually wants one. Why?
1. Most Vette rhd conversions involve removing the bulkhead and replacing the steering gear with a Vauxhall Omega rack. In other words, they ruin the car, the handling, everything.
2. Most specialist insurers for US cars want to know that it's LHD. Why? Because they don't get stolen by joyriders and any RHD conversion is deemed to be a non-standard modification. It can mean the difference between paying £500 a year fully comp and up to £2000 a year.
3. Most US car drivers wouldn't even entertain a rhd Vette. We want to drive on the left. It's part of what Vettes are about. As an example, there's a white rhd C4 Vette that repeatedly comes up on ebay and nobody ever seems to buy it or even bid on it. there was also a rhd 4th gen Camaro Z28 advertised round these here parts and the price started high and dropped like a stone and I'm not sure it was ever sold as it was readvertised on numerous occasions.
There are, to my knowledge, at least two more rhd Vettes in the UK. One was an LT1 engined 1992 C4 test car once driven by Fast Car as an evaluation test mule for rhd but the projected price was about £50k and it never transpired. The other is a yellow X reg C5 seen occasionally at UK shows. I think even Japanese export Vettes are rhd and the Vettes that made it to Australia HAD to be converted to rhd and again the conversions were less than satisfactory.
If you're worried by LHD, don't be. You adapt quickly and most prefer it after a while. It's PART of having an American car. If you want rhd, buy a Holden.
>> Edited by LuS1fer on Wednesday 3rd November 19:45
1. Most Vette rhd conversions involve removing the bulkhead and replacing the steering gear with a Vauxhall Omega rack. In other words, they ruin the car, the handling, everything.
2. Most specialist insurers for US cars want to know that it's LHD. Why? Because they don't get stolen by joyriders and any RHD conversion is deemed to be a non-standard modification. It can mean the difference between paying £500 a year fully comp and up to £2000 a year.
3. Most US car drivers wouldn't even entertain a rhd Vette. We want to drive on the left. It's part of what Vettes are about. As an example, there's a white rhd C4 Vette that repeatedly comes up on ebay and nobody ever seems to buy it or even bid on it. there was also a rhd 4th gen Camaro Z28 advertised round these here parts and the price started high and dropped like a stone and I'm not sure it was ever sold as it was readvertised on numerous occasions.
There are, to my knowledge, at least two more rhd Vettes in the UK. One was an LT1 engined 1992 C4 test car once driven by Fast Car as an evaluation test mule for rhd but the projected price was about £50k and it never transpired. The other is a yellow X reg C5 seen occasionally at UK shows. I think even Japanese export Vettes are rhd and the Vettes that made it to Australia HAD to be converted to rhd and again the conversions were less than satisfactory.
If you're worried by LHD, don't be. You adapt quickly and most prefer it after a while. It's PART of having an American car. If you want rhd, buy a Holden.
>> Edited by LuS1fer on Wednesday 3rd November 19:45
There's no sign there's ever been a decent RHD Vette conversion so if you see one don't buy it! That way you won't get disappointed. Better to sit the wrong side of a decent car than the right side of a rubbish car.
GM are pushing the Cadillac XLR (a close relation of Corvette) fairly hard in world markets right now and there's no sign of an RHD version of that one either.
GM are pushing the Cadillac XLR (a close relation of Corvette) fairly hard in world markets right now and there's no sign of an RHD version of that one either.
LuS1fer said:
If you're worried by LHD, don't be. You adapt quickly and most prefer it after a while. It's PART of having an American car. If you want rhd, buy a Holden.
I once followed a 'Vette down the A428 from Cambridge to Bedford. Watching him trying to overtake lorries in the dark and the wet, sitting on the wrong side of the car, where he had to get the entire width of the car on the wrong side of the road in order to see, was one of the scariest things I've ever seen.
No way would I have a LHD as a daily driver in the UK. Even if 'Vettes do look tremendous VforM.
This is the main reason customers stay away in droves and fortunately makes Vettes that much rarer and more special in UK! There's even a thread going on about putting the LS1 engine into a TVR. If it wasn't for the LHD I'm sure many more customers would be buying Vettes rather than take all the safety and reliability risks that come with owning some UK specialist sports cars.
Of course LHD keeps a vast array of people away, if it was RHD why wouldn't you buy it - best decision GM ever made. Having done 50K plus LHD has never been a problem - as someone said on another thread, in fact it is beneficial for undertaking those jerks in the outside lane who wont pull over. And yes if I was on a single carriageway on a dark rainy night behind an artic, well that is where I personally would stay. More than covered by the envious looks we all get that we would not if all those TVR and Porker drivers bought Vettes.
There’s no way I’d be driving a LHD car. I wanted a Corvette but didn’t want a LHD car. Overtaking on country roads is suicidal and even pulling out of some intersections is dangerous.
I don’t think any regularly driven road car should be LHD.
Australia and NZ have some of the best converters in the world. Sure there are plenty of bodgy ‘el-cheapo’ conversions and no one wants a chain drive either.
Corvette Queensland did the best conversions in the world. Corvette clinic in Melbourne did a decent job as well.
Those who argue against converting have vested interest.
Good conversions allow a greater number of drivers access to good ol’ American Muscle 👍
I don’t think any regularly driven road car should be LHD.
Australia and NZ have some of the best converters in the world. Sure there are plenty of bodgy ‘el-cheapo’ conversions and no one wants a chain drive either.
Corvette Queensland did the best conversions in the world. Corvette clinic in Melbourne did a decent job as well.
Those who argue against converting have vested interest.
Good conversions allow a greater number of drivers access to good ol’ American Muscle 👍
Having owned and driven a lot of lhd cars I've never understood the issue. You just drop back a bit and it's easy to see past the object you need to overtake, granted if your 3 inches off the back of an artic it will be a leap of faith. 
in something with the grunt of a corvette it makes it even easier, the 1978 MGB was a bit more challenging but still wasn't the drama people make out.
in something with the grunt of a corvette it makes it even easier, the 1978 MGB was a bit more challenging but still wasn't the drama people make out.
wildoliver said:
Having owned and driven a lot of lhd cars I've never understood the issue. You just drop back a bit and it's easy to see past the object you need to overtake, granted if your 3 inches off the back of an artic it will be a leap of faith. in something with the grunt of a corvette it makes it even easier, the 1978 MGB was a bit more challenging but still wasn't the drama people make out.
This. in something with the grunt of a corvette it makes it even easier, the 1978 MGB was a bit more challenging but still wasn't the drama people make out.I do thousands of miles on the continent each year in a uk rhd car, across all roads, driving enthusiastically and as yet I have not come close to death in this wild risk taking endeavour!
Why would lhd in the uk be any different?
wildoliver said:
Having owned and driven a lot of lhd cars I've never understood the issue. You just drop back a bit and it's easy to see past the object you need to overtake, granted if your 3 inches off the back of an artic it will be a leap of faith. in something with the grunt of a corvette it makes it even easier, the 1978 MGB was a bit more challenging but still wasn't the drama people make out.
This. in something with the grunt of a corvette it makes it even easier, the 1978 MGB was a bit more challenging but still wasn't the drama people make out.I do thousands of miles on the continent each year in a uk rhd car, across all roads, driving enthusiastically and as yet I have not come close to death in this wild risk taking endeavour!
Why would lhd in the uk be any different?
I think LHD actually adds to the Corvette experience. Sitting 3 ft to the left and 2 ft down compared to my daily driver adds to the sense of occasion for driving. Its not perfectly easy, but doable. You have to adjust, practice, master it...and then you really are a driving god.
You can get a RHD C8 now, and that will be fine for lots of people. But...you got to love a LHD Corvette because its the real deal American car...and more unusual still. It does not put off committed UK buyers. Also, when you come to sell a Corvette in the UK, you might find a buyer from somewhere else in Europe.
You can get a RHD C8 now, and that will be fine for lots of people. But...you got to love a LHD Corvette because its the real deal American car...and more unusual still. It does not put off committed UK buyers. Also, when you come to sell a Corvette in the UK, you might find a buyer from somewhere else in Europe.
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