`I would find it really difficult to shift the column (3 in the tree) shifter with my left hand!

 

Yeah NO kidding!!! I can barely pick my nose with my left hand. How are the pedals oriented BTW? Based on that pic I posted, it looks like the gas pedal is still on the right? I'd like to see the throttle linkage for that setup.

 

Yep, pedals are same as LHD (clutch on left, etc), but the shifter would be a real struggle for me too (floor or column).

If you look at many 70's jap cars, they were converted from home market RHD by running shafts across the firewall to M/C and such on the RH side. Cable throttle solved problems there. Might be the easy way to fix this truck.

 

I think it would be a lot harder to build one to stock specs being out of country than building a custom. One would think being in the UK that a RHD Jaguar could be had for the donor front end pretty easily and cheap. Pedals could be built or swapped easily enough, we do that here all the time, especially with hanging pedals and firewall mounted brake master cylinders. A custom dash, that's easy stuff. But to import all the right bits from Australia to Ireland would be expensive and time consuming. Finding them in Aus, it would seem, would be easier than from South Africa.

 

I'm with ya. Every time I think of trying to shift left handed, I'm always reminded of the story of racing driver and Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk. After a successful career racing Indycars, he tried his hand at sportscar racing. Those are typically RHD. While he did have some success, I saw him in an interview on TV admitting he always struggled at left hand shifting. It's got to be something you're brought up with, I'm sure.

 

It's not as bad as you think. I've had cause to drive quite a few left hand drive cars in my life and you pick it up surprisingly quickly.

 

I did the RHD conversion on my 57 Chevy wagon, and its quite a big job once you get into it, besides the dash you have the steering column, steering linkages and box or rack, pedals and related M/Cs and lines, wiring, often the wipers if the aren't concentric, firewall changes, heater and controls, shifter etc etc......
In Australia 57s used the same double hump dash as the 55 and 56s so i chose to convert the correct for America 57 dash, thats an interesting enough job in itself.

But i guess its all part of the fun?????. John

 

I have a RHD 1954 F100
It was assembled in South Africa from parts made in the USA and Canada
It would be difficult to do an original conversion as finding RHD parts won't be easy
I have seen conversions done using custom parts such as this very nice 56
Ford F100 Pick-up

I have also driven LHD American cars in the UK, it's not that hard once you get used to it

Steve

 

I've driven RHD stick shift rentals in Thailand and adapted to left hand shifting pretty easily. Of course I am left handed so I adapt to ambidextrous things out of necessity in a right handed world.

 

A company I worked for back in 91 built armored cars for the State Department - We used 80's model Chev Caprice and Cad Brougham - We had to convert some to RHD - They had developed a series of cables, pulleys, bell cranks and braces for the steering and the gas/brakes They would use a cut and paste process for the dash. - Besides that we had to deal with the armour plating and at times stretching them. - I was working on
on the design for the next gen cars air filtration systems that would include the above mods - Every mourning I would go out to the barn and herd the goats into the shop.

 

Here you go John, I recently read this somewhere else and I have had conversations with a buddy who comes over to visit from Australia about right hand driving and he also mentioned it. From Wikipedia

Over the course of the 20th century, there was a gradual worldwide shift from driving on the left to the right. Portugal changed to right-hand traffic in 1928, and the parts of Canada that were still driving on the left changed over by 1923 (although Newfoundland was not part of Canada until 1949, and its motorists drove on the left until 1947).

Here is the link: Right- and left-hand traffic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Canada was RHD and changed over in 1919. In NZ our Fords came from Canada,some fully assembled,some assembled here.I have Model Ts thru to a 66 Galaxie convert. all factory RHD.We received the pickup trucks at least untill 1956 in RHD

 

Okay I've always lived in Ontario where things weren't backwards. Plus I wasn't around prior to 1920

 

Well Doc, if you need training on the left hand shifting you could jump in one of the coal truck down your cause about half of the old Mack trucks have two stick trannys and shift both trannys at the same time using both hands, now there is a nack to that, trust me, especially on the mtn. roads and curves.

 

My dad used to drive one of those Macks. He said it would absolutely wear you out. Come to think of it, my Kubota tractor shifts backwards.