The Lotus Cars Community banner
  • Hi there! Why not register as a user to enjoy all of the benefits of the site? You may register here. When you register, please pick a username that is non-commercial. If you use a name that appears on any search engine commercially, you must pick another name, whether it applies to you or not. Commercial usernames are for supporting vendor use only. If you want to become a supporting vendor and grow your business, please follow this link. Thanks!

Converting an Elise to Right Hand Drive

8K views 15 replies 14 participants last post by  little blue 
#1 ·
Hey everybody,

I have wondered how difficult it would be to convert a car to right hand drive. It seems that a Lotus may be one of the easier (if there is such a thing) cars to convert, since the interior seems quite symmetrical as compared to other cars.

Just wondering if anyone has done it or has had it done. Is it possible, and if so, would it be insanely expensive and also difficult to make DOT legal?

Just curious to get everyone's thoughts...
 
#3 ·
Just wondering if anyone has done it or has had it done. Is it possible, and if so, would it be insanely expensive and also difficult to make DOT legal?
I don't *think* there's any NHTSA rules regarding driver seating for the US. Ever shift with your left hand? Think visibility stinks now?
:panic:

Dash bits, seat rails, rack, will the wiring reach, etc.?
:shrug:

Why? Planning to deliver mail?
I have a hard enough time reaching the mail drop from mine!
:D
 
#6 ·
I don't *think* there's any NHTSA rules regarding driver seating for the US. Ever shift with your left hand?
There is definitely no law against owning a RHD car in the US. My old Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud was RHD and I had no problem with registering it or driving it here. It always was always fun to drive around with a front seat passenger--people in other cars would pull up alongside to ask the "driver" a question and then freak out when they saw the passenger in the left seat "driving" the car with no steering wheel!
 
#10 ·
I saw an RHD Elise (an older one, with the round headlamps) at Sears Point at a NASA HPDE event about three weeks ago. Had California plates on it.

I'm ambivalent on driving on the right v. left (in a typical year, I probably drive about 50/50 mileage wise between the two). I've never "cross driven" (i.e., an RHD car in the US or a LHD car in England) though...but I've always admired those from the Continent driven the narrow backroads of Ireland!

Steve
 
#13 ·
Center drive is the best!
 
#15 ·
the one and only problem for converting federal cars is to relocate the ABS unit .

Otherwise it is a extremelly simply procedure .

I made my conversion on 2006 from UK RHD elise 111s to EU LHD 111s ...
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top