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MG MGB Technical - LHD to RHD Conversion

I have just purchased a 1965 B that is totally dismantled. The job was nicely done with the parts bagged and labeled and it came with a lot of "extra parts". It is a LHD car and there is no reason not to restore it to that spec....except, I think it would be cool to have a RHD car. I had previously purchased a 1967 RHD B but the body is beyond my desire to fix... So, I'm wondering how difficult it would be to put the RHD parts on the LHD chassis... What modifications would need to be done? The body work and paint have yet to be done so cutting and fitting wouldn't be a huge problem...
RLD DeGroote

The two main modifications are to swap over the dashboard and steering rack.

Obviously, the pedals also need to be swapped over. The pedals themselves may be the same for LHD and RHD, although there is something in the back of my mind telling me that the throttle pedal is different. It should be fairly easy to check with the help of a parts book.

There shouldn't be any cutting to do AFAIK, unlike the later cars which had different scuttle panels for LHD and RHD.

My '67 was changed from LHD to RHD early on in its life. I think the wiring loom is the original, as far as I know.

I am looking for a LHD dashboard and could trade for a RHD version, if you're interested.
Dave O'Neill 2

"My '67 was changed from LHD to RHD early on in its life. I think the wiring loom is the original, as far as I know."

FWIW from quite early on RHD and LHD used the same main harness, it went across the bulkhead for LHD but turned back in a loop for RHD. That would have been for non-North American spec, North American became increasingly different as time went on.

While the pedal frame seems to be the same for earlier cars all the pedals seem to have been different, maybe they have a different offset as they drop from the frame to be in the 'correct' position in the footwell.
Paul Hunt

Paul, Other than some of the Brake and Clutch piping I should have all the parts... I'm not sure I'll have that LHD Dash you need until I decide which one I'll be using on my car... I'm not sure it would be cost effective to buy one in the states though, and then have to pay for shipping to the UK... One of my other issue would be getting the wiring harness restored. I'm not sure there is a place in the states that could do a proper job...

RLD DeGroote

If you do decide that you don't need the LHD dash, I would be interested. I appreciate that shipping wouldn't be cheap, but I have more chance of getting one from the States than anywhere else.
Dave O'Neill 2

Advanced Wiring, among others, has a very good reputation for their wiring harnesses. RAY
rjm RAY

This thread was discussed between 30/12/2015 and 01/01/2016

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