Left Hand Drive Beat ??!#$%?

[owensexport]

My friend just got back from the Middle East and took
this photo.... He swears it looks like an original
left hand drive car but I thought they never made
a beat in LHD.
The first thing that I noticed is that the wipers pivot from
the right side, that tells me it is a RHD car....
Any comments??

[adrianp]

I'd guess that how the dashboard is put together that it wouldn't be too hard to convert one, just take it all apart and reverse the position of most things,

But mechanically, I'd say it took quite a lot of work to get right... Although without the engine in the front, it's probably easier than on a normal car as it's the engine that gets in the way nost times...

Did he get any more pictures??

[bref]

As I'm driving on the wrong side of the road, I always took a great interest in a LHD Beat...They did not exist.

The job does not seem impossible as the dashboard is symetrical, but the main problem is the body, asymetrical, with much more space allowed for the driver:
http://www.honda.co.jp/factbook/auto/BEAT/19910515/image/009-002.gif

The car is probably not as well balanced in LHD form.

I know that they do this kind of job in Saudi Arabia. An importer from Monaco bring Skyline from this place to France

[Adam]

You got to keep in mind that the center is offset to the left to give the driver more space, so its not a simple swap.

[owensexport]

Unfortunatly, he only took the one picture.
He was just passing by on a junk yard tour and saw
the beat sitting by the side of the road.

[Paul w]

Maybe we should make up calling cards... just a little biz card with the site logo and www address on and your name....

Could have tucked one under his windscreen wiper....

PW

[jurek]

I do like the wheels and the side skirts
I want !! I want !!

Any idea what are they??

[ozsamurai]

I actually did a quote on this for a guy who contacted me from Saudi, saying he had to have a LHD Beat. I crunched the numbers with the guys and it would take about 10,000 US to do a conversion, its not as simple as it looks when we got into it. We had a wrecker to examine down to the chassis, moving over the steering rack was not a big 'un but, when it came to interior and cabling it would all have to be custom, the brake master cylinder is smack dead in the way of what would be the steering column etc, re plummed, re wired, re cabled.....what a mess! Of course the Beat was never made in LHD, nor planned as such so a re-jig like this cost someone either a lot of money or a lot of time.

I want it too!

Oz

[hondzilla]

i know that porsche did some study and teswork for honda and made a protype
and i believe it also had left hand drive and a 1200 cc
4 cilinder engine
sadly enove honda did not decided to put the car in production for europe.
the thought there was no market for the small car outside japan