bj74 rhd to lhd (1 Viewer)

[mreekster]

I have a jdm bj74 and met a guy with a 74 in a parking lot and noticed his cruiser had steering on the lhd. He said he converted it and it was not that bad to do and the truck does not need too many dodnor parts. I think you only need a lhd steering box other wise he fliped over everything dash, instrument guages, steering column, brake booster and pedals. He said he did not bother changing the
wipers as it is not much of a problem. He had to give up the air con ad he said take lots of photos as you do have to lengthen wiring harnesses and just allow for downtime. I have had my rhd for 3 years and am quite used to it so I would not bother changing it but if you wonder about it can be done.

 

[brownbear]

Hmm so it must have holes in the firewall for everything?

I Imagine though you need to get a LHD dash.

There has been guys on here with converted trucks.

There is a guy in Vancouver who does the conversions. Ciram something...

 

[mreekster]

He did not change the firewall and the holes are the same, and he did not change wipers and cowling. I do not know if you would have to change the firewall for that. I am not sure if there is a difference between a 60 or 70's series for that situation. He even used the same heater core and the dash is quite modular and flips right over. You just flip over the glove box. It is quite a different set up than a 60.

 

[roscoFJ73]

The firewall does appear to be universal. The holes are not there,but there is bits that are shaped to be cut out.
THis how thise guys in Pakistan were doing them before smuggling them into the gulf states via Afghanistan

I would be thinking about its appeal to prospective buyers,a half assed conversion maybe less attractive than RHD.

 

[brownbear]

I do not like the sound of a lengthened wiring harness.... How did they lengthen it?

To me the only way would be to install new wires from the source to the destination, no splicing. Splices just leave a spot for failure. Yah its ok to splice in a stereo, not the whole harness.

Expect problems there. There is no perfect butt splice. I have used the absolute most expensive kinds on planes, they still corrode and fail. No such thing as a good butt splice. It is a temporary repair until a new wire can be made and installed.

 

[Mike Shull]

I would think the best way to splice into a harness is to solider the wires together with some heat shrink over it and with a new plug at the end with those wires soldered to the plug as well....don't ya think? If you don't like soldiering the (wires) together I suppose you could use a "factory" like plug where you decided to lengthen the harness.

I agree with the butt connectors as a "temporary" fix, I have less melted wires after taking out all my splices and replacing them with soldiered ones.

 

[brownbear]

I don't even like that. Soldered wires are much better than butt splices I agree. But its still not great.

Would it work.....YES. Could it cause problems, maybe.

A solder joint unless done perfect can break. Also it is now an unflexible part in the wire.

But if care was taken it could be ok. I would not buy a vehicle with the majority of the wires repaired this way.

 

[Radd Cruisers]

OKAY, I would go at slightly different.


Been diggin into a HD61 fire wall, parts truck so it costs us nothing to do the investigating.

So far Abel and I(actually this is Abels work) have found that all the positions in the fire wall are thier for a swap. Abel wants to do a fire wall swap by drilling out existing mounts and moving them over, small work.

Also we will use a HJ60 wiring harness for the swap, only problem so far is the sunroof and provisions in the harness.


Rob

 

[Mike Shull]

I don't even like that. Soldered wires are much better than butt splices I agree. But its still not great.

Would it work.....YES. Could it cause problems, maybe.

A solder joint unless done perfect can break. Also it is now an unflexible part in the wire.

But if care was taken it could be ok. I would not buy a vehicle with the majority of the wires repaired this way.

Well I agree a soldered joint could break I suppose...but if done right it wouldn't break at the joint but before and after...like a weld maybe. But if you use good heat shrink it should sturdy up the wire enough to prevent the wire from moving and breaking.
If you wanted to lengthen your chassis would you weld in a new frame?...or replace the whole blasted thing? I know it's different when dealing with voltage drops but it is a good option.
With that said...I do like the other option replacing the harness with one from the LHD model. But all that to be the same as everybody else? RHD's are kind of cool too.
I was going to insert a photo of a good buddies HJ47..but can't figure out what web site to use....I give up.....for now.

 

[2rivers]

So far Abel and I(actually this is Abels work) have found that all the positions in the fire wall are thier for a swap. Abel wants to do a fire wall swap by drilling out existing mounts and moving them over, small work.

Rob

I believe this is how Rob Mullen and Co did a swap to LHD with a BJ74. No messy cut/weld/burn, just lots of patience and time with a drill.... Good work with the 61 let us know how it turns out please!

Johnny

 

[Greg_B]

I dunno bout you folks, but sit in the passenger seat with the wipers on, on a rainy day. Then imagine you are the driver. That wiper swing, right in the middle...leaving 1/2 the window not swept is not something I would consider ok or settle for.

I don't care if you are RHD or LHD...at least make sure the windshield is clean on a full sweep for the driver.

The wipers need to be dealt with imo.

Ciaran at Cruiserland in Langley has done a number now. He has the firewall swap down pat. It looks right, is done right, and gives all the LHD attachment points AND wipers...

Radd...good on ya and Able. Get it figured, do it right...Best wishes for the shop.

gb

 

[crushers]

I dunno bout you folks, but sit in the passenger seat with the wipers on, on a rainy day. Then imagine you are the driver. That wiper swing, right in the middle...leaving 1/2 the window not swept is not something I would consider ok or settle for.

I don't care if you are RHD or LHD...at least make sure the windshield is clean on a full sweep for the driver.
gb

agreed, do the job right or give it to someone that will. there is more to doing a RHD-LHD swap than just the steering wheel

 

[Radd Cruisers]

We have two ideas, one being Abels way and the other would be my way.

I would pull the glass and front doors, seats and splice under the front seats and up on the pillar, no electrics and or dash to pull. The pillar is divised of three plates which give strength, we would pull it apart as do the body shops for optimum strength.

Only problem is I am not sure how to make the power sunroof work as there is no provision in the wiring harness on the HJ60? Actually, I am sure it would be easy to just splice and run power to these items.

This idea came from the body shop owner to which I worked in for several months.

Although through this method you are doing some body and paint along with headliner on the pillar if it is damaged on removal.

Edit, I would also, pull the handcrank down windows out of the hj and replace the electrics, possibly pull out the unroof also for a simplistic trouble free cruiser, that would be my dream 61.



Rob

I dunno bout you folks, but sit in the passenger seat with the wipers on, on a rainy day. Then imagine you are the driver. That wiper swing, right in the middle...leaving 1/2 the window not swept is not something I would consider ok or settle for.

I don't care if you are RHD or LHD...at least make sure the windshield is clean on a full sweep for the driver.

The wipers need to be dealt with imo.

Ciaran at Cruiserland in Langley has done a number now. He has the firewall swap down pat. It looks right, is done right, and gives all the LHD attachment points AND wipers...

Radd...good on ya and Able. Get it figured, do it right...Best wishes for the shop.

gb

 

[mreekster]

I am not saying this is the best method but just an option and cost effective one. I only stated that this was done on a 74 and that is why I had mentioned it because the firewall method requires a donor vehicle. Have you noticed that the canadian 70 series are not typically found in wreckers. I realize that is far more realistict option on a 60 series. The guy that did it was quite happy with what he had done.