Thread: Hot Rods NZ style: Beach Hop 2013

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Originally Posted by IC2

Now that looks like a lot of fun. I went through most of them and have to say I still don't like rat rods, especially the one with solid wheels, but everything else - top notch. Thanks JB and Robin (well, actually Lynda).

One question - why are some still LH steering and others RH? Owner's choice or requirement to convert?

Dave,,the left hookers have all entered the country,probably,in the last 10 years or so..The older RHD American cars,(like Lynda's Customline),were NZ new,from Canada,or they were converted..We are allowed to run LHD here,with no probs,which most of us do..However,,there are a lot of ''if so's and where fores'' in the late LHD vehicles..We have a 20 year rule,which lets us bring LHD cars/pickups/vans in to the country as we want..We are allowed to import near new/new LHD vehicles,,BUT...there is a criteria involved..EG,,it must be,two door,eg,coupe,convertible,etc,,not available here,in RHD form,,and it must be a limited production model,,e.g,,Mustang GT,Cobra,,P51A,Hurst Camaro,,SRT Challenger,etc,with a limited production run..One of the reasons we have so many new/near Mustangs here,,cos they are favorably priced,and a guy in Tauranga is importing them,from a dealer in Texas,with a HUGE stock..

What he said.
BUT...you can make a choice...our bus would've been allowed to enter as a lhd; but we opted to convert to rhd.
Our choice.

In over fifty years of driving I've driven in excess of 3,000,000 miles, in buses, rigid chassis trucks, artic trucks, truck and trailer...I've driven just about every type of motor vehicle with wheels or tracks.
With one exception all have been rhd.
(That exception was tracked draindiggers. All, even the English ones are lhd...can't know why.)
So rhd is what I'm used to...hence our decision to convert...personal choice.

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Good choice with your bus. I have seen a couple expensive driver errors in Britain with vehicles from the Continent.

There is little as 'interesting' as driving a LHD car on the left hand side of the road area - such as our US Virgin Islands - makes the passenger even more nervous.

Originally Posted by IC2

Good choice with your bus. I have seen a couple expensive driver errors in Britain with vehicles from the Continent.
There is little as 'interesting' as driving a LHD car on the left hand side of the road area - such as our US Virgin Islands - makes the passenger even more nervous.

One must trust his passenger's judgement, especially on two lane curvy roads with limited passing options, as they will likely be asked, "Are we clear to pass?" on occasion, or even on a regular basis. Kind of makes the drive a "Team Experience"!