V8 interceptor cost

Post by **Dave D** » Tue Feb 04, 2003 11:22 pm

Yep, Rockantansky is right you need a large WARNING LEFT HAND DRIVE sticker on the rear, well in Victoria you do anyway. There's a Ferrari F40 that I see some times & it looks crap from behind with a big yellow sticker on it. I believe that if law now states that if the car is over 25 years old you can leave it LHD.

But if it's newer & you want to drive it full time on the street you have 3 months to get it converted, the guy who leave 3 door down from me has 2 chev pickup trucks that he uses for towing his drag boats.He told me that before customs would release the car he had to have proof of which company was going to make all the changes necessary to gain Aus compliance.

Dave

Post by **nirvancol** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 1:13 pm

yeah i'm not sure how much it would be for a conversion but i would think it would be pretty expensive. but if the price were right, i might do it.

Post by **Mitch** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 2:34 pm

I wouldn't bother. I got used to RHD pretty quick. Just make sure you have your side mirrors adjusted. Talk about not wanting a blind spot!

Never saw a LHD Aussie Falcon before. I know of RHD converted Mustangs and AMX's though.

Start by looking at the linked Falcon importers on the main page. I got my Falcon from madmaxcars, but there are several ways to go. I decided to get an entry level beater to fix up instead of a nice $12-15,000 car. That's just me, though. If you take it in stages, you don't have to plunk down $40,000 right away. Get the car first, then invest in the engine/mechanicals and cosmetics as you go. That's my plan of action.

Mitch

Post by **nirvancol** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 8:37 pm

yeah thats probably how i would do it, cuz i doubt i would be able to shell out $40k at once or even over a small amount of time

Post by **Bronze21** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 9:03 pm

Greetings. I've read through your conversation, and I've heard of the Warning: Left-hand drive stickers. As far as the IP is concerned, no production XB's were made with left conversions. First, you'd have to cut the firewall and replace it with a flat sheet, then remount the heater, hoses, master brake cylinder, pedals and...oh yeah, the steering column and box, which means you'd have to flip the rack up front. The LHD IP you could hack and whack a spare, then fiberglass it if you are ambitious. Also the gear lock button on the PRNDL would have to be turned around. My thought...deal with it. You might not be able to pass easily on a 2-lane or have to wait for an unprotected left, but that's part of the mystique. It might be enough to deter some would-be thieves. I've been mailing Phil at Aussiecoupes for some time now, and it looks like I'll finally be roadworthy in 3-4 months. The Max kit will have to wait until Christmas bonus. The blower and engine rebuild/build-up will happen next summer. I don't care if the car is Playboy pink, I just want one!

Mitch: Are the blind spots in the sail panel and rear backlight areas as bad in the Falcon as they are in the Mach? In my flat black 71, the rearview mirror was better for looking at the Sheila's in the back seat than lookin' at traffic.

Post by **nirvancol** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 10:06 pm

yeah it would be too much work and i could just get used to it. so Bronze21 youre makin a replica? thats cool, i hope that all works out. how much are you paying for the falcon? so do you plan on having a working blower? thats the way to go! keep us updated man

Post by **Mitch** » Thu Feb 06, 2003 2:30 am

Bronze,

Yeah, flat black Mach 1's are a bitch, aren't they... Hot cars. And not just looks. Imagine this: One summer, I needed but couldn't afford a new radiator. So you have this flat black car with no carpet or insulation, a greenhouse rear windscreen, non-working A/C, and the heater going full blast to help cool the engine. In a St. Louis humid/oven summer.

On mine, the rear is raised with a longer shackle kit, 5 1/2 leaf rear springs and 245/60's on 15x8 rims. The view out the rear windscreen is similar to that from a mail slot. I use the side view mirrors, a little rear view and The Force to keep track of other traffic. People tend to stay away from it anyway.

The Falcon is a little better, but not much. Longer side windows and a concave, not flat, rear windscreen help. Pretty much same net result, though.

Mitch

Post by **nirvancol** » Thu Feb 06, 2003 3:49 am

Bronze, thats awesome. hope you can do everything you want to