[Gas455]

Just thought I would start a new thread about my GTO being rebuilt in Australia.

The car has been out of rego since 1979.

I have owned the car for about 5 years...and have only just brought the car home to start working on it.

It will not be a restoration...But a "modified to how I want it" car.
It may or not appeal to everyone...But it will appeal to me.

I don't actually know much about GTO's at all..... I originally didn't even like the car when I bought it...but bought it rather than just wasting my money at the pub and having nothing to show for it.
The car has grown on me...and I am excited to get stuck into the rebuild process.....all well knowing that it will be a long one.

I also have a 1960 Pontiac, and a 1957 Pontiac that will be getting modified when I have spare time when not working on the GTO.

The first few pics I have...were before I bought the car....and have no idea why the colour is why it is...But I will post them anyway.

I'm sure I will be asking plenty of questions during the build...so don't be afraid to tell me your honest opinions.

Greg

[Gas455]

The car came home just over a month ago.

I have been taking the firewall back to bare metal...it has a tar like coating on it.
And I also took out the wiring under the dash...and took the cluster and dash pad out and the carpet.

[BlueGTO]

WoW! its really neet to see a right hand drive and intresting to see the parts to make it that way. Its funny to see things thay did not change like the O-**** bar dash emblem being the came as lefthanders so the angles on the ends dont look right with the shape of the dash and the glovebox door button being closer to the door than the driver. It also looks like the shifter is pointed away from the driver.
Im really surprized thay did not change theses things.

[GT182]

My honest opinion Greg.... your car is so cool seeing it's RHD. It's the first and only GTO I've seen that way. Like Blue says, seeing how it was converted to RHD, tells you how they skimped to save money and do it as cheap as possible. At least it saved the buyer a few bucks. Keep the pictures coming as you go on the rebuild.

[Blue '66]

Very cool!Yes please post lots of pics.Is there any companys that sell the unique right hand drive parts for your GTO?

[importsmasher]

A buddy of mine in New Zealand had a 67 RHD GTO that was imported by some rich guy and registered as a RHD car in NZ in January 1967. It was an original HO car, with A/C. I can't imagine the effort that went into converting it and keeping the A/C!! It was really a neat car. I drove it once; it was very interesting. Like a mirror image of my 66 GTO convertible!!
Importsmasher

[harrington]

Very cool I have never seen one with RHD. Keep the pictures comming of the restification.

[GT182]

Importsmasher, can you see if he has any pictures of it that you could post here for us? That's the second one now and we'd love to see any and all the pictures of them we can. This is too cool.

Yeah like Blue '66 says, any place that had or has RHD parts for conversions would be great to know about.

[Andre]

My understanding from my friend Rick Trembath that did a conversion several years ago is that there are a fair amount of Holden parts that are already RH drive ready. I think the steering box, and some of the other steering parts are RH drive pieces that are available.

[Bob Kazian]

Andre,
Do you remember the red / white '67 GTO Convertible that was converted in the mid 90s and made the show circuit?

The guy that did it was Les _____? I believe he lived in California.

It was an immaculate conversion that was very unique at the time. Anybody know what happened to that car?

[Gas455]

I will have to have a look into what parts went into the conversion.
I know that the metal part of the dash is cut and welded.

the firewall looks like the heater core and steering sections had been cut out and swapped over and new plate sections made.

steering box as far as I know is the original GTO one that has a metal box section around it and mounted to the RHS. But...it depended on who did the conversion as to exactly how they did it.

I used to have a Corvette that used a cross shaft system, leaving the brake master cylinder and booster in the original position. I think it used a Toyota Cressida box.
Some cars use a chain drive system.

Aussie Ingenuity...working out what will work to get the job done.
Similar to what Hot Rod guys have to do I suppose.


Pretty much, There are companies that do the steering conversions....some specialise in one style of car eg Corvettes or Mustangs. You would take it there to get the conversion done...or do it yourself. Either way...they had to get an engineers report to make sure that it was done safely....although there have been some shockers out there.


Would have been alot easier if the USA made their cars in both LHD and RHD...like most of the other car companies around the world!!!


But if I imported a 1967 GTO today.....I could register it as a LHD car...with full normal rego. Different states have different requirements.

Hardest part driving a LHD car in Oz is....overtaking, going through drive throughs and toll booths!!! It's not really difficult though..


There are so many USA cars in OZ...... both LHD and RHD.

[Greg Reid]

There's at least one member of the boards that has a RHD '68 GTO. There are pics of it around. I think there's even one or two on the http://ultimategto.com site. Red with white interior.
Gas455, That's a nice '67. Looks to be in pretty good condition already. Interior looks real good.

[ron cozzo]

Why on earth did this post get a sticky? Interesting, yes. Of use to anyone else, no.

Gas455, no offense to you or your cars intended.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by ron cozzo

Why on earth did this post get a sticky? Interesting, yes. Of use to anyone else, no.

Gas455, no offense to you or your cars intended.

Maybe interesting is enough?

[6 Grrrs]

really interesting on how crude the conversion is.

Cool none the less. Keep us posted of updates.

PS - I'd like to see more pics of the 1960 Pontiac. I love '59-60 Pontiacs & Impalas.

[Greg Reid]

If you think about it, imagine the amount of engineering required to do things like reversing the shifter so that it sits more toward the driver's side. Hardly worth it if it were even possible.

[Kahn Man]

I remember when I had my 2004 GTO people would complain that the radio volume knob what on the wrong (right-hand) side. That's one thing they didn't change when they brought the RHDs over to LHD.

[6 Grrrs]

Originally Posted by Kahn Man

I remember when I had my 2004 GTO people would complain that the radio volume knob what on the wrong (right-hand) side. That's one thing they didn't change when they brought the RHDs over to LHD.

There were some other Aussie quirks about those cars, too. I kind of liked the quirkiness. I miss my '04.

[Gas455]

Whats the biggest tyres you guys can fit under the rear without moving the chassis rails?

I will be getting a new diff made up for it.
But want 15" wheels in the largest width I can put under there.

Here are some pics of my '60 Laurentian. So far best of 11.7@114

[importsmasher]

There's a guy here in Phoenix that I use for frame and structural repair who is doing the opposite. A customer brought him a Holden "ute" (think of the new G6 el Camino thing) that he brought over from Australia and he is converting it to left hand drive. He is using a wrecked 04 GTO but he said he is having to fabricate to make things fit.

GT182, I will have to see if I have any photos of my buddy's 67 GTO in New Zealand. He sold it several years ago due to health problems, and he is an older guy that I seriously doubt has any digital pictures of it. If I can find some, I will scan them and post them.

Importsmasher