Right Hand Drive
 

Hi,
Im interested in importing a Supra to United States from Japan. My only concern is the right hand drive.

Would it be difficult to adapt?
Is it possible to change to steering column position and approximately how much would it cost?

Does anyone have experience driving a right hand drive supra, in a country where the official side is left?

All comment are appreciated.

thanks

Bringing a RHD vehicle into the states and getting it properly licensed and insured is often a pain (if not impossible). I believe it depends on whether or not the vehicle was available in the US to begin with, if the foreign model meets all current safety requirements (this would even include having to replace the headlight fixtures with DOT approved fixtures), documenting the vehicles origin and ownership history and passing inspection... I'm sure a lot of it depends on the inspector. Don't hold me to this though, I've never done it myself. I just know a lot of military people and car enthusiasts who've looked into it and not one ever went through with it... my military friends actually owned the cars already and ended up just selling them before returning home.

Now you may point out companies such as the one which brings over Skylines... well, they kind of cheat and they kind of get screwed. They don't import "cars"... They import "parts". They reassemble the vehicles here in that states (at this point it's technically no longer a Nissan, BTW). In order to then get the vehicle titled they have to get it inspected and certified that all components meet of exceed all current safety and emissions standards. It costs thousands; But there are people who will pay the additional $5+K just to get one... For a vehicle which is already available here only the biggest RHD fiends are willing to shell out all that money. Unless you're getting it for free (aside from the expense of importing and certifying) or want a car that cost a lot more than you could get locally you're probably out of luck.

Converting it to LHD is a downright crazy proposition in my opinion and not worth it in the least... What it will require varies a bit from car to car but the general list starts with: firewall, dash, center console, ebrake handle, often pedal set, steering rack and column, dash wire harness (or modify yours to fit), heater and A/C setup (heater core, ducts, blower assembly).

I know of a couple people who converted their Supra to RHD after not being able to figure out a way of importing one... this is quite expensive too.

Part of the charm is the right side drivers wheel. To import one from Japan is next to impossible. I could not take mine home from Tokyo. Had something to do with safety standards and the right hand drive not being crash tested. Suppose I could of taken him apart and shipped. However my guy had some serious corrosion in the back hatch and trunk. Oh one of the differences between Japan spec and American spec is the bake reservoir has only one chamber and not split. So lose one brake line all of the brakes do not work. Something also to do with the windscreen and windows. Oh the 2.0 liter engine never made it to America. Spare parts would be a pain.

wow. thats a shame
i was looking forward to buying a supra from Japan.