MORLEY’S WORKSHOP
at the thought of losing
our own home-grown car
industry (one that served us
pretty damn well, I would
have thought) it’s also true
that not all is lost.
Thing is, while I empathise,
I can’t actually agree with
some of your points of view.
Let’s start with the Camaro
RHD drive conversions HSV
is doing in Melbourne. My
own feeling is that it’s pretty
harsh to be calling this
process half-baked or that
the end product amounts
to an aftermarket converted
car. See, these Camaros are
being sold through Holden
dealerships, so you better
believe that GM head office
in Detroit is satisfied that
the quality and design of
the conversion is just as
good as the factory’s. For
that reason, I don’t think the
end result is a compromise
in any way, nor do I believe
that it will have any effect on
the retained values of these
cars. Certainly the end result
carries the full GM factory
warranty of any other
brand-new GM product.
I’ve actually been through
the HSV factory that does
the conversions (which
started with the RAM Truck
product a couple of years
ago). Frankly, it was very
impressive. Any welding
is done with proper jigs
for correct alignment and
wherever possible, HSV
was using parts from the
RAM’s original suppliers in
the US. A great example
was the steering box which
needed to be a mirror-image
of the LHD unit. Instead of
finding a cheap supplier
somewhere, HSV contacted
the OE supplier of the LHD
RAM steering box in the
States and contracted it to
build a RHD version of the
same component. So quality
was never going to suffer.
In fact, you could argue
that the reassembled (by
HSV) trucks were actually
of better build quality than
the ones that arrived in
containers as LHD Rams.
The Camaro involves a
lot more disassembly for
the conversion, so it’s not
a simple process (which is
why the Camaro costs more
than the Mustang which
is available ex-factory in
RHD). But it’s important to
remember that conversions
are much better engineered
these days. Another example
is the work being done“THE HIGHWAY
PATROL CAR
NAILED THE
CELICA AT
SOME INSANE
VELOCITY”
OPPOSITE PAGE There’s
a bloke who’s getting
the hang of punting a
Dolomite.BELOW If you want to
see a five-star quality RHD
conversion, check out a
Camaro.by Crossover Conversions
(also in Melbourne) which
is converting Dodge
Challengers, Vipers, late
Ford F-trucks and others
with very impressive results.
Fundamentally, I wouldn’t
have a problem with any of
these cars in terms of their
integrity, design or build
quality. And let’s face it, if
the only way to get your
hands on a new Camaro is
to have somebody like HSV
convert it, is that so bad?
I’d also argue with your
statement that the centre
console in the new Mustang
is the only time a car-maker
has taken the easy way out
when switching from left
to right-hand-drive. I’ve
driven plenty of cars where
the park-brake lever has
been on the wrong side
of the console, and most
of those have also been
factory right-hand-drive
models. And what about
indicator switches on the
left-hand-side of the steering
column? Or ignition switches
on the `wrong’ side?
Hell, I drove a US-made,
factory-RHD SUV once that
still had the LHD `driver’s’
foot rest in the passenger’s
footwell!