A friend of mine has started his RHD swap, but needs help on where to cut the firewalls. He can't post here for some reason...
Link to his thread at NWN - http://northwestnissans.com/bo...18819
Copy and paste - " hey guy`s. so i got my rhd clip this morning right. striped it, and striped my dash outa my car.. so. all i have left is to cut the firewall tomarrow.
does anyone know were to cut and such? i have a good idea and i know were i want to cut will work but i want to look at others do u know were i can look at pictures and such ? or? do u know were to cut and have done? thank`s people il be online all day and night help would be much appreciated . so i can get the firewall in asap
thsnk`s. "
another question. Does anyone know if a r32 or r33 dash and/or firewall will fit into a s13 or s14.
Any info is appreiciated
Need help with RHD swap
of course it'll fit. whether it'll line up is another story. Biggest thing is, make certain you cut the hole in the project car too small, and not too big. Its easy to take a little more off if its too small (and the donated firewall piece is too big).
I recommend cutting 1 giant piece that runs from inside one wheel well to inside the other from the clip
I just cut along the top under the seam, then drilled the spot welds out from the frame/firewall, then cut down the wheel wells, and then along the bottom where its all flat and there's no raised areas
as for cutting holes in the project's firewall, it depends on how you want to attack it, and who's going to do the welding. If you're getting someone else to weld it, then ask them what they want, or if they want to cut it themselves. You also want to take measurements before you cut as to the location of various holes from some line (like the seam along the top back portion of the engine bay, or from either side and perhaps even the center). Its going to be somewhat difficult to figure it out after you already cut it out.
It's a ***** to cut around the wheel wells, a cut off wheel doesn't last long, a sawzall will make quick work of it and be incredibly hard to control and keep straight, and an airsaw will cut good and straight, but slowly, and it doesn't like the black tar thats inbetween the 2 pieces of metal at the floor board and around the transmission tunnel.
you're going to have to cut real close to the wheel well on the passanger side b/c of the shape of the LHD firewall right there. It bulges out a a good amount and only becomes flat right before the start of the wheel well. The guy thats doing the welding for me is going to cut the pieces out from the RHD firewall himself so they slip right in the holes (or he may take that center section out and make it all one) and tack it in place in the 4 corners, and place reinforcement plating over the seam and weld that to each of the surfaces.
I recommend cutting 1 giant piece that runs from inside one wheel well to inside the other from the clip
I just cut along the top under the seam, then drilled the spot welds out from the frame/firewall, then cut down the wheel wells, and then along the bottom where its all flat and there's no raised areas
as for cutting holes in the project's firewall, it depends on how you want to attack it, and who's going to do the welding. If you're getting someone else to weld it, then ask them what they want, or if they want to cut it themselves. You also want to take measurements before you cut as to the location of various holes from some line (like the seam along the top back portion of the engine bay, or from either side and perhaps even the center). Its going to be somewhat difficult to figure it out after you already cut it out.
It's a ***** to cut around the wheel wells, a cut off wheel doesn't last long, a sawzall will make quick work of it and be incredibly hard to control and keep straight, and an airsaw will cut good and straight, but slowly, and it doesn't like the black tar thats inbetween the 2 pieces of metal at the floor board and around the transmission tunnel.
you're going to have to cut real close to the wheel well on the passanger side b/c of the shape of the LHD firewall right there. It bulges out a a good amount and only becomes flat right before the start of the wheel well. The guy thats doing the welding for me is going to cut the pieces out from the RHD firewall himself so they slip right in the holes (or he may take that center section out and make it all one) and tack it in place in the 4 corners, and place reinforcement plating over the seam and weld that to each of the surfaces.
also, I recommend cutting the top piece off and saving it (w/ the inlets for the AC system, as well as the wiper mount which is located on the other side and if you do use it, you'll probably want to cover the hole on the other side. But, the VIN is stamped on that section, and i would not recommend cutting the US vin off and putting the japanese one on.
also, there is a hole on the right side under the windshield that feeds the blower motor. This will have to be welded shut, and if you intend on installing the stuff behind the dash, then you need to cut a hole on the other side, and fold the metal up so that water and debris doesn't fall into your blower motor.
A potential issue for your case is the steering column mount. It might not be contoured for the 240 so it might be a pain to mount. And you'll quickly notice that the LHD one will not work b/c its installed on a section thats angled towards the front of the car, so its longer on the right side than the left, meaing that it would be all wrong for the right side. Also, you'll notice that you cannot use the LHD brake pedal, b/c the RHD steering column mount looks nothing the same b/c it lacks the extra support pieces for the US brake pedal assembly
Top view
bottom view
You're also probably going to have to drill the spot welds for some/many of the brackets (for example, the accelerator pedal stop and the dead pedal).
I'm curious, what's he planning to do for the wiring? Is he going to cut/splice/lengthen/shorten the LHD harness to fit the RHD, or is he going to use the RHD body harness, or a combination of the two?
Also curious to know if he has been in contact w/ anyone as to the legality of the conversion. I've heard/read some where in the past that there have been cases where people did all the work, and were then told that they could not drive the car for some legality issue. I would look up your State Police website and find contact information for asking a question about state laws and/or federal laws. I contacted my state police, and the response i got was this;
"The only code section that I can find that addresses steering is the following:
§ 46.2-1065. Steering gear; installation, sale, etc., of repair kit or preventive maintenance kit for use on part of steering gear prohibited. ..."
So if the people in the know can't find anything that outlaws it, then I have a much better chance of having not to worry about being pulled over everytime i see a police officer. I myself also checked the state inspection laws, as well as read thru the listing of automobile related laws to make certain that there was nothing wrong w/ it. I highly recommend he do the same, since laws vary from state to state.
also, there is a hole on the right side under the windshield that feeds the blower motor. This will have to be welded shut, and if you intend on installing the stuff behind the dash, then you need to cut a hole on the other side, and fold the metal up so that water and debris doesn't fall into your blower motor.
A potential issue for your case is the steering column mount. It might not be contoured for the 240 so it might be a pain to mount. And you'll quickly notice that the LHD one will not work b/c its installed on a section thats angled towards the front of the car, so its longer on the right side than the left, meaing that it would be all wrong for the right side. Also, you'll notice that you cannot use the LHD brake pedal, b/c the RHD steering column mount looks nothing the same b/c it lacks the extra support pieces for the US brake pedal assembly
Top view
bottom view
You're also probably going to have to drill the spot welds for some/many of the brackets (for example, the accelerator pedal stop and the dead pedal).
I'm curious, what's he planning to do for the wiring? Is he going to cut/splice/lengthen/shorten the LHD harness to fit the RHD, or is he going to use the RHD body harness, or a combination of the two?
Also curious to know if he has been in contact w/ anyone as to the legality of the conversion. I've heard/read some where in the past that there have been cases where people did all the work, and were then told that they could not drive the car for some legality issue. I would look up your State Police website and find contact information for asking a question about state laws and/or federal laws. I contacted my state police, and the response i got was this;
"The only code section that I can find that addresses steering is the following:
§ 46.2-1065. Steering gear; installation, sale, etc., of repair kit or preventive maintenance kit for use on part of steering gear prohibited. ..."
So if the people in the know can't find anything that outlaws it, then I have a much better chance of having not to worry about being pulled over everytime i see a police officer. I myself also checked the state inspection laws, as well as read thru the listing of automobile related laws to make certain that there was nothing wrong w/ it. I highly recommend he do the same, since laws vary from state to state.
Thanks, that was very Informative, pretty much what we are looking for. Well, he has the RHD front clip. So he is going to use most everything off of that. He also has a RHD saab but that was converted by getting the dash and bolting everything to the LHD firewall, extending wires....
about the legality of it, he has rolled up to a police officer in his RHD Saab and asked him about it. Officer said it wasn’t illegal...this is in Washington state.
about the legality of it, he has rolled up to a police officer in his RHD Saab and asked him about it. Officer said it wasn’t illegal...this is in Washington state.
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OlyDriftSquad
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