And so it begins....323BG hatch ----> V6 powa with a few extra surprises

[Dan [Sac]]

Today's work:

Today I finished the wiper assembly transfer. Drilled the 323 on the right side, moved the center bracket to its RHD correct location, and fitted the whole lot on.

Also got the HVAC fresh air inlet moved over from the RHD clip to the 323, and 'patched' the hole from the old inlet with its RHD counterpart.

All of the welding on the cowl & firewall will receive a coat of OEM anti-corrosion & weatherproof sealant.

Pics:


RHS drilled & arm pivot installed






RHD center bracket welded in place









Cowl cover on






Wipers on - it fits!






HVAC fresh air inlet welded on the left side now









Hole where LHD inlet used to be:






That hole is now patched with its RHD proper part welded on






Random shot of the front subframe after 1st round of cleaning:

[Mazda_Powered]

damn you and your rust free parts! that subframe looks mint! haha

looking great man

[Dan [Sac]]

That's because power steering leaks keep rust away.

[Turpro]

Sorry if I overlooked it but is this going to be boosted? And what internals are you going to run?


Also on a side note you will never win ROTM......ROTY is more like it lol

[Dan [Sac]]

Sorry if I overlooked it but is this going to be boosted? And what internals are you going to run?

7psi on a supercharger, stock internals, megasquirt tuning, engine has been freshly rebuilt. The valve covers will be re-powdercoated wrinkle black, intake manifold will be silver.

[Turpro]

7psi on a supercharger, stock internals, megasquirt tuning, engine has been freshly rebuilt. The valve covers will be re-powdercoated wrinkle black, intake manifold will be silver.

Want

[Dan [Sac]]

Only an hour of work today, patched one of the large holes and about 5 small ones. For the main round hole of the old M/C I will add a round piece of 22 ga to fill it up, then grind it smooth.

Lots of work left, but doing a bit each day will see it through

[Crazy Drummer69]

Is the RHD conversion due to mechanical fitment requirements or because you like that style/functionality?

[bomdoutscort]

Is the RHD conversion due to mechanical fitment requirements or because you like that style/functionality?

Read the entire thread so questions don't get asked over and over and you'll know.

It's for JDM coolness. I've wanted a RHD car since i was a preteen (which was 2 decades ago for perspectives' sake) but I never thought a Probe would be all that in it - this car is the perfect storm for some things I've wanted to do. I could care less how 'played out' it is or what other nonsense some of you are saying, i'm doing it because I want to. I remember when I started messing with the Probe on the drag strip some people saying "that thing will never run 12s, do yourself a favor and get a Mustang or a Honda..."....yeah, well that turned out ok after all.

More pics in a few days when my comp. works again.

[Saturna]

...and here I thought changing a RHD to LHD or vice versa might be a semi bolt-in affair because the firewall/dash mounts would be made to accept either side components upon assembly, like British cars of the '60's.

Amazing work and photos. One of the most interesting worklogs to follow.



Jay

[Dan [Sac]]

Well the uni-body cars of today are built a little different from the all bolt-on cars of yesterday. Much less welding would be needed to do it 100% right, which would entail removing the windshield, and peeling back the front frame rails, strut tower aprons and cowl layers to swap the firewall layers whole - then just spot-weld it all back together.

It's not that much work honestly considering how much the car changes, you just have to be diligent and have a good plan. The rest is in the execution

[Dan [Sac]]

Today's work -

Not much new, just more hole-patching. This appears more work than it needs to be - because it is. I want the firewall to be smooth along with the mild wire tuck, so I'm pretty much closing any hole that won't be needed or is an eye sore.

There is much grinding & smoothing left to be done.

Today I closed the round hole from the old master cylinder, along with the 3rd brake light and the LHD steering linkage hole.

Next 4 days I'm on car work hiatus as I prepare for my Dynamics final, then back to the grind...ha...ha....I crack myself up...

[smoke187]

wow nice welds

[Dan [Sac]]

Today's work:

All I did today was weld holes shut...did about 45 today, and I'm almost halfway done with the holes. A ton of them around when you have the wiring in stock locations (most are for harness plastic clips).

Got the upper rad. support nice & smooth, and the right side (almost said "passenger" side) frame rail half done. By no means is any part done, I just put the etching primer on to not get any corrosion from the night time dew. I will still smooth them over one more time and then fill the stock spot weld divots with body filler for a super smooth look (Rage Xtreme is the ****!)

Weather's been fantastic, other than a few days over 105, it's been mostly low 90s so working outside is nice.

Before:







After:

[IMACHU2]

Very nice execution, it will look factory when your finished......only kooler