Reset Password · International Vintage Volkswagen Forums

Welcome Guest! To enable all features please Login or Register

Posted by: Last Triumph - 29 October 2008 16:43:38
My search for a nice Oval continues and I was just wondering how many people on here have either lhd or rhd? I'm personally not that bothered but was just wondering what the opinion of LHD was in these circles? I appreciate it's always nice to have RHD in the UK, but with them being much rarer in a rust free condition, I trust LHD cars aren't treated like lepers?

Posted by: Judson53 - 29 October 2008 16:53:03
Hi,i spoke to u on the phone the other week about a oval from oz!i personaly hate LHD weather its a bus or a beetle,so my oval and splity are RHD Have you managed to find any thing yet?

Posted by: lifeintheslowlane - 29 October 2008 18:34:33
I had a RHD '59 Beetle for 10 years and now have a '58 Lowlight Karmann Ghia (they only came as LHD anyway) and a LHD '63 Splitty. RHD fine, LHD no problem either. It is a matter of personal preference and some people I know have a problem getting their head around the switch...I know one who won't drive a hire car on holiday when in mainland Europe.:shock: If you think a LHD VW in the UK would be worth less than a RHD...I don't think so. Basically most Vintage VW fans will be looking for quality and originality and to most LHD/RHD is low on their list. I've driven my LHD Ghia most days over the last few weeks...it doesn't even register with me I'm on the left hand side of the car. They're great to drive whatever side.

Posted by: lifeintheslowlane - 29 October 2008 18:34:33

I had a RHD '59 Beetle for 10 years and now have a '58 Lowlight Karmann Ghia (they only came as LHD anyway) and a LHD '63 Splitty. RHD fine, LHD no problem either. It is a matter of personal preference and some people I know have a problem getting their head around the switch...I know one who won't drive a hire car on holiday when in mainland Europe.:shock: If you think a LHD VW in the UK would be worth less than a RHD...I don't think so. Basically most Vintage VW fans will be looking for quality and originality and to most LHD/RHD is low on their list. I've driven my LHD Ghia most days over the last few weeks...it doesn't even register with me I'm on the left hand side of the car. They're great to drive whatever side.

Posted by: GKL 7 - 29 October 2008 19:07:54
[quote=Judson53]i personaly hate LHD weather its a bus or a beetle[/quote] Why is that:?:

Posted by: Last Triumph - 29 October 2008 20:08:05
[quote=Judson53]Hi,i spoke to u on the phone the other week about a oval from oz!i personaly hate LHD weather its a bus or a beetle,so my oval and splity are RHD Have you managed to find any thing yet?[/quote] Hi. Still looking but have one particular car in my sights, subject to a more thorough inspection. It's LHD. My preference is for originality in my cars and whilst I apreciate everyone's taste is different, I'm not a huge fan of excessive lowering / narrowing, expecially of rare and unmolestered cars. This particular forum seems to host people of similar taste, and when I finally find my ideal car, I'd like to think that would be welcomed and appreciated if it was a LHD. I've driven lots of American cars over here so it doesn't bother me from a driving perspective, as it would get so little use anyway. On the basis that I could wait forever for the right RHD car to come along, and even if it did, I would likely not be able to afford it anyway, it seems that the choice of LHD cars from America and Sweden is far greater. I don't mind none original engines as long as they are type correct, as I know many will have either expired or be beyond line boring etc, but I do want a car that is virginal, un welded, un crashed, and will correct parts. Most importantly, it must be solid and not full of holes which sadly rules out many of the RHD cars. I look forward to sharing with you all whatever it is that turns up...

Posted by: Last Triumph - 29 October 2008 20:08:05

[quote=Judson53]Hi,i spoke to u on the phone the other week about a oval from oz!i personaly hate LHD weather its a bus or a beetle,so my oval and splity are RHD Have you managed to find any thing yet?[/quote] Hi. Still looking but have one particular car in my sights, subject to a more thorough inspection. It's LHD. My preference is for originality in my cars and whilst I apreciate everyone's taste is different, I'm not a huge fan of excessive lowering / narrowing, expecially of rare and unmolestered cars. This particular forum seems to host people of similar taste, and when I finally find my ideal car, I'd like to think that would be welcomed and appreciated if it was a LHD. I've driven lots of American cars over here so it doesn't bother me from a driving perspective, as it would get so little use anyway. On the basis that I could wait forever for the right RHD car to come along, and even if it did, I would likely not be able to afford it anyway, it seems that the choice of LHD cars from America and Sweden is far greater. I don't mind none original engines as long as they are type correct, as I know many will have either expired or be beyond line boring etc, but I do want a car that is virginal, un welded, un crashed, and will correct parts. Most importantly, it must be solid and not full of holes which sadly rules out many of the RHD cars. I look forward to sharing with you all whatever it is that turns up...

Posted by: JULIANROBINSON - 02 November 2008 19:31:08
I've Got 2 LHD and 1 RHD Oval... the LHD cars are in better condition... And when it comes to driving them... remember that they were designed as LHD ... RHD was an after thought :lol: I've also got a LHD 65 Cabrio, a LHD 69 Bay and a RHD 64 Bug, a RHD Trekker, a RHD 67 Splitty and RHD 70 Bay... They are all fun to drive... Buy it cos its the right car... not because of where the steering wheel is!!!

Posted by: JULIANROBINSON - 02 November 2008 19:31:08

I've Got 2 LHD and 1 RHD Oval... the LHD cars are in better condition... And when it comes to driving them... remember that they were designed as LHD ... RHD was an after thought :lol: I've also got a LHD 65 Cabrio, a LHD 69 Bay and a RHD 64 Bug, a RHD Trekker, a RHD 67 Splitty and RHD 70 Bay... They are all fun to drive... Buy it cos its the right car... not because of where the steering wheel is!!!

Posted by: harveypj - 02 November 2008 21:32:52
[quote=JULIANROBINSON]I've Got 2 LHD and 1 RHD Oval... I've also got a LHD 65 Cabrio, a LHD 69 Bay and a RHD 64 Bug, a RHD Trekker, a RHD 67 Splitty and RHD 70 Bay... [/quote] Greedy pig :lol: :lol: :lol:

Posted by: JD - 02 November 2008 22:21:22
[quote='50 Karmann] Why is that:?: [/quote] Yeah! What George said. How much difference does it make, sitting about two and a half feet further across the car?

Posted by: Last Triumph - 02 November 2008 22:51:27
Thanks for your replies - that's pretty much how I see it too. There is always the fact that if and when you come to sell a LHD car, you have a much larger market to sell into with the internet shrinking the world as it has done in recent years. On another point, how inportant is having the original engine block? Obviously it's nice, but once they are beyong line boring, I guess they're scrap no matter how hard you try. Are type correct but non og motors a regular thing?

Posted by: Last Triumph - 02 November 2008 22:51:27

Thanks for your replies - that's pretty much how I see it too. There is always the fact that if and when you come to sell a LHD car, you have a much larger market to sell into with the internet shrinking the world as it has done in recent years. On another point, how inportant is having the original engine block? Obviously it's nice, but once they are beyong line boring, I guess they're scrap no matter how hard you try. Are type correct but non og motors a regular thing?

Posted by: lifeintheslowlane - 03 November 2008 07:19:33
[quote=Last Triumph] Are type correct but non og motors a regular thing?[/quote] The norm rather than the exception...sadly.

Posted by: mrsherbie - 03 November 2008 10:29:55
[quote=JULIANROBINSON] I've Got 2 LHD and 1 RHD Oval... the LHD cars are in better condition... They are all fun to drive... Buy it cos its the right car... not because of where the steering wheel is!!! [/quote] Julian's words are perfect for me too! :d We have both. At the end of the day for myself, I will buy the car with the least rust, nothing more. I dont want all the work, or equally to end up with a car with completely replaced [u]quarters[/u], [u]floor pans[/u] or [u]channels[/u] under any circumstances, it would have to be a really special or rare model or a sunroof or Kab for me to accept any of these 3 factors. Intensive repairs needed to these areas are fine, I just dont want to find whole brazil panels already welded in up to the waistline! Actually I am hunting for a new (modern) daily car at the moment and really would like a lhd over rhd ( but I cant find one) as I love driving lhd and changing gear with my right hand, being right handed, it has always seemed far more natural to me. Only my own personal view, but I think lhd snobbery is usually only down to either lack of knowledge/experience of 50's vws OR people who have a wife or partner who refuses to drive a lhd car! :lol: This ALSO seems to be a VERY common reason, and always the unwilling partner is a WOMAN! Oh no! :oops: [-x but I can only put this down to lack of driving confidence or knowledge/experience of the woman again. But the rhd/lhd thing really is just personal choice in the end. It makes me wince to see wanted ads for splitscreen vans posted by people who state they ONLY want rhd, yet it is their first vw let alone splitbus! :shock: Disaster looming! They have no idea just how crusty and rusty UK rhd vans are! I worry for them! I have never received any lhd snobbery myself over my vws. But funnily enough, now I have to laugh when I see split beetles in the uk that have been converted to rhd as it is funny that they are so obviously wrong! It just de-values the car! So now I am being a lhd snob :lol: I would say also that once you have been to a H.O. or Camberg or similar vintage stock meeting and seen that ALL the early and rare cars, for example ALL 40's VWs ARE ONLY LHD!! Most people change their minds about only liking rhd and decide they want a lovely leftie too :wink: :d

Posted by: mrsherbie - 03 November 2008 10:29:55

[quote=JULIANROBINSON] I've Got 2 LHD and 1 RHD Oval... the LHD cars are in better condition... They are all fun to drive... Buy it cos its the right car... not because of where the steering wheel is!!! [/quote] Julian's words are perfect for me too! :d We have both. At the end of the day for myself, I will buy the car with the least rust, nothing more. I dont want all the work, or equally to end up with a car with completely replaced [u]quarters[/u], [u]floor pans[/u] or [u]channels[/u] under any circumstances, it would have to be a really special or rare model or a sunroof or Kab for me to accept any of these 3 factors. Intensive repairs needed to these areas are fine, I just dont want to find whole brazil panels already welded in up to the waistline! Actually I am hunting for a new (modern) daily car at the moment and really would like a lhd over rhd ( but I cant find one) as I love driving lhd and changing gear with my right hand, being right handed, it has always seemed far more natural to me. Only my own personal view, but I think lhd snobbery is usually only down to either lack of knowledge/experience of 50's vws OR people who have a wife or partner who refuses to drive a lhd car! :lol: This ALSO seems to be a VERY common reason, and always the unwilling partner is a WOMAN! Oh no! :oops: [-x but I can only put this down to lack of driving confidence or knowledge/experience of the woman again. But the rhd/lhd thing really is just personal choice in the end. It makes me wince to see wanted ads for splitscreen vans posted by people who state they ONLY want rhd, yet it is their first vw let alone splitbus! :shock: Disaster looming! They have no idea just how crusty and rusty UK rhd vans are! I worry for them! I have never received any lhd snobbery myself over my vws. But funnily enough, now I have to laugh when I see split beetles in the uk that have been converted to rhd as it is funny that they are so obviously wrong! It just de-values the car! So now I am being a lhd snob :lol: I would say also that once you have been to a H.O. or Camberg or similar vintage stock meeting and seen that ALL the early and rare cars, for example ALL 40's VWs ARE ONLY LHD!! Most people change their minds about only liking rhd and decide they want a lovely leftie too :wink: :d

Posted by: Ovalbug - 03 November 2008 20:27:19
I agree that condition of any car should far outweigh whether it is rhd or lhd, would much rather a rust-free lhd than a crusty rhd for the same money......... Having said that though, my preference is for rhd and that is based purely on the fact that I wouldn't feel safe with an old and slow lhd VW on todays roads, particularly as many of them have quite poor rearwards visibility. No doubt you are all now going to roast me alive for saying this , but I find these days there is more snobbery from 'lefties' saying that rhd stands for 'rong hand drive' , than any snobbery existing vice versa :lol: . :wink:

Posted by: Ovalbug - 03 November 2008 20:27:19

I agree that condition of any car should far outweigh whether it is rhd or lhd, would much rather a rust-free lhd than a crusty rhd for the same money......... Having said that though, my preference is for rhd and that is based purely on the fact that I wouldn't feel safe with an old and slow lhd VW on todays roads, particularly as many of them have quite poor rearwards visibility. No doubt you are all now going to roast me alive for saying this , but I find these days there is more snobbery from 'lefties' saying that rhd stands for 'rong hand drive' , than any snobbery existing vice versa :lol: . :wink:

Posted by: lifeintheslowlane - 03 November 2008 21:00:44
[quote=Ovalbug]No doubt you are all now going to roast me alive for saying this , but I find these days there is more snobbery from 'lefties' saying that rhd stands for 'rong hand drive' , than any snobbery existing vice versa :lol: . :wink: [/quote] Personally I've never come across this snobbery. As I say Left, Right it's all the same to me. Can't quite see your point about getting bashed from behind...they can see you no better if you're driving a RHD car than a LHD.

Posted by: lifeintheslowlane - 03 November 2008 21:00:44

[quote=Ovalbug]No doubt you are all now going to roast me alive for saying this , but I find these days there is more snobbery from 'lefties' saying that rhd stands for 'rong hand drive' , than any snobbery existing vice versa :lol: . :wink: [/quote] Personally I've never come across this snobbery. As I say Left, Right it's all the same to me. Can't quite see your point about getting bashed from behind...they can see you no better if you're driving a RHD car than a LHD.

Posted by: crash_test_dummy - 03 November 2008 22:19:37
Mine's a '57 LHD. As far as I am concerned then I don't really care whether the car is LHD or RHD. If it was a daily driver then I may but as a nice weather car I don't Cheers

Posted by: JD - 03 November 2008 22:59:22
[quote=Ovalbug] Having said that though, my preference is for rhd and that is based purely on the fact that I wouldn't feel safe with an old and slow lhd VW on todays roads,[/quote] What? You worried about not being able to overtake?!:lol: :lol:

Posted by: JD - 03 November 2008 23:04:55
[quote=mrsherbie] I would say also that once you have been to a H.O. or Camberg or similar vintage stock meeting and seen that ALL the early and rare cars, for example ALL 40's VWs ARE ONLY LHD!! [/quote] What she said. I live in Germany, so I´m not really all that bothered about the LHD thing. Still can´t overtake anyone. Good sig by the way MrsH! Wish I was witty and cool like that guy.

Posted by: Ovalbug - 04 November 2008 07:16:52
[quote=lifeintheslowlane] Personally I've never come across this snobbery. As I say Left, Right it's all the same to me. Can't quite see your point about getting bashed from behind...they can see you no better if you're driving a RHD car than a LHD.[/quote] I've never experienced this on the road, but regularly encounter it on another VW forum where its apparently trendy to [b]only [/b] own lhd VW's as that was the way Porsche etc designed them :roll: . Appreciate what you say about visibility, but my point is that in a lhd split/oval/cabrio etc [b]you[/b] cannot easily see what is behind you if you need to overtake an obstruction whilst on the road. A simple manoeuvre in a rhd vehicle becomes a bit of a drama in a lhd one........so purely for that reason I find them a bit unsafe in the UK..... [quote=JD] What? You worried about not being able to overtake?!:lol: :lol: [/quote] I certainly am! :lol: :lol:

Posted by: Ovalbug - 04 November 2008 07:16:52

[quote=lifeintheslowlane] Personally I've never come across this snobbery. As I say Left, Right it's all the same to me. Can't quite see your point about getting bashed from behind...they can see you no better if you're driving a RHD car than a LHD.[/quote] I've never experienced this on the road, but regularly encounter it on another VW forum where its apparently trendy to [b]only [/b] own lhd VW's as that was the way Porsche etc designed them :roll: . Appreciate what you say about visibility, but my point is that in a lhd split/oval/cabrio etc [b]you[/b] cannot easily see what is behind you if you need to overtake an obstruction whilst on the road. A simple manoeuvre in a rhd vehicle becomes a bit of a drama in a lhd one........so purely for that reason I find them a bit unsafe in the UK..... [quote=JD] What? You worried about not being able to overtake?!:lol: :lol: [/quote] I certainly am! :lol: :lol:

Posted by: 55Kab - 23 November 2008 23:58:03
[quote=JULIANROBINSON]I've Got 2 LHD and 1 RHD Oval...I've also got a LHD 65 Cabrio, a LHD 69 Bay and a RHD 64 Bug, a RHD Trekker, a RHD 67 Splitty and RHD 70 Bay...[/quote] So which is it? It can't be a big house with a small garage, it must be a small house with a [b][/b][i][/i]BIG [i][/i][b][/b]garage!:lol:

Posted by: 55Kab - 24 November 2008 00:00:36
[quote=mrsherbie]This ALSO seems to be a VERY common reason, and always the unwilling partner is a WOMAN! Oh no! :oops: [-x but I can only put this down to lack of driving confidence or knowledge/experience of the woman again.[/quote] Yep, you haven't seen my wife drive a manual have you! Let alone a LHD vintage VW...!!!:lol:

Posted by: JULIANROBINSON - 08 December 2008 21:23:13
[quote=55Kab] So which is it? It can't be a big house with a small garage, it must be a small house with a [b][/b][i][/i]BIG [i][/i][b][/b]garage!:lol: [/quote] erm, bought a plot of land with a workshop and some tumble down garages... rebuilt the garages and filled the workshop... oh, and there is a 4 bed house on the land too :lol: most importantly, I now have dry parking for 8-10 cars! 8)

International Vintage Volkswagen Forums

Important Information: