These sort of threads always make me laugh with the rhd crew slagging of people buying lefties. I have a lefty and of course it's not as easy to drive on our roads as a rhd but it's not difficult either. I bought it for one simple reason, all of the rhd in my price bracket were either piles of rot, 70% filler or hand painted with a sweeping brush. I use it as my daily, part of which is motorway and it's a piece of cake.
This is not strictly true Chris, The rhd owners are not slagging lhd owners off, they are just bemused as to the reasons they say they prefer lhd, instead of like you who said it was because they are cheaper and decent rhd buses are hard to find, and also not coming up with reasons that are made up to justify their own misgivings about having one, rhd drive owners dont even think about this issue, it's a non issue because we live in the uk, it's only an issue to lhd owners, we just comment on their mistaken beliefs
Mines RHD and Im not dissing anyone. I understand why people would go rot free and LHD. If I wasnt attached to my bus I would probably get a rot free left hooker and convert it to RHD as that would be my preference. I also have a wizzo conversion idea that could only be done with a left hand slider or twin slider. Anyway thats irrelevant. There is a school of thought I suppose that restoring or even maintaining a right hand drive makes it more of an historic vehicle as its more about the history of the vehicle in the uk and its more in context, or that buying an import requiring no effort is just buying in to the scene. Weve all seen people who know five fifths of Fanny Adams about anything and "buy in" suddenly being an expert on the Marque and telling us how sh1t are our rot box british buses - which have been running up and down the length and breadth of the UK for 40 years and have some tales to tell and some relevant history and some significant effort by owners past and present to keep them on the road.
Exactly what @WoodyLubber said. We're amused by some of the comments made by people trying to convince themselves that lhd was the right decision for a country that drives on the left. Again, as woody said, its a non-issue to rhd owners as it's the norm.
i can get three people in the front of my van so why carnt i have the steering wheel in the middle and a passenger each side
Personally I bought my first bus in 1993, a RHD 2slider with windows (aftermarket, oh the shame...) It had been converted by Bernard Newbury (sp?) and when I got it it was about 5 different colours outside and bright yellow with red curtains inside. It had a shockingly lame 1600 lawnmower engine, and rust in the lower half. On a very low wage we kept it going, welding new panels in when we could and we loved it. However, it sucked up so much money it just got laid up and forgotten, replaced with a cavalier We then went years without a bus until we were on a tent camping trip in Devon and woke up in the morning surrounded by campers. I then spent an age looking for a good solid bus and got really lucky to find a South African import (also RHD) which was solid straight and in great condition. After our first bus I had no desire to buy another rot box - i saw about 30 odd buses before buying this and they were all mis-advertised rot boxes. About 3 years ago I bought my first LHD bus off here from San Diego - I bought it as it was 1972 (same age as me) and solid. He then offered me another few vans which I couldn't resist Obviously all LHD as they came from the US. I sold the 72 because another 72 came along (the Pretender) which is a tintop and I prefer tintops to butchered campers. Then last year I bought the Doka - RHD because its South African, but i'd have bought it either way, left or right, as I've wanted a Doka for years and good ones don't come up often enough I don't think any of the choices i've made were easy - importing takes not only a lot of effort but also exposes your finances to a lot of risk too so I wouldn't say its an easy way out. The ones i've bought have come with really solid bodies and at the cheaper end of the market (the primary reason for me buying them) but completely knackered mechanicals so its not all plain sailing and most certainly not an easy cop out. However, £ for £ the rewards are significantly greater as all the cheaper end RHD buses i've seen have not only been rotten but have also had 40 year old knackered mechanicals too. We certainly didn't buy into a 'scene' - I was brought up in a family with every aircooled under the sun from a very early age, my first car was the 2slider i mention above. As for 'the scene' I'd say that more than half of the people i've met who are in 'the scene' are ******ers, a fair proportion of the other half are rogues and toerags. Before anyone says, the few people i've met off here @poptop2 @rickyrooo1 @jivedubbin @MorkC68 @hailfrank @threecountiesdubber @Snowz to name but a few have been great BTW, White buses, Blue buses, LHD, RHD, tintops, 2sliders and doka's rock
I wasnt refering to you as you dont count as a"collector" of buses. It was more directed at those who buy -in to an immaculate import (which is fine) and then insist all brit buses are a pile of pooh. I can direct them to some immaculate unrestored brit buses (not mine I hasten to say!)
Ok mate I'm not saying all of the righty camp are slagging lefties but some do..... Constantly I never say lefties are better, other than tongue in cheek cos I've got one. Obviously a rhd in this country is better for our roads. My view is simple, my van being a LHD kombi with no furniture is not difficult to drive on our roads, now if it was a panel or I had furniture obstructing my view in the back offside then it would probably be a nightmare on the motorway. I find the biggest inconvenience Is the Maccy D's drive through. My badboy was an import from Germany and not the dry places so I've dipped out on all counts, other than not being a rotter lol But if another lefty came up for the right dough I wouldn't hesitate buying it, I would also consider a rhd.....at a push
I seems you are all about spot on. At the end of the last decade the dollar was 2 to 1 to the pound. This, plus the massive explosion in leisure interests & disposable in the 90's from us Generation X'ers is why this particular sub-culture has so many diverse followers. I had a Lammy in the late 70's and had a daily ridden Vespa in the 90's. Wish I still had the 1967 AF 'S' type SX200 now.......Same thing different decade. At the end of the day, even if many of us are toxxers, we all love the Dub. Our first RHD was a '74 Continental. 1600TP gutless engine but it took us all over Europe. Chip is a LHD Campmobile DeLuxe southern Cali import which we brought over ourselves. You've seen underneath Dicky! They both hold a special place in our hearts, not because one had a full width bed or the other has hydraulic lifters, but because of the lifestyle they allow us to experience. I'd have both if I could afford it.
This will not happen. The costs involved in converting the roads and signage, as well as re-educating the driving population would bankrupt the country overnight. Sweden used to drive on the left, but back in the 1960's took the decision to switch to driving on the right. They set a date, and on that day, switched over - changing road signs and junction markings to match. However they did it at a time when car ownership and levels of traffic were nowhere near what they are now, and therefore it was more feasible.
Define "buying into the scene" . surely everyone has bought into the scene... unless you got a free bus. so are we saying that if you didn't grow up around the VW culture you've bought into the scene? or are we saying that if you are fortunate enough to be able to afford an expensive van 1st time you've bought into the scene ? surely everyone buys a bus because they just "want one" .... can't it be that simple ?
HA, mod revivalist at school in 1978. Had the fishtail with the target & all that jazz. Got my first SX at 15 but Dad wouldn't let me ride it until I was 16. Used to sneak it out of the shed to visit the GF! Had an "S" Type which, as far as I know, is still owned by a member of Luton Lambretta Club & worth stupid money as it was one of two that Arthur Francis in Watford had from Italy to modify when the SX was first launched in the UK. Sold it to the present owner for about £400 in around 1983.... Not us, but we were there........... Hatfield Poly for the Two Tone Tour in late '79 which was mental. The town centre got wrecked. By 1980 we called ourselves "scooterists" rather than mods. Parkers & brogues were replaced with MA1's & DM's as it was harder . Amazing times as most youth culture was involved in the scene at the time, scooter-Billys, scooter-skins etc vs the rockers! IOW 1980 & 1981 were the peak for us.
