That car is in AMAZING condition. Is it yours? Also, I have never seen a RHD, was that factory or were a few made that way.
That's quite a conversion you have there. And a fantastic restoration as well. It looks good enough to be a reversed photograph until you see the pedals and motor compartment. Looks like high level mechanic-ing to me....
We are a specialized garage. Our main activity is reversing the direction of drive of all type of cars, including such which are by default left-hand or right-hand only. We have recently reversed this left-hand drive Trabant 601 from left to right for a customer of ours who is a car collector. The trabant from the pictures was made espacially for a client. The amount for which it was sold out was significant, so that we started working on another one which will be for sale probably.
At first I didn't realize what the acronym "RHD" stood for, but after a quick look at the pictures it became obvious. The conversion looks very professional, and the rest of the Trabi looks like it's in a very good condition.
Hanni, I agree, the car looks outstanding. The conversion looks factory. In all honesty, the overall condition of the car is probably better than it came from the factory as new.
Just the restore alone is nice, let alone the conversion. I have been trying to help Ugarage to determine a market/cost selling a RHD converted car in that condition and I have not had a lot of feedback. He does amazing work nevertheless.
That's a very interesting conversion. I really didn't think the demand for RHD cars would be high, (and I'm a RHD native!)
I think that is the issue he is running into. Is there enough demand to sell the cars in RHD countries, specifically the UK and if so, at what cost. Regardless, the restoration work done in and of itself is quite beautiful.
That also may be partly because you live in a RHD country In the states I love driving LHD cars when I get the chance since it isn't the norm.
Looks Fantastic! However, I am opposed to converting Trabbis to RHD (Despite being British!) since these vehicles are Historic Icons and this is an act of vandalism. East Germany NO Longer exists, it IS Essential to preserve the Icons of that state in Original form.
Hi thinsid, I agree in principle but "as the East Germans really drove them" is generally not acceptable to car collectors. The proof is how I keep my Trabants. I kind of conserve them in the condition that the DDR driver I bought them from actually drove them. To me this is the iconic Trabant. No one is, or seems to be, amused by the dirt, rust, scuffs, and otherwise proof that it is a vehicle with utility (other than me). To another collector, a Trabant which is altered and upgraded (customized) is, yes IS, exactly what East Germans would do and did do, when they had the permits, ability, funds, access to parts, etc. etc. I am certain that no East German would ever make a RHD Trabant to use on the roads of East Germany because it would never be permitted; however, someone may have done it just for fun or because there might be a demand for it for shows or something else. I am glad that we agree that the car is iconic, furthermore, I find it to be an extremely valuable historic artifact. There are, though, enough of them to allow for art cars, customized Trabants, and fun and games with Trabants if the owners have the means and ability.
Greetings! I agree with you when you state that East German folk made slight alterations to the Trabbi -the factory fresh vehicle was a bit basic and built to a certain standard! However there is a difference between a slight update / restoration and a full scale custom job. As for being enough, there might be IF sufficient vehicles are kept original / or close to, and restrict the per centage that are customised.
Right you are. In the DDR, even the trailer hitch required an inspection and stamp in the registration. No major customizing likely happened for the reason of not passing an inspection. If they could have done it without such restriction, I bet they would have chopped, altered, etc. I think that there are more people here (USA) saving or restoring them in some "original" condition than customizing.
