Junkyard Find: 1998 Subaru Forester RHD conversion
For those private contractors who work doing rural mail delivery for Uncle Sam, right-hand-drive is a must-have. Stellantis still sells new RHD Wranglers here for that purpose, but what if you don't want to shell out north of 50 grand? What then?
I've found quite a few discarded RHD mail-delivery vehicles in recent years, but all were either RHD Jeep Cherokees originally sold for the Japanese market, AM General Jeep DJ Mail Dispatchers or the Indiana-built Rural Delivery-spec Subaru Legacy wagon.
This car is an ordinary first-generation Forester, built in Gunma Prefecture for the US market and then converted to right-hand drive later on.
1998 was the first model year for the US-market Forester.
The 1998-2008 Forester was based on the Impreza platform, with a "tall wagon" design and a slightly stretched wheelbase.
While this sort of conversion is inherently sketchier than a factory-made RHD setup, it should work well enough if everything is maintained properly and the driver is careful.
This appears to be a professionally-made conversion kit, of the sort made by a number of aftermarket companies.
There are beefy rods, bearings and bellcranks connecting the right-side pedals to the factory pedals.
Obviously, an automatic transmission makes such a conversion a lot easier.
The scary part is the steering, of course. If the belt gets loose or breaks (or the power-steering system glitches), disaster can follow quickly.
We can't know if malfunctions involving the RHD conversion are what caused this car to suffer the low-speed rollover that brought its career to an abrupt end, but that theory seems like a good bet. Searching for its VIN online brings up auction-results sites that show it had 183,564 miles at the end.
The turn-signal control extension has a field-expedient look to it.
Plumber's tape! What can't it do?
The mail-sorting tray appears to have been built from scrap wood that was on hand, but it looks sturdy.
I think the ideal low-cost rural mail-delivery vehicle would be an early Toyota Probox or its Succeed sibling. It's a Corolla-based tall-ish wagon, available with all-wheel-drive and readily available with good prices in Japan. The only drawback is that they won't be legal to import until next year.
"Go! Forestah!"
"Sport utility tough. Car easy."
The current Forester is marketed as a full-on SUV. Vehicle shoppers in 2026 America don't want "car easy."
1998 Subaru Forester RHD conversion in Colorado junkyard.
1998 Subaru Forester RHD conversion in Colorado junkyard.
1998 Subaru Forester RHD conversion in Colorado junkyard.
1998 Subaru Forester RHD conversion in Colorado junkyard.
1998 Subaru Forester RHD conversion in Colorado junkyard.
1998 Subaru Forester RHD conversion in Colorado junkyard.
1998 Subaru Forester RHD conversion in Colorado junkyard.
1998 Subaru Forester RHD conversion in Colorado junkyard.
1998 Subaru Forester RHD conversion in Colorado junkyard.
1998 Subaru Forester RHD conversion in Colorado junkyard.
1998 Subaru Forester RHD conversion in Colorado junkyard.
1998 Subaru Forester RHD conversion in Colorado junkyard.
[Images: The Author]
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Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Hagerty and The Truth About Cars.
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Don't care how "Rube Goldberg" this looks. I admire someone whose willing to tackle this kind of thing on their own, bravely going forward into the fray, so to speak. Hope the driver was not fatally injured during the roll-over.
Oh my goodness. Can't believe someone actually drove this thing!
Where is Crabspirits when you need him?! He would have a field day with this car.