79 replies to this topic

[CharlieBrown]

Thanks for finding out that information Al and letting everyone know.

It seems the best answer we have had so far, and as you say not overly surprising.

Just a shame its going to be further complicated/expensive because of the IVA.

[roobarber]

Ok.
So going on this from the DVLA, many many minis will not be 'legal' not just zcars minis either.

My brothers mini: beam axle, coil overs all around, fiesta front discs, 10" wheels, fiber glass front end, 1293 turbo, s/c gears, buckets and harnesses....

So this is no longer a mini going on what has been said, needs to be on a 'Q'! Talk sence.


Or what about someone who has an old mini that they have rebuilt to 'original spec'?: 1959 mini, new shell all other parts for the car sourced via auto-jumbles and ebay. Non of these parts are original to the car, does this mean this car should be on a 'Q' aswell??


Or a mini with some clagged together front subframe with any old roobarbed engine held in with gum and sticky tape?

Please, I dont think zcars minis should be the eye of this storm!
After all most of the poeple who have zcars minis have sank many thousands of pounds into projects, and non of them want to or are willingly breaking the law in any way.

As for when people crash zcars minis, i have heard of many minis been sent back to zcars for repair by the insurance company and there being no bother.


I think its a bit of a, 'depends on who you speak to at the DVLA' thing to be honest.

[coredevelopments]

Maybe you can ask your man about this.

Quoted from this pdf

INF46, Section 6, para 5

Registration numbers starting with ‘Q’

If a vehicle has a registration number starting with
‘Q’ or Northern Ireland (NI) ‘Q’ prefix, that registration
number cannot be transferred and must stay on
the vehicle unless evidence of its age is found.
In this case, you should send the evidence to your
nearest DVLA local office who can then provide a
replacement registration number appropriate to the
age of the vehicle.

The chassis number alone must be enough evidence of the cars age. If not you should have old MOT certs with chassis numbers and the original reg no. on them. So according to what I quoted above you can still get an age related registration number. Not ideal, but age related at least.

without asking him i can guess at the outcome. he will say something along the lines of the chassis is one of the 3 major parts needed to prove its identity.
he would then ask you to prove the rest, which you cant.
if you fitted the mini gearbox and engine in the back of the zcars mini then you can call it by its orig reg or age related. (engine, transmission, steering all as factory)

Hi i am a newbie. and have been reading this post. User "bounce" is correct if you can prove the age of the car, IE have the log book. then they have to issue you with an "age related plate" Q is only for a vehicle which is of "unknown origins" IE you cant prove where most of the parts came from. I have a kitcar which is made up of different bits of cars and i was attained a Q plate, but only because i choose to, as it was a whole lot easier and my car was sva'd and registered in ONE day! I had a v5 for a car which provided me with an X amount of parts and could of had an age related plate but this was too much hassle as they wanted to inspect the car. Also they car needed a chassis number which i made up myself to refer to the car.
Get this: Swansea refused my number and said there is no way i will be able to make up my own number as they are the only ones who issue chassis numbers. I was advised by a fellow kitcar builder to make a visit to Cardiff dvla local office after the sva who didnt have any concerns over my made up chassis number and didnt even inspect my car!!
this subject is real problem, as said zcars owners seem to be targeted by this issue. but there are a whole lot more cars out there, who in the eyes of the dvla shouldnt be. its all a load of grief and cost to all concerned.
Good luck.

Rob

[SukiDawg]

I've just read this with interest....


Somewhere back in the thread a point was made about motorsport / rally cars and the like requiring an SVA. As they are produced as a "model type" by (for example) Ford or Citreon - the main model of that car (eg Ford Focus) will have a European type approval, and the manufacturer can therefore produce the vehicles without SVA just as they do with the ones that roll off the production line. The FIA then homolgates the variant as that entered into a particular series and away you go.....

Anyway,

In the main, I replied because I wanted to say this....... Correct - this kind of thing is a complete minefield, and yes - it does not seem to make much in the way of common sense. What everyone must remember though is that these regulations exist to cover all vehicles not just Z cars minis, and as such must be able to "capture" all types of vehicle that indivduals put on the road. As with so many things in our modern world all things are pitched at the level of the lowest common denominator, which in this case is someone with nothing more than ambition, a MIG welder and a local scrapyard's phone number. Unfortunately for the rest of us with a little more intelligence i.e. Z cars themselves, their customers, talented home builders etc, we are tarred with the same brush and must therefore jump through the SVA hoop.

You cannot say "Z cars kit strengthens the chassis - therefore an SVA is not necessary" because in the eyes of the law this "kit" has not been approved for the mass market, and therefore it must be inspected individually to obtain approval.

I am working on something equally as modified as any Z car out there, and from the start I have had in mind that I will have to SVA it before it will be legal to the letter of the law. Its just a fact of life these days. I wasn't aware I would lose my registration number, but if I do well thats just the way the world is. I'm not saying that its right, I'm not saying that its fair - it is how it works though!

I'd also like to add that there are one or two things I've seen on the internet purporting to be kosher engine conversions which look like total and utter deathtraps. In the eyes of the SVA they would not require approval because only the engine is changed.... So perhaps you could say the regulations are not tight enough to capture everyone with more ambition than talent *ducks for cover*. If you were injured (or worse a loved one killed) in an accident with a converted car, caused in whole or in part by a failure on that vehicle resulting from an inexpertly executed modification would you not feel this to be the case???

[stevewhite_spurs]

No comments from ZCARS then?