Regulations regarding specials

[The_Flying_Doctor]

Can anyone point me to a document that specifies what regulations I have to comply with for type approval of my special build. The vehicle is currently registered as a 1937 Ruby. I am making a new two seater open top wood framed aluminium bodied tourer. I have converted to hydraulic brakes (as per Bill Williams) and fitted hydraulic suspension dampers. I have tried to find the relevant sections on the Road Traffic Act for lights etc without success.

[GK5268]

Here is a useful website to give you some guidance:

http://westfield-world.com/svalights_front.html

[Tony Griffiths]

It's a "points-based" system to make sure you don't qualify for the no-tax-no-MOT exemption after you've fitted a 600 b.h.p. V8, automatic transmission and changed the chassis to a tubular, ladder-tye job. See: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...n-criteria

[Rick F]

I would steer clear of type approval if I were you. Getting the old number back or an age related number is hard enough but your local club (North of Englad Classic and Pre-war Automobiles) has a DVLA "rep" who will be able to advise.

[Jeff Taylor]

As mentioned by Rick F, NECPWA was formally the North East Club for Pre-War Austins prior to its name change to the North of England Classic & Pre-War Automobiles in more recent years. I was a member from around 1972 until the mid 1990's during the time the late Tony Pelton was running the club.

http://necpwa.org

[Stuart Giles]

Can anyone point me to a document that specifies what regulations I have to comply with for type approval of my special build. The vehicle is currently registered as a 1937 Ruby. I am making a new two seater open top wood framed aluminium bodied tourer. I have converted to hydraulic brakes (as per Bill Williams) and fitted hydraulic suspension dampers. I have tried to find the relevant sections on the Road Traffic Act for lights etc without success.

BIVA (the replacement for the old SVA) is going to be very difficult to achieve with an A7, and pretty well impossible without having discs on the front axle with dual circuit hydraulics.

Do you have the V5C for your car? If so, and you aren't altering or removing bits from the chassis you can keep your current registration and get the body type changed from Ruby or Saloon to sports or whatever, provided you go through the correct procedure with the DVLA. This would count as a "Kit Converted Vehicle" Basically you will need to provide front and rear pictures of your running chassis with the number plates showing, and then pictures of the completed car with the number plates showing. You have to fill in a form which says where the main bits came from - for most A7 specials the answers are likely to be "original factory fitment" There is no inspection of the car, which will still be an Austin on the V5C, but the model name will need to be changed to anything you like, but can't be a name which a manufacturer has registered; but then you probably didn't want to be driving a 1930s Austin Allegro anyway. Lots of people just drive their special with it still described as a Reliant Scimitar, or FX4 Taxi (the last two are a popular basis with the hotrod peeps) but when they've been caught, the registration has been cancelled as it isn't possible to go through the kit conversion process retrospectively.

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From an earlier thread that dealt with the same subject:

Well that seems easy enough, and is what I was thinking of doing, change of engine first then go for the body change but it looks as if the less they are told the less they want to know, the only problem I can see is that the V5 will still state saloon, but I would bet there are quite a few specials out there in the same boat!

Like all these things, it's all OK until it isn't. 

Some modern rebodied cars have had their registration cancelled by the DVLA because whoever did the rebody from, in one example, a Reliant Scimitar to a 2 seat special didn't go through the DVLA's process.  AFAIK, the DVLA hasn't allowed anyone to go through the rebody paper process retrospectively. With the result that the car in question would have needed to go through a BIVA inspection to get a new V5C issued.

In Jamie's case he is proposing to keep it as a Austin Seven saloon, so it can be argued that it still meets with the DVLA's requirement that the V5C reflects the car's appearance; whereas the car below, which is based on an unmodified  Triumph Spitfire chassis needed to go through the DVLA rebody process I outlined earlier in the thread because it no longer looks like a Triumph Spitfire even though the "before and after" versions of the car have 2 seat sports bodywork.



This car is now registered as a "Triumph Swordfish" as with any DVLA rebody, the car keeps it's original manufacturer's name but cannot use the original or any copyrighted model name.

This image came from another internet forum I'm a member of, and this photo is a tribute to Paul L's (who built this modern special) imagination and workmanship

[andrew34ruby]

Doctor, I'm no expert, but as I see it there are three separate systems to consider.

First, try to use an existing registration if you have one. If the car is altered then you need to check whether DVLA would say it was radically altered. They use a points system. Scroll down on this part of their website. https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration/...d-vehicles

If it is not radically altered then use an existing registration if you can.

If the above fails then it has to re registered afresh and is likely to need the Individual Vehicle Type Approval, or whatever they call it this week. That approval is not easy and not cheap.

The conditions for being MOT exempt are different again, and are not a points system. All the info is here. https://www.gov.uk/historic-vehicles/app...-exemption

[The_Flying_Doctor]

Many thanks to you all for your advice.

[Howard Wright]

Hi

The best thing you can do is, if you haven’t already done so, join a club.  Every club has an officer who looks after DVLA registrations and can advise on the best way forward as well as providing a supporting letter to DVLA. The South Wales club is blessed with two great officers who have guided me through the registration of 2 specials (thanks John and Harry).

Cheers

Howard

[Stuart Giles]

Hi

The best thing you can do is, if you haven’t already done so, join a club.  Every club has an officer who looks after DVLA registrations and can advise on the best way forward as well as providing a supporting letter to DVLA. The South Wales club is blessed with two great officers who have guided me through the registration of 2 specials (thanks John and Harry).

Cheers

Howard

So Howard, is there a different DVLA system for Austin Sevens Rubies/Box saloons etc. to the one I outlined above -which certainly from my experience is how it works for other cars. if there is another legal route it would be good if you could share your experience on here.