DVLA and Kit Conversion registration.

[dynosoar]

Hello,

I am looking for some cases to support an appeal that I am putting together at the moment.

I have built a car from a donor vehicle, presented and passed the IVA test & MOT. Upon presenting the paperwork to DVLA I was told that the car would not qualify for an age related plate because one of the two major compoents (engine) had been changed and only the original would qualify.

I have studied the information supplied about registration and can find no details of originality of components or precluding component change.

I registered a similar car that also had an engine number change prior to the build without any problem last year.

I would like to know of any other cases that have been successfully registered using a non original engine of the same spec. Particularly how recently this may have occured.

The engine fitted in the donor was found to be different to that on the V5 when removed. This detail was amended by Swansea prior to the start of the build. It would appear that had a less scroupulous person decided to change the engine number there would not be any issue with registration. A rather crazy situation.

Thanks,

Andrew

[p1doc]

there is a magazine called iva and the lawa from kit car magazine explaining most of the ins and outs of iva-worth having a read re engines as 4-5 pages about this
martin

[tribbles]

I vaguely seem to remember something about a change where if you'd changed the engine in the donor while the donor was being stripped, then it wouldn't count. I think it was a time-related change - such as if you'd done it less than 2 years before, or if it had not had an MOT since the engine swap.

This was to prevent people getting age related plates using an engine which wasn't in the original car.

[EFA]

Dynosoar, you have PM.

[MKnight702]

You're not trying the Peterborough office are you?

When I registered mine they were particularly hot on the engine swap business, in particular a Tiger that was a Sierra donor but had a Zetec engine. This is IMO very different to your situation where an engine of the same type is being used rather than a newer type. Can you establish what age the engine is, would it be of a similar vintage to the Jag donor?

Sorry not much help I know.

[dynosoar]

Yes, it is a 4.2 litre XK engine with a casting code from 1969. The donor was a 1973 car.

Thanks for the messages and replys.

I think I have enough to progress with for now.

Andrew

[dynosoar]

Hello,

I had numerous responses to this thread offering help and support.
I would like to thank those of you that sent messsages.

I engaged the services of my solicitor to present the details of the case to the DVLA for appeal.

I have learned today that an age related plate is to be issued but that the DVLA consider this to be a concession and hold with the view that their previous decision is inline with their policy.
I believe that this may be to avoid me persuing them for compensation over this issue.

The letter I recieved states that the INF26 leaflet is being reviewed to clarify the situation.

I would like to point out for the benefit of others struggling with similar issues that the INF26 leaflet is the only form of guidance available and therefore any areas that are not specifically outlined are open to interpretation.

I would also recommend checking the suitability of a proposed donor vehicle before a build commences and getting any opinion in writing.

This has been hanging over my head for nearly three months now and has threatened the future of my business. I am very glad to have things resolved in my favour.

Once again, thanks to the forum members for their support.

Andrew Soar

[Steve_D]

dynosoar said:

Result!!!!

In the course of this case did they present where this ruling is written down?

As you have found they seem to use the term 'Policy' but that information is not published anywhere so the likes of us have no way of knowing what we have to comply with.

In other threads it has been stated that INF26 is an 'information' leaflet and has no legal standing. In which case amending it is still not going to solve the problem.

Steve

[dynosoar]

Well the facts you state really formed the basis of the appeal.
There was no regulatory information forthcoming and INF26 was the only information available.
In the absence of any specific regulation stating the reason for the Q plate decision I presented the appeal based on the fact that I had conformed with all information available and the decision to allocate a Q plate appeared to be arbitrary.
The term 'policy' was used but no futher details rules or regulations qhoted in the corespondance.

People moan about VOSA regs but at least you know where you are with their lengthy regs and revisions are regularly updated.

I had registered a car last year under similar circumstance without any issue regarding age related plate. I did take Swansea three goes to get the V5 correct though. during this time the owner was waiting to transfer a personal plate before the certificate expired. He tranferred in to another vehicle to be on the safe side. A good job because it took about another four weeks to sort out.

[EFA]

Glad you got it sorted. Seems your lawyer found the loophole.

Re: "The letter I recieved states that the INF26 leaflet is being reviewed to clarify the situation." surely they should shut this lot down before education cutbacks???

[Petemate]

This reminds me of the time a few years ago when I bought my 'part-built' (a VERY loose term) Robin Hood. All the bits were there including the engine & 'box from the Sierra donor, & its suspension etc & V5c, but there was no VIN plate; not necessary for fitting to the completed car I know but... When I went to look at it (over 120 miles from home) I then called the Oxford VLO - very knowledgeable and helpful. I gave them all the info available to me including the absence of the VIN plate; the man said no problem with that but advised me to check the engine number and see if it matched that on the V5c, if not 'walk away' as this could cause me problems later.