Rebuild old car with new chassis

[magpies]

Just read some of the threads regarding SVA/IVA

what do you think should happen when rebuilding an old car and the chassis is beyond repair and a new chassis fitted? is it a case of informing DVLA of new chassis number?

[AdiT]

The rules state that, you can re-chassis a car and (providing the replacement is an exact copy of the original) the new chassis can be stamped with the old chassis number. No IVA required. No informing DVLA.
Now how anybody knows "exactly" what the original chassis was is anybodys guess.

[magpies]

that does beg the question when fitting a spyder chassis to an old Lotus? 'cos that certainly isn't the same

[CPDMotorsport]

magpies said:

that does beg the question when fitting a spyder chassis to an old Lotus? 'cos that certainly isn't the same

Or all the leaf sprung Land Rovers that had replacement coil spring galvanised chassis.

[Furyblade_Lee]

Or fitting a Locost chassis to a Dutton?

[singlecoil]

Furyblade_Lee said:

Or fitting a Locost chassis to a Dutton?

[Steve_D]

My understanding is that the chassis can be replaced with a chassis of the same design but you do have to inform DVLA and prove the chassis is of the same design by producing a reciept from a recognised chassis manufacturer or the OEM. They will most likely want to inspect it and I suspect they will want to allocate a new chassis number.

Steve

[Sam_68]

magpies said:

that does beg the question when fitting a spyder chassis to an old Lotus? 'cos that certainly isn't the same

This started creating problems some years ago (pre-IVA, and indeed pre-SVA), when there were cases of the DVLA trying to impose a Q-registration on Lotus' that had been fitted with a replacement chassis.

Club Lotus fought the case on behalf of owners and managed to convince the DVLA that Lotuses were a special case, since they derive a very substantial part of their total strength and stiffness from the bodyshell.

...therefore the bodyshell and chassis in combination formed a unitary body/chassis structure (and, of course, the actual chassis number is carried on a plate fixed to the bodyshell and is not stamped or fixed anywhere on the backbone chassis).

...therefore the 'chassis' was really only a 'subframe' and could be legitimately be changed without affecting the 'identity' of the car.

Yes, I know it's hair-splitting bks (though arguably in the finest Lotus tradition of exploiting loopholes in the wording of written regulations), but the DVLA bought it and it is now established that you can re-chassis a Lotus without worrying about the DVLA, any more than you would feel obliged to tell them if you changed the front and rear subframes on a Mini.

[magpies]

I think that is brilliant on lotus behalf
counting the chassis as a subframe

it is obviously a very cloudy issue

[mph]

If you fit a new chassis of the same type and use the original chassis numbers who is going to know anyway ?