Found my next Vette...
Discussion
www.philadelphiamotorsports.com
These guys build C3 Corvettes to your spec. They're based on C5 chassis with all C5 running gear, and can be built to any level of specification, including such items as the HUD, active handling and traction control.
I'm not gonna buy one yet - I fancy one based on the C6 tech (have you seen how cool the HUD is!?)
If you look on the website, the '69 they've done has non-popups and flared wheel-arches. I figure I'd go for some of that, but based on a 1980-1982 model vette (my first vette was an '82, and it's my fave shape!). 6 speed manual would be a must, and I have some other plans too!
The cost? Well, it is expensive - circa the cost of a new corvette, but ultimately it'd be (for me) as cool as a Ford GT - a completely retro looking car based on modern tech that I could drive every day.
Heaven...
These guys build C3 Corvettes to your spec. They're based on C5 chassis with all C5 running gear, and can be built to any level of specification, including such items as the HUD, active handling and traction control.
I'm not gonna buy one yet - I fancy one based on the C6 tech (have you seen how cool the HUD is!?)
If you look on the website, the '69 they've done has non-popups and flared wheel-arches. I figure I'd go for some of that, but based on a 1980-1982 model vette (my first vette was an '82, and it's my fave shape!). 6 speed manual would be a must, and I have some other plans too!
The cost? Well, it is expensive - circa the cost of a new corvette, but ultimately it'd be (for me) as cool as a Ford GT - a completely retro looking car based on modern tech that I could drive every day.
Heaven...
Hi, unfortunately there's no way you could import it as a new car due to SVA regs. At a bare minimum you'd need to change the bumpers and move the rear lights out of their recesses. The only way it could be done is to use the body and title from a genuine C3 with windshield ID tag and and try to get it through as such. But that probably wouldn't work either!
Tonyjp27 said:
Hi, unfortunately there's no way you could import it as a new car due to SVA regs. At a bare minimum you'd need to change the bumpers and move the rear lights out of their recesses. The only way it could be done is to use the body and title from a genuine C3 with windshield ID tag and and try to get it through as such. But that probably wouldn't work either!
What? So I couldn't even import it as a classic? How so?
Remember, the '82 is a much more modern car than the '69 - no steel bumpers there...
SVA is based on "year of manufacture" i.e. the age of the chassis determines what it looks like. Therefore if I stuck chrome bumpers on a 2004 it would fail.
Likewise if you buy a 2004 chassis which looks like a 1969 Corvette it would have to pass the regs for a 2004 car not a 1969 car, which BTW would not be subject to SVA, just an MOT as it is more than 10 years old.
No, I don't understand the rules any more than you!
Likewise if you buy a 2004 chassis which looks like a 1969 Corvette it would have to pass the regs for a 2004 car not a 1969 car, which BTW would not be subject to SVA, just an MOT as it is more than 10 years old.
No, I don't understand the rules any more than you!
If you look at the Vicarage Mk II Jag, that car takes a Mark II Jag and removes the bulkhead with the VIN and basically throws away the rest before "replacing" the whole of the Jaguar around the bulkhead. This is important because the car is still the Mk II Jag complete with original number plate. What you get is a brand new classic rebuilt and restored from the ground up.
In the US, the VIN number and engine number are the same and replacing the chassis won't make it a new car because the chassis doesn't have an identity of it's own. The point here is that the car has to assume the identity of an existing car because the chassis isn't a car in itself. If it were, it would have to have a VIN number. Like reshelling a car, it's not the component parts of the car that are important, it's having a legitimate and valid ID.
They manufacture a C5 that looks like a C1 in the US but that's a fully manufactured car with it's own VIN number registered with the relevant Motor Vehicle Department. That is a new car and has to comply with new car regs. Putting a new chassis in a C2 could be regarded as a modification and it's quite common in the US to put old bodyshells on modern cars. I've seen a 2nd gen Camaro put on a 4th gen chassis but in that case, I imagine you could use either identity provided it passes the relevant tests.
In the US, the VIN number and engine number are the same and replacing the chassis won't make it a new car because the chassis doesn't have an identity of it's own. The point here is that the car has to assume the identity of an existing car because the chassis isn't a car in itself. If it were, it would have to have a VIN number. Like reshelling a car, it's not the component parts of the car that are important, it's having a legitimate and valid ID.
They manufacture a C5 that looks like a C1 in the US but that's a fully manufactured car with it's own VIN number registered with the relevant Motor Vehicle Department. That is a new car and has to comply with new car regs. Putting a new chassis in a C2 could be regarded as a modification and it's quite common in the US to put old bodyshells on modern cars. I've seen a 2nd gen Camaro put on a 4th gen chassis but in that case, I imagine you could use either identity provided it passes the relevant tests.
Sure, I get that, I've heard about it quite a bit.
Ultimately, though, it'd be nice to think I could get this car built (with, say, a C5 VIN), and have it shipped over and pass the SVA test so it could be registered as brand new over here.
I'm interested in finding out why (if at all) a 1982 vette would fail SVA, as the car has many very modern features (plastic bumpers etc).
Also - it's worth mentioning at this point that up until they were discontinued, it was possible to buy a "Classic" VW Beetle (complete with steel bumpers) Brand new in the UK - how could this be the case?
Ultimately, though, it'd be nice to think I could get this car built (with, say, a C5 VIN), and have it shipped over and pass the SVA test so it could be registered as brand new over here.
I'm interested in finding out why (if at all) a 1982 vette would fail SVA, as the car has many very modern features (plastic bumpers etc).
Also - it's worth mentioning at this point that up until they were discontinued, it was possible to buy a "Classic" VW Beetle (complete with steel bumpers) Brand new in the UK - how could this be the case?
The most obvious thing that spring to mind is the crash test regulations, ie deformable structures to the front, rear and sides of the car not to mention air bags, US 83 dot marked glass, collapsible steering column, deformable pedal box, ect, ect, ect. In fact all the things that make a modern car modern the details of which are listed on the type approval sticker on any new car you buy worldwide (except Japan and several other Far Eastern countries).
I've looked into this general area pretty extensively as I was going to have Corvette Kingdom build me a '57 with a modern chassis from SRSIII and C4 suspension, or import one already done. (As it happens plans changed and they're now making me a replica of the '59 Stingray with a 425hp crate motor.) A new car with an '82 body could get through SVA but it would take a lot of work, and then another lot of work to get it back looking like an '82 again. A minor example would be the lights - getting proper side repeaters and running lights, rear fog light, etc.
Perhaps the simplest option would be to import their frame, then buy a rotted out/wrecked '82 here and get a specialist to graft them together. When I was looking into the '57 project it wasn't any more expensive to get the work done here. Plus if anything goes wrong with the car getting it sorted would be a lot easier.
Perhaps the simplest option would be to import their frame, then buy a rotted out/wrecked '82 here and get a specialist to graft them together. When I was looking into the '57 project it wasn't any more expensive to get the work done here. Plus if anything goes wrong with the car getting it sorted would be a lot easier.
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