Vitara trailing arm mod...

[ROBBIE]

DVLA a nice place where all the staff meet you with a smile.


what they really make you feel like doing to them

[twiss]

I thought yours was a soft top? They count as a 2 door anyway...

[Anton]

No, tin top, mate - classed as an estate on the V5. Fudge.

[Anton]

Twiss - I had a feeling that, because the 8-point system info I got was from the national archives website, that the 8-point system must no longer apply, after what you said your man at VOSA said.

But...

If you look here the 8-point system is still in effect, meaning that as long as I have an original engine, chassis and drivetrain, I should have 8 points. 10 if they let me class my trussed/armoured axles as "original" (they're mechanically identical to OEM sammy axles, it's just A) they've got trusses welded to them and B) they're Samurai axles on a non-samurai SJ413).

Which begs the question - where's this thing about having the same number of doors/not being allowed to touch the suspension come from?

If those are the actual rules, it'd be helpful to know for *sure*!!!

It's tempting to build the car, then take a printout of the rules specified on the direct.gov website with me on the inspection day, because I get the feeling that we're dealing with voodoo/scientology again.

[twiss]

Yeah the bloke said you wouldnt even have to declare the body swap if it had the same number of doors, but a change of door or seat numbers means you have to tell the DVLA at least.

He said pretty much what I said earlier on... that if you swapped both and didn't get an IVA it would be frowned upon in the event of an accident... As you know the rules are quite convoluted and insurance companies will do whatever they can to not pay out and screw you over.

[Anton]

Yeah the bloke said you wouldnt even have to declare the body swap if it had the same number of doors, but a change of door or seat numbers means you have to tell the DVLA at least.

Ah, ok. So we're talking about what you can legally get away with *undeclared* here? I plan on declaring my mods...

He said pretty much what I said earlier on... that if you swapped both and didn't get an IVA it would be frowned upon in the event of an accident... As you know the rules are quite convoluted and insurance companies will do whatever they can to not pay out and screw you over.

Right, ok. I was planning on doing what it says on the direct.gov website - that is, fill in form V627/1 – "Built up vehicle inspection reprt" - getting an MOT/tax/insurance, then getting VOSA to inspect it, get the V5 changed from "Suzuki SJ413VX" to "Jago Geep Light 4x4 Utility", mainly because I thought it was the law to declare these things but also in part because Jago Geep insurance is in the range of £150/year for a 22 year old with Adrian Flux, and I'm 34...

So if I correctly declare my mods with this "V627/1" form, I should be ok under the 8 point system. I've emailed VOSA to ask them directly, but I *think* that's the situation - that's what the direct.gov website says, anyway. No need for an IVA unless you have less than 8 points.

Your vehicle will need Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA), Single Vehicle Approval (SVA) or Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval (MSVA) if:

it has less than eight points
it has a second hand or altered chassis, monocoque bodyshell or frame
there is evidence that two vehicles have been welded together to form one (eg ‘cut and shut’)

Then the insurance company can't then complain if there's an accident, because everything's right there in the DVLA database.

Not sure how I can tax/insure/MOT it BEFORE I get the vehicle inspected, but that's what the direct.gov website says I have to do...

I've said it before and I'll say it again - DVLA/VOSA=VOODOO+SCIENTOLOGY

BTW - The page I got that quoted info from is here. Been looking for it for weeks, but the search engine didn't show up anything useful. Eventually, going through the menu options on the right and subsequent links that come up in the page, I found it. About an hour ago!!! I found something similar a while back, but it was on the national archives website, so I was fairly sure I couldn't count on it being "current".

[ianedwards]

complicated, the usual dvla way