Talk to me about chassis

[Sploder90]

You probably don't want to know it was a full Dunnell Zetec on jenvey throttle bodies with well over 200 bhp then A!an

[Grizzly]

How are the Spydercars +2 zetecs tax exempt? What’s original on them?

Not sure about Tax exempt rules but the MOT exempt is very clear.........

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... idance.pdf

[alan.barker]

You probably don't want to know it was a full Dunnell Zetec on jenvey throttle bodies with well over 200 bhp then A!an

To be honest no.
Everyone to their own ideas but that just makes it a special to me.
I remember a freind years ago had a special it was a Ford Anglia 105E and he fitted a 1600GT Engine.
It was fun but it was only a Dagenham Dustbin to blow out MGBs.
Alan

[Sploder90]

How are the Spydercars +2 zetecs tax exempt? What’s original on them?

Not sure about Tax exempt rules but the MOT exempt is very clear.........

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... idance.pdf

Indeed and there is little chance that you could justifiably claim your Zetec Spyder was modified before 1990.. The tax rules point you towards the MOT exemption update in 2018

[Sploder90]

You probably don't want to know it was a full Dunnell Zetec on jenvey throttle bodies with well over 200 bhp then A!an

To be honest no.
Everyone to their own ideas but that just makes it a special to me.
I remember a freind years ago had a special it was a Ford Anglia 105E and he fitted a 1600GT Engine.
It was fun but it was only a Dagenham Dustbin to blow out MGBs.
Alan

Thread drift warning:

I had a 105e for about a week in 1982, it lost an argument with a 5 bar gate...and it's solid stone posts ( and no it wasn't on Carlos Fandango super wide wheels for those that remember the Hamlet ad )

I note some rather pricey MGB " restorstions" you can buy running new MX5 parts so a similar situation.
Maybe there is a market for the Evante and it's hideous rear lights after all

[EPC 394J]

Not sure about Tax exempt rules but the MOT exempt is very clear.........

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... idance.pdf

Now that certainly is eye opening for anyone with a space frame chassis, who for the purpose of mot exemption has self declared their vehicle as not substantially changed!

[rgh0]

They are just cars..... not holy relics

Build them and drive them as you wish and take care navigating the bureaucracy in you're country of choice

cheers
Rohan

[billwill]

....

I assume you think ALL replacement chassis risk a Q plate?? thats just not the case......... i thought i had explained this in my first post but hey ho.....

I'm going by my personal experience.

DVLA or whatever it was called then, wanted me to have a Q plate back in 1978/9, when I reported to them that I had replaced the chassis with LRxxxx. It was a new Lotus Replacement chassis with an LR number.

I had a hell of a problem getting the situation sorted out, It had to have an official inspection, but the inspector for my district was on holiday and I needed the short timescale as I was about to take the Lotus on a visit to Eire. The alternative was an inspection at their office in Greenwich, but I wasn't allowed to drive it there as it was not taxed and it could not be taxed until this matter was sorted out. Catch 22.

In the end I had to rent a driver + Landrover+trailer & take the car on a trailer to Greenwich, where it was inspected in the high street, by inspectors who said " Nice Car" and something like: " No Q plate needed here"... but they said they 'had' to send the docs back to HQ, so I would still not be able to tax the car & go to Eire until I go the letter from HQ..

Not surprisingly I was somewhat "Miffed", but managed to persuade them to photocopy the document, (which involved one of them going down the road to a shop with a photocopier). Then when I got back home I bent the rules & drove the Elan to the council office (which was then in the big building next to what is now the "London Eye" wheel) and persuaded the clerk there to accept the photocopy as proof and issue a Tax Disk. so I did get to Eire and my sub-aqua trip after all.

So I do know what I was talking about but I wouldn't want to have to do all that again.

So when I later heard that Graham Arnold (of Lotus Cars) had already convinced the DVLA(whatever) that the Lotus Elan 'chassis' is really just a subframe, I found that the whole issue had been unnecessary,

So I am pleased to propagate this information.

[Grizzly]

Bill, I can't comment on 1978 but i can tell you from my own personal experience changing a chassis is a lot less sketchy (legally) if you use a Like for like part...... we have recently been through all this with a customers TVR, he replaced the Chassis with a third party made item after TVR had gone into liquidation. The car was pulled up on inspection because the chassis wasn't the same round the engine (i believe it had been altered to accept a LS and Tremic box) it would have been put on a Q plate if it wasn't for a letter explaining it was the only Chassis available because the company had gone bust (an article from a magazine announcing it and the receipt proving it was post liquidation). I'm not suggesting for a minute the DVLA isn't hard work!! but it all depends on how legal you want to be.

Frankly, i was hoping Graham Arnold agreed with the dvla that the chassis was officially out of production!! but if he just agreed on the part under a Elan was a Subframe then the modern wording in the DVLA rules means this won't stand up today.

I fully agree if you have a spyder chassis don't tell the DVLA under any circumstances!! choose your words carefully when you come to sell your car and get it in writing that they know it has a Spyder chassis fitted to it to cover yourself.

[MrBonus]

They are just cars..... not holy relics

Build them and drive them as you wish and take care navigating the bureaucracy in you're country of choice

cheers
Rohan

If they're not holy relics, then why did I start to pray when my car started billowing smoke out of the left front caliper 200 yards before I pulled into my driveway?

[Grizzly]

They are just cars..... not holy relics

Build them and drive them as you wish and take care navigating the bureaucracy in you're country of choice

cheers
Rohan

If they're not holy relics, then why did I start to pray when my car started billowing smoke out of the left front caliper 200 yards before I pulled into my driveway?

[Sploder90]

They are just cars..... not holy relics

Build them and drive them as you wish and take care navigating the bureaucracy in you're country of choice

cheers
Rohan

But GB invented bureaucracy
You should try and navigate our Covid rules
Omnishambles

[661]

....

I assume you think ALL replacement chassis risk a Q plate?? thats just not the case......... i thought i had explained this in my first post but hey ho.....

I'm going by my personal experience.

DVLA or whatever it was called then, wanted me to have a Q plate back in 1978/9, when I reported to them that I had replaced the chassis with LRxxxx. It was a new Lotus Replacement chassis with an LR number.

I had a hell of a problem getting the situation sorted out, It had to have an official inspection, but the inspector for my district was on holiday and I needed the short timescale as I was about to take the Lotus on a visit to Eire. The alternative was an inspection at their office in Greenwich, but I wasn't allowed to drive it there as it was not taxed and it could not be taxed until this matter was sorted out. Catch 22.

In the end I had to rent a driver + Landrover+trailer & take the car on a trailer to Greenwich, where it was inspected in the high street, by inspectors who said " Nice Car" and something like: " No Q plate needed here"... but they said they 'had' to send the docs back to HQ, so I would still not be able to tax the car & go to Eire until I go the letter from HQ..

Not surprisingly I was somewhat "Miffed", but managed to persuade them to photocopy the document, (which involved one of them going down the road to a shop with a photocopier). Then when I got back home I bent the rules & drove the Elan to the council office (which was then in the big building next to what is now the "London Eye" wheel) and persuaded the clerk there to accept the photocopy as proof and issue a Tax Disk. so I did get to Eire and my sub-aqua trip after all.

So I do know what I was talking about but I wouldn't want to have to do all that again.

So when I later heard that Graham Arnold (of Lotus Cars) had already convinced the DVLA(whatever) that the Lotus Elan 'chassis' is really just a subframe, I found that the whole issue had been unnecessary,

So I am pleased to propagate this information.

I had exactly the same in 1986 with a LR chassis.
I just left it for a while, sent the V5 in with a colour change notification and had it returned without any other changes having been made. DVLA had forgotten/not made a record of the previous conversation.
I suspect with computers now it might be flagged up.

[Foxie]

....

I'm going by my personal experience.
<Snip>
So I did get to Eire and my sub-aqua trip after all.
<Snip>

Where did you go diving ? How long ago was it ?

I'm diving here for well over 40 years !

[billwill]

....

I'm going by my personal experience.
<Snip>
So I did get to Eire and my sub-aqua trip after all.
<Snip>

Where did you go diving ? How long ago was it ?

I'm diving here for well over 40 years !

It's a long way Off-Topic, but I think on that occasion we (University of London Sub-Aqua Club) were based on Hare Island in County Cork & dived mostly around the south coast there and Bantry Bay. 1978 or 79.