
Re: Chassis swap in the UK
DVLA wrote:
To keep the original registration number of a car that has been rebuilt you will need to use either of the following:
1)the original unmodified chassis or unaltered bodyshell,
2)a new chassis of the same specification as the original supported by evidence from the dealer or manufacturer (eg receipt)
That seems relatively simple, a re-chassised car is fine providing the bodyshell is original. And a re-bodied car is ok so long as the chassis is either original, or to the same spec as original. It looks like a slightly grey area though as to what constitutes a '
chassis of the same specification'. It doesn't say of the same
design, and to my mind a chassis which is designed to do the same thing as the original, is 'to the same specification', and therefore most of the UK galvanized chassis should be allowed.
I think the vast majority of cars out there now are on galvanised chassis and have had the bodyshell repaired, I replaced my floors with zinc sheet rather than using replacement panels, is that a modified bodyshell. I posed the question to a trusted MOT tester, as they're the people most likely to flag it up if you turn up with something very modified, and he said it's just a question of common sense and his discretion about whether your car is vaguely as the factory intended.
If the lomax builder on the previous page pointed out to the DVLA that his chassis wasn't original, then he's got no-one to blame but himself. I also hear that ville vans are now having trouble registering their vans, after the DVLA became aware that part of the conversion involves cutting a few centimeters off the back of the chassis, what idiot volunteered that information?