259 replies to this topic

[Archived2]

didn't see this coming at all 

 

when modding something just look at the rules and keep them in mind. 

 

I'm not a fan of the IVA... BUT we are one of the lucky few in the EU that can still do the things we do to cars and this test is there for a reason. People fought hard to stop a blanket ban.

 

If you have the money to own a splitty camper then you can afford the test and the work to get it through. ignoring it and cutting channels into your chassis was just asking for trouble.

Edited by minihobbymini, 26 December 2013 - 10:09 AM.

[Archived2]

hi

 

does this car of mine need an iva test

dvla have refused a v5

thay have had a load of photo's they even said go and mot it

 and tax it if i want to  so now i have a mini with a full m.o.t

full insurance and cannot use it

apart of what you see in the photo the car is as it left the factory

standand 998 ,brakes steering subframes ect are standard

 

any comments

thanks102_4290.JPG

How have you ben getting on with this mate?

[The Matt]

I don't know why anybody is surprised by this at all.  So many people thinking they're above the regulations.  People are going around, modifying their cars, often without any formal qualifications to do so, nor any ability to do it safely in some cases.  There are some hideously shonky Minis on the road and a lot of them simply aren't safe. That said, there are also a lot of very poorly maintainted/repaired Minis out there too!

 

I personally think there's a storm coming very soon for modded Minis and their owners.  When it hits, it's going to hit hard.  The more computerised the MOT becomes, the easier it will be to fail/refuse to test due to modifications to the shell. The less likely the MOT testers are to be 'leniant' too.

[sonikk4]

As Matt has said over the next few years things will tighten and you will start to hear of mini's being refused MOT,s and being reported to VOSA.

Its not a case of bah humbug but a dose of reality. Flip fronts, cut off inner wings, Turbo boxes etc will come under scrutinity.

If it's starting to hit other popular car scenes like veedubs then it will come our way sooner rather than later. It may be the odd one or two but like anything especially now things are computerized there will be no getting away with it. Once it's on the system as MOT refused then what will you do?? You can't just nip to another garage to get it MOT'd with a flag against your car.

Now I personally hope this really does not happen to anyone but the odds on that happening are now getting slimmer.

The other thing people may think "well if such and such sell these and nothing was mentioned about IVA,s then it must be ok" well ignorance is not bliss. It may well come to it that companies will be forced to have some form of declaration on their products that maybe a particular product will be susceptible to the BIVA process if fitted to your car. This in itself will be a huge can of worms and will affect virtually every major supplier and some of the smaller companies as well.

Scaremongering? possibly but you do need to think about what you intend to do to your car with regards to major structural changes, subframe modifications.

It will be a shame as there are some seriously well modified cars out there in mini land that can fall foul of this. A lot of them will pass a heavier inspection but others may well be deemed to be unroadworthy and will be in the worst case scrapped/ crushed.

[Shifty]

I know there's no way I'd be thinking of spending a shed load of money on a car that may or may not need an IVA.

 

Flip fronts, de-seaming, bulkhead boxes are all gonna put more and more buyers off.

 

The same's gonna go for logbook specials, there's no way on earth I'd spend money on one, unless it was for breaking.

[Tamworthbay]

I think there is a world apart from fitting a webber box to notching a chassis leg. The VW 'scene' (how I hate that term) has long been populated by people who have no concern for their safety or the effects on others of their modifications. Not all by any means, but a significant proportion. One of the things I hated about having our vw camper was meeting vw people. As it is well known that vw's are subject to this kind of thing I think they will bear more scrutiny than any other makes as well. There is no comparison between the (mostly) minor modifications on minis and the sorts of stupidity prevalent in the vw arena. The idea of a car being reported for simple mods like an air box also assumes that every MOT tester knows the exact spec of a mini shell (and presumably every other car as well). Obvious changes such as convertibles and shorties are a different story, but I don't see any major issues for most. Some on here have been the harbingers of doom for years and the sum total so far seems to be one very highly, and stupidly, modified vw meeting an awkward mot man. Would I do it? No, if I had a mini with no inner wings would I worry? No.

Personally I am more frustrated by some of the suspension modifications that are carried out which are an accident waiting to happen and wouldn't be pulled by any of this.

[AGoaty]

I think that this is still scaremongering. I have taken cars to MOT stations and haven't been refused a test at any of them. I'm sure if the MOT testers job was on the line, they wouldn't entertain it at all.

 

The amount of modified cars out on the road and the associated businesses that provide parts for these cars is huge. There would be a public outcry for the rules to be left alone, not clamped down on. The insurance companies can try to dictate this by increasing premiums on modified vehicles, but there is little sign of this at the moment. My 195bhp K series Mini with all mods declared to the insurance is £218. My son who is 17, paid £1770 on a 60bhp A series Mini.

 

I personally would prefer the police to clamp down on insurance fraud i.e. using brothers licences etc or taking unsafe cars off the road. I think a well maintained modified car isn't going to cause any problems.

 

As more and more people are joining and using the 16v Mini Forum, I hope the rules stay as they are. A series engines are becoming so expensive people are looking to fit more powerful and more efficient engines and 5 speed gearboxes into their Mini's. I hope this is the way forward for anyone using their Mini as a daily driver.

[R1mini]

we have had the first VW reported to VOSA at the MOT for it's modifications

 

http://www.volkszone...ad.php?t=963730

 

 

someone else that thought it would never happen to them

 

You appear to be enjoying other people's misfortunes, what a twisted world we live in

[Ethel]

 

we have had the first VW reported to VOSA at the MOT for it's modifications

 

http://www.volkszone...ad.php?t=963730

 

 

someone else that thought it would never happen to them

 

You appear to be enjoying other people's misfortunes, what a twisted world we live in

 

I don't think that's fair. Bungle's just bringing the story to the forum's attention. He might take some satisfaction if it vindicates his view that's been disputed on many occasions, that's not the same thing in my opinion.

 

I still think you stand a much bigger chance of falling foul of the dvla if the can see a purpose to getting on your back, be that fiddling a free tax disc, making modifications of dubious safety. I suspect Mini 1955's car has got them excited over an apparent change in body type, there will be masses of convertible saloons with structurally similar mods that don't get a second look come MoT time.

[mk1coopers]

It's an interesting topic, which I've been watching for a while now, I do own a highly modified Mini, but it was done by a company back in the late 60's, I have the documentation to prove this, and the V5 is correct, however if I got stopped at a roadside check I wouldn't have all this with me, so no doubt I would have to prove that the mods were done before the rules came in, which may involve presenting the documentation to the DVLA, (and now that've shut the local offices that would be a trip as I wouldn't send the originals throughout the post) or a trip to a VOSA station to present it all. Would I spend ££££ changing a car in a way that these days might result in an IVA, probably not, however there must be a way of checking modifications (by an official body) without having to make the car comply with all modern safety requirements, but again this throws up problems of liability if the modification fails, so we are back to a MOT style test where the the modification is check once and declared safe 'at time of test' and the mod is recorded on the DVLA records and then shows that it's been looked at at subsequent MOT's

[Ethel]

The onbus should still be on them to  prove you've broken a rule, My guess over the van conversion above is they're going off a change in seating capacity, if not body type, that should have always been reported at the time.

[Archived1]

It's an interesting topic, which I've been watching for a while now, I do own a highly modified Mini, but it was done by a company back in the late 60's, I have the documentation to prove this, and the V5 is correct, however if I got stopped at a roadside check I wouldn't have all this with me, so no doubt I would have to prove that the mods were done before the rules came in, which may involve presenting the documentation to the DVLA, (and now that've shut the local offices that would be a trip as I wouldn't send the originals throughout the post) or a trip to a VOSA station to present it all. Would I spend ££££ changing a car in a way that these days might result in an IVA, probably not, however there must be a way of checking modifications (by an official body) without having to make the car comply with all modern safety requirements, but again this throws up problems of liability if the modification fails, so we are back to a MOT style test where the the modification is check once and declared safe 'at time of test' and the mod is recorded on the DVLA records and then shows that it's been looked at at subsequent MOT's

 

You will be fine mate.

 

Roadside tests would not cause you an issue as your V5 is correct. to be honest they are very unlikely to be interested in giving you hassle at the roadside unless you are drunk or uninsured etc etc.

 

The computerised system is where the "human" common sense has been removed. Garages (some not all) are getting scared of the rules and are going above and beyond to protect themselves with the check boxes.

My de-seamed van with a roof chop had a note on the advisory page that the roof height had been lowered in both 2011,2012 and 2013.

My V5 states special bodied and also has a note in the front section of the log stating that its rebuilt from parts some of which are not new.

Im sure someone has seen the mot notes and checked against the V5 every year and can see its all correct so they have given me no hassle.

 

I contacted DVLA about fitting non original from panels to my elf as they are no longer made. I fitted a clubby front with the inner wings and they were more than happy for me to go ahead.

I did pop it over to VOSA as they asked to see it once completed.

The inspector said that forward of the shock mounts he considered the panels not parts of the monocoque safety cell structure so wasn't concerned. 

This may be on a person by person approach so don't go fitting fibreglass fronts and brace bars without asking first.

 

With sensible planning and a few questions at DVLA and VOSA I'm sure we in the mini scene can carry on with most mods.

 

I understand the frustration of some members on here about the dangerous mods and in some cases even the death traps. Just ask first and allow the extra money for testing within your build.

[Shifty]

 

It's an interesting topic, which I've been watching for a while now, I do own a highly modified Mini, but it was done by a company back in the late 60's, I have the documentation to prove this, and the V5 is correct, however if I got stopped at a roadside check I wouldn't have all this with me, so no doubt I would have to prove that the mods were done before the rules came in, which may involve presenting the documentation to the DVLA, (and now that've shut the local offices that would be a trip as I wouldn't send the originals throughout the post) or a trip to a VOSA station to present it all. Would I spend ££££ changing a car in a way that these days might result in an IVA, probably not, however there must be a way of checking modifications (by an official body) without having to make the car comply with all modern safety requirements, but again this throws up problems of liability if the modification fails, so we are back to a MOT style test where the the modification is check once and declared safe 'at time of test' and the mod is recorded on the DVLA records and then shows that it's been looked at at subsequent MOT's

 

You will be fine mate.

 

Roadside tests would not cause you an issue as your V5 is correct. to be honest they are very unlikely to be interested in giving you hassle at the roadside unless you are drunk or uninsured etc etc.

 

The computerised system is where the "human" common sense has been removed. Garages (some not all) are getting scared of the rules and are going above and beyond to protect themselves with the check boxes.

My de-seamed van with a roof chop had a note on the advisory page that the roof height had been lowered in both 2011,2012 and 2013.

My V5 states special bodied and also has a note in the front section of the log stating that its rebuilt from parts some of which are not new.

Im sure someone has seen the mot notes and checked against the V5 every year and can see its all correct so they have given me no hassle.

 

I contacted DVLA about fitting non original from panels to my elf as they are no longer made. I fitted a clubby front with the inner wings and they were more than happy for me to go ahead.

I did pop it over to VOSA as they asked to see it once completed.

The inspector said that forward of the shock mounts he considered the panels not parts of the monocoque safety cell structure so wasn't concerned. 

This may be on a person by person approach so don't go fitting fibreglass fronts and brace bars without asking first.

 

With sensible planning and a few questions at DVLA and VOSA I'm sure we in the mini scene can carry on with most mods.

 

I understand the frustration of some members on here about the dangerous mods and in some cases even the death traps. Just ask first and allow the extra money for testing within your build.

 

 

Its nice to hear from someone who has actually made an attempt to comply with the regs and not just bury their head in the sand.

[The Matt]

If only we could get that in writing from VOSA.

If an inspector is willing to state that forward of the shock mounts is not deemed structural and can be modified, then maybe we (as a club) can work on VOSA supplying us with some form of approval based on that? Wishful thinking, perhaps!

[Artful Dodger]

Il carry on letting my dad do my MOTS then!


Anyone in or around Newport/saffron walden who wants a good friendly MOT done, lemme know;)