Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry38
I am hoping to put a currently unbuilt Marlin Roadster on the road in the not too distant future.
Although I have the registration number of the donor vehicle I am fairly certain that I never had a V5 document for that vehicle in my possession.
As most kit cars are 'hybrids' is it legitimate to acquire another donor vehicle with a valid V5 and use that for ID purposes? If this is possible how much of this vehicle must I use to be within the law ?
Buy another defunct Marlin with a V5 document and 'transfer' the parts over to the new motor ?
There must be some members who have explored all options and could advise.
Any guidance would be appreciated.
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Hi Barry
This topic has been debated at large in the Marlin Owners Club.
Legally, if you are completing a kit for the first time, you must submit your car for an IVA test (-think much more rigorous MOT) which costs £500, and you are almost certain to fail: you then have to rectify anything identified as not acceptable and pay a £100 re-test fee. This cost is on top of the additional work that you wold have to put into the car to meet the criteria of the IVA. It gets expensive!
Have a look at the Government website:
https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-registrat...built-vehicles
- and look at the section about Kitcars
Beyond the normal MOT requirements, the IVA looks for sharp edges, particularly in the frontal area, and this includes suspension, and inside the cockpit. Given the Marlin's open front suspension you will find this challenging to build a car that is capable of passing the test, but still retains the original looks of the Marlin Roadster.
Given the cost, and difficulty of passing the IVA test with a Roadster which was not designed with the test in mind, many do as you have done, and consider cloning an old Marlin that is already registered. This is illegal.
However, there are plenty of Marlins that have been rescued with bare chassis rebuilds and are back on the road as genuine cars. There is a school of thought that says a "New Old Stock" kit that is used to "restore" an old car creates a safer vehicle at the end than a bare chassis rescue of an old vehicle. Whilst many would agree from an engineering viewpoint, the law will not support that view, and ultimately the authorities could take your car away and have it crushed!
However that said, the chances of anyone ever knowing that you "cloned" your kit, particularly if you transfer over the chassis number, would be zero - provided you don't broadcast what you have done on social media!