SVA and Registration

If you are reading this, you are either nearing the end of your build or are looking to see what the potential pitfalls are.

Firstly the Stylus and RT are quite capable of passing an SVA inspection and with a little thought during the build, it shouldn't be too difficult at all.

If you have put your car through an SVA and you had a problem or you thought of a potential problem please let us, or SSC, know about it so we can pass on that experience.

The club has a copy of the SVA inspection manual and we are happy to try and answer any queries about the SVA test you may have, however this copy is possibly a little out of date as it was purchased around 1999. If you have recently passed an SVA or are about to go for it we would like to hear from you to share your experiences, we hope to provide a database of useful tips and information for members preparing their cars for fist registration.

This page will highlight parts of the car that may need specific attention to pass an SVA test.


Single Vehicle Approval (SVA)

SSC has had SVA problems with some cars in the past. Guess these depended on the tester/station; but if you know about them, then at least you can decide if you want to take the steps to alter your car or take the risk. Ask SSC for more information on these if you need it.



Steering Rack Support. This has been questioned if the little bits of box sections, which are about 75 mm long, coming off the bottom chassis rail that the steering rack sits on are strong enough.
Remedy:- make up 2 little triangular plates approx 50mm x 50mm x 3mm thick and weld these to one side of each support and chassis rail. SSC now do this on all new chassis.


Front Wheels. Normally they check to see if the wheels at the top protrude pass the body line by looking from the front down the body side, however a plumb line has been used and in fact from above for about 150mm the tyres stick out by about 4mm.
Remedy:- Either put some old escort wheels on or increase the camber.


Under Slung Exhaust System. It has been said that the silencer under the fuel tank is a hazard.
Remedy:- put some heat reflective material on the base of the tank and also a heat shield between the silencer and tank.
 

Front Indicators. If they are positioned in a similar position as they are on the red SSC demo car, they may be less than 350mm from the road level.
Remedy:- Raise the suspension to meet the 350mm height requirement or position indicators above this minimum level. You can lower the suspension back down after test; apparently quite legal. Alternatively position higher in the body.

Bolts, and other Protusions. The SVA tester's favourite! If in doubt put some protection over the ends of bolts in the cockpit area, a rubber cap for example. Any thing that remotely sticks out, make sure it has a larger edge radius than 2.5mm.

Note: Bob Wilson's car was failed on the jubilee clips holding the water pipes on to the heater, yes that's right! underneath the dash! Bob had to turn these around so the mechanism was not hanging down. Weird or what! At least it was something that could be done at the time.
 


Registration

Okay so you have your Minister's Approval Certificate (MAC) from the SVA testing centre, now it's time to get your car registered with the DVLA.

Information provided here is to our knowledge current and reflects the manner in which the registration is carried out. It is advisable to double check with the DVLA and any other relevant bodies.


Chassis Number. Make sure your chassis number is clearly visible and is physically stamped into the chassis at one or more places. Some registration offices will not accept a riveted on plaque. Some testing stations will not accept an 8-digit chassis number and may issue you with a DVLA 17-digit number which you will have to get stamped and verified by an MOT testing station before registration can complete.

Donor Registration. Use of the majority of parts from a donor car, may entitle you to retain the donor's registration mark. However this is quite difficult to obtain unless you can gain 8 points from major components of the donor car.

Age Related Plates. In order to qualify for age related plates, you must be able to show that at least two major mechanical components came from your donor car. Major components are: Engine, transmission, axles, brakes, differential. Please note that if you are issued with an age related plate, this will be 'non-transferable', this basically means you will not be able to remove the allocated number and assign a personalised plate to the car.

New Registration. In order to be issued with a current registration mark, eg XX 04 XXX, you will need to prove that you have only used new parts. You must have receipts available for all parts. However it is acceptable for the car to have one component that has been reconditioned, again this must be verified (e.g. rebuilt engine). Personal plates are an option for this route. Certification of newness must be provided by SSC to take this route.

Q Registration. If you are unable to provide evidence for either of the above registrations, or have made you car from numerous sources, you will be issued a 'Q' registration.

MOT. Unless you have opted for a new registration, you will be required to have an MOT carried out on the car. The testing station will have to use the chassis number as a reference on the MOT Certificate.


If you have information related to SVA or registration, please e-mail the club.