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IVA of Kit from 1990
AndreasH - 25/8/19 at 12:59 PM

Hello

I bought a Racecorp L.A. a few years ago in UK. Unfortunately I didn't realize, that this car was registered as Ford Escort Mk2 (1980). After completly rebuilding it in Switzerland, I tried to register it. I got a negativ answer, as it obviously doesn't look like a Ford Escort.

There is no possibility to register this car in Switzerland. Despite the V5C from the donor Escort, I have no documentation of this car.

To register it in UK I need an IVA test, as far as I know. Do I need to fulfil the standards for a new car? I would guess with an engine from 1980 I can't fulfil the current emission standards.
Do I need to do normal or basic IVA?


How difficult will it be to get this car through IVA, has someone already done something like this?

Thank you for your answers.

[Edited on 25/8/19 by AndreasH]


MikeR - 25/8/19 at 01:29 PM

Emissions is based on the engine age, you should therefore be fine for that. No idea what the car is like therefore what challenges the rest of IVA will present but I doubt it would be impossible if it's a seven type car


AndreasH - 25/8/19 at 01:46 PM

Racorp L.A. is a seven-type car. What makes it impossible to register it now?


big_wasa - 25/8/19 at 02:06 PM

You will need a letter from the engine manufacture ( ford ?) to show the engine age from the engine number.
It’s then a case of reading the Iva manual and adjusting things to comply.

The stumbling block is you and the car are going to need to be here for the test and I have no idea on how you would register it not living here.

My opinion, it will be cheaper, easier and hole lot less hassle selling it as a track day car and buying something correctly registered. Does your have any value in your country ?

Due to several things including the poor weather the prices on these are down this year

[Edited on 25/8/19 by big_wasa]


AndreasH - 25/8/19 at 02:12 PM

Thank you for your informations.

The part of not living in UK can easily be solved, the idea is anyway to move to UK and drive it there for more than half a year to take it back to Switzerland without problems. Otherwise it would still be impossible.

These cars have (unregistered) nearly no value here, specially with the 1300 engine. I would have to sell about 3 or 4 of these to buy one correctly registered here.


big_wasa - 25/8/19 at 02:26 PM

If you and it are in the uk for a period of time it just comes down to effort and cash.

It’s years since I looked at the costs of Iva but I reckoned on a £1000 with transport, time of work and a retest.

Then there is registration. You will have to fulfill the amateur build requirements and they like to see photos of you having built it. ( or did ).

I would do some reading.


AndreasH - 25/8/19 at 03:01 PM

Thank you for your answer, I will try to see into the details of the registration and IVA.


theconrodkid - 25/8/19 at 03:22 PM

didnt a company offer an import / iva / export again service some time ago (MK ?) and the powers that be shut it down cos it wasnt "legal", may be worth trying to research that or ring up the ministry...it,s aint easy for a native so i doubt it would be fun for you


perksy - 25/8/19 at 07:54 PM

Seems like a lot of work?

What would you do if it failed its first attempt at IVA, Does that mean you would have to stay in the country ?
We might have left the EU by then and just wandering if that's something you'll also have to consider?


MikeR - 26/8/19 at 07:47 AM

Eek. Hadn't thought about the EU situation. After BREXIT would self built cars be legal in Europe? I'm assuming yes, but registering a self built car in an EU country? I've no idea.

(Cue BREXIT mumblings not relevant to this thread)

May be worth double checking if anyone has thought about registration post BREXIT


Toys2 - 26/8/19 at 08:22 AM

Hi, if you're planning on living in the UK for a while anyway, then it's possible
Brexit ( may not affect Switzeland?), logistics and costs should be considered seriously, as it could work out more costly than selling and buying a correctly registered car.

But if you plan to go ahead.....
I assume the engine is the old escort crossflow? If so, that's good as the emissions requirements will be minimal

There is a link to the IVA manual at the top of this section, you'll need to read it cover to cover
It's not uncommon to have to make temporary changes to the car to meet iva, for example, having a windscreen, means it has to a suitably marked glass, have wipers, washer and a demister. Or don't have a windscreen for the test, then refit it after
Light positioning and angles are critical and may have to be changed
The steering column has to have a collapsible design as detailed in the manual
The same strictness for seatbelts, seats, and head rests
Instruments and indicators have to be clearly marked
The other common concern is that most accessible areas have to have radiussed edges - see manual

There are many areas to consider, the real shame is it you have to make significant changes to parts of your car that are nicely finished

If you want to go ahead, I'm sure that there are people on here to give advice, I'd get it Iva ready well before moving it back to the UK, then post detailed photos on here for us to review and comment
But before doing that, do study the IVA manual for things that will be hard to change, steering, seat and seatbelt locations etc

[Edited on 26/8/19 by Toys2]


AndreasH - 28/8/19 at 06:01 PM

Thank you all for the responses.

I read through the IVA Manual and it seems that there are a few things, that would create a ton of work to change. In the end I have to admit, that it would be too expensive and cost too much time. I made the hard decission to sell the car and go for an entire new project.
I learned some important things about the swiss registration office and on what to pay attention when importing a car from UK.


alfas - 16/10/19 at 08:01 PM

to make an old kit passing IVA you need to change lots of things....starts from covering threads and rough edges on the suspension, up to taking care about distances from stalks to steering-wheel or visibility-angles of lights, indicators etc.

the iva test, plus transport to UK would cost you minimum 1500,-€, plus the investment to modify the car to comply with IVA rules...lets say 2000,-€ in total and the final value in UK might be around 4.5k pound...so makes no sense to go this way.

fact is: you have invested in a car which even in its original-country UK, correctly registered, woud have a value not more than 4-5k...
without registration you may get 2.5k in UK ( as the car has a zero-value 1300 ford x/flow engine maybe even less)

this said: if your car would pass IVA, it would end with a Q-plate and a registration date of 2019 or 2020....which is too young for re-registering in switzerland....as in CH (and rest of europe, besides UK) the emissions are related to the reg-date not the engine-age!!

conclusion: whatever you do, the car will never get a legal registration in CH.

i know, this is not what you want to hear.....but you should have clarified the registration issues BEFORE investing any money in that car.


but even you know that the car has nearly zero value you are advertizing it for 20.000,-€ with a quite vague description not stating clear about the legal things

so trying to transfer your mistake to somebody else....not really fair.

[Edited on 16/10/19 by alfas]


big_wasa - 16/10/19 at 08:44 PM

20k ? where is that advertised ?

No wonder they are going to Europe if they are fetching that sort of cash.

[Edited on 17/10/19 by big_wasa]


alfas - 17/10/19 at 09:14 AM

forget about such prices.

for this sort of money you will get a properly registered caterham in europe...just a toally un-informed amateur and fool would ourhcase for that price.

and its a shame that the thread opener, even he has recognized that he made a huge mistake, is now searching another fool to whom he could forward his mistake...that sort of price is a rip-off..especially as this car has such a bad config:

its a Racecorp, so the shape is not everybodies taste (rear is ugly imo, front to chunky)...a 1300 x/flow, a live axle....so nothing really "attractive"



an "oldschool" westfield with x/flow or pinto engine , live axle, would fetch 8 to 12k €...with a local registration, not with UK Paperwork!!!

still more than UK...but its really hard to get the cars registered outside UK....and you have to calculate at least 1500-2000 euro on top of the UK sales price in pound, for currency exchange-rate, transport, modifications to pass the abroad MOT & MOT & fee for the registration-procedure....so at the end of the day...there isnt much "margin" left.

rule of thumb:

if the car hasnt a controlled catalytic converter and does not fullfill the emission class related to the YEAR of registration....which is the majority of kitcars....reg-date of 1991 is the deadline...age related plate does not count here. reg-date AND year of manufacture must be old. if one of the 2 dates is later than 1991 ...emmission-rules will be applied

now guess how many kitcars, in good condition, are still available in UK with such a reg-date?

hardly any.

5 years ago it was different...thats why so many kitcars where sold abroad.

meanwhile the UK market has been bought empty of such older cars, newer cars arent re-registrateable outside UK or only with investing a lot of money for emission certificates, the prices in Uk have slighty increased, the abroad markets have been flooded with crappy cars, prices stagnate, lots of dealers have sold cars with fake registrations (to make them "older" and sellable)

the market is actually "dead"

[Edited on 18/10/19 by alfas]