Hi all,
Has anybody NOT from UK traveled down the SVA-road?

I have just became a member of the Dutch kitcar builders forum, and they advise as follows.

1. If you want to have your car SVA'd, you need to be a UK citizen. Is this correct? Or is it that you have to have a UK postal address?

2. The car needs to be amateur-built. Since I am building a left-hand-drive car, this is hard to prove for a UK representative.

3. If the car is not amateur build, it needs to comply with the latest emission standards.

4. I wanted to use a 1974 1.1 crossflow engine for SVA, trying to get an age related plate, and not worry about emissions. Dutch forum says it's not possible anymore.

5. Dutch donor car will not be accepted (I have have all the papers of the donor car)



How true is the above? Will it pay off to continue my 6 years build???

Should I buy a Kitkar which has already a Dutch registration, and swap the chassis number to my locost??


Edit to say: yes, I have read more topics on this subject. I know some UK people represent guys like me. But will my configuration (LHD, crossflow engine) do the trick??

[Edited on 28/11/08 by maartenromijn]

I phoned VOSA on behalf of someone wanting to do the same as you to ask about SVAing a LHD car. The guy at VOSA said there was no reason why it couldn't be done.

My 'story' to VOSA was that I wanted LHD as I drive in France a lot.

Stu

Hi Marten

I know that several non-UK people, including from the Netherlands, have successfully SVAd their cars... not sure if they used agents or whatever. I would do a search for "netherlands" in the SVA section of this forum for some more clues.

I don't think that you have to be a UK citizen - after all, there are thousands if not millions of non-UK citizens living legally in the UK. You might need a UK address, though, for the documentation.

If for some reason they won't accept a NL-registered donor, you should still be able to get Ford to confirm the build date of the Crossflow engine based on the engine number, to avoid emissions problems. Burton Power have a chart, for starters: here. That won't help with the age-related question, but I am not sure why they wouldn't accept a non-UK car as long as you have the paperwork.

Left hand drive shouldn't be a problem - others have done it. Take plenty of pictures of the build in your garage or whatever to help show that it's you who did it.

Good luck - after 6 years I wouldn't give up just yet!

Simon

SVA should not be a problem, the IVA is going to be a problem for foreigners. AFAIK LHD cars are considered factory built, and therefore need a clean engine.

[Edited on 28/11/08 by rost]

At first: Why do you want the SVA, the Dutch route is also possible for home-build, only if your chassis is made by you.
It will be more testing, (brakes, driving, noise) but in the end the costs are about the same.
BTW: All member-states get also new regulations due the new EU-regs.