mr henderson
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 10:02 AM |
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Is this car street legal (I don't think so)?
http://www.flatmobile.co.uk/index.htm
This highly modified Hillman Imp is reckoned to be under 19" high. Seeing as the minimum height BELOW the headlights is 19.7 inches, and seeing
as the car obviously requires an SVA test, I say that it is NOT street legal, despite the builder's claims to the contrary.
It's featured on the current front page of
http://www.totalkitcar.com/home.php
One would rather have thought that they would know better?
Any comments?
John
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cd.thomson
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 10:05 AM |
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legal or not its very ugly. He's spent a lot of time creating something that looks flattened?
*How do I do something original in a postmodern world? Hmm..I like cars..I like flat things....
AHA!*
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 10:11 AM |
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Years ago there was an imp that was cut and shut till it was a little higher than that but had a full roof. It was bright glow in the dark pink and
done so it looked like it had been run over by a steamroller. It was street legal somehow and I think that batmobile is a descendant of it.
seeing that it is just a cut and shut job I'm not sure if it needs a SVA or not, depends if he bothers telling the DVLA I suppose. If it doesn’t
have a separate chassis like a beetle for example then I don’t think this kind of thing is strictly allowed.
[Edited on 29/12/08 by Mr Whippy]
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dinosaurjuice
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 10:12 AM |
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i cant understand why anyone would spend so much time and resources making that. surely better things to do...
back on topic john, according to my sva manual min headlight height is 500mm. so unless he wasted even more of his life making them pop up, then its a
fail.
wil
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 10:22 AM |
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well looks like he's found a helpful MOT guy (there are some out there who are happy to turn a blind eye) and I can see the tax disk so I think
it is on the road, right or wrong. Stupid looking it may be but if he likes it then it’s not really a waste of time, lights are definitely way to low
though to be legal.
.jpg)
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Stott
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 10:27 AM |
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Maybe he taped them up for the test and has a daytime mot?
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cd.thomson
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 10:33 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Stott
Maybe he taped them up for the test and has a daytime mot?
But he wouldn't have passed SVA.
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Miks15
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 10:45 AM |
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I just watched the documentary video on it and he says that its totally street legal only during the daytime and good weather.
He claims that it meets all regualtions Except headlight height
link
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 10:45 AM |
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You all seem to be missing the point - it was built for FUN, probably as a publicity thing. He is a mate of Ed China, famous for his road-legal
settee with matching standard lamp and coffee table, so it comes into the same category.
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Stott
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 10:47 AM |
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Maybe, just maybe, it never got submitted for SVA......................
No, what am I saying, of course it did, he'd have had no trouble passing interior / exterior projections with it looking like that, I wonder if
he managed to get that 1st battery cut switch counted in the steering wheel exempt zone..
somehow I don't think his sticking point for SVA would have been the height of the headlights 
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mark chandler
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 10:49 AM |
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Original chassis and bodywork, albeit cropped, no need to take it for an SVA.
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dinosaurjuice
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 10:51 AM |
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im all up for driveable 4 poster beds and cars disguised as shrubbery. but this thing seems outright dangerous. i would quite like a recumbrent
bicycle, but for the same reasons i wouldnt want to share the roads with trucks etc
whatever floats your boat i suppose
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Triton
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 10:55 AM |
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Mad but hats off to the fella for being different..marmite car for sure
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iank
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 11:00 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by mark chandler
Original chassis and bodywork, albeit cropped, no need to take it for an SVA.
Do you not think that a chop of that magnitude doesn't count as radically modified?
PPC have a feature this month (page 90) where the DVLA are quite clear that any major chop to a monocoque is significant to them and requires an
SVA.
Light height is construction and use so it's still not road legal anyway with or without an SVA.
--
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Anonymous
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mr henderson
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 11:07 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
You all seem to be missing the point -
I don't think so. The whole point of the car iws that it is supposed to be street legal, and it isn't
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 11:13 AM |
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Happens all the time though, seen simply masses of shortened, chopped and butchered cars, really I don’t think many people care about the DVLA and
they’re opinions, good luck trying to convince them otherwise along with the apparently millions who can’t be bothered even insuring their cars. That
full size movie batmoble that apparently was also road legal had tons of SVA and MOT fail points when you looked at it. Looks a fun car for sure, bet
you could really push it round corners, but if it was mine I’d fit the bubble canopies and rear rocket launchers as there were trademarks of the car,
oh and the flashing red light
I'd love a replica of the original car, soooooo 
[Edited on 29/12/08 by Mr Whippy]
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Humbug
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 11:52 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by mark chandler
Original chassis and bodywork, albeit cropped, no need to take it for an SVA.
but not an "original, unmodified chassis" as required by
the rules
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 12:20 PM |
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This same subject seems to crop up very regularly tbh, we all know people don’t follow the ‘rule book’, they’d be something very wrong with the world
if they did. The DVLA aren’t some all knowing superpower and have better things to do with their time than chase up every chancer that wants to see
what he can get away with, really their more interested in fining you if you forget to tax your car. But he’s got his tax disk, he’s on the road, so
what, let him have his fun.
hehe look he's built a road going Dalek! superb
[Edited on 29/12/08 by Mr Whippy]
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Richard Quinn
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 12:46 PM |
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With respect, who are we to decide whether this vehicle is road legal or not. Are we not also publicly discussing safety issues etc associated with a
particular vehicle without raising them with the builder / manufacturer first?
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Triton
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 12:52 PM |
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It's no different to folk changing their cars after SVA..and nearly everyone does that!!!!!
My Daughter has taken over production of the damn fine Triton race seats and her contact email is emmatrs@live.co.uk.
www.tritonraceseats.com
www.hairyhedgehog.com
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 01:01 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Triton
It's no different to folk changing their cars after SVA..and nearly everyone does that!!!!!
shocked!! 
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Triton
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 01:11 PM |
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Nobody owning up to that one then...
My Daughter has taken over production of the damn fine Triton race seats and her contact email is emmatrs@live.co.uk.
www.tritonraceseats.com
www.hairyhedgehog.com
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mr henderson
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 01:40 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Richard Quinn
With respect, who are we to decide whether this vehicle is road legal or not.
Well, we're not really deciding, we're discussing.
quote:
Originally posted by Richard Quinn
Are we not also publicly discussing safety issues etc associated with a particular vehicle without raising them with the builder / manufacturer first?
Can't see any reason why we should raise it with the manufacturer, I'm sure he is well aware that his car is not legal in the sense in
which we understand it.
My point in starting this thread was that he is touting the car as being street legal, when it isn't. It's just the same as if he was
claiming that it was the fastest car in the world, or any other claim that is evidently untrue.
I was also drawing attention to the fact that it is being featured by an on-line kit car magazine that should know better
John
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Richard Quinn
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 04:25 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by mr henderson
Well, we're not really deciding, we're discussing.
touting the car as being street legal, when it isn't.
Sounds like you've already decided!
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wilkingj
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| posted on 29/12/08 at 05:14 PM |
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If you have NO (legal) lights at all, it can still be street legal.
However, you cant drive it after lighting up hours. (ie dusk to dawn).
There are hundreds of Trials bike on the road with no lights. You just cant ride them at night or you get done for no lights.
Simple.
1. The point of a journey is not to arrive.
2. Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Best Regards
Geoff
http://www.v8viento.co.uk
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