Long Story. Sorry.
If you are building a car made from new parts ie the Eagle then it would be registered as a new car in the UK. Once it is registered new you can buy an age related plate put it on the car and it looks period. Second hand refurbished parts and parts from other cars are not accepted for a new registration but would be accepted as a "Q" plated car meaning in the UK that it has no defined age. Once you have a "Q" plate you cannot change it to an age related plate. You could have a new chassis in the case of my Lotus Seven but I had a Rover K series VVC engine mated to a Ford Sierra Type 9 gearbox and back axle with Ford Cortina front uprights and brakes. As the parts all came from different aged cars I had to have a "Q" plate. Even though the parts all came from different cars the Seven still had to comply with new building regs. ie all the external and internal radiuses had to be of a certain size. No sharp objects in the cockpit for instance. The steering column had to be colapesable, lights the right size and distance apart and height from the ground.
Last year we had a visit to the Jaguar classic works in Ryton Coventry. (Well recommended for a visit.) This is where they make the NEW Jaguar "C" types and Jaguar XKSS. These are not replicas, these are brand new built to the original plans from the 1950s with all brand new hand built bespoke parts. Perfect in everyway to the original cars but they are not road legal in the UK........... Why because they are built to 1950s specifications with sharp edges, switches that stick out on the dash, straight one piece steering columns, lights that are the wrong height, no hazard lights and NO FOG LIght to name but a few problems. We spoke to one of the mechanics there who pointed out one new XKSS that was road legal in the UK. A Guy bought the car for £1.6 million pounds and asked Jaguar classic works to make it road legal but they refused. He took it away for a year and got another garage to alter everything to make it road legal which involved changing the engine for emissions, the interior to make it comply and reforming the external body work and windscreen pillars. £500k later it passed the IVA but because the engine and other parts had to be changed with second hand units it was given a "Q" plate but was road legal. This is where the IVA is stupid. Once the car is registered you can do what you want with it. This Guy with too much money gave it back to Jaguar classic works who spent another £500k converting it back to the original 1950s spec. There is now a new XKSS Jaguar on the roads of the UK which has cost in the region of £2.6 million but for all of you out there who understand the significance of the "Q" plate it means it is a Kit Car. He can drive it to any classic car show in the UK and swear blind to everyone who looks at it that he paid £2.6 million for it as it is an original but those that see the "Q" plate will laugh and walk away mumbling "Kit Car " just loud enough for the owner to hear.

With the Eagle if you look at the switch gear you can see in the pictures these are original E Type Jaguar style switches with the key sticking straight out from the dash and would not pass the IVA in the UK. As explained though once it has passed the IVA you can change things to what you want. I am not saying Eagle do this but I a friend who makes Kit Cars for a living. I will not name the car he makes but they all pass the IVA and are awarded a brand new age related registration plate. Why because they all get entered for the IVA with the same brand new parts. Not identical parts, the same parts as they are built with all new parts, which are then removed from the car and fitted to the next car ready for the IVA Test. The car that has passed the IVA is then adjusted to the new owners spec which includes the competition engines and gearbox, old style switches, body spoilers and skirts. different aero wings and so on. Competition engines are fitted which would not be able to pass the strict emissions testing. The IVA is a joke but it is the law as is the radically altered vehicles law.

 

I could only find two pictures of eagle speedsters with registrations and both came back as 1960's jaguars.

Are you sure that the body isn't an original with only minor styling tweaks? If they keep the suspension and axles as well as the body then they can keep the original ID.

 

It might be that Eagle restore old scrap E Types but put a modern twist on the design. As you say if they use enough parts from the original but very rusty donor they will get away with it and be able to use the original registration. A lot of the old Kit Cars Cobras, Kougars and Lotus Sevens were were based on Jaguar or ford Sierra donors and they still retained the donor cars registration. That is illegal now due to the points system and the fact the chassis is required and worth 5 of the 8 points needed.

For this post we are looking at a Radically Altered Vehicle and what defines that. I personally would say that losing two doors, cutting out the "B" pillar and moving it back four to six inches and welding four to six inches in to a door would be Radical. Changing the engine to an XJRs with gearbox, upgrading the original brakes and steering then altering the suspension and you have more than exceeded what would be a reasonable slight modification. Report these modifications to DVLA and I think they would ask you to take the vehicle in for an IVA test and you would come out with a "Q" plate in the UK if you could even get it through the set. I know if I took my fully restored 1968 S Type in for an IVA test it would fail on so many points.

Our American friends do not understand the legal implications we have in the UK for modifying vehicles. Primaz on here and on our S Type form has an old S Type in to which he has shoe horned an LS V8 motor. He has modified all the suspension, brakes and rear axle to make a truly stunning "Sleeper" but he thinks we can do this sort of thing in the UK. Well some can but not legally. I watch these American programs like Gas Monkey, Kindig and Welderup and they take a sh*t car and modify it to hell and as soon as the paint is dry they drive it out of the workshop on to the road. No checks or paperwork to complete. Not in the UK I am afraid.

 

Eagle has always run a restoration & upgrade shop so many of the cars have some of the original vehicle. They used to try & keep the original engine as an example.

Henry Pearman the MD of Eagle does a standard intro video but after that he did a follow up of the heavily modded Speedster & Lightweight Coupe where he discussed the suspension, braking, the development of their own 5 speed gearbox, the development of the 4.7 litre aluminium block engine etc. etc. In that video they show a brand new body being delivered (might have been aluminium). But of course I can't find it. I will post if I find. Maybe they keep just enough of an original car somewhere to get around the system.

Has the new system stopped one from buying a completely new Heritage MGB body & swapping over your mechanicals?



Simon Cowell in his 650,000 Pound ($1 million) Eagle Speedster.

 

Hi Glyn,

If you rebody a vehicle it has to be brand new and from the original manufacturer, for the purposes of this British Motor Heritage are considered to be a successor to the original manufacturer.

If Jaguar started making e-type shells then you could quite legally start rebodying cars with them, in fact Jaguar wouldn't even need to make them just sell them as genuine Jaguar parts as they didn't make the originals themselves, they were built by a supplier.

 

Glyn don't forget that this only affects cars that are built for the UK market. If Eagle want to make a £1 million pound E Type look alike with aftermarket engine and gearbox and sell it in America, Saudi or South Africa they can as long as they conform to the Vehicle building regs of where they sell it. Simon Cowell's Eagle is LHD so possibly in the US as there is no plate on the front. I have just read some of the Eagle website bumf and they keep saying on there that they are a restoration company of original E Type Jaguars. You either purchase a scrap one from them or supply your own and they rebuild it but put on the Eagle touch. It does not state it clearly but reading between the lines they use 90% of the original car and add their own upgrades. This would clearly be classed as a restoration not a new build and would not require the IVA test so they can retain the original age related registration and identity.

MG heritage shells are made to the original spec so are allowed and some classic rebuilds replace almost every panel because they have rusted out. As long as they keep to the original specifications and retain the VIN plate who will know it is not the original chassis or body. It is when you start to Radically Alter the chassis or body. Take the running gear from a rusty Jaguar XJ6, Engine, Gearbox, Suspension, Brakes, Steering and plonk them in to a brand new fibreglass Cobra body and chassis and it not the original looking car any more. People will claim that it is still a Jaguar on the documents using the Jaguar Donors identity and age related registration. The new points system would disagree with that and it would have to be registered as a vehicle of undefined age and be issued with a "Q" plate but only in the UK.

 

Interestingly though if the body shell were remade by a third party not deemed the original manufactuer (and you do see a few of these at shows) then in theory they have to reregistered although I doubt in practice anyone bothers.

 

There is a lot out there that are not strictly legal and people are taking a big risk driving them on the road as it gives the insurance companies a great get out jail free card.

 

Maybe but its not clear cut, many years ago insurers tried to argue that a car having no MOT meant they didnt have to pay out but they lost unless the accident was caused by something an MOT would/might have picked up.

If you declare to the insurers that the car has a different engine, two door conversion etc. then I dont think they can refuse to payout just because in theory the car should be reregistered.

Its a massive minefield that i'm glad to be able to steer clear of.

 

Yes ~ Simon's car was delivered to the US & he ticked all the spec boxes ~ He got rid of his Veyron. This has got me up to date on current UK practices. A sign of lockdown boredom I guess. Thanks guys.

Reminds me I need to go and put the battery on charge on the old S Type.

 

This UK Eagle Spyder GT is registered as a Blue '62. Careful examination certainly shows some original tin work in it's build. Mainly the hood mechanism.

Lots of aluminium.
















I suspect that this Eagle Low Drag GT has more custom tin/ali work.