DfT SAYS MODDED CARS NOT HISTORIC
Cars over 40 may have to take MoTs if they’ve seen a 15% power to weight ratio increase
‘Most historic vehicles that are substantially modified are safer’ GEOFF LANCASTER, FBHVC
The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs is fighting the Department for Transport’s plans to revoke historic status if a classic’s power to weight ratio has increased by 15 per cent from original specification through modification.
The DfT’s ‘substantial change draft guidance’ document states a vehicle will be judged to have been substantially changed from factory specification ‘if a vehicle has a power to weight ratio of more than 15 per cent in excess of its original design, unless such a modification took place before 1988’.
This would disqualify the car from any exemptions provided by classification as a Vehicle of Historical Interest ( VHI) including, crucially, exemption from annual roadworthiness tests.
This will apply not only to vehicles affected by the extension of MoT exemption to cars over 40 years old in May 2018, but also pre-1960 vehicles that are already exempt from MoT testing.
Geoff Lancaster, FBHVC communications director, says: ‘ We don’t think it’s a particularly sensible thing. The European directive that is driving all of this MoT reform is about roadworthiness, and we don’t see what the relevance of this is to roadworthiness. It isn’t to do with provenance or authenticity.
‘ We’d argue that most historic vehicles that are substantially modified are actually safer than they were in standard specification.
‘ We have now submitted our arguments, with specific case studies, to the Department for Transport and they are considering them right now.’
The DfT’s proposal means that some cars that were previously exempt from MoT testing for the past six years will have to return to the test station.
Public Service Vehicles and Heavy Goods Vehicles will not be affected, as they require testing no matter their age.
TR Register spokesman Wayne Scott said: ‘It seems impossible to me, and raises so many questions.
‘How do you know what the original power output of a classic was, for instance?’
Scott said manufacturers frequently exaggerated figures and used different forms of measurement to each other.
He said: ‘The older the vehicle, the more of a power increase you tend to get just from using modern oil and petrol – could this really count as significant change?
‘Probably 80 per cent of the TR Register’s cars would fit into this definition and I worry about how they are targeting our hobby. Being cynical, it seems like they are dividing up the classic car world into sections that will make it easier for them to take all but a very narrow definition of historic cars off of the road.’
So far, the DfT is stating that owners of vehicles more than 40 years old will have to declare whether their vehicles meet the criteria for ‘substantial change’ or not and seek expert advice if they are not sure.
It is unclear how this selfdeclaration will be policed – if indeed at all – or what will consist as proof that any modification occurred prior to 1988.
The Department for Transport has told CCW that it will be finalising the definition of ‘substantial change’ in November, though other sources suggest this could actually take until next year – so it is at least possible that the details of these plans could change.