FBHVC article states

"On Wednesday 23 September the Driver and Vehicle
Licensing Agency will be holding a Historic Vehicle Event at
Swansea. The three hour event aims to provide guidance
on various matters relating to the registration of historic
vehicles including the V765 scheme, reconstructed classics
and age related registrations. There are limited places
available and invitations to FBHVC members and V765
representatives will be sent out by the Agency soon. Places
will be restricted to one representative per club. "

As to what clubs are attending your guess is as good as mine.

Location: Australia

Letter in ~Classic Car Weekly 26 August 2015

Age-related numbers
My MP approached the DVLA on my behalf regarding the issue of age-related numbers. received a reply stating that it would like to reassure me that the procedures and processes around historic vehicles have not changed. The DVLA does not intend to inspect all historic vehicles and potentially withdraw their historic status.' This does not seem to be correct. In the recent past an age-related number could be obtained provided the chassis components were all from one year and model of a particular car. This had to be confirmed by a club authentication officer. A replica body could be fitted or even one that was not to the original design Now the application form for an age-related number states the vehicle must be 'comprised of genuine period components all over 25 years old' and adds that your vehicle won't get an age-related number if it includes new or replica parts. DVLA will give your vehicle a Q-prefix registration number. Your vehicle must pass the relevant type approval test to get a Q-prefix registration number. have replied that it is impossible to restore a car without using new replica parts. Nearly all old cars would have to be modified to pass the IVA test, so they would no longer be to their original design, would be devalued, and part of our heritage would be lost. Car restoration is a billion-pound industry. Firms that make replica parts, especially bodies, will be badly hit if these new rules are not rejected. have asked the DVLA to reassure me that the statements in the above paragraph are a mistake and will be removed from the application form. I await its reply
Chris Gould, via email

Location: East Sussex

Just as a matter of interest, I attended a classic car show this last weekend where there was a mid-60s Wolseley Hornet - you know, the Mini with a boot - sporting very new-looking Q-plates. Unfortunately I couldn't locate the owner to find out the story, but to my eye it looked totally authentic - it certainly wasn't a recent restoration, nor did it appear to be a hotch-potch of parts. It had a well-worn original interior and matching paintwork which, if not original, was very old.

Location: Teignmouth

Stuart
I am surprised no one has replied to this, unless I've missed it elsewhere on the Forum. The meeting is by invitation only to FBHVC members and V765 Club representatives. Looking in the back of the A7CA grey magazine there are 18 A7 Clubs listed. Probably not all have a DVLA representative but most of the larger ones do. I know for a fact that my A7 Club rep applied and has since been notified that his application has not been granted. Presumably one of the other 18 reps has. We can only hope that it has been granted to a well experienced one. Of course this will have applied to all car clubs of all makes. Some will be solus clubs, perhaps with 50 or 60 owners, but many will be like us, 4 - 5000 owners, with independent clubs around the country. Again only one will be selected to represent owners.
Do we know who is representing the A7 world?
This meeting is therefore not open to all so your father might be disappointed if he turns up to this meeting (where ever it is in Swansea as only the invited will know) and expects to get in.

Location: Inside the M25

The VHRA will be attending the meeting - they've received an invite. Applications were well and truly over subscribed apparently. I'll let you know the results once I've heard.

Location: Flatlands of Norfolk

I imagine the Vintage Hot Rod Association will be somewhat concerned about originality! The wrong outcome of this meeting will have far reaching effects on many aspects of our motoring interests.

Location: Inside the M25

Funny you should say that David, but checking out the VHRA stand at the Classic Car Show last year, I noticed that they took great pains to make sure the modifications were all in period, so I think most of them would be fine!

As far as the standard hot rodders, I think they could be in real trouble unless they want to build the cars to IVA specs...

Location: Near Bicester.

I agree about the cars at the Classic Car show. Great examples of craftsmanship but wonder how they will get on now if someone unearths a pre-49 US car without paperwork and decides to turn it into a hot rod even under VHRA rules? Must be similar problems to building an A7 special with or without paperwork under the 'new' rules to register changes.
Had a quick glance at the IVA specs overview, not for the faint hearted.

Location: Inside the M25

Possibly there may be a positive side to tightening up the rules as far as hot rods - I call them hybrids - are concerned. For too long many have been masquerading, if not as historic vehicles, then at least "old" cars. Apart from the VHRA and others who are at pains to encompass original parts where they can, the majority of these cars are effectively new builds. As such, I would have thought the IVA specs would go some way to ensuring the safety of such vehicles. In many cases, the power to weight ratio would appear to be quite dangerous. That said, there is no evidence, as far as I can tell, that hot rods are any more likely to be involved in accidents than conventional old cars. I am just trying to find a positive angle to this fiasco but it's not easy!

Location: Derby

So what would DVLA do with this 1927 Bugatti on eBay

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=121759198387&globalID=EBAY-GB

Location: Dorset

Location: East Sussex

The fact is that in 2006 a well known member of the Bugatti Club reported a car to the DVLA because it had a Pur Sang new chassis. Had he been really concern he should have reported 75% of the 185 or so cars with BC chassis numbers (Bugatti Club number) with a majority are of new construction and all constructed in the UK.
The details of each car are on the Bugatti Register, which is there to see, there is only 3 Pur Sang cars in the UK which are all registered with the BOC.
We are all seeing an enthusiast using the DVLA as a weapon in his personal vendetta against his fellow entusiast. This is a well known person in the Bugatti Owner’s Club, he should be named and shamed, The irony is his car is one of the BC numbers.
No doubt some blame lies with the DVLA who kept it under the carpet for nearly a decade.
All this is having a very big impact on British businesses.
Liam

Location: East Sussex

Ray White

Possibly there may be a positive side to tightening up the rules as far as hot rods - I call them hybrids - are concerned. For too long many have been masquerading, if not as historic vehicles, then at least "old" cars. Apart from the VHRA and others who are at pains to encompass original parts where they can, the majority of these cars are effectively new builds. As such, I would have thought the IVA specs would go some way to ensuring the safety of such vehicles. In many cases, the power to weight ratio would appear to be quite dangerous. That said, there is no evidence, as far as I can tell, that hot rods are any more likely to be involved in accidents than conventional old cars. I am just trying to find a positive angle to this fiasco but it's not easy!

Location: Flatlands of Norfolk

Ray White

Apart from the VHRA and others who are at pains to encompass original parts where they can, the majority of these cars are effectively new builds. As such, I would have thought the IVA specs would go some way to ensuring the safety of such vehicles. In many cases, the power to weight ratio would appear to be quite dangerous.

Location: Kent, UK

Thank you Stuart. An education.

Location: Derby

I understand from an owner friend that there are now almost twice as many Bugatti type 35s in existence than were ever made by Bugatti...

Location: Ripon

Location: Herefordshire, with an E not a T

I think the same goes for Rileys, there are more Blooklands 9s, Imps, MPH's and Sprites than were ever made!

I amuse myself identifying fakes at all sorts of events and I'm amazed, taking Rileys as just one example how many Monacos, Kestrels and Falcons are masquerading as sports models and mysteriously some of these cars are supposed to have history... I think this sabre rattling from the DVLA is a bit of a wake up call for the old car movement and clearly demonstrates that we've had an easy ride compared to many other countries and the skulduggery of a few looks like it could spoil it for all of us.

Location: Near Bicester.

Careful chaps, They may be fakes as such, but many are based on an original chassis and running gear. As many manufactures of the time sold rolling chassis's the customer had a choice as to which body went onto the chassis,remember that company's like Rolls-Royce only sold rolling chassis's at one time. The choice of body design was down to the customer and many of these cars went on to be re bodied over the years, I owned a 1925 RR 20 HP it was sold as a rolling chassis bodied as a limousine, 11 years later it was re bodied as a 1936 drop head coupé by the Southern Motor Company who sold cars as replica Rolls-Royces the coupé body was destroyed in an accident and I had a copy of it made,This sort of thing has been going on for years with no problems, so putting an Ulster body on a Chummy chassis and doing a few modifications to the engine and suspension should not in fact be a problem for the DVLA, even a pile of bits dragged out of a barn an reassembled as a car should not be a problem if they can be identified as mainly original components.
The problem we and the DVLA have is that vehicles are being made up from mainly reproduction spare parts and being passed of by people who should know better as original and then being registered as such. This is such a grey area, and it would appear that all old cars will be tarred with the same brush. Sensible guide lines need to be draw up by clubs and the DVLA to cover such situations. With the system we currently have it is possible to build a reproduction modern car from spare or replacement parts as it will pass the current IVA test, what is needed is an age related IVA test like we had with the old MOT tests to accommodate older, rebuilt, replica, or modified cars specifications and originality. The matter of Q plates and taxation can them be determined, the important thing is that the car is on the road and usable, if after spending hundreds of hours and thousands of pounds building a replica or special a Q plate and a couple of hundred quid a year road tax is rather irrelevant.

Location: Pembrokeshire

Spot on Phil, there are replicas, rebodies and those cars with a genuine history and it's important that those lines don't become blurred.

Location: Near Bicester.

I agree. Phil, that seems to sum it up nicely.

I just hope that the fun element is not lost. There seems to be little point in a hobby if all the fun has been drained out of it. I get enjoyment from fettling with my old cars. Others will like to see if they can enhance the performance of their specials. My hope is that we will continue to be free to use our cars as we always have and carry on having fun with them.

Location: Derby

Any news from the meeting?

Location: East Sussex

Hi all there is an interesting article in Octane magazine October 2015 page 20-22. They asked DVLA some specific questions most have been covered elsewhere but worth reading if your in the newsagents.

Location: Dorset

Does anyone know if there has been a conclusion from the meeting on Wednesday?

My Parents got home from holiday on Sunday, to find a letter from DVLA saying that he did not have a place at the meeting, to say he is disschuffed would be an understatement! He responded on the day that the invitation arrived by first class post, makes you wonder exactly who did get in???

Stuart.

My guess is that with the sheer number of marque specific motor clubs out there, they have taken a broad selection, from bubble cars to Bugattis, Austins to AECs in an effort to cover as many as they can.

Location: Near Bicester.

Surprise there is no news from people who attended the meeting on behalf of the various Austin Clubs, strange complete silence

Location: East Sussex

Location: Dorset

We may have to wait for newsletter number 2015 /5 to be published by FBHVC perhaps.
Dave.

Location: Sheffield

Looking at the FBHVC website newsletter archive this could be early October.
Dave.

Location: Somewhere in the Northern Powerhouse

Location: East Sussex

Well here's a link for you as to how the meeting went from our man with the VHRA.

http://www.vhra.co.uk/VHRA/News/Entries/2015/9/27_DVLA_Historic_Vehicle_Event.html

Location: Flatlands of Norfolk

Link:
http://www.vhra.co.uk/VHRA/News/Entries/2015/9/27_DVLA_Historic_Vehicle_Event.html

The FBHVC Newsletter 2015 issue 4 gives much background also.

Based on the regualr meetings between the DVLA and the FBHVC on This statement particularly interested me.

''On the thorny subject of replacement bodies DVLA explained
that, although they fully understand that the traditional
coach built wooden framed body has a finite life which is
undoubtedly shorter than that of the metal components
of the chassis etc and that as such replacement bodies are
unavoidable, within the rules to which they have to work
a major change of body style is not acceptable. A newly
built body true to the original should not be a problem''.

Clearly not what special builders want to hear, but I think it is good news in terms of the historic side of things.

Location: Derby

There seems to be many diverse interpretations of the DVLA rules. Would it be a good idea for the DVLA to give examples of typical/various vehicles awaiting new registration and whether these vehicles would or would not require an IVA examination and similarly if these vehicles would be issued with a "Q" plate or whatever solution there is. Currently I cannot make sense of the whole issue, except that on reading the 65 page notes on IVA has hardly any relevance to an 80 odd year old car.
Dave.

Location: Sheffield

we went in confused and we are now out and extremely confused

Location: East Sussex

Vintage Hot Rod Association write up of the meeting.

Location: United Kingdom

Thanks Austin - that is pretty clear.

Does anyone know where this leaves special building for road use? I’ve been offered another short chassis which I need as much as a hole in the head but my brother is quite keen on building a special.

Tom

Location: Eye on the Norfolk / Suffolk border

VSCC Response - see last paragraph about specials.

http://www.vscc.co.uk/page/news?newsItemID=615

Peter

Mmmh, that's a worry, not only does that indicate that virtually every Ulster style special witha body under 25 years old will come under scrutiny but also rebodied cars that remain true to the original.

As Ruairidh has just reminded me, that will certainly effect those applying for a registration number, existing cars, should be okay.

Nevertheless, I still think there's more work to be done!

Location: Near Bicester.

In effect this will rule out specials without registration docs unless there is a change of policy.
Having put two cars through SVA which is LESS stringent than IVA and MSVA my humble opinion is that NO Austin 7 could pass without serious modification to contemporary standards. This conformity would totally remove any authenticity from a pre-war car and seems designed to prevent restoration of old vehicles.