C2000 cars registered as 'Historic"

[nick Godridge]

Hi all,
   
   Have just scanned a current advertisement by a very well know Cobra specialist based near Hertford. The ad is for a 427s/c continuation car, built as one of a series of 10 between 1990 and 2003.
   The ad specifically states that the car is registered as a 1966 historic vehicle, and is therefore road tax exempt.
   
   My own conversations with the DVLC are clear. The DVLC use the year of manufacture given to them by the manufacturer, and the car has to be pre (1966?)to qualify.
   
   Is there something we are all missing out there that can save us a few hundred quid a year, or is somebody somewhere telly porky pies?

[REV]

I just Hpi checked it and it is registered as a 1966 car.
   
   It seems unbelievable that it can be advertised as a continuation and then registered as 1966.

[B.P.Bird]

Nick I have been on the point of bursting into print, on this topic, several times, but always demurred on the basis that The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency could well respond by saying that policing this concession is beyond them and therefore it will be withdrawn for all historic cars.
   As with all concessions it is the few abusers who spoil it for the many honest participants.
   I fear that the whole Cobra phenomenon may be one of the chief areas of offence: My attention was drawn to the practice when I came across a 'continuation' Cobra, built in South Africa in the late nineties which had an historic tax disc. It transpired that this car had official Shelby certification as a 1965 model. Now it could be argued that the term 'model' is open to different interpretations on each side of the pond. In Nevada it might be intended to mean a car built to the identical specification of a 1965 car. In Swansea it might mean a car actually built in 1965.
   In either case the description was fraudulent - the car had a specification, method and materiel of construction which had no connection with 1965 whatsoever and was, in any event, built from scratch around 1998.
   What should we do about this ? Pandora's box has been opened and there may be consequences. Perhaps it is time that the A.C.O.C. was consulted by D.V.L.A., as they are presently during investigations into the identity of long lost A.C.s which are discovered. Were this practise to be extended to any A.C. first applying for an historic licence i.e. newly repatriated, or with unsubstantiated certification, we might limit the damage. Any of the pretended historic A.C.s we are discussing would be easily exposed by Club officers - probably at the paperwork stage. If she ain't in the company records before 1st January 1973 she ain't historic: No ifs, buts, maybes or dodgy Shelby paperwork......
   Of course other marques should be similarly vetted by their appropriate bodies. Allowing these abuses would appear to be the ideal evidence for those parties who oppose the historic concession.

[nick Godridge]

Thx for your reply Mr. B
   
   There is a useful precedent maybe.
   
   I am trying to obtain an original historic registration for a car I am tryng to restore, and have to go thorugh the following route before DVLC will consider.
   
   Complete history file demonstration original ownership of reg. no.
   That is then submitted to the club registrar for authentication, and from there to DVLC.
   
   I am sure ou are awre of this, but thought I'd mentyion it anyway. DVLC will have to see that there is something in it for them to change, might be a tough sell.
   
   Nick G

[B.P.Bird]

Nick I wonder if the Moderator might consider that this topic should be moved to the General Forum as it has implications for all of us ?

[administrator]

It can stay here for the moment at least.
   
   Walking through a display of cobra replicas and reading the tax discs can be a very revealing exercise, but any issues are between individual builders / owners / purchasers and the DVLA.

[SJ351]

I think Barry has hit the nail on the head (as usual). The AC Factory records are very clear about both the Thames Ditton cars and the Brooklands built MK1V and Continuation Cobras. While the DVLC may be duped into granting a registration that allows a tax exempt vehicle, that is about as far as any deception will ever go if a potential new owner has the sense to contact those of us in the know before completing any potential purchase. There are a few well known pretenders out there as fa. As the Continuation cars are concerned. I saw a Continuation Cobra at a Goodwood Breakfast Club meeting that I seem to remember was bought as an incomplete kit of parts and damaged shell, having been repossesed from the Factory in c.2003 by a creditor and auctioned off to pay a bill. There are otgher examples and their 'secrets' are well known, I can assure you. However, they are all noce to lool at of course but, values will of course be influenced accordingly.

[nikbj68]

Here you go:
   
   
   
   
   
   As the Meerkat says... Simples! [;)]
   
   

quote:Originally posted by nick Godridge:...The DVLC use the year of manufacture given to them by the manufacturer, and the car has to be pre (1966?)to be...road tax exempt...

   Hi Nick. Cars built before January 1 1973 are currently road tax exempt, but from April 2014 any car manufactured before January 1 1974 will be entitled to free road tax. The DVLC now like to be called the DVLA too! [;)]
   
   This is interesting, from the Government`s vehicle registration guide:
   
   "You can apply to keep a rebuilt vehicle's original registration number if you can prove you've used:
   

• the original unmodified chassis or bodyshell
• a new chassis or monocoque bodyshell of the same specification as the original

   You must have a registration document or other written evidence linking the registration number to the vehicle.
   
   You also have to have 2 other major components from the original vehicle from the following lists:
   

• suspension (front and back)

   
• steering assembly

   
• axles (both)

   
• transmission

   
• engine
"

[B.P.Bird]

Nick B you have gone to the heart of the matter. The dealer who Nick G refers to has stated the position correctly. The smoke and mirrors exercise was carried out years ago when these cars were originally presented for registration. The crux of the matter is the word 'rebuild' in the certificate Nick B reproduces above. I shall let sleeping dogs lie, especially as not all the people involved are here to defend themselves.
   Whatever one may conclude regarding build date these are genuine A.C. cars and I suppose, like many of our machines and many a femme fatale, they have an interesting history.....