When I was having some trouble tracing my block I asked VOSA and got this reply.
It does say that info from an official website is sufficient. In the end I got a letter from Rover dating the block. :thumb:
Dear Sir,
Many thanks for your enquiry, I am able to answer your question this way.
As far as our examiner is concerned, when inspecting an amateur built
vehicle, he will be looking for evidence as to the age of the engine
"block" to determine the "effective date" of the vehicle and thus determine
what emissions standard to apply to that vehicle. If the "effective date"
cannot be determined, it will be assumed to be after 1st August 1997 and
will therefore be required to pass a catalyst emissions test.
Although there is a marking on the engine block that appears to look like a
date marking, we cannot assume that this is indeed the case. You would need
to obtain documentary evidence in the form of a letter from the engine
manufacturer that confirms that this is indeed a dating feature and that
this is how they dated their blocks.
Other evidence that would be acceptable would be information contained in
an Auto-data / Haynes manual. The information in such data manuals is
likely to have originated from the manufacturer.
Information from the
internet can also be used if it comes from an official source. It may be
worth looking in these areas for the information that you require.
I hope this is of use to you.
Kind regards,
Steve Bardsley
SVA Technical Officer.
Stephen.Bardsley@vosa.gov.uk