mot and tax exemption

[bw41059]

i understand what you are saying but my car was built and registered in 1980 as a dax tojeiro according to the dvla website and there has been no significant changes to it since that date

[dgosumo]

i understand what you are saying but my car was built and registered in 1980 as a dax tojeiro according to the dvla website and there has been no significant changes to it since that date

Confused - You said above you built your car in 1996, was it built as a Dax in 1980 or 1996?

[bw41059]

i started building it in 94 and was on the road in 96. i bought a jag that was an mot failure and the first thing i did was inform the dvla of an engine change to a 3.5ltr engine so as far as e dvla were concerned it is now a jag with a different engine from original even though i didnt physically do it. i then built the cobra using the 3.5ltr rover engine and gearbox and the front and rear axles from the jag. when complete a guy from my local dvla office(no longer there) came to inspect to ensure i had used enough parts from the donor and retain the donor reg number. he was happy and went away with my reg docs did the paperwork and after a short while i received a new v5 saying it is now a dax tojeiro with 3.5ltr engine first registered in 1980. i have checked the tax checker on the dvla website which also says it was manufactured in 1980. you have to remember this was done prior to sva/iva when all you had to do was score 8 points to retain the donor reg number which i have(n0 q plate)

[GDCobra]

if your build date is prior to 1st jan 1980, you should be ok to apply for historic tax now, if it’s after 01.01.1980 I think you have to wait for the April 1st after the year it turned 40.

As we're now in 2021 shouldn't that date be prior to jan 1981?

[bw41059]

i would say yes if it was registered in jan/feb/march 81 at the end of this month

[dgosumo]

i started building it in 94 and was on the road in 96. i bought a jag that was an mot failure and the first thing i did was inform the dvla of an engine change to a 3.5ltr engine so as far as e dvla were concerned it is now a jag with a different engine from original even though i didnt physically do it. i then built the cobra using the 3.5ltr rover engine and gearbox and the front and rear axles from the jag. when complete a guy from my local dvla office(no longer there) came to inspect to ensure i had used enough parts from the donor and retain the donor reg number. he was happy and went away with my reg docs did the paperwork and after a short while i received a new v5 saying it is now a dax tojeiro with 3.5ltr engine first registered in 1980. i have checked the tax checker on the dvla website which also says it was manufactured in 1980. you have to remember this was done prior to sva/iva when all you had to do was score 8 points to retain the donor reg number which i have(n0 q plate)

So I think your issue is that you made significant changes chassis etc in the mid 90's. You have to make a declaration that there hasn't been such a change within 30 years to be MOT exempt. Personally I wouldn't want to make such a declaration in this circumstance, what would you do if you were to be involved in an accident or get pulled over? Then you'd have no MOT, have made a false declaration and likely have no Insurance cover

[Chris1]

i started building it in 94 and was on the road in 96. i bought a jag that was an mot failure and the first thing i did was inform the dvla of an engine change to a 3.5ltr engine so as far as e dvla were concerned it is now a jag with a different engine from original even though i didnt physically do it. i then built the cobra using the 3.5ltr rover engine and gearbox and the front and rear axles from the jag. when complete a guy from my local dvla office(no longer there) came to inspect to ensure i had used enough parts from the donor and retain the donor reg number. he was happy and went away with my reg docs did the paperwork and after a short while i received a new v5 saying it is now a dax tojeiro with 3.5ltr engine first registered in 1980. i have checked the tax checker on the dvla website which also says it was manufactured in 1980. you have to remember this was done prior to sva/iva when all you had to do was score 8 points to retain the donor reg number which i have(n0 q plate)

I carried out my Southern Road craft build in a similar manner to yours, just slightly earlier dates
therefore pre sva etc .
The chap from dvla came around to my house, carried out the inspection and
a signed letter of approval arrived a bit later .
Just to note, I have also kept the letter and the build up list of the parts that were used just in case
of any issues that could arise .
As far as I know the dvla will still have a copy of this list .
Chris.

[RogerKnill]

i started building it in 94 and was on the road in 96. i bought a jag that was an mot failure and the first thing i did was inform the dvla of an engine change to a 3.5ltr engine so as far as e dvla were concerned it is now a jag with a different engine from original even though i didnt physically do it. i then built the cobra using the 3.5ltr rover engine and gearbox and the front and rear axles from the jag. when complete a guy from my local dvla office(no longer there) came to inspect to ensure i had used enough parts from the donor and retain the donor reg number. he was happy and went away with my reg docs did the paperwork and after a short while i received a new v5 saying it is now a dax tojeiro with 3.5ltr engine first registered in 1980. i have checked the tax checker on the dvla website which also says it was manufactured in 1980. you have to remember this was done prior to sva/iva when all you had to do was score 8 points to retain the donor reg number which i have(n0 q plate)

I look at this from a risk perspective, what happens if you have an accident and kill someone with no valid MOT even if it wasn’t your fault

1. What would your Conscience say?
2. Could you prove that it’s been unmodified since 1980
3. Could someone else prove that it hasn’t been modified ( for example, a Dax chassis number showing a 1994 date, were dax even selling the chassis model you have in 1980?)



The DVLA already have it on record that the car was examined in 1996, so they can already prove it wasn’t a cobra in 1980.


we’re all responsible for our actions, it’s really up to you if it’s worth the risk,

call me mr grumpy but I’ll be mot’ing my car until it gets to 30 years as a cobra, and then I might even continue.

[Chris1]

I should have mentioned that my SR has always
had an mot .
As mentioned before mot's are only as good for
that moment in time, as soon as you leave the
test centre you are on your own.
Chris.

[bw41059]

if you go back to my original question i was asking if was my car was now tax and mot exempt as it is now more than 40yrs old whatever i do will be done above board and legally. i am not bothered about mot as i maintain it myself it has never failed or had an advisory since i built it but it would be good not to have to tax it. you cannot tax it whether you have to pay or not until the dvla make it mot exempt which can be done at the post office