Ben's Eagle SS

[Deleted]

Moving my "Newbie Eagle SS" thread to here as it seems the more appropriate group.

I've got a few mod designs running around my head, just wondering if people can help with a few questions. Adm these are just theoretical ideas, so pls don't read too much into them, I need to get the car on the road first.

On my other thread I asked about changing the SS's headlights to the Nova's design, seems easy enough in theory, effectively cut/stick a Nova's donor housing.
Two reasons for wanting this... firstly it removes the electrical components needed to raise the headlights and then turn them on (less to go wrong really)... secondly the Nova's just look better...

My second idea was shaving those awful handles off and replacing them with a door buttons here...

trying to insert pic (help)


(or under the wing mirrors, as per TVRs.)

Has anyone done this with their SS/Nova. I know how to do it as a few on my friends have done it to their crappy saxos/fiestas/escorts, as its fairly common on the mod scene, adding an actuator where old handle was pulling the door release wire etc.

But due to my own bad experience with electric key fobs, and how many times they fail, I still want to rely on a key lock....
...every 'how to' online and every converted car ive seen simply removes the lock and purely uses the electric fob/actuator to open the door...only using a button as an 'emergency' release if the fobs battery dies, usually hidden under the car or wheel arch.

Anyway could I still have a key lock tucked away in a corner of the door, instead of keyfob? and can the button be used as a 'handle' only releasing the door when the lock is 'unlocked'.

Let me know if this explanation is too complicated and I will try again. Otherwise I'll ask the same on a modding forum...
Cheers Ben

[Gary]

Aug 6, 2009 22:03:20 GMT @bherron said:

Moving my "Newbie Eagle SS" thread to here as it seems the more appropriate group.

I've got a few mod designs running around my head, just wondering if people can help with a few questions. Adm these are just theoretical ideas, so pls don't read too much into them, I need to get the car on the road first.

On my other thread I asked about changing the SS's headlights to the Nova's design, seems easy enough in theory, effectively cut/stick a Nova's donor housing.
Two reasons for wanting this... firstly it removes the electrical components needed to raise the headlights and then turn them on (less to go wrong really)... secondly the Nova's just look better...

My second idea was shaving those awful handles off and replacing them with a door buttons here...



(or under the wing mirrors, as per TVRs.)

Has anyone done this with their SS/Nova. I know how to do it as a few on my friends have done it to their crappy saxos/fiestas/escorts, as its fairly common on the mod scene, adding an actuator where old handle was pulling the door release wire etc.

But due to my own bad experience with electric key fobs, and how many times they fail, I still want to rely on a key lock....
...every 'how to' online and every converted car ive seen simply removes the lock and purely uses the electric fob/actuator to open the door...only using a button as an 'emergency' release if the fobs battery dies, usually hidden under the car or wheel arch.

Anyway could I still have a key lock tucked away in a corner of the door, instead of keyfob? and can the button be used as a 'handle' only releasing the door when the lock is 'unlocked'.

Let me know if this explanation is too complicated and I will try again. Otherwise I'll ask the same on a modding forum...
Cheers Ben

There you go ;D

[Deleted]

I know I'm getting really, really boring now but I know you are a student and I'm guessing you don't have huge amounts of cash rolling around (if you are anything like my student daughter!).

PLEASE don't spend a fortune on this car until you find out if it needs an IVA or not!

If it doesn't, great, you can go ahead & do what you like to it.

If it does, please, please check with a VOSA inspector with regard to gull wing doors.

I'm really NOT trying to rain on your parade, just inject a bit of realism. I've taken on a couple of projects in the past where my enthusiasm has gotten the better of me and put too much time & effort into what was realistically a basket case.

I'm not for on second suggesting your car is a basket case & I really would like to see it on the road. However, I think you need to be aware of what the laws regarding the IVA, if you need one, require before you go making too many plans.

My last word on the subject

Mike

[Deleted]

Ok received loud and clear mike, just a designer thinking aloud.

I got the car today! I have the chassis number of 111, 265, 2961 however the engine in the car only has a 'AB' stamp, no numbers. It's not been shaved off or scratched off or anything like that, just simply stamped 'AB'. (photos to follow) I'm guessing it's a replacement part or something? Is there another number on the engine other than below the alternator?
On the databases it seems the AB code lines up with the chassis number/year, so its a 1300.
There are other codes on the alternator....

The second engine I got has got a code H1015311 so that a 1500? yes?
Plus I got given the chassis plates from the car that this engine came from, 133 275 0136 but the plate is dodgy as anything. there is another smaller plate with 14-3-6398?? any ideas?

[Deleted]

Hi Ben

You've got the car!!....well done. Time to play........ ;D

Firstly your engine number.....originally engines had letter code followed by a number by in laterr years the number disappeared. The "AB" code denotes the engine is a 1300 dating from anywhere between August 1970 to July 1973. To add to the confusion replacement cases could be bought over the counter and could have had "AB" codes.....all these replacement cases would be dual relief cases (I.e. they have two oil presuure relief valves)....and could have been built as either 1300 or 1600 engines. The replacement case is likely to have been cast in Brazil or Mexico and will state this down by the push rod tubes.

The H code engine is a 1500 and could have been from a Beetle, Bus or Type 181 Trekker and can date from 1965 up to 1971. Sell it.......the 1500 engine is a dog. The single port inlet strangles breathing and if you wish to tune the engine in the future your options are limited unless you change heads etc.

You can match this against the transmission number cast in at the nose of the gearbox (The end nearest the front of the car). This should also be an AB code if the transmission is a match for the engine...I.e. Both engine and tranny have stayed together since manufacture...but this of course cannot be proved or disproved as either part could have been swapped with a similar coded part...........but nice if they match. AB coodes for the tranny's were only up to the end of 1970.

The chassis number is stamped ahead of the gear selector rod inspection plate at the rear, (Under where the rear seats of the beetle would have been). This is THE place to look. the same number would have been stamped on the right cylinder cover plate on the engine. This will confirm that engine and chassis match. EASY!!....not quite. Engine tinwear is frequently replaced as it is prone to rot.......you'll be lucky if the original part is there. Your chassis number denotes the can as being a Beetle dating from 1971. The chassis number starting 133... denotes a VW super Beetle dating from 1973...this would have been a 1303 mcpherson strut suspension car and the engine is distinguished from an earlier one by the fact that it would have had an alternator rather than a dynamo.

This is all the info I can get for you at the moment but check the info against the V5 log book and see how it matches up. Whatever you do, do not mention that you have a selection of plates and chassis numbers to a VOSA bloke...do the research and match up...discard the remainder. If officialdom gets the impression that you're mixing and matching vehicle id's then you're asking for grief, IVA for certain and likely to end up with a non-age related plate. Remember if you can keep the doror ID and reg number then you're got free car tax!!

Ian Stent at Complete Kit car is going to check his IVA file for the state of play relating to do you need IVA or not...I'll let you know when I know.

Good luck....Chris

[Deleted]

my typing is a bit suss......its been a long day

[Deleted]

Thank you again Chris, I will get back to you whether I can find any other numbers and if they match all or not. Lets hope so.

Glad you confirmed that I can get rid of the 1500, its in the boot of my car (luckily its dry) and I'll see what the VW guys can give me for it tomorrow if they're open.

I'm going to wait for my V5 to come in the post before I try and do anything with the car, see if i miss read anything relating to the engine/chassis number.

History of the car: I'm sure someone may be interested... ;D
Luckily there is lots of paperwork regarding the original VW beetle (REG- JW0 984L)
Born (first registered) 25-05-1973 (Does that mean not tax free?? )

- 7 test certificates ranging from 1988 to 1997 (engine change in 1989 up to 1600 but then back to 1300)
- 2 notification of a refusal to issue an MOT from 1994 and 1995, Tail light fail due to being upside down?!? Few other things too.
- 4 URO Automotive (west thurrock, seems car is Essex born/bred, see owner before last) receipts for a fair few things...I will make list of parts/numbers at some point, see if i can match any the engine in car, for more proof.
- 2 Volkspares (west thurrock too) receipts
- 2 BIG M motorspares receipts (Tilbury)
- 8 other various work/welders and parts recepts from around Essex.
and one old v5 new keeper form, no name though, could've been anyone of the 12! previous owners, although i think it's from the newer style, no idea when this change came into place though.

and so onto the Eagle documents,
a nice binder with what looks like the original brochure...and a copy
also with a few newspaper/mag reviews (I am happy to copy/email them if people are interested.) also some original ones at back of folder.
...and finally the ebay print out of the previous owner's purchase, I may email seller to see if he has anything to say regarding the car's history. Came from Romford, the pics show a very worn shell, looking much, much worse that it does now. Seems the spare engine came from this owner.

So I split everything up today, bar taking the body off the chassis.
( I cannot find how to remove the steering cyclinder/shaft yet, waiting for multiple manuals to arrive from amazon/ebay, hopefully they'll help. )
So many various sized rusted nuts and bolts had to be taken off, but now I have them all back to parts. There are quite a few holes in most of the fibre glass pieces which may need to be filled. Not too much damage...front splinter looks a bit rough though.

So far (without separating body and putting on jacks) only a few things to note:
Floor pans/ tranny tunnel will indeed need rubbing down and repainting with anti-rust, + I must weld in a piece where the gear lever has been turned around/moved and a hole has been left. No serious rust as far as can tell, only surface. Front & rear suspension & engine mounts have been very well sealed with a gold seal, they will not need doing.
Door outside and inside skins (not door cards) have been stuck together, despite riveting the crappy window hinges in! So they'll have to be separated at some point to get new hinges on, anyone suggest where to get a set?

I ripped out all the electrics, it was in a complete mess with lots and lots of dead ends, most were rusting as well, rarely did any of the wires meet a component, decided it would be better to redo, at least I know where each wire start/ends then, or would it be better to get a new/used beetle wiring loom?
Pedals might need moving backwards...will depend how a seat fits, im fairly short so the dropped floor might be a hinderance.
Does every VW SS have a circular bar going across the front bonnet/boot? Seems really roughly done. I'm guessing it's to simultaneously lift the lights with only one motor, I will need to sit down and read the manuals soon.

Cheers for any answers or comments.
Ben

[Deleted]

Hi Ben

You're right...pull out the crappy wiring loom and junk it. Dodgy electrics in a grp car aren't funny. Try Premier Wiring in Edinburgh for an alternative loom or supplies to make your own when you're ready. guys there are very helpful and do a lot of kit car work.

The bar across the front is the headlight link bar.....rudimentary I believe.........dont bin it until you've decided on what to do with the lights.

Leave the pedals where they are...lower the floor pans only if you need more headroom....if you are a little on the short side, (Your words!!), then work with reclining seats and look to extend the seat runners foward.

The hole in the tunnel should have been merely a case of cutting out the gear lever moving it back and rewelding the cut piece back in front of the lever. Previous owner didn't get round to finishing? Use decent guage steel to repair this section as the tunnel forms most of the strength in the "Kipper."

I guess you mean the steering column...undo the pinch bolt connecting the column to the steering box on the front beam...good dose of WD40 and leave for a while. Undo the two bolts holding the outer column to the dash board and from the driver's seat give the steering wheel a good yank towards you. Tape an old pillow or cushion over the wheel so if it jolts lose and hits you in the face then it wont hurt................as much !!!

As you do not know the history of the chassis it would be a good idea to lift the bodyshell off and store away. Once you have your manuals then start to renovate the pan....you'll find it a lot easier to do with the shell out of the way. WARNING...if you're lifting the shell off with the windscreen fitted then be careful you dont crack the screen...........getting another is difficult and expensive!!

Keep an eye out for a series of DVD's made by Bug Me Video.....they do a set of DVD's covering every aspect of VW renovation and are very good....you wont need them all as a few deal with the renovation of the original Beetle shell.......but you can get the ones you need or buy the set and punt the ones you don't whichever works out cheaper. They are frequently on Ebay and a good seller is VW-DIY.

Lastly as you're likely to end up with lots of boxes of bits when doing your rebuild, take lots of pics for future reference and make sure you tag all the parts so you know what's what later on.

Good luck.........and keep firing some pics on here.

Chris

[Deleted]

Right finally got round to removing steering shaft, which atm SHOULD be the only thing holding chassis to body(...watch this space though). Had a free hour today so thought id find out where/how it does, thank to Chris, it wasnt hard, I'd have still been at the other end of the shaft. Hopefully the troops (a few mates and family friends) with be gathering sunday to take the body off. Pics will be taken dw! Then hopefully I'll have better idea of the condition of the chassis/engine and be able to de-rust the one side of the floorpan which is going slightly orange (only surface rust luckily, seems the inside was surprisingly waterproof whilst outside at previous owner's place).

One large question, should i remove the windscreen first? Its been rather crudely siliconed on, and as i might be hanging/storing the body (and knowing how rare/expensive they are) and probably replacing silicone anyway (im sure Autoglass will do much better job than the current mess), I'd rather pop it out and box it up until its needed (which would probably be MOT time)... if this is the right thing to do, would standard silicone remover from B&Q get rid, or do i need special automotive silicone remover?

Cheers Ben

[Deleted]

That's a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string' question. Ideally, it would be good to remove the screen, particularly if you intend removing the body from the chassis. As has been pointed out, the body can flex a bit and there isn't a huge amount of roof to stabilise the top of the screen. Any excess flexing could easily crack the screen. If it IS silicon as opposed to screen adhesive (ie the sikaflex type), a sharp stanley knife should do the job. I wouldn't suggest using ANY chemicals on grp or you could find yourself without a window frame to pop the screen back into. If you want to try it, do so on a scrap bit of grp first. Plus, if it's a gel coat finish, it could well be ruined & you'll have to add the cost of a respray to the bill.

If the screen has been stuck in with the likes of sikaflex, a knife is probably still the best bet but go carefully and take your time. Don't be tempted to try levering it to see if it's just about ready to pop out, it inevitably won't be and crack (the voice of experience here!). Work from both the outside & inside and you should eventually start to see light coming through the edge of the screen as you cut away the adhesive.

If the worst comes to the worst, I (hopefully) will have a spare screen at the end of my rebuild but you are most likely to have graduated and be on you way to retirement by the time I finish if current progress is anything to go by.

Mike

[Deleted]

I notice you asked the question about the reg date & if the car would be tax free.

To qualify for free tax, the cars manufacture date needs to be before 1.1.1973. My Scimitar SE5a was registered in early 1973 but built in 1972 and thus qualifies for free road tax. I suspect your car will also have been manufactured pre cut-off date. There should be some online resources that can confirm this for you.

[Deleted]

Ah thats cool Mike, I definitely look more into that come taxing time. I've just gone out and had a play with a blade and the larger globs of "sikaflex", it seems to come off pretty easy (a bit of online searching saw people needing to heat the blade up but I doubt i'll have to) so for now I'm postponing the body removal until I can remove the glass and store that away.
The old man & I have got to replace some of the house windows soon and we've looked into getting some glass suction holders (as seen on eBay) to help.

cgi.ebay.co.uk/PRO-HEAVY-DUTY-DUAL-DOUBLE-4-5-SUCTION-CUP-LIFTER_W0QQitemZ180394744117QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Body_Shop_Supplies_Paint?hash=item2a005d5935&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_1344wt_941

anyone know if they work on slightly curved panes of glass? The SS's windscreen is pretty flat after all.

[Deleted]

If they're anything like the ones I bought, they don't even work on flat glass!

Seriously, the screen won't be that heavy but could be a little jagged round the edges. A good pair of work gloves are really all you need. If you have a couple of thick old blankets, they make a great means of keeping it safe.

Mike

[Peter]

Taking the screen out is a good idea if you are going to do a lot of work on the body but as has been said, for gawd sakes don't bust it as you might just as well bin the project with replacements at about £400+, IF you can get one, it has been the death of many a SS and there were only 680 made, roughly half VW and half Ford based both in three modification types. I don't think there can be more than a handfull on the road now plus a dozon so called projects we know of in various states of undress and despair.

Headlights have been a bone of contention not only on SSs but Novas and some (like me) say they are what makes a SS a SS and not a bitsa but I have a strong liking for the Fiat coupe ones as fitted by Acid on his Nova, due to slight differences in nose shape they actually fit the SS even better. You can make the 'pop up' headlights work well and without to much trouble, main job is to stabilise the bar in the body with some poly plates made from 1cm thick chopping board so they don't rattle, it upsets the micro limit switches. The one bar system is rudimentary but at least no syncro problems and only one motor to worry about.

V5, should by now be a V5c and the date for sending it in changing it as I did a few years back has passed I think, so better check that too, If you have a reg number and it matches the chassis (VIN) number stay with it at all costs or you will find your self in trouble with the men in white coats,

BUT, put ALL thought of lights, doors etc out of your mind until the rolling chassis is sound, (you can actually drive a 'kipper' without the body on, although the body does represent a great part of the overall strength of the car).

[Deleted]

Hi peter thanks for the advice, I've been following your build with interest for a while now. I see you've got a ss line drawin on your website home page, I'm thinking of doing a cad/animation model for my uni portfolio as haven't done much practising over summer, is that drawing pretty acurate and is there a top/front view to go with it? I know there's a nova one floating about but supposidly it's hugely inacurate.
Cheers ben

[Deleted]

Hi Everyone,

Today was my first day off work for 2 weeks, so i thought i'd do some catching up.
My list was to remove the windscreen, lift the body off the chassis and hang it up! The old man wanted it moved to the other bay in the garage so thought I'd do it while it was out.

Firstly in hindsight, it was a very, very, good idea to remove the windscreen, I had been umming and arring whether it was worth it, but it definitely was. Not only did we twist the body constantly while hanging it up in the garage, but it wouldve been lifting the body off the chassis (and raising it) very difficult as I was usually standing in the gap where the screen would've been.

I did take a few pictures for everyone! lets hope they work.

I'll start with the windscreen, i started off making hard work of it, but after working out the best technique, it popped right out with ease. I used a flexible craft knife and some white packaging banding. To start with I cut away any excess silkaflex both above and under the screen, next I cut a hole out at the top of the screen, just enough to poke the banding through.
With a cut and pull technique, the screen soon separated away from the body. I did try a few variants of wire, all of which snapped when pulled around, the banding worked best.


And vola! one screen, no cracks! Woop!




And so onto the body, at one point we were sure there was another bolt or screw, it didnt seem to budge. but raising and twisting released it eventually, must have just been the years of decay.





And finally raising the body for storage, it just about fits. I'm off tomorrow to get 2, 2 inch squared metal bars to replace the current ladder/wooden pole with metal brace, and some rachet straps to replace the rope. But for tonight it will do the job.




This just allows me to remove the kipper as and when I have a free hour or so.
Loaded the screen and bit and bobs in the shed for storage, freeing up the garage a bit.


Hopefully the V5(c) will come through this week and so too my manuals and I can get on with some breaking down and de-rusting.
Ben

[Deleted]

Good progress Ben!!

Looks like you've got enough room to get busy before heading oop North.

The kipper looks in pretty good condition....although the lady in one of the pics looks a little less than impressed Point of order is that the floorpan is not relative to the 1973 documentation you mentioned earlier...single joint rear drive shafts, ball joint front end with drums make this earlier than 1973.

Main points to check are the rear nearside floorpan as this was where the battery would have been in the Beetle and this area tends to rot. check the body mounting channels around the side of the floorpan, the jacking points and lastly the framehead where the front beam bolts up to. If these areas are all solid then get your wire brush out and give it a coat of red oxide followed by a paint of your choice. I used black gloss cellulose over red oxide and it still looks good. Stay away from POR15 and hammerite.........not worth the hype imo.

Before stripping the pan any further rig up a gravity fuel feed and a starter circuit and see how the engine runs. If its a goody then service with new plugs points and an oil change plus a coat of paint or a dress up kit.......sorted. Further engine development can come later.

Gearbox......wire brush the crud off and leave. The gearbox case has a high magnesium content so watch if using power tools on it eg grinder, wire brush...a rogue spark with magnesium dust/grindings will singe your eyebrows!! Check for gear selection probs.......dont be tempted to service the box yourself...its a b!tch. If and when you seperate the engine and gearbox then throw in a new clutch plate whilst you're there.
Check the condition of the mounts and the axle gaitors and renew if necessary.

Only left then to service brakes including checking brake lines and master cylinder, suspension incl ball joints and shocks.....clean and paint as desired.

As with any project taken over from somebodyelse..methodically check any work previously done, check nuts and bolts and torque as necessary........fine tooth comb stuff.

Finally there are some tools that you'll need for one job and are unlikely to use again until that same job crops up. EG the large socket to loosen the castellated nuts on the axles...its a whopper...tight too. Make friends with your local classic VW place and scrounge.......for these nuts you're likely to need a 4 foot length of scaffolding bar to give you the leverage...these are best done before you dismantle the floorpan...you've no chance once the gearbox is loose.

Good luck

Chris

[Deleted]

I notice a distinct lack of the notorious 'double bubble' that affects the door tops & roof of older cars. I assumed (perhaps wrongly) that the hinges were bonded in at the factory but I don't see any evidence of them in your photos. Was this something the owners of VW kits had to do themselves?

[Deleted]

Mike I will take some photos of the hinges to see if they are what you think they are. They will definitely need changing or reinforcing. There is some pitting or warping of the roof/door roof, the old man pointed it out today, so this could be your "double bubble". Chris thanks for your to-do list, it saved me working out what I should do next ;D If you have any other suggestions please keep them coming.

I think I have a few days off this week so will keep you both updated on progress.

edit: on a quick further note, is there a VW Eagle ss build manual, ive found the ford ones, and the serling/nova ones but is there a vw eagle ss specific one? Also are there any near-furture shows the club (or indiviauls) go to, I would love to come and see a few finished.
Cheers Ben

[Deleted]

Ben, if you check out the thread 'SS Hinges' further down on the SS owners chat page, you'll see pics of the problem caused by the old, steel hinges rusting out & de-laminating the GRP. Both my cars suffer from this problem and will need the roof & door tops reworked in roughly the same manner as chrisbaily Chis was offering to make stainless hinge sets for £50.00 a set (if you are reading this, Chris and you're still offering this service, please pm me). Starting as you are with a decent body & doors, I'd certainly suggest you explore the options for different/better hinges. If you do come up with some ideas, please bear in mind that I am also looking for a set and could contribute to the cost of materials/making if it works out cheaper to make a batch.

[Deleted]

As promised, some hinge photos. Mine only have pins unlike the ones in the other thread. Did they all come as below or is this unique?



In relation to what i am planning to do, my shell has two holes in the roof. So I thought I would take advantage of this and create one with 2 connection points.


A quick play with CAD programme while i was using it today, just to explain better. Effectively adding a top nut to the pin, adding a plate with 2 holes as per the roof, then another bolt attaching, with two nuts holding this plate to the roof. I was also thinking welding the top nut and bold to the plate after working out correct line up/height would be best.
Pics will explain better, I have totally just noticed, bolt and nut should be the other way round, but i was being quick.



On 2 separate notes, is there a die cast model of the Eagle SS?
and does anyone know what seats these are, the picture is from a Eagle SS press release of some sort (came in a folder which the old owner gave me). They look souper retro and I want!

[Deleted]

Ben

CAD drawings??.......now you're showing off The original hinges look pretty early stuff to me.........I'm sure you can improve on these.

The seats were, if I remember correctly, grp shells with padded covers. GRP shells in various styles are easy to get but you're looking at a splashing some cash. As far as upholstery is concerned then Essex is the place to be.........Bernard Newbury is down your way. Top notch car upholsterer and first class V_Dub and kit car nut.

[Deleted]

Ben

My car (& I think a number of others) have seats from a Bedford Rascal van. IIRC there was a Suzuki version of this but I can't remember the name. They (the seats, not the van) are quite narrow & are full recliners which is something of an advantage in the SS. I suspect MX5 seats might fit too.

Your hinge idea looks sound on paper. I suspect a few owners would like to get their hands on a set if you're getting them made up.

[Deleted]

Gonna try and turn the engine over either tomorrow or thurs, im guessing the engine was originally 4-star, can i use unleaded just to turn it over, or do i need to find some LRP? Although I haven't noticed it at petrol stations for a while.

[Deleted]

Turning it over on unleaded won't do any harm (you might get a bit of 'pinking') but for longer running, you've got one of two options.

1 Use Castrol Valvemaster Plus or a similar additive.

2 Get hardened valve seat inserts installed in the heads.

I ran my Scimitar for years with Valvemaster before getting the heads converted. Good stuff, but adds a fair bit to the cost/litre.

[Deleted]

HELP! Ok so V5c came through today, good news and bad news me thinks?!?

Engine number says AB874778, which is correct, as mine says AB which obviously means it is a replacement part. So far so good.



Now the VIN/Chassis number....bad news...its different from the number on the chassis, under where the rear seats should be. On 5Vc says 1332750136, chassis says 1112652961 (and gearbox says 113301103)




However.....the 5vc number is the number on identification plates I got with the car. These are red (same colour as the original beetle).




So does this mean the tranny tunnel/chassis is from another car? Does this mean trouble?

On the V5c changes area there is a vin/chassis/frame no. box, and as I also need to change body type and my name which they have spelt wrong (im now mr werron) should i enter the one on the chassis and discard the plates? or keep the plates and keep the number as. Would an MOT man accept the plates as proof of VIN? or is there another number i could try and match up to say the 5vc is the car in my garage?

The v5c guideline booklet quotes: "if you change the wheelpan/body type or the vin/chassis/frame number of your vehicle you must contact your nearest DVLA local office to check if your vehicle will require an inspection."
Now this is not really what i want to do... mainly due to knowing with my luck they'll turn around and say "IVA" and we'll be back to square one.

So again I say HELP!

[Deleted]

Just for clarification, what is it registered as? VW Beetle of Eagle?(appologies if you've already mentioned this)

[Deleted]

Ben, if I'm being an idiot but I don't see the number 1332750136 (as on the V5) on either of the 2 red plates. the red one has 1331290660 in 3 groups, one over another and the smaller plate appears to have yet another, shorter number.

[Deleted]

for clarification it says vw beetle adm, I was going to change it to eagle ss body type. On the larger red plate where you can make out 133 stamped the following numbers are there but not stamped in the same way. This is normal or so I've been told and seen on other peoples. The vin number on the v5c is definitely on this larger red plate

[Deleted]

OK, yeah. I can see that now! Must get the eyes tested, though.

To be honest, I'm really unsure what the best course of action is here. An MOT tester may well question why it's still registered as a Beetle when it obviously isn't and he WILL want to check the chassis plate against what it says on his computer. Remember, you don't normally take a V5 in when you get a test done. Whether he has the nouce to check the number on the floorpan is a different matter but the fact that the car is obviously re-bodied may make him do so. Re-registering it as an Eagle may present other problems. DVLA may well ask you to take it to the nearest licencing centre for a visual inspection in which case the somewhat dubious background may count against it again.

Unfortunatly, the regulations introduced to prevent car crime like cloning & cut n shuts not to mention cars stolen & stripped for spare parts has had a detrimental effect on the kit car scene, particularly for people like us with older kits. It's virtually impossible just to swap major parts around now without some busybody wanting to know where it came from & is it legit!

I recon someone on here will be able to give you a better answer on the V5 issues but best of luck.