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Spitfire MX5..?DarrenW
@darrenw
Club Retro Rides Member 74
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Nov 18, 2022 15:15:10 GMT
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Sorting through some of the many thousands of photos I took this year and I came across this, which I'd completely forgotten about. I'm guessing from the wheels that it's a Spitfire on an MX-5 chassis? Some kind of conversion kit? What's the score? Curious!
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Nov 18, 2022 16:50:21 GMT
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It's kind of cool, but the "angular hourglass" look really doesn't do it for me. The idea is sound but the proportions are all wrong due to the "extension" piece that's had to be welded in to make it fit the chassis. It's reminiscent of the classic Minis in the late 90s with the Honda engines that needed extended noses - a great idea on paper, but it meant you had to mess with the aesthetics which spoiled the final product.
That said, I bet it goes well.
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Last Edit: Nov 18, 2022 16:52:11 GMT by mrbounce
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Nov 18, 2022 19:12:57 GMT
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That does look a little odd, but you have to give kudos to anyone who actually finishes a project.
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fogey
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,592
Member is Online
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Nov 18, 2022 22:07:21 GMT
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That does look a little odd, but you have to give kudos to anyone who actually finishes a project. An incredible amount of work has gone into widening that bonnet. . . . .
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MOGGY
Part of things
Posts: 272
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Nov 19, 2022 12:30:35 GMT
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Yes respect for finishing it .
BUT
You regularly see cars for sale with modern floor pan under classic body using v5 off old car.
They are not road legal at all. You should either be IVA tested which they won’t pass or use the complete monocoque shell and then use the modern v5.
If you cut any part off a monocoque it is then considered modified. I’d love to build something on a modern floor pan hacked to fit a classic car but I would get caught and be in the brown stuff.
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Total classic car pervert
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fogey
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,592
Member is Online
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Nov 19, 2022 12:53:11 GMT
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Yes respect for finishing it . BUT You regularly see cars for sale with modern floor pan under classic body using v5 off old car. They are not road legal at all. You should either be IVA tested which they won’t pass or use the complete monocoque shell and then use the modern v5. If you cut any part off a monocoque it is then considered modified. I’d love to build something on a modern floor pan hacked to fit a classic car but I would get caught and be in the brown stuff. Classic body on a modern floorpan can be built to pass BIVA, if you do it correctly.
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Nov 19, 2022 13:43:41 GMT
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That does look a little odd, but you have to give kudos to anyone who actually finishes a project. An incredible amount of work has gone into widening that bonnet. . . . . Would it have looked better with the bonnet left at it's regular width, and then widened wheel arches fitted to cover the wheels? A "widearch" Spitfire rather than a "widened" Spitfire..?
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Nov 19, 2022 14:12:29 GMT
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An incredible amount of work has gone into widening that bonnet. . . . . Would it have looked better with the bonnet left at it's regular width, and then widened wheel arches fitted to cover the wheels? A "widearch" Spitfire rather than a "widened" Spitfire..? It would mean a new windscreen glass and a lot of work but I was thinking of widening the whole car and adding metal to the middle. I've seen a few Morris Minor V8 cars done that way, and that yellow Calibra body on Lotus Carlton mechanicals.
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Nov 19, 2022 16:50:47 GMT
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I’d love to build something on a modern floor pan hacked to fit a classic car but I would get caught and be in the brown stuff. How would you get caught? I'm guessing something like a Triumph Spitfire is MOT exempt so the reality of it would be that nobody would ever look at it close enough to know what you've built?
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mk2cossie
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,950
Club RR Member Number: 77
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Spitfire MX5..?mk2cossie
@mk2cossie
Club Retro Rides Member 77
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Nov 19, 2022 17:36:47 GMT
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I’d love to build something on a modern floor pan hacked to fit a classic car but I would get caught and be in the brown stuff. How would you get caught? I'm guessing something like a Triumph Spitfire is MOT exempt so the reality of it would be that nobody would ever look at it close enough to know what you've built? The main caveat is that MOT exemption is if it hasn't been radically altered. Which that has Officially if it isn't declared, it isn't road legal or correctly registered. But thats as far as I'm going with that can worms, and not rocking the boat or the MO
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MOGGY
Part of things
Posts: 272
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Nov 19, 2022 19:57:06 GMT
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There is a lot of mot exempt classics out there that have had surgery and are not road legal due to it.
But good luck to them i’ve done it myself. A modified classic I believe is acceptable if not always legal.
But, when you have the floor, bulkhead, engine, suspension, loom, steering, etc of a modern grafted under a classic you don’t have the right to use the mot and tax exempt identity of the panels you’ve stuffed on top of the modern car. It’s still the modern car, just reclothed.
I admire the effort, I love the idea, but it ain’t right.
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Total classic car pervert
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Nov 19, 2022 20:04:51 GMT
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I do see, and understand what you're saying mk2cossie, but if you're not declaring it, you're not MOTing it, then nobody will know. My feeling is that this sort of thing goes on more often than you might think. The thing with this particular car however is that the bodywork has been altered to suit the wheelbase of the mx5, which makes it glaringly obvious that something has gone on, added to that the use of the donor vehicles wheels that's just taking the wee. Personally if I was clever enough to do this I would've shortened the floorpan of the MX5, used different wheels, and flared the arches. Then the illusion would be less likely to get picked up by anyone. As for the MOT, this currently has one, so hopefully it's quite safe. I do find myself wondering how many MOT exempt cars are being driven about quite happily on the road but are far from roadworthy. I've seen a couple at shows that I've felt were quite sketchy, but I guess this is a different topic for another time. Sadly, now this picture has been posted my feeling is that someone will report it. I wonder what will happen when the DVLA gets wind of it?
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Nov 19, 2022 21:01:29 GMT
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Well apparently, according to the DVLA's tax checker, that's still a 1500cc Spitfire. Not entirely certain I believe that.
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MOGGY
Part of things
Posts: 272
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Nov 19, 2022 21:12:46 GMT
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And that’s my point.
It’s a Mazda mx5 that isn’t road legal as it’s hacked up.
It’s not a spitfire that’s entitled to tax and mot exemption.
I often see lovely things for sale that are similar and sell for real money and are in all truth worthless as road cars.
I remember a year or so ago a beautiful Honda S2000 reclothed in a mk2 escort. Totally not road legal on either logbook.
But bloody gorgeous and I’d be proud to have owned it but wouldn’t spend anymore than the value of the parts as it wasn’t truly road usable.
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Total classic car pervert
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Nov 19, 2022 21:40:04 GMT
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Fair points.
But I always think that if it's not registered properly, what other corners have been cut.
Of course, it could be that it's really well done - I am just making assumptions,
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Nov 19, 2022 21:48:22 GMT
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I do see, and understand what you're saying mk2cossie, but if you're not declaring it, you're not MOTing it, then nobody will know. My feeling is that this sort of thing goes on more often than you might think. The thing with this particular car however is that the bodywork has been altered to suit the wheelbase of the mx5, which makes it glaringly obvious that something has gone on, added to that the use of the donor vehicles wheels that's just taking the wee. Personally if I was clever enough to do this I would've shortened the floorpan of the MX5, used different wheels, and flared the arches. Then the illusion would be less likely to get picked up by anyone. As for the MOT, this currently has one, so hopefully it's quite safe. I do find myself wondering how many MOT exempt cars are being driven about quite happily on the road but are far from roadworthy. I've seen a couple at shows that I've felt were quite sketchy, but I guess this is a different topic for another time. Sadly, now this picture has been posted my feeling is that someone will, report it. I wonder what will happen when the DVLA gets wind of it? They might know if you kill someone in an accident!!
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Last Edit: Nov 19, 2022 23:21:41 GMT by rattlecan
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Well, this is true rattlecan, but my guess is if you are unfortunate enough to kill someone in an accident, then no matter what your car is, they will go through it with a fine tooth comb to make sure the vehicle was in a roadworthy condition before the accident. My guess is that as this Spitfire has a MOT then it's in a condition that has been deemed by an expert to be fit for use on the road. Which may not be the case for a standard Triumph Spitfire that's been dragged from it slumber of 20 years, given a quick wash, and then just driven on the road because it doesn't need a MOT, it's exempt. But irrespective of all that, to be frank, if you were unfortunate enough to kill someone in an accident, then my feeling is that trying to live with that for the rest of your life would be far worse than any punishment the law could give you. I once had a lecturer who did actually kill someone in an accident, as far as I can remember it wasn't her fault, there was nothing she could've done to avoid it, and she was cleared of any blame. She never ever got over it though. Anyway, I guess the crime here (if there is one) is one of fraud, it's not really a Spitfire, but my guess is as it's still registered as a 1500 Spitfire they're running around in it without paying any tax. In the grand scheme of things how big a crime is that? Surely a bigger crime is the fraud committed by the DVLA by making us all pay to drive our cars on roads that are often nowhere near fit for purpose. Although no doubt they'd get away with that by saying it's not road tax, it's vehicle excise duty or something. Added to this of course this Spitfire could be perfectly legal. The MX5 has been out since 1989, so in theory this Spitfire could've been built before the SVA test came out in 1998 therefore as the law isn't retrospective, then presumably this would be fine.
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braaap
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,596
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Good question. In Germany that would be an issue. If You don't have the TÜV (or similar organisation) tested and documented almost every alteration on Your vehicle for legality and roadworthyness , You can lose Your insurance coverage because the cars' general operating license (?, that reads strange, it's Allgemeine Betriebserlaubnis in german, short ABE) becomes invalid until all the changes are written down in Your cars' documents. If You have an accident (no matter if somenone gets harmed) insurance won't have to pay anything. Or they pay to the other party but will come back to You with a big bill! Plus You committed a crime by driving without insurance coverage.
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Well, this is true rattlecan, but my guess is if you are unfortunate enough to kill someone in an accident, then no matter what your car is, they will go through it with a fine tooth comb to make sure the vehicle was in a roadworthy condition before the accident. My guess is that as this Spitfire has a MOT then it's in a condition that has been deemed by an expert to be fit for use on the road. Which may not be the case for a standard Triumph Spitfire that's been dragged from it slumber of 20 years, given a quick wash, and then just driven on the road because it doesn't need a MOT, it's exempt. But irrespective of all that, to be frank, if you were unfortunate enough to kill someone in an accident, then my feeling is that trying to live with that for the rest of your life would be far worse than any punishment the law could give you. I once had a lecturer who did actually kill someone in an accident, as far as I can remember it wasn't her fault, there was nothing she could've done to avoid it, and she was cleared of any blame. She never ever got over it though. Anyway, I guess the crime here (if there is one) is one of fraud, it's not really a Spitfire, but my guess is as it's still registered as a 1500 Spitfire they're running around in it without paying any tax. In the grand scheme of things how big a crime is that? Surely a bigger crime is the fraud committed by the DVLA by making us all pay to drive our cars on roads that are often nowhere near fit for purpose. Although no doubt they'd get away with that by saying it's not road tax, it's vehicle excise duty or something. Added to this of course this Spitfire could be perfectly legal. The MX5 has been out since 1989, so in theory this Spitfire could've been built before the SVA test came out in 1998 therefore as the law isn't retrospective, then presumably this would be fine. I hear you, however there are quite a lot of ‘I guess’ going on there. There is zero guess work that if you build something like that, you have essentially lied about what it is. Therefore insurance would be invalid & you would be in lots of poo.
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