[Kustom Chev54]

Hi there,i wonder if any one can clarify things for me here!I am currently turning my 54 Chevy Bel Air into a full Kustom and have already chopped it,couped it slightly and welded up the rear doors as it was a 4dr and i've also hardtopped it so its now pillarless.I was also wanting to notch the rear chassis to get 'er down some more in the rear,but reading about all these legalities now has got me really worried!!!How do i stand with what i've done and what do i need to fes up to,bearing in mind it is of a seperate body and chassis construction!I really need to know for defo as i've spent a hell of lot of time on her up to now!!Thanks.:beuj:

 

[loon]

as far as i know you are fine sofar so dont mod the chassis

 

[UK RUSS 1960 OLDS]

Hi Kustom Chev54,

Basicaly you can not alter the chassis (there are one or two small modifications you can do, but they are only minor and they have to be done correctly and within the DVLA guidelines). If you do alter the chassis you lose the right to the registration and the V5.

The body mods fall into a different area which can get quite complicated but there is normaly a favourable outcome on a chassied vehicle. Almost any one of your body mods on a monocoqued vehicle would result in a BIVA test.

Kev "kapri" is the most up to speed person in this area, but you are welcome to give me a call if you want to.

Cheers.

Russ. 07762 - 747643. (07.00 - 22.00)

 

[kapri]

Russ, yourself and a few others a doing a good job of learning the regs in depth as well :tup:

As said , all the body mods are fine ,due to it being on a chassis , but the momemnt you notch the chassis you lose the main points needed to retain registration.

This link may help

Chassis and Monocoque Modification - Association of Car Enthusiasts (ACE)

 

[scooder]

You should be able to get it to low to drive without a chassis notch budy, I would leave the chassis stock, then you have no worries. I had my old '52 chev on 6 ish lowering blocks on the back. The tail pipes were hard up agianst the bottom of the bumper, and it would grind the bottom of the tail pipes going on to a shallow ramp. Speed humps were a no no. Yould had to be good at ballencing power and clutch to back over a kerb, if you got it right, the rear would lift enough to put the pipes hard on the kerb/ pavement and youd have to slowly drag them off the kerb when going away or you'd leave the pecil tips on the path. This is with no notch and it drove nice, not very bottomy on the bump stops, only bottomed on pot holes and the like, They bump stops were a token gesture though. about 1 1/2" thick.
Martin.

 

[mygasser]

you can always channel the body over the frame to get it lower.

 

[57ford]

You'll also be wanting shorter shocks on the front, otherwise you'll be punching holes in the bottom A arms, and leaving shock absorbers on the side of the road coming back from Guildford! Wont you... Pants!

 

[scooder]

Er.. Yes... Shorter shocks too.
Pants.

 

[Kustom Chev54]

Phew!!That is a relief to know!I've been building her off and on for the past 4yrs and for a horrible moment i thought i was never going to get her back on the road!Guess i'll have to knock the notch on the head then.I've got 3inch blocks on the back at the moment and have found some air shocks on ebay i can make fit.I've heard a lot of people removing leaves from the springs and i seem to recall some picture in an old magazine with a mercury in it and it said the top leaf had been flipped upside down?Would either of these methods be advisable to get 'er arse down?Thanks for the replies!Much appreciated!:tup:

 

[Kustom Chev54]

I just wish i had the gonads to tackle a job like that!(channelling)Id be afraid she'd never see the light of day if i tried that!!

 

[53catalina]

Whilst nowhere near as low as yours, i removed 2 leaf springs from the back of the Pontiac and it lowered the car about 1.5inch.
I had seven leafs instead of 5 to start with, so i think it may have been beefed up in the states for some reason before coming over here.

The eyes on the rear leaves can be retempered and reverse rolled which should give another 1 to 2inch drop.

If you use very big blocks on the axle remember your prop shaft will probably hit the tunnel running under the car. this will need modifying for clearance too.

cheers
dan

 

[joe little]

Hi, my 49 is still on the stock torque tube rear end withe 2" lowering blocks and the 3 smallest leaves removed, over bigger bumps or dips in the road the axle does clout the chassis occasionally! i think the best best would be to use bigger lowering blocks and use all the leaves so its a stiffer ride. i couldn't wait and removing the leaves was much quicker.

its low but not as low as id like it, plus it only has 5.60 15's and with a taller tyre it would look even higher. i suppose its one of those things if you would run the risk of notching it, i cant really imagine its something that would ever catch you out anyway, if you dont tell anyone how will they know lol.

Joe

 

[hillbilly blanco]

Some more interesting info there. Can anyone tell me if adding bracketry to the existing chassi counts as modifying the chassi if you dont clearence or take anything away?

 

[kapri]

These are the facts from the horses mouth as ACE liaise with VOSA Tech and DVLA policy on a regular basis.

Chassis and Monocoque Modification - Association of Car Enthusiasts (ACE)

 

[hillbilly blanco]

These are the facts from the horses mouth as ACE liaise with VOSA Tech and DVLA policy on a regular basis.

Chassis and Monocoque Modification - Association of Car Enthusiasts (ACE)

Looks like the fog is clearing, keep up the good work.

 

[beach57]

Flipping is a no no,are the shoxs just shoxs or have they got the bags as well ,like air ride's.

 

[low n slow]

sorry to jump on this thread but found it intresting. Am I right in thinking you could have a restored car with the only real mod being a frame notch I,d be unable to get it registerd?

 

[kapri]

Depends on the car , some earlier cars can get through with support from an owners club who will verify this as a coeval mod ( something that was commonplace within 10 years of end of production) . If the mod is spotted , and with no owners club support ( who also have to be on the authorised DVLA V765 list ) it will not be able to have Historic status .

It is something that would primarily be a period performance mod so more likely to get support for rod than custom.

What else happens is dependent on whether imported as stock or already modified and then modified here . PM me for a number to chat if you want.

 

[scooder]

Hi, my 49 is still on the stock torque tube rear end withe 2" lowering blocks and the 3 smallest leaves removed, over bigger bumps or dips in the road the axle does clout the chassis occasionally! i think the best best would be to use bigger lowering blocks and use all the leaves so its a stiffer ride. i couldn't wait and removing the leaves was much quicker.

its low but not as low as id like it, plus it only has 5.60 15's and with a taller tyre it would look even higher. i suppose its one of those things if you would run the risk of notching it, i cant really imagine its something that would ever catch you out anyway, if you dont tell anyone how will they know lol.

Joe

See where you can see red wheel rim under the skirt, Mine with the 6" blocks on the back and stock springs and G78 whites, you could only see the white of the tyre. I did make my skirts though and they had a cheaky slight curve in the bottom edge, it looked straight to the eye. But it gave another 1/2" - 3/4" drop visualy.
Martin.

 

[Kustom Chev54]

Hmmm,there must be a number of cars in this country already with c'd or notched frames!I wonder how many of them have owned up to the mod?If it doesnt come into the mot side of things and the car is already registered then under what circumstances would you get found out?Can VOSA do roadside checks on vehicles for that reason?In answer to a previous question,no bags,just normal air shocks.I'm going to be running some tallish coker classics for a more traditional look so i need to get the rear as low as poss!Thanks for the replies so far!Stuart.