But regulations can't be applied retrospectively so any car - kit or not only ever needs to comply with the regulations that were in place when it was built/registered.

Kit cars tend to end up as a bit of a grey area because the DVLC/DVLA were/are rubbish at having clear and concise rules around kit-cars and even worse at following what rules they do have so those built and registered dates can be all over the place and don't necessarily bear any relation to reality. Even better is the fact that some cars are on age related plates of the donor vehicle so look older than they are by any sensible definition. Others are on a Q-plate so could be any age from the point of view of any authorities without them spending time doing proper checks - in these cases if it looks sensible then they tend to ignore it.

Obviously having someone from the authorities close by who will have noticed the car and spot the changes means you are more likely to have to prove your innocence if they take an interest. It's worth doing some checking on just what the "Construction and Use" regulations really were when your car was built/registered as you might well find that the "firmly attached and reasonably flat" rule really is all that your car legally has to meet.

Iain

I see your point Iain. What I was quoting is the IVA regs my car was built to and it is also registered as a 2013 car (on a Q plate) which at least means that it doesn't need an MOT till next year. I don't know if construction and use regs are the same as IVA but I wouldn't be surprised if they are pretty close. I think I'll probably get a stick on plate and drill some holes in the front - CBS have a grill that will cover the number plate location almost exactly. I can plead ignorance and claim that the car is a 1987 which is when the kit was made

IVA is just like an MOT in that it's a set of requirements that the car should meet at the test to get a certificate. Once it's got that certificate it the IVA test requirements become irrelevant.

Construction and Use applies every time the car hits the road so that's what the car needs to meet on an every day basis.

Ideally where they overlap they should be identical but it's not that easy.

Construction and Use is a huge set of rules and regs that covers almost everything motorised that can be used on a public highway so finding the relevant bits can be fun. It's also an evolving document and is almost constantly amended which can cause fun and games too as it's not always easy to work out just what the rules were when any particular car was built. The regular changes are also part of the reason that things like IVA can be out of step.

The fact that your car was registered in 2013 probably means you are stuck with the newer regs - there were a lot of changes to registration plate rules around 2001 when the new format appeared. They also have a bit of weasel phraseology in there that sort of makes the new rules retrospective - maybe. The new rules say that any registration plate "fitted" to a car after the change date must meet the newer rules on size/font/colour/BS marking/makers details etc. (and I think stick on ones are all but a no-no). But...... existing plates do not need to be changed to ones compliant with the new rules. Which would suggest that when I re-built my 1970 Mini in 2006-ish the black and silver pressed ally plates I fitted weren't strictly legal - but they would be fine to stay if they had been on the car pre 2001.

Iain

Should probably be in the Libra/Spyder section but seems to follow on nicely from this and I guess most of us read everything new when we come on (I do anyway)

I did my first proper track day on Monday 17th in my Spyder. Fantastic day but the only minor inconvenience was a bit of overheating - managed to boil it over on return to the paddock on one occasion by staying out for a couple of laps after the needle reached the red. This then limited me to about 15 minute runs (probably not a bad thing!).

There was another Spyder on the track day too (what are the chances??) and he wasn't having any problems. Looking at the photos from the day it struck me that he's got a stick on number plate whereas mine is fixed on the bottom of the nose, partially blocking the radiator intake. Anyone have any thoughts as to whether this would make enough of a difference to be the cause or do I need to consider other measures?

Iain - thanks for the explanation of the difference between IVA and construction and use regs. I know what you mean about constant changes and updates and I don't have much enthusiasm for trawling through them! Might be a job for the long winter nights, though.....

Not the best of aerodynamic aids, what you need is a flexi plate that bends back at speed
John

Or a time when You need help getting to sleep ?