Yet another Mk2

I'm lovin' those banded front rims. All very '70s autocross!

hi there,im the guy that actually bought the scamp and have already started to restore it.I usually do minis but fell for one of these at the last mini show last year and the search began and this is where it stopped and now i need a load of help so i joined the club.It has no paperwork at all no vin plate no chassis number therefore no identity so before i spend even more money on it could somebody please tell me how i get an mot for it and an identity that is age related basically everything i need to get it road legal or have i got a pup?HEEEEEEELP Andy.

I'm sure someone will confirm but, I think you will really struggle to get an unregistered Scamp through an SVA test these days?

Hi Andy,

I'm very sorry to have to tell you that unless your Scamp has already been registered, and paperwork exists to prove it, there is no (lawful) way of getting it street legal.

The reason is that a good few years back, the regulations were tightened up considerably, and several loopholes closed, to ensure home-built cars came up to the same sort of safety levels as production cars. Sharp corners, such as the Scamp abounds in, are now OUT. Cars already registered were unaffected, but unfinished kits effectively gained a Use By date, which is now long past.

In theory you might be able to modify your Scamp to pass the SVA test, but it would be an immense engineering job and in all probability a non-starter. Anyone who achieves it will be the club's all-time hero.

Otherwise, you have two choices: use the Scamp purely as an off-roader, or cannibalise it to repair a damaged registered one that would otherwise have to be scrapped. Probably not what you had in mind, I'm afraid.

Incidentally there may be a chassis number on the back of the front crossmember, written in weld - this was done on the later Mk2s and all Mk3s.

As Bob says,I don't think there is a hope in hell of getting a Scamp through SVA,however,speaking to Andy McLean,he did have thoughts,just for the shear hell of it,of designing one that would go through SVA..............A Scamp with rounded edges!!!!!!!!! An interesting concept to say the least!!

Have they changed the sva test for vehicles being tested as disabled vehicles?
I only ask because a the last place I worked at used to put Land Rover Defenders , through sva tests as disabled use vehicles because they would never go through an sva test

Pretty irrelevant to a Scamp as it'd be pretty much impossible to get it through the test but the rules have been changed (again) and kit cars are now subject to an Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) test. The SVA is being phased out completely by 2012 and is currently only used on light goods vehicles with a maximum gross weight of no more than 3500 kilograms, and special purpose passenger vehicles (hearses, armoured vehicles etc). And they've taken the opportunity to hike the price up as well so an IVA test for a Class A vehicle costs £450 and it's £90 per retest

If the OP wants to see what would be needed to pass an IVA there's a manual download here (2.8Mb):
http://www.transportoffice.gov.uk/crt/repository/IVA-Inspection-Manual-for-M1-Passenger-Cars.pdf

There's more general info here: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/BuyingAndSellingAVehicle/ImportingAndExportingAVehicle/DG_177879

To the OP: Have you got the VIN plate mentioned in the listing? If you can find some history to the car showing it's been on the road in the past as a Scamp you might have a chance at getting the registration back and the club can help you in dealing with the DVLA but you need some evidence first. A VIN or reg number are the absolute minimum you need to start digging with.

A reply to your other request is also on this thread