Lost Scamp

Hi Scampers have a request for info on a Scamp. Andy Wright from South Devon owned it over twenty years ago it was a Mk 2 pale green in colour with the reg MTA 430W and modified somewhat. He sold it twenty years ago to someone in South Devon. If anyone has any info could you post on here or On Scamp page on Facebook or messenger on Facebook to me cheers

You might have already checked but DVLA have it on their system but it hasn't been taxed since 1994. They don't have a record of any MOT's on their system either unfortunately. Cars that do will list MOT station numbers which might give a clue as to where they are now.
It's down as being torquoise now as well if that helps.

Sorry, I have no info on this one.

<<< It's down as being torquoise now as well if that helps. >>>

Hi,

Irrelevant to the question, but is "turquoise" a colour recognised by DVLA? I ask, because in a previous life I worked at DVLC, and I think it would have been recorded as blue or green (I'm colour blind).

OT ... I think it was Humber who produced cars painted "FOREST GLADE". Many owners complained that their V5 was wrong, because their green car was recorded as brown. It was the paint manufacturers who said it was brown. But that is what colour blindness does ... I have seen things change colour in front of my eyes when somebody told me what the colour really was.

602
.

w3526602 wrote:<<< It's down as being torquoise now as well if that helps. >>>

Hi,

Irrelevant to the question, but is "turquoise" a colour recognised by DVLA? I ask, because in a previous life I worked at DVLC, and I think it would have been recorded as blue or green (I'm colour blind).

OT ... I think it was Humber who produced cars painted "FOREST GLADE". Many owners complained that their V5 was wrong, because their green car was recorded as brown. It was the paint manufacturers who said it was brown. But that is what colour blindness does ... I have seen things change colour in front of my eyes when somebody told me what the colour really was.

602
.

I would imagine it's always been that colour on the logbook, I know what you mean though. Colours probably got standardised to cut down on the number of options available on the computer. It's a bit like explaining what job you have to insurance companies only to have to pick something similar because it's all that's on their list.

<<< Colours probably got standardised to cut down on the number of options available on the computer. >>>

Hi Steve,

I'm not sure if this should be opened under another title? I don't think it will run for long, so I'll carry on here.

You are on the right track. Variable information was changed to code numbers, to save space on the computer ... can't remember if it was tape or disc in those days (us humans were working with paper tape and punch cards, in the second biggest computer set up in the world).

Each country of manufacture was given a number (from 1 to 9), then a number for the manufacturer (1 to 9) then the model (1 to 9), etc.

Somewhere down the line would be the colour (1 to 9), in basic red, blue, black, etc. But manufacturers used their own names, which meant referring to paint charts ... I think SUNBURST was used by at least two manufacturers, one was red, the other yellow. As the system matured, the manufactures joined in, and included "DVLC friendly" data in the sales information, and I think it is now all done automatically, with very little human input.

But in the early days, a lot of clerks with reference books were required to look up each item of information, and manually alter the V5 or VE60. Many got clever and did it from memory, which led to errors further down the line. I suspect that poor handwriting caused problems too. How many here haven't heard of the HONDA 50 FIRE ENGINE. Easy to understand when you know how it happened ... from memory, motor cycles were Body Type 11, and fire engines were body type 17.

Other anomalies included anything that looked like a 4x4 would have Body Type LAND ROVER/JEEP, and that included Mini Mokes. I don't know if any Scamps were registered as such.

Moped were automatically defined as Bicycles. The Arial 3 (a three wheeled moped) was recorded for a long time as a "bicycle" ... until somebody pointed out it was a tricycle. Back to the drawing board.

I think the Morris Marina was marketed under the Austin badge in USA. At least one returned to UK, with the DVLC computer insisting it was an Austin Allegro, cos that what the codes said it was.

An owner of a veteran can complained about the description "2 axle rigid body". Some Big Nebbie at DVLC authorised a one-off V5. It remained as "2 axle rigid body" .... but the Manufacturer was changed to "Mercedes 1901 Dogcart"
DVLC was not ALL bad.

602 PS ... a letter was received. "Dear Sir, your computer is sick. I hope it dies! Yours etc".

Thanks for the incite, most of the problems enthusiasts have with DVLA and insurance companies are down to the computer systems. If you don't have a car that fits nicely with whatever list on a computer they like to make things very difficult.

Going back to the original post the only other way to get any information is to do an HPI check. This won't give much more info apart from when it was last sold. If you can contact the guy you know had it there might only be the person her sold it too, any more and it could be tricky.

Thread Drift Alert

I guessed code numbers were used, there being no other way to explain why my Scamp, on being registered as an Austin, came back as a Triumph.  Incidentally I chose Austin as I figured it would streamline the insurance process, my excuse being that the multiple donors (in order to qualify for a new registration) were all Austin Minis.  I was right, the agent said "well, an Austin Mini is Group 1, put it up a group for being a special, so that makes it Group 2."  Life was simpler in 1973.

Incidentally I still have my Honda Benley motorbike, which has been laid up since before V5s were invented.  According to the handwritten card logbook it is a Honda Bentley.

I believe there are a few Scamps registered as LAND ROVER/JEEPS. I was quite surprised that one of mine is registered as orange which I didn't expect to be a standard colour. There are still oddities in more modern stuff. I had a Pug 306 that was a light metallic blue but registered as silver because the Pug name for the shade is Moonlight Silver.