need for Design Approval

[speleo]

About 2 and a bit years ago i brought a Chevron classic (lotus 7 type) sportscar, the car had never been registered before.
It had no engine or gearbox, Fiat Diff, and Viva front suspension, as they do. I have since fitted a toyota 2tg engine and a J160 gearbox, rebuilt the rear suspension to four link and a panhard rod. initially i had a certifier look at the car as it was then and he gave me a few tips and told me to "go ahead and build it" now 2 years later he is telling me that i should get a design approval. As the car is mostly built i am wondering about this advice, most of the components are now in place.
I have a copy of the NZ Hobby Car Manual (one of the first things i got hold of) and i have used the manual to ensure everything is as it should be.
I am a mechanic and AVI so have a reasonable grip of how things work.

your advice would be appreciated.

regards
speleo 

[Leon]

Hi Speleo,

Who's the certifier? Will need to follow up with them before I know anything

[speleo]

Certifier was Mark stokes, I have also asked Neal Miller in Hamilton and he told me i didnt need to go there. Mark was stood down bwtween him seeing my car and giving that opinion. obviously i dont want to end up not being able to get my car certified.

regards
speleo

[Leon]

Right, back with you again after playing a bit of phone tag.

I've spoken to Mark, and he advises me that he suggested that Design Approval would be a good idea, rather than saying that you must do Design Approval.

His line of reasoning was that for the $90 spent, you might get from the TAC some advice that might result in a nicer handling car. He says that over the years they've seen a lot of different 7 replica plans go through, and that there's quite a bit of expertise around that particular table.

Also having design approval can help at certification time, as the TAC can work through any areas on the vehicle that might not clearly sit in one particular area of the Technical Manual, in a way that means that the Certifier carrying out the cert on your car knows that grey areas have already been checked.

If in doubt, you can always give Mark a ring, and talk to him about having a fresh look at the car in its current state. I gather it has been quite a while since he has seen the car, and it sounds as though you might have made some good progress on the project since then.

[speleo]

hi Leon, thank you for your efforts, perhaps I didnt quite get his drift when i was last talking to Mark, tho I was sort of hesitant because the car was already designed when i picked it up. the main characteristics of the car have already been taken care of. However, if Iwas going to go ahead with design aproval, instead of giving drawings of the relevant parts, is it ok if i supply photographs?

[Leon]

The reason for drawings in the Design Approval, is so that the TAC guys have all the measurements.

So if you did photos, then you'd have to do a whole bunch of measurements to go with it. So a drawing is probably a necessary evil.

I'm presuming we're talking largely about suspension here.

[speleo]

hi Leon
I guess the confusion arises for me because the chevron is a design thats been around for perhaps 30 years, or so. So i thought that design approval was a bit spurious, especially as the front suspension is taken straight out of a production vehicle. however i can see the point now and will have a look at what is required again.
Thank you for your help.

[jaguar1]

hi leon do the drawings need to be to scale or just measurments cheers

[Leon]

Good morning,

It is best to do things to scale, and with as correct a measurement as possible.

This reduces the chances of TAC coming back with more questions, instead of the answers you need. Which could result in waiting longer.