When does refurbishing a certified hotrod become a new build

[gadjet]

Hi team

I have a Ford Pop that is an older build. Its certified but its an older build. The original car must have been rolled at some point as I found when repainting it a few years ago, there is a lot of bog in the body and the left side door opening is slightly shorter. A standard door wont fit.

Ideally I would like to:

• Re-shell the car with a better example of a body. It will be cheaper to do this than have the current one repaired. Is it ok to do this and have the body change only certified?
• While the body is off I'd like to consider upgrading the front end to something more modern such as a type approved independent front end, which will mean a revision of the steering setup too, so a move to a power rack/column is a likely requirement too
• Lastly and less likely is a move from leaf springs to 4r bar and coil overs.

Just wanting to gauge really, is it better to make all these mods or is the better way to go, to just build a new one.

Thanks everyone.

Gadjet

[Chris]

Mar 28, 2024 7:53:36 GMT 12 gadjet said:

Hi team

I have a Ford Pop that is an older build. Its certified but its an older build. The original car must have been rolled at some point as I found when repainting it a few years ago, there is a lot of bog in the body and the left side door opening is slightly shorter. A standard door wont fit.

Ideally I would like to:

• Re-shell the car with a better example of a body. It will be cheaper to do this than have the current one repaired. Is it ok to do this and have the body change only certified?
• While the body is off I'd like to consider upgrading the front end to something more modern such as a type approved independent front end, which will mean a revision of the steering setup too, so a move to a power rack/column is a likely requirement too
• Lastly and less likely is a move from leaf springs to 4r bar and coil overs.

Just wanting to gauge really, is it better to make all these mods or is the better way to go, to just build a new one.

Thanks everyone.

Gadjet

Hi Gadjet 

Unfortunately, rebodying a vehicle is not as easy as just certifying it, you will also need to own the donor body identity (a record in Landata) and you will need to combine the identity of the donor vehicle with the recipient vehicle through NZTA. 
The IFS, steering and 4-bar upgrades will require certification and I would agree that the best time to do that is when the body is off. Just make sure you show your certifier before you paint the chassis, so the certifier can inspect the welds etc.

Any existing mods that are recorded on the cert plate will not require re-certification, but they will require a certifier casting their eye over them to make sure they are still safe.   
You could start again and build a new car, but all the mods will need to meet current requirements, just because the parts may have come from a previously certified vehicle does not give them a free pass.

Hopefully that helps.

Chris

[gadjet]

Thanks Chris. By "owning the donor body" do you mean I would need to source another Ford Pop with registration history that exists in the system so I can do a change of ownership? Are old ownership papers or original Rego plates enough? Sorry for my ignorance here.

[Chris]

No problems, you will need a donor body with a registration history that already exists.

If you have old ownership papers and a registration plate for the donor vehicle, you may be able to use those to re-create a registration history through a process called Alternative Documents which is managed by NZTA.