Mat armstrong

[LARK F1 GTR]

WPA said:

Has to be one of the worst looking cars he has built





Test drive did not go well, still wonder how it is going on the road as well, surely it should be on a Q plate

The white bands on the wheels remind me of Lamborghini Veneno. He did say they were removeable. Maybe the wheels look better without them? (can they look any worse??)

[WPA]

LARK F1 GTR said:

WPA said:

Has to be one of the worst looking cars he has built





Test drive did not go well, still wonder how it is going on the road as well, surely it should be on a Q plate

The white bands on the wheels remind me of Lamborghini Veneno. He did say they were removeable. Maybe the wheels look better without them? (can they look any worse??)

I think they would look better without, the white bands make them look tiny for 20" wheels

[Chainedtomato]

Love or hate the 720s he has 1.3 million views on that latest video in 23 hours. Clearly he is doing something right.

[Pistom]

WPA said:

Pistom said:

The only major part that has been changed has been the tub/chassis hasn't it?

I don't know whether the rest of the car being original is enough to be able to register it with an age related number plate or if it will have to be on a Q plate but if it does go on a Q, he won't be able to have a personalised plate on it which seems a shame as his plates are quite important to his cars.

He used various other SH parts to rebuild it

Someone here will know what the regulations are relating to Q plates but it will be a shame if he's forced down that road.

[WPA]

Pistom said:

WPA said:

Pistom said:

The only major part that has been changed has been the tub/chassis hasn't it?

I don't know whether the rest of the car being original is enough to be able to register it with an age related number plate or if it will have to be on a Q plate but if it does go on a Q, he won't be able to have a personalised plate on it which seems a shame as his plates are quite important to his cars.

He used various other SH parts to rebuild it

Someone here will know what the regulations are relating to Q plates but it will be a shame if he's forced down that road.

It is not a question of being forced down that road, if that is the rules he should stick to them and it will be interesting how it pans out.

[Pistom]

WPA said:

It is not a question of being forced down that road, if that is the rules he should stick to them and it will be interesting how it pans out.

Yes, I worded that badly.

[robemcdonald]

I hadn’t thought about the implications of a chassis change regarding registration.
There was a poster on this very forum who was told his mini wouldn’t even be allowed a Q plate as several holes had been drilled in the monocoque to facilitate an EV conversion.
I can’t see how this project would be any different.
Perhaps the fact the car is imported will provide the required loophole?
I assume the checks will be carried out by McLaren and not the DVSA?

[Pistom]

If by loophole you mean fiddle it, possibly.

I doubt McLaren will have the authority regarding registration.

I don't recall the details but seem to remember that a car had to retain sufficient original parts when being rebuilt to retain it's original registration or get an age related plate.

Lots do fiddle it and not putting your work on YouTube might be smart if that was a route someone wanted to go down.

I don't know what the rules are in the original country the car came from but I imagine one reasonable way to play the system if the car is at risk of getting a Q would be to import the car as if it was undamaged and just declare the car with the original documents.

I'm not sure if it's too late by now as the car is already here.

[NordicCrankShaft]

Thought those wheels where utterly horrendous when he unveiled them.

Also massively click ait title saying it caught fire when it clearly didn't, saying that, I don't really care.

Met him at autosport, pleasant enough guy, his dad is the real star though!

Looking forward to seeing the rebuild of the red BMW, because that was fked.

[WPA]

Pistom said:

If by loophole you mean fiddle it, possibly.

I doubt McLaren will have the authority regarding registration.

I don't recall the details but seem to remember that a car had to retain sufficient original parts when being rebuilt to retain it's original registration or get an age related plate.

Lots do fiddle it and not putting your work on YouTube might be smart if that was a route someone wanted to go down.

I don't know what the rules are in the original country the car came from but I imagine one reasonable way to play the system if the car is at risk of getting a Q would be to import the car as if it was undamaged and just declare the car with the original documents.

I'm not sure if it's too late by now as the car is already here.

I was confused by something that Mat said in that video, he said that it will need an inspection before being imported into UK, how can this be right if that car is in fact dead really.

Am I right in also thinking VAT could come into play here as surely it would be cheaper to import a damaged / scrap car than a mint example.

[Pistom]

WPA said:

I was confused by something that Mat said in that video, he said that it will need an inspection before being imported into UK, how can this be right if that car is in fact dead really.

Am I right in also thinking VAT could come into play here as surely it would be cheaper to import a damaged / scrap car than a mint example.

I'm assuming there's a typo in there as I can't work out what "that car is in fact dead really"?

It would be great if someone here knew the implications of everything which is going on.

I can't imagine Matt would have come this far without working it all out in advance.

Good point over the VAT but the bigger concern for me would be whether it will have a Q plate. If it did, I'm not sure how long he'd put up with the "nice kit car mate" comments.

[WPA]

Pistom said:

WPA said:

I was confused by something that Mat said in that video, he said that it will need an inspection before being imported into UK, how can this be right if that car is in fact dead really.

Am I right in also thinking VAT could come into play here as surely it would be cheaper to import a damaged / scrap car than a mint example.

I'm assuming there's a typo in there as I can't work out what "that car is in fact dead really"?

It would be great if someone here knew the implications of everything which is going on.

I can't imagine Matt would have come this far without working it all out in advance.

Good point over the VAT but the bigger concern for me would be whether it will have a Q plate. If it did, I'm not sure how long he'd put up with the "nice kit car mate" comments.

The imported car died when he replaced the tub as that is the main part of the car.

[Pistom]

WPA said:

The imported car died when he replaced the tub as that is the main part of the car.

Thanks - yes, I see what you mean.

Having read a little deeper, it seems that the only way the car might have avoided a Q is if it had a new chassis. It clearly isn't. Even the replacement chassis has had to be altered in making it LHD from the original RHD the use tub was.

The Gov site says;

A rebuilt vehicle can keep its original registration number if you can prove you’ve used:

the original unmodified chassis or bodyshell (car or light van)
a new chassis or monocoque bodyshell of the same specification as the original (car or light van)

So - if it appears with anything other than a Q - they will have found a "loophole".

Edited by Pistom on Tuesday 30th January 09:27

Edited by Pistom on Tuesday 30th January 09:27

[robemcdonald]

Pistom said:

WPA said:

The imported car died when he replaced the tub as that is the main part of the car.

Thanks - yes, I see what you mean.

Having read a little deeper, it seems that the only way the car might have avoided a Q is if it had a new chassis. It clearly isn't. Even the replacement chassis has had to be altered in making it LHD from the original RHD the use tub was.

The Gov site says;

A rebuilt vehicle can keep its original registration number if you can prove you’ve used:

the original unmodified chassis or bodyshell (car or light van)
a new chassis or monocoque bodyshell of the same specification as the original (car or light van)

So - if it appears with anything other than a Q - they will have found a "loophole".

Edited by Pistom on Tuesday 30th January 09:27

Edited by Pistom on Tuesday 30th January 09:27

Why can’t it use the identity of the donor tub? Effectively that probably makes it a “ringer”
But it is using all the original specification parts isn’t it?
The IVA checklist is more aimed at heavily modified vehicles with different engines, suspension etc.
This car retains all those parts, albeit from another vehicle.

[WPA]

robemcdonald said:

Pistom said:

WPA said:

The imported car died when he replaced the tub as that is the main part of the car.

Thanks - yes, I see what you mean.

Having read a little deeper, it seems that the only way the car might have avoided a Q is if it had a new chassis. It clearly isn't. Even the replacement chassis has had to be altered in making it LHD from the original RHD the use tub was.

The Gov site says;

A rebuilt vehicle can keep its original registration number if you can prove you’ve used:

the original unmodified chassis or bodyshell (car or light van)
a new chassis or monocoque bodyshell of the same specification as the original (car or light van)

So - if it appears with anything other than a Q - they will have found a "loophole".

Edited by Pistom on Tuesday 30th January 09:27

Edited by Pistom on Tuesday 30th January 09:27

Why can’t it use the identity of the donor tub? Effectively that probably makes it a “ringer”
But it is using all the original specification parts isn’t it?
The IVA checklist is more aimed at heavily modified vehicles with different engines, suspension etc.
This car retains all those parts, albeit from another vehicle.

As far as I know the donor tub had no ID or V5

[Retro_Jim]

I suppose it is similar to the heritage mini, it is an unregistered tub made by the factory to their specifications (bar the LHD swap).

I think Matt has done enough to avoid a Q plate. The wheels don't look that bad in my opinion

[Billy_Rosewood]

Q plate worthy for the wheels alone

[Pistom]

WPA said:

As far as I know the donor tub had no ID or V5

I think that will be the loophole he needs.

I didn't realise it didn't have any ID.

So even though it was built into a car, it was never registered.

I wonder if that's enough to class it as "new". I guess it all depends on what supporting paperwork he's got.

As long as he's not grinding out VIN numbers or something similar - he's probably covered.

[was8v]

Hold on, he hasn't registered the car yet.

If he had registered the car in the UK, then changed the tub the above may apply

Is it's previous European registration still valid? As that is what he will present to get it registered here. If he has all the paperwork the authorities will never know it's been smashed in the first place. Are the Belgian authorities go going to question it?

Anyway, people change chassis on land rovers every day of the week and no one bats an eye or insists on a q

The white rings have to go

[Pistom]

Let's hope he manages to blag it but if he's following the letter of the law, it looks like it should be on a Q, as should all those LRs with swapped used chassis.

Many don't follow the letter of the law if they can find a way around it.