Classic Car - Conversion to Electric?

An article in the January 2023 magazine Classic Cars runs a small, cautionary, article on one person's experience:

EV Conversion Challenges Come As A Shock.

Reader Ed Keane told us of an expensive pitfall he discovered after converting his 1960 Mini to electric. Following a DVLA engineer?s report he was informed that the car needed to pass an IVA Test, something almost impossible to achieve for a car of that age. Keane said that the DVLA?s concern was with holes drilled in the boot to secure the new battery, a change that falls under the rule for ?radically altered vehicles? which requires that the car must not have an altered chassis, monocoque or bodyshell or frame. Asked to comment, DVLA Spokesperson David Whitehead said that each car was assessed individually and stated that all information was online. Mr Keane has been told that even if converted back to standard his old V5 cannot be reissued and is now left with a car that can?t be used and around ?30,000 of expenses. Anyone considering a conversion is urged to visit www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration and seek advice from the DVLA first to confirm exactly what its definition of ?alteration' entails.

So, if you've read that please don't consider converting your ICE Stratos to electric power. Or you'll have to repeat the IVA process again. Long Live Petrol (and diesel)

Guy

There are plenty of EV conversions out there…the key is to make zero modifications to the base vehicle. Everything must be bolt-in to existing structure. A prime example would be the electric MGB being made with all new parts, or the 2CV and MX5 conversions. Of course, it’s a bloody nonsense given just how much blatant piss-taking goes on with post IVA mods for example, but for whatever reason, someone decided to apply the rules to the letter. Maybe the conversion was poorly done and the inspector was just looking to find a fail point.

Don’t really find EV classic conversions appealing myself, but don’t see why not if one wants one. All the ones I’ve seen are absurdly expensive.

On the topic of piss-taking, I often wonder how Retropower get away with some of their projects, as I don’t think they put many of them through IVA, and it would be fair to say that they are ‘radically altered’. Not that they’d have any bother passing I imagine, but they can forget about a lot of the hassle if they simply don’t bother with an IVA and just do a paper exercise on the V5 for an engine swap.

'Good job this is all as it left the factory then?:

Indeed.....

There must be tens of thousands of modified cars on the roads that would probably fail an IVA, and are, technically, liable to one. No doubt they get away with it because there's no real reason for them to get inspected, but an EV conversion is going to attract that attention, probably because it'll mean reduced tax revenue.

Can't see many people volunteering for an IVA. Does beg the question about insurance, but again, guess it's just not come up (yet).

All it'll take will be something like the incident that gave rise to the 'Part P' regulations for electricians.

Keeps the nonsense rolling for the peeps with the clip boards & high vis... more admin to guarantee more work... maybe best stay in the public sector, can be scary without the safety net!!!

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Originally Posted by westonTB

Keeps the nonsense rolling for the peeps with the clip boards & high vis... more admin to guarantee more work... maybe best stay in the public sector, can be scary without the safety net!!!

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To be clear, I don’t care what other people do as long as it doesn’t impact me. I've never worn hi-viz nor carried a clipboard either. Just trying to make the point that as the piss taking continues, one day, someone with a bee in their bonnet and the influence to do something about it might finally notice, and the result will be unpleasant for more than just the subject of the test case.

I'd argue that drilling a few holes in the boot floor doesn't fall under "radically altering a vehicle" cos that'd cover anyone who'd done anything to their car, ever (e.g. mounted a roll cage, etc) so I'd be appealing that decision very strongly.

Don't get this urge to turn classics into 1/1 scale Scalextric vehicles. Thought the engine was a large part of the appeal of an oldie? Or am I a fuddy-duddy meself and not embracing the latest thinking in combating climate change, saving the planet, stopping water levels in the bath from rising....

I agree, a good friend drives a 1935 rover 'special' = death trap!!! and at the same time project binky would struggle with an iva:rolleyes:

Oh, and thinking about it, Richard will need an IVA on his Ypsilon now he's radically altered its boot floor when it rolled into that tree :) :)

Converting cars to electric power that were never designed to be without any form of 3rd party inspection! Recently issued statists about the number of lithium battery fires probably has more influence on this decision than a couple of holes in a floor.

I think another key factor is the individual inspector conducting the inspection. Having been through 3 IVA inspections - with one vehicle - which failed twice before passing, I have to say that it can come down to a matter of individual interpretation of the rules. The easy - and safe - option for any inspector is to fail the car if he is uncertain of any aspect. A different inspector may well interpret the situation differently and allow a pass if he is more familiar (and confident) with his technical decisions and relevant experience.