Hpi Chassis Number

[acox99 74 1 Cars]

I'm looking to buy a 60's project car. I've known it for at least 15 years and the guy I bought it off came across it in a house clearance. The car is complete but hasn't been on the road since the late 70's. It has a chassis plate present but no number plates or any documentation. Being an old car is doesn't have a VIN number. Is there anyway to trace the reg number or HPI it. Obviously I don't want to buy the car and find it has a grey history and I can't claim title to it, or the police come knocking if you know what I mean.

[welshpug 1,657]

I'm looking to buy a 60's project car. the guy I bought it off came across it in a house clearance.

 

 

have you bought it or not?

[acox99 74 1 Cars]

Provisionally yes. No money has changed hands. Just an agreement, it's an MGB roadster. I just want to know I will be able to get title to it with a chassis number and no reg number. Ideally I need to find someone with an HPI trade account who could search the chassis number for me giving me the reg number and that way I can be sure it's not hooky.

Edited August 19, 2017 by acox99

[Leslie green 109]

Did you check all though the car for evidence of a reg on a handbook etc ? with no reg I don't think you will be able to just apply for a v5 as it will be rejected and given the length of time offroad ,40+ years there may be no digital records for it but the owners club may be able to help in these cases as the mgb is a very popular car.

[steve@cornwall 100]

I've looked into this lately for an 80s sports moped. I think you have two alternatives.

One, as you say is to find someone with a trade account who, as long as they have good reason, (such a you have offered it to them for sale) can run the chassis number through hpi which will give you the the number and then you can apply for a replacement v5c from dvla. (Try a breakers yard if you have a friendly one)

 

The other is more involved. You need to get proof of age. Being an MG, Isn't there the "Heritage" scheme for this? as the manufacturer is now defunct.

Th car then needs to be MOTd using the chassis number, and insured using the chassis number. You can then apply to dvla to register with a new number. Then of course if these car has a shonky history you may lose it after all your work and cash has been sunk into it ! Great system,eh?

[welshpug 1,657]

mg still exist and still make cars steve!

 

a B will have a chassis plate with a number/code which is the vin, much like a 205, a quick bit of googling suggests that early models were not stamped on the shell itself.

 

there is a large owners club too.

[steve@cornwall 100]

mg still exist and still make cars steve!.

Not sure they "still" exist, Mei. Sure the name has been resurrected but it's passed through a few hands since the mgb!. I can buy a new ajs motorcycle, built in China and branded in the UK but I doubt they could tell me much about '60s models. Worth a shot of course but apparently the dvla rules on age related re registering has changed and requires manufactures proof of age.

[Andya 2]

What you need to do is to try and get a heritage certificate for the car, this should also let you know the spec, build date and registration number for the car. Once you have this you may be able to contact the dvla to ask them if the number still exists. Ideally you would want to keep the original number if you can but without lots of documentation they (the DVLA) won't allow that and you will end up with an age related number on the car. If the car hasn't been on the road since the 70's the DVLA probably wont have any information for it anyways and you will have to go through the process of registering the car from scratch, don't worry though it isn't too difficult.

 

Second option is to contact a specialist mgb car club who will help with the dating of the vehicle and can provide a letter to the DVLA proving the date of the car. I know this gets done with vintage cars when all someone has is a chassis number. Although as you can get a lot of data from the heritage certificate the car club may just suggest getting a heritage certificate.

 

An MGB is a great car, my father has a 63 MGB, just look out for rust rust and rust, they love to rust!

 

PM me if you have any other questions

[acox99 74 1 Cars]

I've contacted heritage at gayden to find out if the reg number can be found on the heritage certificate, if it can then bingo. If not I will try to find a trader who will be prepared to HPI it on the chassis number for a few beer tokens. Being a pre 81 car the chassis number isn't standardised like the 16 digit numbers they are now. They are a riveted plate with a numbered code specific to BMC at the time and no stampings on the body. Hence why they are easy to re shell.

 

Oh it's got plenty of rust and it's mostly in boxes but that doesn't phase me. I just want to know it's ok before I go ahead and pore money into something that I can't claim title to. And getting an MOT is way off the scale.

[welshpug 1,657]

never heard anyone british call it title, its registered keeper you mean right?

[acox99 74 1 Cars]

Yes

[tartanbloke 35 1 Cars]

If the heritage centre at Gaydon cannot find any record of it or are not sure, walk away as they have the largest and most comprehensive records of vehicles manufactured.

 

I would wait to see what they come back with before you do anything else.

[acox99 74 1 Cars]

They have no record of reg numbers. They can only supply build sheets, I spoke to them today on the phone.