Registering engine change with DVLA

[white2lSR]

is it best to do this when the car is taxed and mot'd or does it not matter if it were SORNed?

[craig green]

Doubt it matters, though it might help if its all legit & sorted before you take it for an MOT.

[white2lSR]

i was thinking if it were taxed it would take longer as they would have to issue you with a new disc which you would have to pay for

[craig green]

Good point, I'd be inclined to get a refund on your tax disc & then re-apply.

Cue alkll the tax/insurance dodging posts.

Am I right to assume your car is under going an engine transplant/conversion or is it finished??

[white2lSR]

its nearly finished., i had heard horror stories of it taking months to come through so i thought id better get it sent off

[craig green]

I'd be tempted to keep a photocopy of the V5 & get it sent off asap.

V5's dont take long in my experience.

[L14MNP]

Register the engine now, whilst it is still SORN, then by the time your V5 is back you should be nearly ready for the road.

[hendrix]

I tried to register mine and had a letter back saying I needed to get a letter from a garage or an RAC report on the engine conversion???

[Dod]

An engineers report stating that the conversion was completed correctly and isnt going to fall out after a mile of driving.

[Adam]

I tried to register mine and had a letter back saying I needed to get a letter from a garage or an RAC report on the engine conversion???
I got that too.
Had to get written confirmation from a vauxhall dealer confirming the engine number/cc.
Which they charged me an hour labour for :roll:

[Steve]

I'm gonna be getting the same then? Mines sorn'd at the moment and I sent the log book off last week. I needed the engine number changed after the conversion and also as my dad is still down as the registered keep so ive ammended that as well.

[Adam]

Its random, some people get the letter, others just get a new logbook straight through no questions.

[AlexW]

i shall be doing this soon. Altho i can do it anytime as its only a 1.4

[Mike]

Ive never had any issue with the varition of engine my shell's had lol

[Andy]

So would you have to send off the details of said swap before or after the engine swap? and while you are waiting on the new v5 can it be driven?

[Geordie-Chris]

I sent mine away after I'd done the conversion and had it MOT'd (can change the engine size on the MOT computer so went thru as a 2ltr) and taxed as the original 1600. Took months for the log book to come back, so I was really pleased I'd done it after I'd got it on the road, and they didn't mention anything about engineers report or tax issues.
They did forget to change the colour at the same time tho si I had to send it away again, only took a couple of weeks for that tho!

[Lee H]

They have always been alright when i've converted GSi's into XE's as the tax doesn't change so they just send the amended log book back.

When its been anything else i've had to go to the DVLA local office and pay the extra tax and hand my old tax disk in.

[Nobby]

min was bought as a 2.0 logged so im ok lol :D

[Steve]

Well I had two letters in the post today, one being the dvla saying they've updated my logbook (all good) till I read the bottom saying they want an engineers report. The second being my logbook re-issued to me as the registered keeper.

So ive either got to pay a stupid charge to the rac to get an engineers report or the other option is if the engine change was done before I bought the car (which it wasn't) then I can ask a local garage to send the dvla a letter confirming the new engine size. What should I do? Try and blag a letter?

[Jack]

Well I had two letters in the post today, one being the dvla saying they've updated my logbook (all good) till I read the bottom saying they want an engineers report. The second being my logbook re-issued to me as the registered keeper.

So ive either got to pay a stupid charge to the rac to get an engineers report or the other option is if the engine change was done before I bought the car (which it wasn't) then I can ask a local garage to send the dvla a letter confirming the new engine size. What should I do? Try and blag a letter?
Thats what I had. The way I read it, your best options are either take it to a local garage who can confirm the engine is in and "safe"; OR go to Vauxhall and ask them to confirm that engine (of number xyz) is in that car (of reg abc).

Happens a lot now it seems. If your car is currently taxed etc, then all that will happen is the DVLA cancel your existing tax, refund you and ask that you apply for a new tax disc. Of course if you have MOT and insurance, one wonders how you are then able to actually GET to a garage to have them check it... as with no tax you're not allowed to drive on the road :p

[Steve]

Well atm its un-insured and SORN. my local garage is only a mile down the road so should be able to get it there without hassle, the only thing that i'm concerned about is they say they don't mind a letter from a garage if the engine change was done with the previous owner. As I've already told them that ive done the conversion whilst ive owned the car, are they going to accept a letter from my local garage?

Can't be ar$ed with that rac inspection crap, apparently they want £140 for it!?

[AlanH]

just sent mine off yesterday. engines exploded across the garage floor and dont have all the bits to rebuild yet so if they want an engineers report it'll have to wait lol. would the engine have to be in AND running or just in?

[Steve]

I would have thought they'd want to check the fuel lines etc but not 100% sure.

[Andy]

So what happens regarding insurance then? can you still drive the said car while you are waiting for the new logbook? Will the insurance company insure you as the new cc without a logbook?

[Jack]

Yes, as you are the registered owner of the car. All you've done is posted the V5 off to the DVLA to make some changes to the information on there. Imagine if you moved house and posted your V5 to the DVLA to update the owner details - would you not drive the car until you received the new V5 with new address? No.

If the DVLA come back to you and say "you need to buy new road tax, we've nullified your existing tax, here is a refund" then you would need to stop driving the car until you re-tax it.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

mate of mine 'djshaggeh' on here sent his off a bit back to have it changed from a 1400-8v to the 2000-16v, they didnt change a fkin thing ! just sent it back on its own.

[white2lSR]

Sent mine off today, the car is SORNd so ill update with any progress.

[white2lSR]

Just got my V5 back with engine number and CC changed. It was only away for a week.
I think it is easyest when the car is not taxed or MOT'd.

Of to get it MOT'd now :thumb:

[AlanH]

jammy git, i got a letter wanting an engineers report/rac inspection or proof from the dealer that the engine is the size i said it is. i phoned them to clarify and ask why my v5 hadnt been returned even though the letter said it would be. they were like take it to your local garage and get a letter confirming the change. hard job when its in a million bits lol. i hate the dvla

[mowgli]

We had similar trouble when we changed tax classes on 2 tractors at work.
1 went straight thru, the other got all of the letters, so we rang them & pointed out that they had approved the first one, so they approved the other one.. I think its down to the person on the day