What amazed me is someone on the FB forum page asked what to look for when buying one and he got some very good advice from a couple of people who know their stuff. One of the things was make sure its reg'd correctly.
There he is PM'ing a man selling the black buggy pulled off the road by DVLA with no V5 and waiting for IVA inspection  :
You couldn't make it up could you 

I spoke to said person today on the phone and explained that the black buggy in question should be treated as a parts car.  He was told by the seller they are looking at around £4K for the buggy.  Now depending on the state of the engine/ gearbox etc, it could possible be parted out for between 3-4K

For an IVA test it's going to require a ground up rebuild.

He's moved on from it now.

It is difficult for those who haven't dug into the process too far to understand that the requirement event exists, let alone the complexities involved, even with the advise given.

While we know, mainly from Paul's hard work and the experience of others how much of a ball ache the IVA build is, many do not.

The sad thing is the buggy in question is a GP, so likely it was initially built a long time ago, proof of course is then issue here.

For those not up to speed with what recently happened to a Guy on Facebook, here is a brief explanation.

A Black Buggy appears to have been rebuilt/restored/purchased/renovated/whatever, lets just say a rather nice looking Buggy has just emerged from the garage and ready for the open road. The Owner decided that instead of saying something like Beetle on the V5 that they would like it to say Buggy instead in the mistaken idea that changing the Body Type would be as easy as say, changing a colour or engine number,where you just fill in the empty box and send it off the DVLA. However,this is the first time that DVLA have ever associated this particular registration number with a Buggy and they have now assumed it to be a new build. As a new build it is now subject to IVA etc. Until this hurdle has been overcome, DVLA have now retracted the registration number. I really feel for this guy as trying to get an older car through an IVA is somewhat difficult and my advice would always be to start from the ground up for compliance and think very carefully about tackling an older pre built one. Yes, it can be done, my have done it, but you are in for a lot of headaches along the way.

It has been suggested that this Buggy is now only worth anything if broken for parts, and whilst that may be correct, and not impossible to actually make more om breaking it up, it seems just a shame to do that just yet. Before I did that myself, I would always try to establish the full history of the car and establish some provenance. Thats where clubs and internet searches come in. Look for the registration number in old photos, can you see pictures of it at an old show, and if so, could you prove the date and location of that show beyond contestation? Background images etc etc

Because if you can, and you can prove a date of existence prior to 1988 (its a DVLA historical date), then gather all of your information and present it to one of the caseworkers at DVLA. They will argue the toss with you, you will have to stand your ground and throw every bit of history back at them, because at the end of it, if you can win them over, SWB/LWB/Beetle/Saloon it matters not, a they will be forced to award you an age related plate and a new name on your V5.

Many on here have done it   

Or just follow the latest advice!

Haagan Dazs
I know what I would do , it would involve the cheapest beetle with a v5 I could find.

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Lee Warren
Haagan Dazs
🤔 me too👍😂😂

Quote from: Flags on January 21, 2021, 09:07:52 PM
Or just follow the latest advice!

Haagan Dazs
I know what I would do , it would involve the cheapest beetle with a v5 I could find.

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     · 9h

Lee Warren
Haagan Dazs
🤔 me too👍😂😂

Now I know that you are certainly not condoning the illegal concept of cloning a car that would ultimately end up with a custodial sentence, but that reply found on Facebook really sums up the stupidity on there -
All you would still end up with is BEETLE on the V5

Hardly worth the risk of doing Porridge for is it ?   

read my reply.

Amazing what folks post on FB as viewers could be in any job 

Quote from: Dave DND on January 21, 2021, 10:48:34 PM

Quote from: Flags on January 21, 2021, 09:07:52 PM
Or just follow the latest advice!

Haagan Dazs
I know what I would do , it would involve the cheapest beetle with a v5 I could find.

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     · Share
     · 9h

Lee Warren
Haagan Dazs
🤔 me too👍😂😂

Now I know that you are certainly not condoning the illegal concept of cloning a car that would ultimately end up with a custodial sentence, but that reply found on Facebook really sums up the stupidity on there -
All you would still end up with is BEETLE on the V5

Hardly worth the risk of doing Porridge for is it ?   

Exactly what i thought Dave. Lets buy a buggy thats got no ID because it was pulled for being reg'd as a beetle then take it to bits, buy another V5 and chassis that says beetle, spend hours bolting it back together and £1000's on the chassis and parts and taaaadaaaaaa a buggy with the V5 saying beetle and back to square one, plus very illegal and could well result in prison.
Agree also with the stupidity of people on Facebook posting how they are driving illegal cars knowing so and how they think they got round it, the mind boggles sometimes how they even manage to get out of bed.
One of the first places police go to is social media as it is a wealth of stupid people bragging about beating the system and the "old bill" Wrong!! It does happen 100%.
I feel for the owner of the black buggy. That is a lot of work they have done on it and it sounds sweet too but i also wonder what kind of idiot then posts a video on social media of themselves driving a car with no reg, no tax, no mot and no insurance around a housing estate on public roads 
I went through the same sort of thing 20 odd years ago when i bought a GP mk1 lwb from a garden in Luton reg'd as a beetle. In those days it didn't really mean a lot but i knew it wasn't right so i applied to change it and got met with basically the same as the black GP owner but when i bought mine the owner had kept loads of photos and receipts and stuff from years ago so i sent them in and they accepted it was done years ago and got beach buggy on the V5, luckily he kept all the history of it. It then got a new body and i asked DVLA if it was an issue and they said no just change the colour as the gp was red and the gt was green so i've been lucky with that. I even bought a chassis from Mark at Flatlands and DVLA said no problem just give them the new VIN number and as it was lwb with no chassis mods it was fine so recon chassis numbers changed and GT body back on and V5 is correct and matching as VW beach buggy convertible, chassis number matching and engine number matching and retains the reg from the chassis i bought from Mark on a 71 plate. Tax exempt but no MOT exempt.
There's a lot to be said for "ugly long wheel base" builds!

Hi everyone! New to this forum and after some advice on a sandrail build  I'd like to start for some time, but it seems difficult to get some accurate info and hoping someone can help!
I'm looking to build a tubular sandrail chassis, and mount it to a completely standard unmodified lwb battle floor pan and the BIG question is....would it need an Iva test?
All the standard beetle floorpan,suspension, engine, steering, instruments etc would be used, would just be a body swap really.
I'm competent at making the tubular chassis (it's what I do for a living) but have had previous problems with the SVA on a lotus 7 style build a few years back. The only non-standard parts I would not be using would be headlights/brake lights,seat harness and fuel tank.
Sorry if this has been asked many times before, but reliable info on this seems to be hard to come by.
Any guidance would be much appreciated.

As long as the chassis including the floors remain completely standard, even down to no additional holes being drilled, then it's classed as a re-body so is in theory a purely paperwork exercise.

Send in the V5C along with a V627/1 form with as many answers 'standard VW' as possible and stressing 'standard wheelbase' a few times, along with a few photos, not too many as they are easily confused, and all should be good.

Make one of the photos of a tape measure showing wheelbase and one showing chassis number matching the V5C.

That's great news, thanks for clearing it up.
Yeah, the chassis won't be modified in any way (other than a tidy up and a bit of paint) and the sandrail frame will be bolted through the original body mounting holes. Aim is to use as many parts from the original beetle as possible.

I assume you've got the V5C in your name and it says Beetle saloon or similar in the description that you just want changed to convertible or something more apt?

Pretty much. Got a car available to me, has v5 etc,chassis and running gear is good....body in pretty poor state. Just wanted to try and clear legal side up before spending my cash and starting this project.
I know from experience trying to pass a scratch built buggy chassis through IVA  will be painful, and a lot more work.
Thanks again for the advice.

Just catching up on unread posts......   Don`t over think things, (something I have always been guilty of), as the basic legality is this...
The critical criteria is a vehicles "identity".
With a monocoque vehicle, (ie where the vehicle is all one finalised piece with no separate chassis), the "identity" is the whole structure and this brings up modification possibilities that can be a minefield. Yes you can drill a hole in the structure but in theory this drilling should only be in a none "stressed" part of the structure. How you will know what sections this refers to is beyond my understanding and is open to any interpretation by the powers to be.
With a vehicle that has a separate chassis things are far more clearer in theory. The vehicles "identity" is in it`s chassis only. Hence the ability to remove the original body and replace with another and dvla will allow continued road registration. There are some "rules" however such as the chassis must not have any of the original body mounting holes interfered with or body supports removed. I know of no instance of anyone falling foul of this.

To be specific regarding a  Beetle chassis..... " Best as I can word it"....  Floorpans, for example, can be replaced as this would have been a thing that could be done to a Beetle as part of it`s upkeep whilst beetles were still in production. The part that must remain is the remainder of the chassis along with a vin number that matches the V5C.

Have fun with the build and keep photographs of the build in readiness for dvla..

Quote from: Paul1953 on June 01, 2025, 05:42:59 AMTo be specific regarding a  Beetle chassis..... " Best as I can word it"....  Floorpans, for example, can be replaced as this would have been a thing that could be done to a Beetle as part of it`s upkeep whilst beetles were still in production. The part that must remain is the remainder of the chassis along with a vin number that matches the V5C.

Have fun with the build and keep photographs of the build in readiness for dvla..

Can I just add that to retain rebody status, floorpan replacement must be with like-for-like replacement panels, not composite ones made up with steel tubing/checker plate/ OXO tins etc.

This was clarified with the DVLA and VOSA as they were at the time by ACE who were an excellent organisation/ campaigning group in it's day. Sadly missed.