Re-shelling

(I)

"We see so many restored Mk1's in MM/MW that have eg 1997 shells!!! How?"

There are two ways of keeping the same plate.

The first is down to the DVLA points system. So many points for the shell, so many points for the front subframe, so many points for the rear, so many for the engine, etc. Obviously you can't use the same front subframe for the
new MK5 shell so that's out of the question if you're being honest. Basically if it was just a reshell you could keep the original V5 and the plate.

The other way of keeping the plate is to scrap the MkI and transfer the plate onto the new car. Which obviously means you would run into problems with MOT regs and stuff (you'd need a cat for a start).

So I think what most of these 'restorers' do is bang the MKI hardware into a new shell and front subframe and call it a reshell, and the DVLA believe them.

(II)

The points system can only be used if you  are transferring into a brand new shell - thats what the DVLA say. If you  are transferring into another shell (not new) it all gets a bit blurred!  What I reckon is people just don't say anything and hope not to run into  problems.

I'm reshelling my GT at the moment. I'm using a mayfair shell which is in A1 nick. I going to cut the front off and flip front (this will give it the clubman front) Once all this is done will anyone be able to tell if its the original shell or not - I doubt it, stick the plates on and shut up. Obviously Mk1 shell to new shell is a bit more of a problem - obvious design changes etc.