Re-registration of a vehicle following substantial change
Reporting changes made to a vehicle to DVLA that affect the V5C is required so DVLA can consider whether it is a radically altered vehicle. This is where the DVLA eight point rule comes from.

A recent news item in circulation suggests a crack down on unsuspecting classic car owners seems imminent as Westminster discuss inconsistencies with DVLA changes to classic cars and the way in which they are registered.

Here Chris Hunt Cooke clarifies the position and suggests the safest route with a V8 Roadster conversion would be to purchase a four-cylinder MGB Roadster, and rebuild your V8 engine into that bodyshell or a new one, keeping the registration of the Roadster. You would then have to report the change of engine size and perhaps colour, to the DVLA, but there should be no concern that the identity of the vehicle has changed.

Posted: 190228
Concern over a recent article
Some MGV8 enthusiasts may have seen a recent news item in circulation suggesting "a crack-down on the unsuspecting classic car owner seems imminent as Westminster discuss inconsistencies with DVLA changes to classic cars and the way in which they are registered". This article might cause a bit of a panic, suggesting as it does that fitting after-market parts, all that is now available in many cases, could cause the DVLA to revoke your registration and issue a Q plate.

This is not going to happen, although problems have occurred in some more extreme cases, particularly where high value vehicles are concerned. Some people have been blatantly abusing the system, the DVLA is catching up in some cases, and innocents have suffered as a result of the tightening up.

What is the situation so far as MGV8 enthusiasts are concerned?
One recent case, still unresolved, concerned the owner of an expensive sports car with coupe bodywork, who decided to have it professionally converted into the touring version. The work having been done, he advised the DVLA of the change of body style. The DVLA response was to decline to recognise it as the same vehicle, withdraw the registration, and issue the car a Q plate, as a vehicle of indeterminate age. This of course resulted in the value of the car plummeting. So do not do that, or rebuild your GT car into a new Roadster bodyshell and try to keep the existing registration, although many people have done that in the past. In the current climate you would risk a Q plate.

The safer route to achieving the same result would be to purchase a four-cylinder MGB Roadster, and rebuild your V8 engine into that bodyshell or a new one, keeping the registration of the Roadster. You would then have to report the change of engine size, and perhaps colour, to the DVLA, but there should be no concern that the identity of the vehicle has changed.