Hawk Ace - 2.6 Ford engine & gearbox?

[Mike Wood]

Hi

New forum member here.

Has anyone on this forum got experience please of building, IVA testing and registering a Hawk Ace replica with a Ford Zephyr 2.6 engine and gearbox?

Also in relation to IVA and registration, would a Ford Zephyr engine and gearbox count as the two points needed for components for a Kit Converted Vehicle? If so I would then just buy an MGB rear axle and front suspension and steering rack and column rather than a complete MGB donor?

One last daft question - can you use parts from the donor vehicle and show proof of its ID to demonstrate its age (in particular the engine for emissions for IVA as well as to gain an age related plate which would not be the donor registration) and then sell on the remaining vehicle or would it have to be destroyed? I am thinking of a suitable donor car for the engine and gearbox but would prefer not to scrap a classic that could help others.

I suppose the other option would buy a rusty MGB as a donor, then scrap that and then install a Zephyr engine and box later?

Thanks
Mike

[amulheirn]

Others may be able to answer this more definitively, but I think you can't use parts from two donors.

To get an age-related plate with a Hawk kit registered as 'kit converted', you need two major parts from the same donor vehicle. So I think buy a complete MGB and then use its axle, suspension and steering is the safest way to cover that requirement. I'd have thought that the Zephyr engine could go in on day one - just don't put it in the 'major components from donor vehicle column'.

When you fill out the 'Built Up Vehicle Report' (form V627/1), if you list major donor parts from cars of different ages, DVLA wouldn't be able to determine the age of the donor. So they can't know what age plate to give you - they'd probably issue a Q plate in that case.

Once you've used your donor parts and registered them on your new Hawk, the donor car is effectively destroyed from a DVLA perspective. When filling out V627/1 you have to say what you're doing with the rest of the car. I wrote 'scrap and spares'. They need to know you're not returning it to the road.

[peterc]

Ref the engine you would need to be able to prove its age to avoid emissions testing. You and I know a Zephyr engine is old but you would still need to prove it.
Peter C

[colinA]

Engine number includes a date code plus the block should carry a casting date.

[amulheirn]

That's true, but DVLA can't know what the codes for castings are on all the engines out there, so for the paperwork you have to help them along.

For my Ford 302, there was a casting date in a special format - from memory, I think it was E3SE, which translated to 1983. But since that isn't something DVLA would understand, I was told to get an expert in the field to certify what the date was. I used Real Steel who offer that service for a small fee - submitted photos of the casting and the certificate to the DVLA to register it.

No idea who you'd approach as an expert in Zephyr engines, but there must be someone out there who could do it. Might be worth asking Real Steel - if the won't do it, the might know someone who can: http://www.realsteel.co.uk

[simonjrwinter]

Or Burton engineering, they’ve been Ford experts for decades.

[StewbieC]

You also need to send receipts to demonstrate that the parts other than those from the donor are new or as new to the DVLA when you register the vehicle post IVA. The rules are the rules and you need to follow them.
There's no reason why you couldn't modify the chassis mounts to fit a Zephyr engine but it would probably be one of a few. (I'm sure there has been at least one) The more frequent route is to go with a Triumph 6 either 2000 or 2500.

[kenv]

To confirm with a recent pass what has been said above, I used a Triumph 2.5 TC engine (1974) and the MGB parts amulheirn mentions and registration was straightforward to get an age related plate. So long as you get the MGB and the photos to prove that you dismantled it, along with the V5 then engine age only affects the emissions needed and as long as you have a letter from "an expert" verifying age older than 1975 it should work.

[Mike Wood]

Thanks everyone, that is helpful.

Best wishes
Mike