Hi all,

I’ve just purchased a scrap car as a donor. Mechanicals seem ok but I have no V5 for it. I bought it from a business so I’ve assumed it’s legitimate however I can’t be 100% sure. How does this work with IVA? I have the chassis plates intact and hopefully I can get the engine number ok. I’ll be scraping the body when I’ve removed it but will retain the chassis plates as evidence. Will a scrap yard take it ok? Chassis plate matches the number stamped on the bulkhead as well.

cover all bases and apply for a V5, hope you got a receipt for the car

I've looked into it again - the VIN is only 11 digits long. Turns out it's a JDM Eunos car and is a 1990 model so very early production model. I'll have to check with DVLA to see if they have a record of the car on their system. Does anyone know if JDM car are issued a new 17 digit VIN when registered in the UK? I doubt the car has been registered as scrapped as I don't believe the guy I bought from was registered as a scrap yard. He specialised in MX5's here in Northern Ireland.

Ultimately it won’t be a problem - you might be awarded a Q plate badge of honour though instead of an age related one.

Just be aware the specialist MX5 restorers and parts specialists are now restoring early 5's rather than breaking them.
They're deffo on the up - just saying!.

Yes, I’m only just aware of that after I purchased. I’m considering cutting the rear panels off and selling as they are almost perfect. Bulk head looks good as well. I haven’t looked closely at the floors but they don’t appear too bad either.

A little bit of an update. I ran the registration and found it’s been sorn’ed since 2017. It should be a matter of applying for the tax book all being well.

The car that I bought is basically a bare shell plus running gear. There has been a lot of parts salvaged off it already, the entire interior, soft top, carpets, steering rack, seats, doors etc etc. I bought it for the engine, gearbox, hubs, diff and axles. As a bonus I may be able to salvage the wiring loom. Brake master appears almost new so that’s a plus. I’ve also the steering barrel and keys.

It’s also missing a number of parts but I probably would be replacing these anyway during a build: spark electrics, steering rack, current wheels are a mix match of steel units and also clocks missing.

If I salvage what I need off it would there be any value in a bare chassis with minimal corrosion? How would that affect the registration process after IVA as I would have effectively sold my donor on.

If its on SORN thats good, if tyou can get it into your name, but I think the expectation is to scrap the donor, else you are back to building a car with parts unknown with no paperwork and getting a Q

Another quick update.

V5 has been applied for. I don’t see any issues here the car history check came up all clear with matching VIN.

I was aiming for an age related plate but that may not happen now. My car is registered as a 1.6 but after removing the body from the running gear and searching for the engine number to check against registered engine I’ve discovered it’s had an engine swap. To a 1.8 BP. The funny thing is as it’s a JDM car the engine number isn’t recorded on the V5. I’ve taken lots of pictures of the strip down including chassis and engine numbers. Is it still most likely to be a Q plate or am I in with a chance for an age related plate still?