I have a 1971 tax exemp Rangerover. The body has seen better days as you'd expect, even the patches on patches have rotted away. Its going to need a lot of welding for the Mot as theres very little left that holds the body to the chassis. The chassis is ok, the odd patch but overall not bad.

The question....
If I bin the rangerover body and replace it with a Landrover body...maybe a cut down 109, will it still be tax exempt?

or
If I replace the body with a newer 4 door body will it still be tax exempt?

Im I asking for trouble? Is the chassis number on the actual chassis...all Ive found is the plate under the bonnet.

The chassis number should be stamped on the chassis.
As long as you keep the original chassis , engine , gearbox , axels , suspension and steering it should remain tax exempt.

I personally would stick with a rangie bodyshell as it will save any hassel.

if you fit a 4 door rangie body to the standard chassis you are fine, if you cut it down to 109", or modify it with outriggers and series cross member then you have modified the chassis and need to sva by rights, you will lose tax exempt status

cheers steve

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ebbadger said:

if you fit a 4 door rangie body to the standard chassis you are fine, if you cut it down to 109", or modify it with outriggers and series cross member then you have modified the chassis and need to sva by rights, you will lose tax exempt status

cheers steve

Click to expand...

EDIT: only just spotted this is an old thread. Blame the poster above.


This is 100% correct. There is no hard and fast rule and the DVLA will not advise on individual builds, just generic guidance. Unless they decide to take action.

However fitting a different body is not normally seen as an issue and they don't need notifying. Outriggers and body mounts may be changed to suit the new body. This shouldn't impact the vehicles status as tax exempt.

The trouble comes that the guidance on the .gov site reads very black and white "such as any welding will require and IVA...."

If this is true, then fitting a weld in rollcage would also mean an IVA and loosing the vehicle reg. But we know in reality this isn't the case. Thus there are exceptions to the guidance posted online.


Op - I would say you should be perfectly fine. However it may be prudent to keep a photo log of the work you perform. And make sure the chassis number is visible on the chassis somewhere.