Moogue TD Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Evening All, Really hoping that some of you will be able to help me out on this. We have got hold of a 4 Door Range Rover 3.9 V8 Vogue and are in the process of bobtailing it..... but keeping it as a 4 door with a small boot for the LPG Tank and self made fuel tank in the remaining boot space.... long term is for an external and internal cage... and all the other fun bits for offroading :-) We have got all of the panels etc off and and cut out and patched any rust etc....and got to a state where we can start cutting out the proverbial 15 inches!..... (please forgive me if I am not very technical about things, my boyfriend is the welder fabricator....but self employed so I am doing most of the preperation). So the question is have any of you got some sound advise and or pictures as to where to cut the chasis and also the rear qtr panel.... as having looked at it and ummmmed and errrrrrred at it for a while we have decided that we need to cut them in different places so as to keep the integrity of the wheel arch......... Errr Help?!?!?!?! Also the other thing is that it has a LPG tank in to boot section... and neither of us know much about LPG... we realise that we need to remove the tank but any advise on how to do this would be very welcome.... plus any info on running on LPG. Sorry if I sound a bit vague... the fella's in the pub. Many Thanks and Have a great evening. Moogue TD (Top Dog) aka Flic & Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr W Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 There's some stuff on youtube about bobtailing a classic but not sure how much practical use. Might give you some ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orgasmic Farmer Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Good photo build on D4x4 site look here http://www.devon4x4.com/component/option,c...id,58/project,3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishbosh Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Right. You are not going to want to hear this. If you bobtail it you risk the vehicle never being allowed on the road again. I know this because I spent a half an hour speaking to the nice SVA / DVLA people in Swansea about my bobtail (by the way 15" is the perfect length ) Basically, once you have botailed it, you need to notify the DVLA of the change to the vehicle. Once they receive your notification they will want to inspect it. From this point your vehicle's future lies at the mercy of the particular inspector you get. It can go one of two ways - 1. He judges it as not sufficiently modified to qualify as radically altered and he will amend your log book to record the changes and you are off and running. or... 2. He declares it as a radically altered vehicle and it will need to pass an SVA test to meet today's safety and emissions standards. In other words, your truck becomes scrap. The only way to circumvent this is to strip the vehicle and re build it on a replacement chassis. That way, if you take loads of pictures and keep receipts for everything you buy, you can SVA it as an amateur built vehicle. There are lots of opinions out there so I would also advise you call the DVLA and have a chat with them. The chap I spoke with was very knowledgeable and was fully conversant in what a "bobtail" is - he even mentioned Dakars and how they are soon to be in the firing line. Call 01792 458888 and ask for the SVA department. I spoke with a chap called Mark who as I say was extremely helpful even if he told me what I definately did not want to hear! I wrote to the DVLA on Monday (having bobtailled mine 2 years ago ) so I am waiting to see what will happen. My insurance company has all my mods in writing but in the event of the worst happening it is almost certain that they would find a way out as the obligation is on me to notify the DVLA of all mods too....... Now there are loads of bobtails out there and I doubt if any have been down this route - I'd certainly be interested to hear from anyone who has, so you could always take your chance.......I did for a couple of years, through ignorance as I thought that as the wheelbase was not changed it did not need SVA. This is not the case and ignorance is no defence in court. To answer your chassis question - they best way is to cut it off between the crossmembers and replace it with box section of the requesite new length. Have a look at Rocker's thread in the members forum about his old bob. The rear wings are cut at the back only and a new lip folded and drilled to pick up on the rear 1/4 panel. You need to make a template out of old kitchen worktop or similar to hold the wing in the correct shape as you bend the lips. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEANO3528 Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 It's got nothing to do with safety either, just another way for the nazi labour party to get rid of older vehicles and get you driving around the country in a faceless eurobox. Gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling doesn't it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moogue TD Posted March 16, 2008 Author Share Posted March 16, 2008 Hey Chaps and Chapesses, Thanks for your replies.... Rich seems to think that the SVA shouldn't be too much of a problem due to all the rally cars he deals with and the various chasis mods on them.... however time will no doubt tell. If push comes to shove we can always trailer it to events etc. The link to that site "Orgasmic Farmer" eeerrrmmm ;-) is really helpfull thanks and will have a good peruse of that when i have more time..... however it is now time to go and collect the fella from the pub and cook dinner ad watch the Mexico WRC xxx Have a great weekend all and thank you again Hugs Moogue (aka) flic & Ric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a jackson Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 im sorry to reactivate an old thread but as im planning to bob a discovery i would like to hear the out come out the DVLA/SVA please thanks a jackson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishbosh Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Bad news. Search for the definitive bobtail thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredenewman Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 Hey Chaps and Chapesses,Thanks for your replies.... Rich seems to think that the SVA shouldn't be too much of a problem due to all the rally cars he deals with and the various chasis mods on them.... however time will no doubt tell. If push comes to shove we can always trailer it to events etc. The link to that site "Orgasmic Farmer" eeerrrmmm ;-) is really helpfull thanks and will have a good peruse of that when i have more time..... however it is now time to go and collect the fella from the pub and cook dinner ad watch the Mexico WRC xxx Have a great weekend all and thank you again Hugs Moogue (aka) flic & Ric moogue if you ever get fed up with your fella post the news on here and watch your pm box i wont be alone with my application Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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