what do police have to say about engine conversions?

[LagunaE30]

i've seen a lot of engine conversions on here and just wondered, if the engine isnt declared to the dvla, and you are stopped by the rozzers what would happen.
if your unlucky enough to be stopped by a traffic cop who happens to know a bit about e30s surely he would know that 316-318 are four cylinders and 320 and 325 engines are six and by this he would most certainly recognise a 2.5 engine in a 318.
just wondering if anyones had any problems and whether i should declare my engine conversion, 318 convertible with a m20b25 engine.
thanks
fozz

[bss325i]

As long as your insurance covers all the modifications including the different engine and as long as the engine number doesnt come up as stolen then there is nothing they can do.

[LagunaE30]

yeh i forgot to add, i havent declared the conversion to the dvla or my insurance.

[bss325i]

yeh i forgot to add, i havent declared the conversion to the dvla or my insurance.

The you are asking for trouble as if you have an accident and you insurance company finds out about the conversion they will void you insurance and you will not only have to pay all costs for any partys involved in the accident, you will also be prosecuted by the police for having no insurance which itself is 6 penalty points and a hefty fine.

[ImysE30]

You need to inform you insurance company as your insurance would now be invalid/void.

You can inform DVLA but main thing is telling your insurers

[DanThe]

Not only that, but as you are still under an insurance contract your insurance company can also sue you if anything should happen

[murran]

well id declaire it to your insurance as soon as possible!
dvla doesnt matter so much as they cant sue you..... like someone who youve crashed into can since your insurance is void once the assessor looks at your car!

[Cypriotgeeza]

so what insurance company is everyone with?

im planning my conversion for next year and wouldnt mind a heads-up as to which insurance companies handle mods well

[LagunaE30]

hmmmm as i thought, will be on the phone to the insurance company in the morning then.

[murran]

lancaster dont seem to care what you do to your car, price stays pretty much the same.
2.5i lump, interior mods (stripped out), lowered, aftermarket lsd (cough, welded.).

plus £35 on premium...........

[DanThe]

Undeclared welder is worse than an undeclared engine

[murran]

im sorry, but an insurance guy looking under a bonnet and spotting a completly different engine is far more likely than one being arsed to stripping the differential.......
plus i have declaired an after market lsd, which it is...... which i could quite easily argue in court i might add as being the case.
plus i have 8 years no claims and a clean licence which would count in my favour imo.

[DanThe]

Ever been asked to drive in a tight circle?

[e30topless]

surely if they found out a welded diff would be insurance void ?

[murran]

no. but theres nothing the cops can do about welded diffs, its been prooved by a couple chaps on trampdrift. they cant make you have a sva test..... which covers construction and use.

im sure if yours went for an sva with your engine and g/box from an e36...... youd come out with a q plate e30.

[e30topless]

my engine isn't from an e36 and a Q plate is only for cars that have lost their ID ?

if that was the case then an e21 with a B2.5 would be a Q plate too ?

[murran]

surely if they found out a welded diff would be insurance void ?

how would or more, why would they check? if i bumped another car. ive been there bumping other cars in my earlier days of driving. they look at damage, thats it.
i work in the trade and we do some insurance jobs at work.....
i very recently asked an insurance assessor looking at at a smashed up car at work about welded diffs.
his responce was..... "only under exceptional circumstances involving the police and deaths, where you were under suspision of causing death by dangerous driving would anyone check the car in such detail as to strip components down like diffs."
he said "as long as youve declaired it to your insurersas an lsd thats argueable in court".
thats good enough for me imo.........

[Kos]

most coppers cant actualy tell
i had one copper sugest my 316i was a grunty motor

then again it did have the optional toblerone camshaft

[SHAKEELE30]

to well from £182 for a 2.0l to £2000 with the charger, what you think im paying...

[Kos]

standard insurance lol

[SHAKEELE30]

naa classic

[Kos]

naa classic

do they not know a special edition 325i s'charger was build in a special factory in croydon

[murran]

i wasnt talking to you e30topless. q plate rules changed a while ago...
now, points are given to original components to date a car, so many for original engine, transmission, suspension, steering column, brakes...... cant remember what points you get for what but you need to score more tha 8 as i remember. (?)

im not making any sort of point here im just saying modified is modified, and as a fellow modified car owner its the same thing imo. is not standard..........

[jaistanley]

My car is fully insured for all mods (and bloody expensive it is too!!! - reciting all the mods down the phone when getting quotes took bloody ages!) and I've been pulled a few times now. Traffic police are generally into cars and aren't stupid, they quizzed me as to whether the modifications were insured, but thats all they were interested in.

Do everyone out there a favour and declare your modifications before you mame one of our children and can't afford the compensation eh? (not that you would, but accidents are accidental, hence we have insurance)

Jai

[Jhonno]

plus i have declaired an after market lsd, which it is.......

It's not a LIMITED SLIP diff though.. It is a locked diff

[benjy]

Traffic police are generally into cars and aren't stupid

hahahahahahaha! That really did make me spit cornflakes all over my screen.

[Alex]

Go cancel your insurance now, your paying for nothing

[E30star]

Murran - its a locked diff. I've declared mine as a locked diff for the last 2 years with no problems!
My car also had a police inspection, when a regular cop thought my welded diff wasn't legal. They said nothing about it - I'm pretty happy they're 100% legal now!


Back to OP - how'd most people know the difference between a 320 and a 325 though? Its not easy to tell... not without being into E30's. Yes, I know they'd just have to check the chassis code but I doubt a single cop on the street would know!

Not declaring an engine swap is pretty stupid though, don't do it!

[maxfield]

The last insurance policy I took out let me have 3 modifications without notifying them.

But would and engine conversion class as 1 modification?

[daimlerman]

I doubt that just an engine swap will qualify you for a 'Q' plate.
When I built the 'folly' last year I started with an engineless 320i touring shell that was LHD and on French plates.
Converted to RHD and fitted an M50 with a Getrang 240(ex 318i) gearbox.
At the VIC examination,the examiner said that he was expecting to see a LHD car...
hunted for an engine number but accepted a copy of the V5 from the donor as proof of engine number.There was absolutely no question of a 'Q' plate being issued,I had a choice of an 'age related' plate or my retained 'cherished' plate.I produced a letter from Bracknall to establish the car's build date,which very handily described the car as 'touring body E30 built in November 1988',which helped me describe it to my insurers as a 325i

[danbear]

Murran - its a locked diff. I've declared mine as a locked diff for the last 2 years with no problems!
My car also had a police inspection, when a regular cop thought my welded diff wasn't legal. They said nothing about it - I'm pretty happy they're 100% legal now!


Back to OP - how'd most people know the difference between a 320 and a 325 though? Its not easy to tell... not without being into E30's. Yes, I know they'd just have to check the chassis code but I doubt a single cop on the street would know!

Not declaring an engine swap is pretty stupid though, don't do it!

I've been thinking about this also

[fuzzy]

i didnt bother telling the dvla although mine was declared to the insurance. ive had police looking over mine and chatting just because they were impressed with the conversion.

[Topblag]

i didnt bother telling the dvla although mine was declared to the insurance. ive had police looking over mine and chatting just because they were impressed with the conversion.

.....

Were they impressed with your conversation ?

[E30BeemerLad]

when i stacked the touring and was swarmed by police they had the bonnet up and were asking me if mods were declared

[Dave_M3]

most coppers cant actualy tell
i had one copper sugest my 316i was a grunty motor

then again it did have the optional toblerone camshaft

Funny... A guard said my 316i was too powerful for me when I had it many moons ago. In fact, they couldn't keep up with me in a 2L Mondeo