who else slammed it to the weeds then slowley raised it to..

[Gadget Boy]

What else you got :!: a few "CHUNKY KIT KATS" bye the looks of it :lol:

Ben You the Boy when it comes to '' Kit Kat Chunkys '' My bald head Boy wonder Chum ..........


:mrgreen:

 

[Big Red]

show us the shocks!!!!!!!

8)

 

[smudge]

more info on these shocks please Mr Gadget 8)

And.....NO!!! my van will never be lifted back up..id rather scrpe the road than be blown across it ! :lol:

 

[andewilson]

i bought these 165 45 15 tyres off johnny on the weekend (had to tie one of them to the father in laws suitcase as i couldnt get both in my case) then had them fitted onto some porsche 944 turbo alloy spares for the front and i have a pair for the rear wrapped in 175 55 15 conti ecos. should see the bus scrapping the new paint off the bottem when it finnally hits the road. though i cant see them being too good for cruising on motorway.

 

[T2-Nate]

I'll be driving my bus at stock height due to our governement malicious laws...
In my country it's practically illegal to lower you car, and it IS illegal to narrow or otherwise
alter the front and rear beam in any way.

genuine question then ?

having seen the quantity (and quality) of lowered, narrowed, 'slammed' buses at the european bug in show that were driven there from england... were they all being driven illegally on the belgian roads, or is there some sort of exemption for overseas drivers / vehicles ?

in particular i'm thinking about insurance and *that* accident on the way back

has anybody got a factual answer to this :?:

Actually, this year the governement's given the MoT-stations the message to not even let obviously lowered vehicles in to the station or when they do they fail them.
A lot of the really enthusiastic lowriders just put the original beam in and raise them up to stock height.
Its actually always been a rule that even oldtimers have to be presented in original condition, but only recently this measure is being enforced.
Insurance-wise it's pretty clear, when the insured vehicle is not conform with the regulations concerning alterations and all, the insurance company will leave you in the cold if the alterations could be seen as a cause to the accident.
Off course this only applies to belgian insured vehicles and not to foreign if they comply with domestic rules.

Hope this helps, I'm in the insurance business so I know a thing or two :wink:

 

[the councillor]

Hope this helps, I'm in the insurance business so I know a thing or two :wink:

many thanks for your reply 8)

so, the bit about belgian vehicles i understand, and it's largely the same as 'our' rules over here... your van has to be MoT'd and in a roadworthy condition, yes it can be lowered so long as it's done safely and your insurance company is notified of any modifications but i'm unsure as to what you're saying about me (for instance) using MY lowered, narrowed ( :roll: ) bus in belgium :?:

do you mean that provided my bus is legal and MoT'd and insured in the UK then i'm OK using it in belgium as a 'guest', or is the use of a vehicle wth heavily modified suspension / chassis illegal in belgium regardless of its country of origin ?

sorry if that all seems tenuous (you should see the bus in question) but i have a plan to (eventually) take it somewhere specifically in belgium and it would be a bit daft to do the work to it if it meant it being illegal to use over there :roll:

any clarification you can give me is most appreciated

 

[T2-Nate]

Indeed, the belgian, dutch or german police have no business pulling you over and dragging you to a MoT-station, however if they feel convinced that your vehicle is modified in such a way that it could be hazardous or cause damage in any way they CAN take you off the road.
But I'm sure that no UK MoT-station would pass any such vehicle.

I do remember a story 'bout a bloke who drove a heavily modded and chopped vespa or lammy from the UK to a Belgian show and they took him off the road because it was so extreme.
I'm talking skull rear lights, heavily raised forks, LOUD exhaust and just a whole bunch of rattyness. So I guess he had it coming...

Hope this clarifies a few things.

Cheers,
Nate

 

[the councillor]

Indeed, the belgian, dutch or german police have no business pulling you over and dragging you to a MoT-station, however if they feel convinced that your vehicle is modified in such a way that it could be hazardous or cause damage in any way they CAN take you off the road.
But I'm sure that no UK MoT-station would pass any such vehicle.

Hope this clarifies a few things.

Cheers,
Nate

yeah, that's a great answer, thanks 8)

i guess there will always be grey areas regarding the law / MoT / roadworthiness (say for instance using smart car tyres on a type 2) but i've always assumed that if the work is done 'intelligently' then you should have no problems with the law, regardless of where you're driving it :wink:

thanks for your help / interest :mrgreen:

 

[Guest]

If your MOT'd in the UK, have european insurance cover i doubt if any other country can stop you with regard to how much your vehicle is lowered as long as its road worthy.

I think the laws of each country only apply to the vehicles resident/registered in that country? you would obviously have to compliy with the headlights issue and carry the correct breakdown gear ie a vest and triangle etc.

 

[the councillor]

If your MOT'd in the UK, have european insurance cover i doubt if any other country can stop you with regard to how much your vehicle is lowered as long as its road worthy.
I think the laws of each country only apply to the vehicles resident/registered in that country? you would obviously have to compliy with the headlights issue and carry the correct breakdown gear ie a vest and triangle etc.

this is the bit that confuses me... the grey area i guess :?

what's road worthy and what's not ?

is a vehicle that's MoT'd with a stock beam which is then replaced with a shonkily welded narrowed set-up roadworthy ? if you drive it to the MoT station on 185R14 commercial tyres, then replace them when you get home with smart car tyres on 15" alloys, is it still roadworthy ? it's MoT'd and insured, or is it ?

no matter where i ask these questions (though i'd give earlybay a go... seems a nice place) i've NEVER found anybody able to give a definitive answer... loads of "yeah but..."s and "my mate didn't..."s but if i were to be stopped abroad with a legal issue regarding roadworthiness i'd hate to have to go to court armed with "yeah but a bloke on the internet reckons..."

same as the rodders wanting to run fenderless tyres, or buggy fanatics running banded wheels... where is the definitive 'yay or nay' guide :?:

i was gonna finish this by saying i'm not as dull as this in real life but i am sadly :roll:

 

[Clem]

i was gonna finish this by saying i'm not as dull as this in real life but i am sadly :roll:

Awwww You are, too, so I cant even cheer you up.

I find the whole legal/non legal/safe/unsafe a challenge, as we know the MOT test is really only valid for one day, and even then extremely subjective. Although useful, my test centre is incredibly 'trusting' that Ill have got things right, so almost meaningless .....

I always take a common sense approach to this stuff and like to really use my stuff as well as being symapathetic to originality so dont tend to venture into extremeties, but again, one mans common sense is anothers stupidity.

Some will decry a couple of inches or so being taken from the ride height, whilst others are confident of major chassis mods to accomodate acres of drop, and without being reckless, I would often favour the extreme on the gamble that to undertake such extreme mods requires the skill and knowledge to do so safely ..... make sense?

None of which will help you on your day trip to Ostende. Im sorry.

 

[Araon]

If its passed an MOT with mods and insured then its likely to be given the all clear, that said there is nothing stopping the old bill pulling you up here and dragging your ass to a vosa site..... for them to condemn your vehicle as un roadworthy, in reality an MOT has a life span of as long as it takes to drive off the forecourt, a better guide I'd have thought would be to purchase an SVA manual...... get a full mechanical report (not cheap)...... make sure shes given a thorough going over all aspects your worried about are beyond reproach.....

The SVA guide will tell you exact requirements from each article, suspension, steering, lighting etc.....

 

[Clem]

a better guide I'd have thought would be to purchase an SVA manual...... get a full mechanical report (not cheap)...... make sure shes given a thorough going over all aspects your worried about are beyond reproach.....

The SVA guide will tell you exact requirements from each article, suspension, steering, lighting etc.....

Top advice.

 

[Gadget Boy]

At the end of the day You have to ask yourself '' Do I feel safe Letting My family ride in My Bus ?'' If your are mechanically skilled and You feel happy with the work you do Great . If on the other hand your " Not that good at mechanics " Leave it too the professionals .

If a modification to your bus that you have done doesnt feel right I.e You've lowered it and the ride is unbearable/or the brake hoses are catching the trailing arms ( A common problem on slammed buses and INSTANT M.o.t failure ) Either fix it or put a post up in the technical forums and see if we the folks on here can help .

Modifying a bus DOES take skill and a good range of tools and Knowledge of the vehicle your working on. It cant just be done by Anyone ......... No matter how much of an Expert they say the are :roll:

UK Police are by law supposed to carry a copy of the m.o.t laws in a book in the boot of there police car . Usually the big Pursuit cars but TBH most coppers havnt got a clue and if you know enough about You're bus you can answer all there questions etc anyway . Yes they dont like all red rear lenses but technically there not illegal and most modern cars now have all red rear lenses with different coloured bulbs behind them anyway.

Gadget

 

[AxlFoley]

the councillor - I will say this, when I was at a show in Germany, a British car was stopped, and the police noticed a brake pressure regulator in the foot well, these are illegal in Germany, he was made to drive back and forth a few times until they were happy that the brake bias was as it should be!

 

[the councillor]

a great range of replies there... all well thought-out and worded so thanks to everybody who made the effort 8)

i think i was thrown by the original curveball posted by T2 nate to be honest... you think you've got the skinny on lowering, and narrowing, and chassis mods, and tyres and so on and so on and then somebody says "oh, by the way, all those are illegal in my country"

*oh bugger*









:lol: @ ostende

 

[T2-Nate]

a great range of replies there... all well thought-out and worded so thanks to everybody who made the effort 8)

i think i was thrown by the original curveball posted by T2 nate to be honest... you think you've got the skinny on lowering, and narrowing, and chassis mods, and tyres and so on and so on and then somebody says "oh, by the way, all those are illegal in my country"

*oh bugger*


:lol: @ ostende

:roll: Sorry dude, Id didn't mean to put you down in any way, I just thought that it might be usefull mentioning that some people have to go through a lot of misery and spending unnecessary amounts of money to put their ride back to stock spec in order to pass the MoT, and then dump it back "into the weeds" and drive around town in a paranoid fashion because they know that they're a big target...
Just for the record, I personally love lowered bays - I just don't wanna own one. Not in Belgium anyway 8)

 

[the councillor]

:roll: Sorry dude, Id didn't mean to put you down in any way, I just thought that it might be usefull mentioning that some people have to go through a lot of misery and spending unnecessary amounts of money to put their ride back to stock spec in order to pass the MoT, and then dump it back "into the weeds" and drive around town in a paranoid fashion because they know that they're a big target...
Just for the record, I personally love lowered bays - I just don't wanna own one. Not in Belgium anyway 8)

no need for an apology to me mate... perhaps MY intentions got a bit mixed up between my fingers and your eyes via the magic of the internet but i appreciate greatly ALL your comments and advice on here 8)

when i was younger, and before i moved right down on a limb away from everything in THIS country, i used to follow the sport of BriSCA F1 stock car racing... not to be confused with banger racing, these are purpose built racing cars WITH bumpers and big block chevys, although nowadays the small block is king... still 30 cars on a 1/4 mile oval with full contact allowed and approx. 650 BHP each is quite a spectacle :twisted:

i've been going since 1973, and undoubtedly the greatest spectacle wss when all the big names would travel over to baarlo in holland (near venlo down by the german border) for the long track world final... a full kilometer tarmac oval where they could REALLY open the V8s up, and quite a sight to behold as the pack hurtles past you (i've been to nascar racing in the states where the tracks are bigger and the speeds are greater, but they're not allowed to put the bumper in at the end of the straight )

anyway, baarlo closed at the end of the 1998 season... the track's still there but it's covered in static caravans these days, but a couple of fairly big tarmac ovals have since opened, one at venlo in holland and one at warneton in belgium, and it is my dream to take my bus down there for the big championship meeting they hold once a year.

i used to think that the only thing stopping me might be crude oil running out before i got the thing finished :roll: but then i read your comments about modified buses in belgium and it just made me go *oh bugger* which was the character 'unlucky alf's catchphrase from the tv series 'the fast show'.

i told you i was dull in real life and this isn't helping my image at all :lol:

what you say about paranoia is absolutely spot on - i'd like my bus to be a candidate for world's lowest bus, but it has to be 100% legal - no scrub line violations or non-suitable load rated tyres or any one of a million other offences, my point then being that there might then be rules that i haven't even HEARD of, such as rolling off the ferry at ostende and having a policeman beckon us over with a shake of the head... that's banned... that's banned... etc. etc.

do you get my drift ? you don't need to apologise, you're helping me :wink:

 

[Tofufi]

Yes they dont like all red rear lenses but technically there not illegal

Gadget

Errr

Red rear lenses are illegal in the UK if they show a red rear indicator, and the vehicle in question was built after 1st sept 1965...

 

[Gadget Boy]

Technically Yes But If they are OE fitment you can get away with em likewise running Us plates in the original aperture hole you can get away with them too. :mrgreen:

NOW if Sharon can see them while she drives her two fat kids on the school run in her Mitsi shogun is another opinion all together as she ploughs into the back of your beloved bus ................ :roll: :twisted: