Repairs and modifications

This month’s article deals with the difference between a modification and a repair on a light vehicle, and how these things are treated in terms of certification. We often hear discussions relating to repair versus modification – determining this correctly can be important when certification is (or may be) required; not all repairs and/or modifications need to be certified.

Before delving too far in, it helps to know how the Warrant of Fitness Vehicle Inspection Requirements Manual (VIRM) defines a ‘repair’, and a ‘modification’:

• A repair means “to restore a damaged or worn motor vehicle, its structure, systems, components or equipment, and includes the replacement of damaged or worn structures, systems, components or equipment with equivalent undamaged or new structures, systems, components or equipment”.

• A modification means “to change a vehicle from its original state by altering, substituting, adding or removing any structure, system, component or equipment, but does not include repair”.

Repair

Repairing a vehicle back to its original specification is common; that’s how we keep our older cars up to scratch and running properly and safely. For example, if a steering or suspension part becomes worn or damaged, a replacement ‘like-for-like’ part can be purchased and fitted. Likewise, if a vehicle develops corrosion, this can be repaired, and no certification is required – it just needs to pass a WoF inspection. Certification of a repair (repair certification) is aimed predominantly at body and structural repairs and is only required when a vehicle is unregistered, and is going through the new entry, or re-entry compliance process - repair certification is never required for an in-service (ie, already registered) vehicle. The common misconception that any vehicle which fails its WoF due to rust or damage needs repair certification likely stems from wording in the VIRM that an Authorised Vehicle Inspector (AVI) can “request additional relevant information from a repairer or other relevant person” in order to make a determination about the vehicle’s condition. This means an AVI can ask for a vehicle to be inspected by a panel repairer, but doesn’t mean the vehicle needs repair certification.

Modification

Making changes to a vehicle is also common in New Zealand; modifications can range from a simple wheel swap to a scratch-built vehicle, often requiring inspection and LVV certification once completed. The requirement for LVV certification is determined by referring to the ‘Modification Thresholds’ tables spread throughout the respective sections of the VIRM. Alternatively, the LVVTA Modification Threshold Guide can be downloaded free of charge from the LVVTA website.

Complexities

As always, there are situations when complexities can arise. For example, a vehicle with underbody repairs that legally passes a WoF for many yearsif the registration lapses it will need to go through the re-entry compliance process and will require repair certification for the underbody repairs. If a vehicle was written off and repaired or imported from overseas and flagged for damage at the border, it would also require repair certification, even if there were no obvious repairs. In some situations, the two certification types can overlap. For example, a 1950s Chevrolet imported from America with a late-model injected smallblock V8, and replacement floor-pans fitted due to rust: as part of the entry compliance process, the vehicle will need LVV certification for the engine modifications and repair certification for the structural repairs. The two certifications are not the same, and one person cannot sign off both. In terms of certifying the modifications, anything covered by the repair certification is not included in the LVV certification – for example, the repair of the rusted floor-pan is not inspected by the LVV certifier, nor does it form part of the LVV certification. Likewise, the repair certifier would not inspect the changed engine or its mountings, or anything else that does not constitute restoration of the vehicle to within a safe tolerance of when it was originally manufactured. This can get tricky where modifications are made as part of a repair, usually to stop the fault from recurring again. As an example, 80-series Toyota Land Cruisers are known for cracking chassis rails at the steering box attachment point, and there is a Toyota-approved fix which involves grinding out and welding up the cracked section. As long as the proper repair process is followed, as far as certification goes, this is considered to be a repair. However, there are also aftermarket ‘repair kits’ available that include a weld-on plate with gussets to provide additional strength to the chassis in this area. Despite being sold as a repair kit, because of the additional plating and welding required, these are a modification, and thus require LVV certification.

80-series Land Cruisers are known for cracking the chassis at the steering box mounts, but not all “repair kits” are actually a repair.

Help

If you encounter a tricky situation and you can’t find the answer in the usual places, feel free to drop the team an email at tech@lvvta.or.nz.

and replacement floor-pans will need certification prior to entry, but as one is a repair and one is a modification, it will require both repair and LVV certification.