Interpretation ID: 86-5.5

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: 08/22/86

FROM: ERIKA Z. JONES -- CHIEF COUNSEL NHTSA

TO: DONALD E. STEPHENS,

TITLE: NONE

ATTACHMT: LETTER DATED 07/16/86 TO NHTSA, FROM DONALD E STEPHENS

TEXT: Dear Mr. Stephens:

This is in reply to your letter of July 16, 1986, on kit cars and other subjects related to motor vehicle safety, amplifying your previous letter of April 26.

From your most recent letter I gather you are interested in knowing how our regulations would relate to a commercial situation where you buy used Triumph Spitfires, removing bodies and engines, and replacing them with fiberglass bodies of your own manufacture and garden tractor diesel engines. You intend to retain the chassis, and I will assume for purposes of discussion that you will also retain other chassis-related components such as suspension, and original parts such as the braking and steering systems. As the copy of the interpretation furnished you explained, if a kit car operation consists of a new body placed upon an old chassis, the resulting motor vehicle is not considered one that must comply with Federal motor vehicle safety standards that apply to vehicles assembled entirely from new and unused components. This appears to be your situation. However, under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, with one exception motor vehicle equipment that has been installed to meet a safety standard must remain there for the operational life of the vehicle. The one exception is that an owner may remove such equipment himself. For example, you intend to remove bodies from old Triumphs and resell them with new bodies installed. These vehicles as reassembled must continue to meet the Federal safety standards that they did as originally manufactured (e.g., head rests and seat belts must be retained, the fuel system must not leak more than five ounces of fluid in the first five minutes following a 30 mph barrier impact). But a vehicle that you disassemble and reassemble for your own use need not meet the Federal safety standards. This, in a nutshell, is how the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act would relate to the operation you are interested in pursuing.

You have asked several related questions such as whether all kit car manufacturers are DOT certified, whether companies that sell plans for home built cars are certified and meet DOT standards, and what do you need to know if you buy plans for building a homebuilt car or a kit car.

The agency does not license or certify manufacturers of kit cars. Nor have we any requirements that apply to those who sell plans for kit cars. Further, we do not know whether vehicles built from these plans could be certified as meeting all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards. If you buy plans to build a car, or assemble a kit, your most important piece of knowledge, as we see it, is whether the vehicle as assembled will meet the requirements necessary for State registration.

You have also asked "how good" are grey market cars converted to U.S. specifications. If a vehicle has been brought into full compliance with the Federal motor vehicle safety standards it should provide a level of safety equivalent to one that was originally manufactured to comply with the requirements.

You have also asked how well the center high-mounted stop lamp helps prevent rear end collisions. The research data upon which the decision was made to require all new cars to have the light showed a 53 to 58% reduction in rear end collisions, the latter figure reached when two bulbs were used in a single lamp.

Finally, you have informed us that your planned kit car will be an energy saver, and you have asked whether you could receive a grant from the government for your work. We suggest that you address that question to the Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C.

Sincerely,