Interpretation ID: nht92-5.35

DATE: June 30, 1992

FROM: Paul Jackson Rice -- Chief Counsel, NHTSA

TO: Jeffrey Puentes -- President, Sacramento Registration Service

TITLE: None

ATTACHMT: Attached to letter dated 6/2/92 from Jeffrey Puentes to NHTSA Chief Council (OCC 7403)

TEXT:

This responds to your letter of June 2, 1992, asking several questions with respect to kit cars.

Your questions, and our answers, are:

"What is your definition of a Kit Car?"

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not adopted a definition of a kit car. The regulations and Federal motor vehicle safety standards that are issued and enforced by this agency refer to manufacturers, motor vehicles, and motor vehicle equipment, and it is in this context that we answer questions about kits of motor vehicle equipment and the vehicles that may be assembled from them.

"How far into the manufacturing process can a party assemble a kit before it is classified as an automobile?"

Under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, a motor vehicle is defined, in part, as one that is "driven by mechanical power." Generally, until the power source is added, the unit is considered an assemblage of motor vehicle equipment, and not a motor vehicle. However, if the assemblage is shipped with all parts necessary for its completion, including the power source, the agency will consider it a motor vehicle for purposes of its regulations regardless of its state of completion.

"What definitions and/or rules (laws) must he follow in order to begin selling kits for kit cars to the retail public?"

There are no specific regulations that a seller of kits must follow in order to begin sales. However, if the seller is the fabricator of an item of motor vehicle equipment that is directly regulated by a Federal motor vehicle safety standard, the seller must ensure that the equipment item is properly certified as conforming to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards. These equipment items include brake hose assemblies, brake fluid, lamps and reflex reflectors, tires, wheel covers, or hubcaps, glazing materials, and seat belt assemblies.

Further, if the assemblage is shipped with all parts necessary for its completion, including the power source, and the parts are all new, the seller must provide certification that the vehicle, when assembled, will conform to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety and bumper standards.

For your information, I have enclosed an information sheet for new manufacturers, which identifies relevant NHTSA standards and regulations and explains how to get copies of those standards and regulations, and a brochure that gives a summary description of our standards and regulations.