Interpretation ID: aiam4301
President
Exoticars of Hunterdon
6 Washington Street
Frenchtown
NJ 08825;
Dear Mr. de Groot: This is in reply to your letter of April 2, 1987, with respect to you further questions on Federal regulations of kit cars.; You have presented the following facts: the engine, transmission, fina drive, axles, suspension, steering, brakes, heating and defrosting equipment, windshield wiper motor and mechanisms, instruments, switches, controls, wiring harness, fuel tank, seat belts, door and ignition switch buzzer system, door handles, latches and locks, impact absorbing bumper supports, and other unnamed components, all previously used on a vehicle meeting Federal safety standards would be retained for use with a new body of your own manufacture.; Your first choice is to install these items upon a new chassis of you own manufacture, and to supply the vehicle to a purchaser fully assembled. This is what must be met under these circumstances: when a new body is mounted upon a new chassis, the resulting vehicle must comply with all Federal motor vehicle safety standards applicable upon the date of its assembly, even if the parts that you named are used. Further, the assembler must certify that the vehicle complies with the safety standards. There is no legal obligation to use new parts in order to certify compliance with the standards. The assembler is regarded as a manufacturer of motor vehicles, and must notify owner and remedy noncompliance with the safety standards or safety related defects should they occur, in accordance with Federal law and regulations.; If you supply all parts, but do not complete assembly of the vehicle we would regard you nevertheless as its manufacturer and subject to the requirements stated above. However, if you do not supply all parts, the question of whether you would be regarded as the manufacturer would necessarily depend upon the parts that the purchaser must supply in order to complete assembly.; You have also stated your second choice: that the new body would b mounted upon the original chassis, modified to accept it. In this circumstance, when a new body is mounted upon a used chases, the resulting vehicle is not subject to the Federal motor vehicle safety standards that apply to new vehicles, and there is no certification obligation. Nevertheless, its assembler is a 'manufacturer' under Federal law and responsible for notification of owners and remedy of any safety related defects that may occur in the product. Further, if the safety related defects that may occur in the product. Further, if the assembler is the person responsible for removing the old body, he must ensure that the reassembled vehicle continues to meet the standards that originally applied to the vehicle which might have been affected by removal of the old body. For example, if the body of a 1974 Jaguar XJ6 is removed, compliance with a number of standards such as those covering glazing, lighting, and windshield retention is affected and the reassembled vehicle must then meet the standards that were in effect in 1974. But, standards covering such things as accelerator control systems and brake hoses would not appear to be affected by the disassembly of the original vehicle, and the assembler is under no obligation to ensure that the reassembled vehicle continues to meet those standards.; If the used-chassis vehicle is supplied partially disassembled, but al parts are supplied, we would nevertheless regard the supplier as subject to all the obligations discussed above, assuming that he was the person responsible for removal of the old body. If all parts are not supplied, the answer remains as before: whether the supplier is a 'manufacturer' depends upon the parts that the purchaser must provide.; Finally, you have asked, 'if actual crash tests...have to be made wha is the cost and where is this done?' There is no express legal requirement that a manufacturer of new motor vehicles conduct crash tests in order to certify compliance with those standards where compliance can be demonstrated through barrier impacts. A manufacturer is required to exercise due care to ensure that his vehicle, if crashed, would meet the performance requirements of those standards incorporating barrier impact test procedures, but his certifications may be based upon computer simulations, engineering studies, mathematical calculations, etc. We cannot advice you as to the cost of such tests, and suggest you write the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Associations (MVMA) for information on facilities that perform them. MVMA's address is 1620 I Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.; I hope that this answers you questions. Sincerely, Erika Z. Jones, Chief Counsel