Registration in SA

I need a bit of help, where is the best place to get info about what is legal in terms of customizing a beetle. I am in SA so if there is anyone out there that has done it and had any problems could you please point me in the right direction? Any help would be great!
Cheers AJ

your local traffic shop what ever it's called here it RTA web site

The National Code of Practice for Light Vehicle Modifications is a good start.

http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/vehicle_regulation/bulletin/vsb_ncop.aspx

Cheers for that! Will have to check it out and see what I can find!

what sort of imfo are you looking for ? Rego is a lot easier to get over here than over the border
RJ

yar SA is pretty lenient.. like you can mod your car pretty heavily there are just the standard lowering body/ widening tires and tinting windows. What you looking at doing?

I am not too sure what I am doing yet, I was going to build a Baja with my 69 Beetle. But my funds are limited so I might do a partial Baja, tyres glass guards or mod the ones I have, But i am not too sure yet! Any ideas? I'd realistically like to get down on the beach go for a surf and cruise off home.

Okay, Baja conversion on a '69 Beetle, that's the sort of information we need! The fact that your car was manufactured before 1971 opens up plenty of additional freedoms, including the fact that you do not need reversing lights or rear seat belts and there are almost no emission controls (eg, fuel tank and crankcase fumes may be vented to atmosphere).

As far as I know you are only supposed to have a 30% increase in tyre section width over the largest tyre fitted by the manufacturer, which would limit you to about 195mm, and hence your maximum rim width will be about 6". This can be a bit of a problem if you're going for the proper Baja look, but if you get the modification engineered and approved (or just forget to tell them) then you can go quite a lot wider.

Traditional Baja-style fenders should be okay, whether they are fibreglass or steel, provided that they cover the correct percentage of the tyre. If you change the rear tail-lights as part of your rear fender conversion then make sure that the replacement units are ADR approved and that they are visible from the range of angles specified in the ADRs.

Waveman you're a legend! Thanks heaps,
I've only just bought my beetle so I am just doing some homework to start with, but that puts me on the right track! Spewin though cos I just missed out on a fibreglass Baja kit on ebay, but no biggie cos I am thinking of using the steel guards, if it is a viable option, there's a photo in Jeff Hubbard's book on the first page of the Baja section which I really like the look of, not too over the top.
At least now I have confirmation that I got a pretty good buy with my beetle! (Only had it two weeks and needed to convince my lady that it is a good idea!). When it comes to covering the percentage of the tyre how much is that?
Cheers AJ

AJPerkins wrote:When it comes to covering the percentage of the tyre how much is that?
Cheers AJ

Glad to help, mate! The only place where I can find mention of the rules for fenders at the moment is in the "National Guidelines for the Construction and Modification of Street Rods in Australia", which doesn't technically apply. If we assume that the rules are the same as for street rods then the minimum fender coverage is the entire width of the tread surface, covering at least one third of the tyre's circumference and extending at least 15 degrees below the axle centreline. I would use this as a guide, but the rules for modified production vehicles are often quite different to the rules for Street Rods, as the Australian Street Rod Federation has fought long and hard to get the Street Rod regs to the state they are today. Technically if you wanted to fight hard enough for it, you could claim that the VW Type 1 was originally manufactured before 1948 and that all Beetles are therefore eligible to be registered as Street Rods, but I wouldn't go there! Street rod rego would give you permission for 10" wide rims though, and a tube frame chassis if you really felt excited!