When is a moke not a moke?

[Doug G]

When is a moke not a moke?

If you keep replacing parts (not necessarily genuine original Moke parts eg new body) etc eventually you come to a point where the only piece remaining is the bit with the VIN number.

Is this vehicle still considered the 'original' Mini Moke vehicle (according to the records) ?

[Chad*Ronson]

The simple answer must be that I do not know what percentage of the original monocoque constructed bodyshell of the moke(or any kind of car)constitutes the vehicle as certified by the official document (V5C in UK).
I would imagine panel replacement up to a reasonable proportion is allowed?
chad

[Doug G]

The simple answer must be that I do not know what percentage of the original monocoque constructed bodyshell of the moke(or any kind of car)constitutes the vehicle as certified by the official document (V5C in UK).
I would imagine panel replacement up to a reasonable proportion is allowed?
chad

There was a vintage race car, in UK I think, that had so much replaced that all that was left was virtually only the serial number plate and there was a court case about it but do not know what was the outcome.

[Dean]

Here's some food for thought:
Case 1:
I recently received an e-mail from a person who wanted to buy a badge for the front of his 1967 English "Moke". As you may know, a Moke of this vintage would have either an Austin or a Morris badge.
I asked for the VIN number of the car to identify which it was, Austin or Morris and was given a number that didn't appear to be from a Moke.
He eventually sent me some photos of the car and I was not surprised to see it was an Anderson Cub. When I informed him that it wasn't a Moke he told me that it was a Moke that had been reshelled with the Cub body but had kept it's original VIN number (which wasn't a Moke one anyway). The log bok also stated the model as a "Moke" and it was was therefore a Mini Moke.
He was adamant that because the DVLA called it a Moke and it had the VIN of a Moke (which wasn't), it was a genuine Mini Moke with tax free exemption. he made it clear that it didn't matter what I or the club thought, he was right.
So, this guy and the DVLA say it's a Moke, are they right?

Case 2: there is a member of the club who owns a really nice Aussie Moke, it appears totally original but he is quick to point out that it wasn't manufactured by the factory. It was instead assembled in the UK by a bodyshop using genuine Moke parts.
Is this a Moke?

Case 3: And this one will go on and on......The factory in China who are now manufacturing "Moke" shells. They own the Moke trademark in Australia and apperently "has purchased the rights to manufacture".
Are these Mokes?

Dean.

[Chad*Ronson]

Very interesting cases Dean, but the car in case one was rebuilt using a large amount of new parts and DVLA should have re registered the resulting vehicle with a Q reg plate and scrapped the moke log book!
If they ever find out then I reckon that is what they will do and the owner is claiming free road tax fraudulently so does he pay it back?
Case two
The moke is a moke full stop, even though DVLA probably needed some persuasion!
Chinese one is a bit tricky, who did they buy the name off ? and manufacturing rights ?
Whatever happens the result (if not using original presses and plant to fabricate the panels) will be the "NEW MOKE" ie some sort of k*t c*r !
chad

[Chad*Ronson]

"There was a vintage race car, in UK I think, that had so much replaced that all that was left was virtually only the serial number plate and there was a court case about it but do not know what was the outcome."


In the case of vintage cars, well there has been much arguement over the years, can you find a small part of a chassis with plate and build up a pre 1930 car using vintage components from various sources?
My view would be that it was a replica in this case and should be registered as such.
chad