Ok.

Grab a cup of coffee and some biscuits cause this may take a while.

I have spoken to DPI and CAMS re B 'reg'. The bad news is that there are now no more 'outside dimension' (read more than 48 hour) permits to be issued. There is also no tarmac cars being 'b regoed' anymore. I.e. Spotydog if you bring a S202 in forget getting it registered. i.e. you can get 48 hour 'movement permits' and for something like targa west i.e. for a three day event you need two of them.

However, you can still b reg a gravel car. The reason for this is because the only way the DPI will b reg a car is if you have your gravel scrutineering certificate. There is only one guy in WA with the authority to issue these certificates for gravel cars. As yet there are still different guidelines / difference of opinion / political issues for tarmac cars so no such certificate exists for drift / tarmac cars.

However, there is a light on the horizon and CAMS / DPI are still thrashing out a new system whereby tarmac cars can be 'b reg'. DPI dont like permits because people go through speed cameras etc and dont get caught and they dont like b reg because there are cars out there that get driven everyday to work on b reg and never see a track be it bitumen or gravel. Having said that it is definately happening. CAMS and the DPI have a meeting on the 2nd June that will hopefully resolve some more issues and give everyone something to move forward on. How long it takes from here is anyones guess? It has been 4 years in the making so far and as far as I know there are still not a finalised set of guidelines so it could easily be another 4 years.

So. how does one get a car 'b reg at the moment? The only way is to set it up for gravel (read cage / restrictor etc), get it properly scrutineered / log booked and then turn it into a tarmac car again. Not cheap but if your car is already there then it is a very attractive option.

From my conversations one can only surmise that the new rules are going going to be set up to specifically stop people from bringing in a car (such as a S202) and promptly go and get it b reg'd. DPI are concerned that the cars (as they have done in the past) get used extensively as daily drivers. I think that they will let this car get registered in the new (re iterating it is yet to be finalised) system but the car will have specific rally permit plates. For someone like spotydog who wants to do the right thing this will be great and long overdue. What it will stop is the guys like a said a few pages back who brought in an RX-7, got it b' reg'd, took the cage out and promptly sold it as full a 'reg.

The next stumbling block is when you do get it licensed / registered you are liable for stamp duty. Short of saying it is a given if someone gets off their ass and organises applies the vintage car club (as an example) enjoys reduced stamp duty and registering costs because the cars dont get used as much etc. DPI have told me this is certainly acceptable to them but we need to get together as a group and apply through cams etc. This may be something that can be done through IWRXOC as they are obviously a lot more legitimate in CAMS eyes (they are properly CAMS accredited) than someone like P-WRX or EVO OZ.

Anyways for me this means that I am going to go down the road of getting my car scrutineered for gravel and then see if we cant b reg it that way. If I have to cop a bit of extra stamp duty then so be it.

Anyways hope this clears it up a bit for people. This is obviously a passion of mine (as I have a vested interest) and will keep people updated on the progress.

Regards

Brendon

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