Thread: Modification / conversion placards Qld.

Originally Posted by pop058

Have not heard of the towbar one and tend to agree with Sprint on the gearbox swap.. Towbars and gearboxes are not mentioned on RWC to the best of my knowledge.

Paul

Which is why they are likely to slip through. A friend converted an XD excab from column auto to 4 speed manual. Two years later he was unfortunately caught in a roadside blitz by QT; they did not prosecute him but made him get mod plates for the seat configuration (bench to buckets) and the gearbox change. This involved two different authorized officers as neither were endorsed to sign off on both.

Thanks for all the responses!

Let's for argument say that a series three has had an Isuzu engine conversion and bucket seats installed whilst registered and has NOT had any modification placards attached or engineering.

Upon sale (perhaps unregistered as a safety certificate would be unavailable due to the unapproved mods.) the new owner tries to register it.

If the mods were performed properly what is required to have them checked and approved?

Is this difficult or expensive, who would do it? Qld transport, an approved mechanic?

Thanks

Sean

The series 3 evolved into the stage 1 which had an Isuzu in it. I am not sure of any other (brakes spicifically) differences that would stop you using stage 1 documentation to satisfy and engineer enough to sign off on the engine swap. What model engine is it ?

A "Stage 1" guru (on this forum) should be able to confirm this ??

The seat issue should be very simple. QT should have a list of engineers local to you that can inspect and sign off on seat mods. If I recall correctly, "LT1" is the type of engineer you need for the seat mods.

Paul

Originally Posted by pop058

The series 3 evolved into the stage 1 which had an Isuzu in it. I am not sure of any other (brakes spicifically) differences that would stop you using stage 1 documentation to satisfy and engineer enough to sign off on the engine swap. What model engine is it ?

A "Stage 1" guru (on this forum) should be able to confirm this ??

The seat issue should be very simple. QT should have a list of engineers local to you that can inspect and sign off on seat mods. If I recall correctly, "LT1" is the type of engineer you need for the seat mods.

Paul

Engine unknown at this stage, I hope to find out tomorrow.

I suspect its a 4Jb1T (from a rodeo?) but the guy isn't very good a descriptions or taking photographs. Second guess would be the 4Bd1T but the guy recons it is a smaller engine.

What kind of documentation would satisfy the engineer?

Thanks

Sean

If it was a Isuzu of similar size and HP to the original (4DB1 ???), then I would have thought a stage 1 workshop manual would do. The fact it is a turbo (4Jb1T) ?, I am not sure. Blknight (or others in Qld) maybe able to shed some more light on the turbo thing. If Dave (Blknight.aus) does not read this, PM him.

Paul

Originally Posted by sjd70

Let's for argument say that a series three has had an Isuzu engine conversion and bucket seats installed whilst registered and has NOT had any modification placards attached or engineering.

If the mods were performed properly what is required to have them checked and approved?

the easiest way out of this would be to upgrade the rest of the driveline and brakes to Stage 1 spec, theoretically upgrading everything to manufacturers specifications for a 4BD1 engined SIII

that way, an engineer would be happy to sign off on it all the extra BS with engine conversions has been upgraded, and no extra testing has been done

the seats..... would need a visit to an approved inspector who would verify that the seat mounts are adequate and for $50 or so would issue you with a mod plate

as for the guy who did the gearbox and seat swap in a falcon, i can understand him getting pinged for the seats, i suspect the gearbox failure was either because it wasnt done properly or he failed the attitude test.....

Have a look at Qld. Transport web-site which has a good bit of detail regarding modifications and certification. You can 'phone them and ask to speak to someone in Modifications who may be able to clarify your dilemma.

If the unapproved mods were picked up on a roadside inspection you could be ordered to leave the vehicle and have it towed away, issued with a formal demand to provide a Safety Certificate, or worse, to present the vehicle to one of the Department's inspection stations. You could also collect a fine and points.

Originally Posted by sjd70

Thanks for all the responses!

Let's for argument say that a series three has had an Isuzu engine conversion and bucket seats installed whilst registered and has NOT had any modification placards attached or engineering.

Upon sale (perhaps unregistered as a safety certificate would be unavailable due to the unapproved mods.) the new owner tries to register it.

If the mods were performed properly what is required to have them checked and approved?

Is this difficult or expensive, who would do it? Qld transport, an approved mechanic?

Thanks

Sean

Bucket seats are no big deal. The rules when I had mine approved are that they need 75x75x3 mm steel plates (big square washers basically) with rounded corners under each mounting point, and need to be fixed with a minimum of class 8.8 bolts. You are not allowed to weld/modify the brackets attached to the seat. If the above has been done they should pass without problems.

For the engine, as others have said, the Stage 1 comes with a 3.5V8 or 3.9D. If it is a turbo engine, I believe a multiplication factor of 1.4 is applied to work out equivalent capacity, so a 4JB1T would be 2.8*1.4=3.9. Which should be fine with 6cyl/stage1 spec brakes.

Approved officers can approve the above mods for you (i.e. approved mechanics). The only issue I can see is that some people (e.g. the approved officer I used) insisted that all welding (e.g. new engine mounts on the chassis) be done by a ticketed welder. However if the welding looks neat and strong it should be OK.

Best thing to do is track down a friendly approved officer and talk to them.

To change between factory options, no mod plate is required. So, e.g., I changed my IIA from a 2.25P to a 2.25D. I went to the transport department, told them what I had done and gave them the new engine number.

Is the isuzu engine number on the rego documents???

The cost varies depending on the mod. For my seats I recall it was about $44 all up, but that was years ago...