D-series in a Beat??

[Solleke]

I've seen stuff of B series being put in a Beat, which is LOTS and LOTS of work.
A D series engine is smaller, has anybody any idea if it would be possible to put lets say a JDM D15 Vtec (JDM version of the D16Z6) in a Beat?

[R@tch]

Would be lots of work as well, but most importantly you will probably never be able to register a car with a swapped engine like that in Belgium I'm afraid :(.

[Gavin]

linkages and mounts etc i've researched that turns out to be the easier part of the project, everything will be custom guess that's the one of the few good things with the UK in that we can do stuff like this

[C-Rex]

You would be doing so much work to put in a D seriers you would be better off just put in a B series.. It might be slightly smaller but no so much that it would become a simple swap

[Solleke]

Well, normally in Belgium we aren't allowed squat. But since the Belgian MOT workers never have seen a Beat in their life, they won't even notice that a D-series engine isn't standard. And I have a Honda 2nd hand dealership myself (specialised in 90's Honda's), although I'm not a mechanic. But as a dealership owner I have Belgian dealer plates, which allows me to drive any car I want without really registering it or having to pass the MOT. Because I pay the tax on the dealership plates, not on the car like regular Belgian citizens do. Thats a big plus. In Belgium the procedure to register a JDM import car which has never been sold in Europe like EK9, DC5 (and doesnt have a certificate of conformity) can take up to 12 months!
So I can start the registration procedure, and just drive it around on my dealer plates until my registration papers finally arrive. (usually they just lie waiting in some office in Brussels for 10 months and then they say well its time, let's give him his papers).

[R@tch]

I know of the horrid Belgian legislation when it comes to importing Japanese cars as well :(. I don't mean to trample your dreams but would they not notice a 3 cylinder engined car having a 4 cylinder engine? And driving around on dealer plates for leisure sounds very riksy o.o, you'd commit both insurance and tax fraud. I do not know how easy the police in Belgium is but in the UK your car could be taken and crushed not to mention probable investigation/consequences of/for your activities as a dealer. But I hope you make it a 'they told me it couldn't be done' story and pull it of ;)

[Gavin]

Only thing in the UK you need to do is register the bigger engine for tax and insurance purposes as long as the conversion has been done to a good standard generally no problems, something I want to do in the future in all honesty bit more longevity plus service items won't be such a pain in the ass.

Ron check FB messages mate :)

[R@tch]

Sure registering it in the UK would not be much of an issue, in Belgium though you can't even uprate your brakelines for braided/stainless as it will cause the car to fail MOT. What solleke is describing though would be tax/insurance fraud. Getting caught with no tax/insurance in the UK spells impounded car and in worst case it would be crushed right? I don't know what would happen in Belgium driving around like that, but it sounds extremely risky to me. Not even mentioning what could happen in case of a serious accident :suicide:.

Replied to your FB message Gav :)

[Solleke]

No worries. I know what I'm doing.

In Belgium we have different kind of plates.
Regular color plates (White + Red) for all types. Regular cars, oldtimers, taxis etc...
Like this:
http://i62.tinypic.com/nltmbt.png


Then for car dealers you have 2 types of dealer plates. They are always white + green.
The double Z plate and the single Z plate.

http://i60.tinypic.com/30xagrc.jpg

http://i60.tinypic.com/2lic6so.jpg


The double Z plates are called testdrive plates.
They can be used to have a testdrive with customers, or for driving to the Belgian MOT stations and back to the workshop. You can also use them to drive a recently bought vehicle to your dealership.
You don't pay roadtax on these kind. But you can't park it, can't use it to go shopping. Unless your car breaks down you are not allowed to stop somewhere.
If they catch you using them wrongly (like go shopping with them) or just park the car in the street, thet will impound your plates and you will get a fine and you won't be able to request new ones for a period of 6 month.

Allmost every dealership can have these plates, but to be fair, they are really essential for every car dealer in Belgium.

The second type, the single Z's are called 'dealer plates'.
You do have to pay road tax on these. When you apply for your dealer plates you have to write on the registration form the maximum engine capacity in cc you want them to be.
Mine are 1800cc's so I pay roadtax equivalent of a 1800cc car. I am allowed to drive any car with this plate as long as its a car with a 1.8 engine (1802cc is also allowed because its registered as 1.8).
If I drive a 1900cc car with 1800cc dealer plates you are not insured, nor in order with tax and they will impound your plates as well.
Not any dealer can have these plates, you have to sell a minimum of cars per year, because they are a real usefool kind of plates.
You are allowed to do anything with these plates. You can go shopping with them, park the car everywhere you want.
Thats because in Belgium when we register a car we have to pay a one time tax, called the tax on registration of a vehicle. The tax is calculated on engine capacity (cc), power (kw) and environmental friendlyness (gr c02).
This registration tax can be high. I paid 500 euros for my 2.2 diesel daily, but for the bigger engines it's massive. My fathers Alfa 2.4 diesel was 1100 euros, but the real big engines like 3 liter or 5 liter... You don't want to know. Some cars you have to pay 12.000 euros for.
As car dealers are known to often change cars, the dealer plates are there for them, because it wouldn't be economical to have to pay these kind of taxes every time they change a car.

It's often that the salesmen of the official brand dealers like VW, Renault, Peugeot... drive with cars from the dealership on those dealer plates. And they are used as company car, so are allowed to visit the theme park, do the family shoppings etc...

And the second kind is what I use for driving around import cars. When you use your car for daily use like go shopping, the car you drive in needs to have a valid MOT.
But I won't use the Beat to go shopping ofcourse. Because it isn't on Belgian registration yet (might take a while) it hasn't got any Belgian MOT yet. But if they catch me driving it I can allways say I'm test driving it. They won't be able to proof otherwise, so I'm clear. And I only have been pulled over once in all this time for checking if everything was ok, and it was ofcourse. It's my job and I can't afford to lose them, because in Belgium the plates are personal, they don't stay with the car. So if I don't have my dealer plates I can't drive my cars to the MOT, won't be able to transport them at all.

So it's real handy I have those, but only dealers have those kind of plates. The regular petrol head doesn't have the benefits of having these.
I pay lots and lots of taxes as a business owner (taxes in Belgium are killing!) so I think I can enjoy one of the benefits...

And yes its true, we can't do anything here. Steel brake lines? Not allowed. Lowered suspension? Not allowed unless you have the real expensive ones with special Belgian certification codes (only the high end brands have these certifications), poly bushes? Not allowed! Aftermarket exhaust (even when you still have your catalytic converter) not allowed... Unless this has a certification, but exhausts with the correct certification is even rarer than a suspension kit. And no, TUV certification isn't valid, it has to be Belgian GOCA certification.

Yes, Belgium is a country with fucked up laws and smothering taxes.
For the first time we have a different government after decades of socialist governments and the first thing the socialist opposition does is calling for massive strikes and riots because the new government want to change the mess the former governments have made... Typical and a bunch of hypocrites... The new government wants to do something about the smothering taxes, wants to do something about out bad social security system. (our current system allows it to very easily abuse the system and get paid while sitting on your arse while the good working class people get smothered by taxes)
But I won't bore you lot with stupid Belgian politics...

My Beat is waiting for a new dizzy, and I have placed an order for about 130.000 yen with Gav for some upgrades, more will follow but the funds need to be there as well haha.

[Gavin]

see email you also have some replacement parts lined up :)