Hi there all. First post *pop. I have just bought my first SD1 after 5 yeas of scratching my chin.. Started out as a 2600S.. now with added v8 and a manual box. Can anyone recommend an insurance company who comes up with the goods for the many cars like mine which have been subject to an engine & transmission swap?

Tried Adrian Flux so far, does anyone else specialise in this sort of thing?

I hate having to look for insurance, and don't trust these price comparison sites.. you can bet that their margin is held once you have requested a quote through them.. so you might not get a better rate from anyone else once you have been through them!

Cheers guys.. hope you can help!

Try Lancaster Insurance

peter best there good mate so is lancaster to give them a go your never now!!

Hello Andy,

Insure it as a Classic with Peter Best, Lancaster, etc (Google Classic Car Insurers) estimate your annual mileage and a fair valuation, take some photos and insure it accordingly - agreed value and limited mileage - they all do it.

My 3500 TP Vitesse at 3000 mpa and 6.5K is a lot less to insure (<200 moolah) than a modern car doing 12,000 and costing 15k and the classic insurers have long since worked out that as an old fart I am much more likely to cherish my car on top of the reduced usage/cost risk that they have to underwrite.

Even your modified car should not be a problem.

Just call Peter Best (say) - or whoever you fancy - and tell them what you want. It's not called "fully comprehensive" - but in many ways its a lot better.

There are some of proviso's - dont tell them you if are a Boy Racer and be a Rover SD1 Club Member. Dont try to inflate the value and explain fully that the car is the same spec as others in the SD1 range - just in a lower spec shell.

Low age might count against you but its a long time since I had that problem.

You may have to change the details at DVLA first as all the insurers log into their Database.

Only shop around if you cant get a reasonable quote.

Ramon

I wondered what Pete(r) Best did after he was kicked out of The Beatles x

I just insure mine as an everyday car with Autodirect £192.15 fully comp and that includes my younger "bread knife" driving the car

but that's with

Me being just about forty (the right side at the mo)
9+ years no claims bonus
and because I'm in th'Ambulance service

Jay

From what I've been told about insuring cars with engine swaps: If you have put an engine from one car into another from the same model range, i.e. the car you have created was available as standard from the factory, then it can be classed the same insurance risk as the standard car.

I.e. your car should be the same to insure as a standard V8.

As I say though, that's what I've been told, I have no personal experienceof it.

I must admit I have also no experience with the matter of engine swaps and insurance, but I suspect the insurance company may be within their rights to insist on an engineer's report, because as we (and they) know engine conversions can range enormously from a hashed bodge job to a very well executed conversion.

I stand to be corrected of course

We all know the braking/suspension/steering systems are identical throughout the SD1 range (with the exception of the Efi cars of course) but the insurance companies may be sceptical and again require proof the car's braking, steering and suspension can handle it's new bigger, possibly more powerful engine.

Again, I may be wrong, but I know what a suspicious lot the insurance industry is, and if they can find any way of worming out of a pay out, they will use it....