Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Door Roundels

I was going to bring up the 'Herbie' liveried beetles.

Arwyn is quite right about racing on the street being illegal (though recent legislation will allow for more properly organised 'closed road' events for the first time since a spectator had their leg broken at the Kop Hillclimb around the time of Noah's Ark) .... Aside from the possibility that having numbers on might be used as contributory evidence if you were found wheel to wheel down a country lane at 120mph.... Having numbers on would not be seen as constituting street racing...... There have been issues in the past with rally cars being booked for being 'over enthusiastic' on public roads between stages.... But that was for their behaviour rather than the presence of numbers on their door.

K

I think the point is that having visible numbers doesn't automatically mean that one is indulging in illegal racing on the road, but the absence of numbers is a reasonable indication that one isn't.

Partially agree Hamwich.... It's what you're doing that counts rather than your car livery.... There have been plenty of instances of un-numbered cars racing each other on public roads (any longish motorway trip will include BWW, Audi, GTR, Porsche or various hot hatches with letters after their names winging past nose to tail or weaving through the traffic like a US cop reality show at murderous speeds)..... They quite rightly get the book thrown at them.... A numbered classic on their way home from a meeting at legal speeds will get hardly a glance from the police.

K

Poor old Rob he only asked where he could get the roundels from No mention of adding digits..

We need Keith back to nip all this in the bud earlier with his 1st hand knowledge of Traffic Law.

It's funny how things pass into folk 'law' (pun intended) so quickly. There were a couple in the Land Rover world, and in particular 'roof mounted spotlights' that people were convinced were illegal. They'd even made up a clause about 'only being allowed in front of the front axle'. Even made it into print, in some of the landy mags. All a complete fabrication - no such law ever existed but many swore blind it was true.

When I had my Tomb Raider 90, I'm pretty sure that the sales literature said the the roof mounted spots are for off-road use only. So having roof mounted spots isn't illegal but using them on the road is.

(But, perhaps supporting the "folk law" comment, note that I said "pretty sure" )

Yep... Definite thread hijack :-)

I suppose if anyone had a personal experience of roundels being likely to attract negative attention in real life it might have been useful to know.

On that note, the car I'm restoring has worn roundels on and off the track day in day out for decades without incident... So, if you like the look (or occasionally compete) go for it.

K

See, it even entered sales literature

If they are wired in as spots i.e Additional/ Optional main beam, so they turn on and off with the main beam switch, there are no regulations for height, or longitudinal position.

See Schedule 5, Part I of the The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989

Legislation

My next question was going to be about fitting racing stripes to the bonnet, however what with door roundels with or without numbers and illegal wing plates it would be a bridge too far as far as the Rozzers are concerned!

This has turned into a very entertaining discussion !

Superdry three wheelers had at least one number 23 on them , presumably applied by the factory , although I'm now wondering if they were in roundels ...