New Member with a Y

[G-BROE]

Hi Everybody!
Three weeks ago I flew out to Germany, bought a 1999 Y and drove it back to the UK - all in one day.
I need some help getting it UK registered.
I already have the forms from the DVLC and have notified the HMRC.
I need a Certificate of Conformity and some advice on adjusting the headlights (some pics might help) - the speedo needs to read MPH too.
Can anyone recommend an Insurance Company who won't throw their collective hands up in horror because my car doesn't appear on their computers?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Roger

[G-BROE]

Insurance sorted!
But I really need sight of a C of C.

[nyssa7]

Tim Speechley at Fiat UK used to be the go to guy for C of C

[fay66]

Tim Speechley at Fiat UK used to be the go to guy for C of C

Nothing you can do about the headlights as no RHD headlamps were ever available, it was thought when the Y first came out that the headlamps were centre dip and ok for both RHD & LHD, but if you face a wall and shine the headlamps on the wall you will see they are definitely LHD! however, I bought a new Elephantino Rosso in 1999 and personally imported it, and I never had a problem with MOT with the headlamps, I always used to have them set on the lowest position, and on the road I never used to get flashed, so it's a case of bluffing it out, although things might have changed and I'm not sure if they insist on seeing the vehicle now, but that might be a problem for the DVLA being that they've done away with all the local offices now.
As Trevor said Tim Speechley at Fiat Uk used to be able to get you a copy of a C of C until he retired last year, I would suggest you contact Fiat UK and ask who is now doing the job and ask them, just surprised that you didn't get it from the person you bought the Y from as it must have had a C of C issued when it was first bought.
Speedo, to be frank I just told porky pies on the form and said it was MPH speedo then did the calculation in my head from KMs, I did look into getting an overlay made by a company near Bristol but I can't remember who they were, although it would have meant removing the whole cluster and sending it off to them.
You could try Demon Tweaks and see if they have a convertor that changes the impulse signal to make the speedo read as if it's mph rather than KMs, my Suzuki Cappucino was a grey import from Japan and had this arrangement fitted.
It also might be worth asking if all else fails, will one of the stand alone GPS speedos be sufficient to comply.

Brian
8227

[G-BROE]

Thank you both,
The company in Bristol wanted £185+vat to produce an overlay as it was a one off (the average, run of the mill panel is about £69 off the shelf).
I'll chase up Fiat UK early this week - it's been 24 years since I had and direct dealings with Slough, so I doubt if anyone there will remember me!
I've got the headlights on the lowest setting at the moment, when the airbag control unit has been replaced (full of antifreeze from a leaky heater matrix), I'll run it down to a friendly MOT place who tested my Jowetts for eight years.
I'll keep you posted how I get on!

[fay66]

Thank you both,
The company in Bristol wanted £185+vat to produce an overlay as it was a one off (the average, run of the mill panel is about £69 off the shelf).
I'll chase up Fiat UK early this week - it's been 24 years since I had and direct dealings with Slough, so I doubt if anyone there will remember me!
I've got the headlights on the lowest setting at the moment, when the airbag control unit has been replaced (full of antifreeze from a leaky heater matrix), I'll run it down to a friendly MOT place who tested my Jowetts for eight years.
I'll keep you posted how I get on!

Good luck with the MOT, the speedo isn't part of the MOT which is how I got away with it, re headlamps, one place I used stuck tape over the offending bit and said it was up to me if I left the tape on or took it off.
Alan Cooper who bought a  series 3 Delta HPE turbo, cut a slot in the underside of each headlamp body, then stuck a pair of beam benders on the inside of the glass as the rules say you can't use beam benders as a long term solution on the headlamp, this way you couldn't even see the beam bender unless you really looked.
As a matter of interest what model did you buy and with what engine?, the 1.2 twin ohc 16V 86 hp engine in my elephantino Rosso was a cracker.

Brian
8227

[peteracs]

Hi Roger

Chris on the Stratos site stratosec.com (prototipo is his username)  is doing some labels/overlays for the Stratos and Fiat guys, may be worth approaching?

PM me if you need more info.

See ( not sure if members only section)

http://www.stratosec.com/Forum/showthread.php/2289-Chris-J-Printed-Stickers-Decals

Peter

[G-BROE]

Peter,
I've put some adhesive figures on the speedometer face and I'll see if it raises and eyebrows.

Brian,
It's an ordinary 1.2 8v, that suits me down to the ground. I've got four weekends in Europe lined up this summer judging BBQ cook offs. A LHD Y is cheaper to put on a ferry than my Mercedes van - that's my excuse for getting one, anyway!
It will be next week before I can get it down to the MOT station now after I've got the airbag warning light sorted.
I've e-mailed Fiat UK with a message for Tims successor.
I've made three attempts to post a photo of the car, but 'an error' keeps occurring.
Roger

[Parisien]

Check the file (photo)size Roger, you can load load a photo resizer to make it postable

P

[Paul Greenway]

When I did the same thing as you with my Thesis just over two years ago, I was told by everyone that I needed a C of C. I duly obtained one from Tim Speechley at Fiat, however when I went to register my car, the company that took it through this process including fitting an LCD mph speedo and adjusting the headlamps for RHD told me that the C of C was not necessary after all there are many imported cars from far and wide on UK's roads that you just can't get a C of C for.
In the end NCS Systems from Castle Donnington registered my car within a week with no C of C and had no agro either.

[G-BROE]

Thank you Paul, I'll look into that.
Roger

[G-BROE]

Some progress!
I e-mailed Mike Haveron at Fiat UK who replied almost immediately to tell me that as the car is over 10 years old, it does not need a Certificate of Conformity - I rang up DVLC at Swansea and they confirmed this.
I need a replacement airbag control unit, my local Fiat dealer could supply one - at the cost of £420.64. I've found one on ebay in Germany (s/h) for 99 Euro!

[fay66]

Some progress!
I e-mailed Mike Haveron at Fiat UK who replied almost immediately to tell me that as the car is over 10 years old, it does not need a Certificate of Conformity - I rang up DVLC at Swansea and they confirmed this.
I need a replacement airbag control unit, my local Fiat dealer could supply one - at the cost of £420.64. I've found one on ebay in Germany (s/h) for 99 Euro!

Pleased to hear that you no longer need the C of C so that should make life easier, the airbag control unit has just had to be replace on my Suzuki Wagon R, after being hit while stationary by a neighbour, prior to going in for repair it was ok, when they reconnected the battery when the repairs were finished they couldn't rest the warning light, after checking they decided it had been damaged in the accident, so it was replaced at a cost of £441, thankfully not at my expense. The hidden costs of all this modern technology!

Brian
8227

[frankxhv773t]

I have driven with a kph speedo for years and find it no problem. You just learm what 30, 40 etc are or do a quick calculation. It's add a half and add 10%. So 50 mph gets a half added to get to 75 and another 5 (10% of the original) and you have 80 KPH. I reckon in this day and age a regular bit of mental arithmatic helps keep your brain tuned up.

Frank

[m tulloch]

I've had my 8.32 since 1999 and it's still got the speedo in KPH, you do get used to it quickly.