You can buy a new body shell and insurance companies do use new shells to repair cars. It saves all that work of cutting and pulling but it all depends on price. Why write off a $50,000 car when a new shell is $12,000?
Up till about 5 years ago Holden still had new HQ body shells but they sold them off




You can buy a new shell for a Mk 1 Mini but it has to come from England.



You would be surprised what you can get if you ask!

Morris, when you show me some proof of what your saying then i will believe you. But i would think if you go and ask the RTA, your answer will be no. Just proove me wrong, i am happy to be wrong.

Cheers

Aaron

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Why does the RTA have to know?
Do you think the NRMA tells the RTA?

New body shells for minis http://www.bmh-ltd.com/minishell.htm

Can't see any Cooper S shell's there.The problem is if you purchased a replacement shell it would have an identification number as a Cooper shell or a GT shell like the ones advertised.
In theory you would have a replacement Cooper shell (as identified) with Cooper parts.It's up to you if you consider this genuine.
Now if you buy an 850 shell (as identified)and put your Cooper plates on it,it would still be fraud.(all Cooper parts but only an 850 shell).You still have to buy a Cooper shell (look at the body ID)whether you like it or not.

Our laws are a lot different than England,strange how they dont advertise Cooper or Cooper S shell's and I guarantee the shells have there own ID's that pass English registration.Not borrowed plates from unfixable or stolen vehicles.These bodies are reproductions not genuine,the HQ's were no doubt genuine.Have you heard of any genuine xu-1 or A9X torana shells sold by Holden recently ?

So what your saying is that you wouldn't go and tell the RTA that you were doing it. Why not?
Maybe because you know full well it is illegal. Yes, it happens but that doesn't make it legal. The RTA is the Governing body for roads and Traffic in NSW, they set the Rules to which we are work to.
Still, you get the information and proove me wrong.

Cheers

Aaron

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I know a few people who have destroyed late model WRX's & EVO lancers in rallies & have bought body sheels, they are sold with body numbers & compliance plates, but these are mainly conditional rego cars.

Doogie

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I won Hay once, here's the pic to prove it..


Hay, it's not about the car, it's not about the venue, it's about the people that come here. Peter Dwyer, Mayor of Hay NSW.

well here in west aus its known as 'reshelling' its legal and the body shell can be second hand..
all sorts of dodgys go on (import cars getting compliance plates off repairable write off auction cars n what not.. which is illegal.. i dont know the ins and outs of how much of the car has to be swapped etc)..

people with road legal race cars do it all the time.. i know one guy in particular that has changed the shell on his ford escort about 10 times (keeps crashing it at waneroo) the only way you can have an aluminium roll cage is if you had it in the car before the rules banning them came in.. thats the main reason he goes to the effort of reshelling his car all the time

if the car is not licenced.. or the plates per say.. the car will have to go over the pits for inspection once 'resehelled' but if the plates still hold valid rego.. then theres nothing stopping you from doing it.. regardless of how illegal it might be in other states.. how would anyone ever know?

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Expert in training