Robert Logan
Defunct Manufactuer - Old RF Company
It is with great plesure that I can inform ALL that we have finally passed the emmissions requirements here in Australia.
The tests were carried out at the EPA test facility here in Melbourn after extensive work with the help of Toyota and inparticular with the staff of MoTeC and my engineers. I would also very much like to thank the owner of the first 4.6 lt. car for his help and I hope the laps of the Grand Prix course during the Melbourne Grand Prix will in some way compensate for the wait. The results for CO were slightly less than 10% required while the combined gasses (HC and NOX) and the evaporative contaminates were both below 50% of the requirements. To say the least I am very happy and I contacted "Tim Oz 40", the owner of the first car first thing this morning. This has been a long and very hard road (and a very expensive road) but at least now my Australian customers can be assured that their cars can be FULLY registered in all states and teretories in Australia.
Australia is a very difficult place to register this type of car (ICV's - Individually Construced Vehicles). The ICV route is for exactly that cars constructed by individual people and not by companies. The correct way to register a turn key car is to register as a "limited volume manufacturer" and to complete the full set of Australian Design Requirements (ADR's). This is what Roaring Forties are doing and now the final test is FINISHED and PASSED.
There have been many different ways that ICV's have been registered in Australia and the easiest thing to say is that a liberal ammount of latitudehas been used by many involved in the manufacturing, building and registering processes. This latitude is and will be removed over a short period of time (a year I would have thought) and the level that manufacturers can take an ICV to will be more closely defined. What I mean by this is that the typical 8 hours to fit an engine to a "kit car" will not allow that car to be registered as an ICV because the INDIVIDUAL did not build the car the manufacturing company will be deamed to have constructed the car. If however the company is a "low volume manufacturer" than that company can build the car up from a "rolling chassis" to a completed car or to any stage from a "rolling chassis" to a "turn key" car. Saying all this the major problem has been at what point to define a "rolling chassis - kit" stops and the "turn key" car starts and this is the first place that the Department of Transport in Canberra are starting from and I have meetings with that department next month in Canberra and in my factory in Dromana. The SVA in the UK in my opinion is a great framework for the future of the specialist car manufacturers in Australia.
I believe that all manufacturers will be compelled to become "low volume manufacturers" if they wish to supply more than a basic kit. Further I believe that the requirements to FULLY comply with ALL the ADR's and not just do comparrison tests will also soon be compulsary for all Australian manufacturers to be able to register their cars in Australia.
This work that my company is not ground breaking and although relitavely expensive it is in the grasp of all true manufacturers of specialist cars here in Australia. I firmly believe that the Department are driving it in the correct direction and this is why I am very happy to help. I also believe that the new methodology that the DoT choose will be more clearly defined as it will have the assistance of the manufacturers to define these rules and how to examine / prove them.
Again I am very happy to anounce the completion of this milestone in the future of Roaring Forties.
Best wishes,
Robert
The tests were carried out at the EPA test facility here in Melbourn after extensive work with the help of Toyota and inparticular with the staff of MoTeC and my engineers. I would also very much like to thank the owner of the first 4.6 lt. car for his help and I hope the laps of the Grand Prix course during the Melbourne Grand Prix will in some way compensate for the wait. The results for CO were slightly less than 10% required while the combined gasses (HC and NOX) and the evaporative contaminates were both below 50% of the requirements. To say the least I am very happy and I contacted "Tim Oz 40", the owner of the first car first thing this morning. This has been a long and very hard road (and a very expensive road) but at least now my Australian customers can be assured that their cars can be FULLY registered in all states and teretories in Australia.
Australia is a very difficult place to register this type of car (ICV's - Individually Construced Vehicles). The ICV route is for exactly that cars constructed by individual people and not by companies. The correct way to register a turn key car is to register as a "limited volume manufacturer" and to complete the full set of Australian Design Requirements (ADR's). This is what Roaring Forties are doing and now the final test is FINISHED and PASSED.
There have been many different ways that ICV's have been registered in Australia and the easiest thing to say is that a liberal ammount of latitudehas been used by many involved in the manufacturing, building and registering processes. This latitude is and will be removed over a short period of time (a year I would have thought) and the level that manufacturers can take an ICV to will be more closely defined. What I mean by this is that the typical 8 hours to fit an engine to a "kit car" will not allow that car to be registered as an ICV because the INDIVIDUAL did not build the car the manufacturing company will be deamed to have constructed the car. If however the company is a "low volume manufacturer" than that company can build the car up from a "rolling chassis" to a completed car or to any stage from a "rolling chassis" to a "turn key" car. Saying all this the major problem has been at what point to define a "rolling chassis - kit" stops and the "turn key" car starts and this is the first place that the Department of Transport in Canberra are starting from and I have meetings with that department next month in Canberra and in my factory in Dromana. The SVA in the UK in my opinion is a great framework for the future of the specialist car manufacturers in Australia.
I believe that all manufacturers will be compelled to become "low volume manufacturers" if they wish to supply more than a basic kit. Further I believe that the requirements to FULLY comply with ALL the ADR's and not just do comparrison tests will also soon be compulsary for all Australian manufacturers to be able to register their cars in Australia.
This work that my company is not ground breaking and although relitavely expensive it is in the grasp of all true manufacturers of specialist cars here in Australia. I firmly believe that the Department are driving it in the correct direction and this is why I am very happy to help. I also believe that the new methodology that the DoT choose will be more clearly defined as it will have the assistance of the manufacturers to define these rules and how to examine / prove them.
Again I am very happy to anounce the completion of this milestone in the future of Roaring Forties.
Best wishes,
Robert
