ii iii
So there are four important things we need to think about NOW before
picking up a spanner:
• This isn't the only guide you'll need
• When to apply for an IVA test
• Photography (no, really)
• Arranging a post build check
Although we have made this guide as comprehensive as possible, the requirements of IVA change from
time to time and even from test centre to test centre. Therefore, it MUST be read in conjunction with the ‘IVA
Checklist Guide’, the latest version of which can be downloaded from the Caterham website. You’ll find the
refer-to-IVA-manual symbol in the bottom of each illustration where attention is required. Reading through
it now, will save pain later! Don’t assume that because you’ve found a reference to one item relating to that
page, it is the only one…
Once you have completed the assembly of your Seven, you are required by law to present it for an ‘Individual
Vehicle Approval’ test (better known as IVA), which is conducted by the Vehicle and Operator Services
Agency (VOSA) at a regional test centre.
We STRONGLY recommend that you apply for your IVA appointment at least a month before you think you
will complete your build, to allow for the application form to be processed at the snail’s pace of bureaucracy.
Once accepted, your IVA application is valid for 6 months and test dates can be changed up to a minimum
of 3 working days prior to your appointment with VOSA (any later and you may incur a charge).
The application form and a guide on how to complete it, is contained within an envelope of documents
provided with your kit and which is probably acting as a coaster for your g&t at the moment. Take this
moment to find it and remove it from the garage and place it somewhere safe (and memorable).
VOSA and the DVLA are a suspicious bunch and in order to register your car, you will need to provide proof
that it is amateur built. When you apply for registration, you will need to include photos from various stages
of you build, which will demonstrate to them that it is an ‘amateur build’.
Recruiting a few extras (your kids, your spouse, the cat, etc.) and some props (last year’s Xmas tree, a radio
from the 1980’s and a rusty bike) will all contribute to a more authentic home-garage feel; proving that no
professional help (i.e. commercial workshop/garage) was involved in the build. Of course, feel free to have
yourself working away on the kit in the photos if one of your ‘extras’ can be trusted with the camera (not the
cat; they never get the exposure right).