Good news (maybe)
to stay sweet with the law and your insurer, almost all mods need engineering approval,
If you have a bingle with modded brakes or a bigger motor without engineering, your insurance company is likely to walk away from you.
with this in mind, I randomly contacted an engineer in Perth. Below  is a copy of the corespondance.
Sounds pretty reasonable to me when you consider the cost of getting a plumber or sparky out for a small job
 
I am keen to know if anyone has gone down the engineering road for disc brake conversions and or fitting an A15
 
 
From: mal@letsgo.com.au
To: dons_1934@hotmail.com
Subject: Vehicle modification
Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2011 18:53:18 +0800





Hello
I own an old 1969 Datsun 1000 and plan to lightly modify (improve)  and will need an engineer to certify the modifications as safe and acceptable to the Transport department.
I am local to Fremantle and obtained your email address from the Transport Dept website
Plans are

1. replace A10  1000cc motor with A15 1500cc power change 66HP to 80HP
   
2. replace 4 speed gearbox with 5 speed from a later datsun
   
3. replace front drum brakes with disc brakes and change the brake master cylinder accordingly
   

Is this your line of work?
Can you give an estimate of the cost of your service?
 
Many thanks
Mal



 
 Hi Mal,
Sorry I have been late in replying to your query regarding certification of the modifications to your Datsun. I do inspections and prepare the report and documentation necessary
for the DPI Technical Section to issue approval to license the vehicle. My fee is generally in the order of $350 plus GST depending on the complexity of the modifications.
If you are still in need of someone, you could give me a call and  we could discuss your Project

Best regards,

Don Stevens

Nowdays rego are asking for silly things
Such as collapsable steering columns
So get some real details before you throw money at any engineer
Ask rego whats required by filling in your modification form from tech dept
 
And my 1000 wagon has gone thru pits with A15 and discs
But I don't think he noticed they weren't stock
 

I suspect I could do as Neil did and put  an A15 and discs over the pits and get it passed BUT I am not certain I would have valid insurance without specific engineering approval.
I have a mate who upgraded his brakes on a Ford Zephyr and when he had an accident his insurer would not pay as the mod was not approved. Cost him 28K-- ouch!!
 
Still keen to know if anyone has gone down the engineering road for disc brake conversions and or fitting an A15
 
 

when i was talking to the engineer about brakes he said adopt a disk brake setup from a similar weighing car, said it looks better on paper?? he wouldn't approve an r31 conversion because the r31 weights to much?? im just going the 1200 disk brake setup out a 1200. i would like to know what is the go with this cos the idiot i was talking to wouldn't explain it to me properly
 
so im guessing no third party either? cos that is what i'd be worried about

i dont bother with comprehensive insurance i've just got third party incase i hit something and i'd be shit off if they didn't pay because of the disc brakes

scribe me a letter Nool, I'll try it on...

A bit off topic, but what about cars manufactured before 1/1969? Just checked my papers and my ute was complianced in 1/1968 and I was planning my engine conversion to run an OEM ECU. By the looks of it, its going to be too hard and I'm going to have to run an aftermarket ECU. Due to the fact that my vehicle is not "governed" under the Second or Third edition ADR's, the vehicle must still comply with the Vehicle Standards Rules.
 
There is not a great deal in relation to Aftermarket ECU's in the AVSR's, so maybe I can get it engineered with little dramas? Does anyone know if this can still be raised as an issue?

Full engine conversion, it’s a Swift GTi engine with Vitara head (G13B/G16B hybrid D and I have been talking about on the Datsun1200.com site). There are too many sensors that are not compatible as they used different ignition/timing sensors. If I can get away with an aftermarket ECU, I can work around that. I'll still run as many "emissions" fittings as possible, such as cat. converter and charcoal canister to appease the Authorities, but I can do away with things such as the air flow meter.

Didnt know they had flow air meter Booyar is that all models? check with gtaye he does the g13bb engines
http://redlinegti.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=34209

You will find that it is the engines emissions that must meet the older vehicke. Eg. You have a 1927 Chev tourer and you decide to fit an LS1. You need to fit everything relevent to the LS1, not whatever the 1927 Chev had, which is nothing. It has always been the same for nearly all states. And they are trying to bring it all together so that all states are on the same page. Before starting any conversion you should contact an engineer listed by your rego department. Saves alot of money in the long run. Unless club rego is involved. Then it is up to your club if you are going to require an engineers certificate. Another classic example is with an old pre 75 Holden HQ ute I had years ago. I fitted a VN injected 5.0 into it and took it in for rego. I was told to connect a charcoal cannister and fit a cat convertor to the exhaust as the engine number prefix was for the VN. So I went home, and pulled the donk and fitted all the gear onto a spare early 308 I had and problem solved. I could inject the early motor and leave all the other crap off. Go figure. My 308 was running a mild cam too so the emissions were ironically worse than the standard VN's 304. Beaurocricy at it's best.