rich57 Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 Since I’ve had my Focus I have been on a mission to try to return it to near as “as new condition” as possible but with minimum expenditure. One of little things that has always bugged me is the VIN sticker on driver’s door jam, it was at an angle and the surface has started to peel off. This is probably something I would have not even bothered with under normal circumstances but these are certainly not normal circumstances, so I decided to see what I could do. I photographed it then recreated the artwork as near as I could on the computer, it’s not 100% spot on but its OK. I then emailed it to my local KallKwik and got some stickers printed . . . for just over £10 I got 8 stickers, 4 gloss and 4 matt, I decided to use the gloss finish and still with a few spares if I messed up the cutting out. Maybe a bit OCD but strangely satisfying 😁 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monks600 Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 Since I’ve had my Focus I have been on a mission to try to return it to near as “as new condition” as possible but with minimum expenditure. One of little things that has always bugged me is the VIN sticker on driver’s door jam, it was at an angle and the surface has started to peel off. This is probably something I would have not even bothered with under normal circumstances but these are certainly not normal circumstances, so I decided to see what I could do. I photographed it then recreated the artwork as near as I could on the computer, it’s not 100% spot on but its OK. I then emailed it to my local KallKwik and got some stickers printed . . . for just over £10 I got 8 stickers, 4 gloss and 4 matt, I decided to use the gloss finish and still with a few spares if I messed up the cutting out. Maybe a bit OCD but strangely satisfying [emoji16] Love it, awesome work :) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tizer Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 Some people might have taken the opportunity to alter the Emissions Plate Value at the same time to make it easier to pass MOT Tests as the car gets older😇 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isetta Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 Tizer, that’s exactly what I was thinking when I started reading this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isetta Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 I think there’s an eBay opportunity there. I email someone my sticker photo and they send me one with a higher number in the bottom right corner for the soot emission test. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich57 Posted April 25, 2020 Author Share Posted April 25, 2020 1 hour ago, Tizer said: Some people might have taken the opportunity to alter the Emissions Plate Value at the same time to make it easier to pass MOT Tests as the car gets older😇 Its a thought but that wasn't actually the plan 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tizer Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 9 minutes ago, isetta said: I think there’s an eBay opportunity there. I email someone my sticker photo and they send me one with a higher number in the bottom right corner for the soot emission test. If I still had a Diesel I would be doing the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 Wow, that's certainly a level of anal detailing I haven't seen before! Looks great! I'm not overly comfortable with posting VIN plates to a randomer on eBay though. Or the fact that it's so easy to replicate them!! Then again, I probably wouldn't put mine on a public forum either! (PS - Just drive your diesels properly and there won't be an MOT issue, modern cDPFs work fine! ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicam49 Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 Did you manage to remove the old vin sticker without damage to the paintwork? If that bottom pic is the new one fitted, .. then it STILL looks wonky 😉But, nice idea anyway 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkman Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 You could change the emissions coding but 1, it would be against the Law and 2, it would not tally with what is on the V5C and DVLA records. Sorry to be a kill joy! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich57 Posted April 25, 2020 Author Share Posted April 25, 2020 4 minutes ago, nicam49 said: Did you manage to remove the old vin sticker without damage to the paintwork? I suppose it'll never look like the original as its only on paper and you've still got to cut it out. But, nice idea anyway 👍 Yes, came off with white spirit, no problem. No, its not on paper, its printed on "Polyprop" waterproof sticker material and also laminated. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isetta Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 Milkman says: "You could change the emissions coding but 1, it would be against the Law and 2, it would not tally with what is on the V5C and DVLA records. Sorry to be a kill joy!" I don't think the diesel emission soot number on bottom right corner of the sticker is on DVLA or the v5. It's not on my V5 (Fiesta 2015 1.5tdci). Is it against the law? well, I don't know. It doesn't sound like it should be allowed but has a law been passed which mentions it? The MOT rules do not suggest it is against the law. It tells you what limit is to be used 'if the manufacturers plate is not available' . Which sort of suggests they accept they will be testing cars with the sticker removed. The default limit they use differs before 01 July 2008, from 01 July 2008 - 31 Dec 2013, and from 01 Jan 2014 (date vehicle first used) and on some models the default is higher than what's on the sticker so some models can benefit from sticker removal. (and of course benefit even more with a higher number on a reproduced sticker). Of course the more common the car/engine the more likely the tester would know the figure is wrong but the MOT rules make no provision for the tester to do anything about that it seems. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 So, if I put an 'ST' badge on my front grill, and it's not an, 'ST', am I breaking the law? 🤣 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkman Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 So, if I put an 'ST' badge on my front grill, and it's not an, 'ST', am I breaking the law? Technically yes as it is giving your vehicle a false identity, like putting RS Turbo decals on a MK1 1600 Escort, not that anyone would pick you up on that but altering a VIN is a definite nono. My 2007 Fiesta 1.4 Zetec not only has the emissions codes on the VIN attached to the car but it is also printed on the registration V5C document. The tester would not look at the Vin 'sticker' in all probability as the emission codes for the vehicle he's testing will be on the computer screen he's logged into via DVLA, he would most likely just take the VIN from the engine bay so in reality there would be no advantage in replacing the VIN sticker with one with a higher emission code. It shows the CO2 emission limit on the DVLA vehicle checker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micro Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 4 hours ago, StephenFord said: So, if I put an 'ST' badge on my front grill, and it's not an, 'ST', am I breaking the law? Your insurer might not like it if you car was then subsequently broken into / stolen because they thought it was an ST! 🤣 Something along the lines of turning it into a potentially higher value target? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 8 hours ago, Micro said: Your insurer might not like it if you car was then subsequently broken into / stolen because they thought it was an ST! 🤣 Something along the lines of turning it into a potentially higher value target? That's hilarious!! I think the £10 plastic wheel trims (yes, that's for the set, not each!), might give the game away... Honestly, some of you need to take advantage of that hour you are allowed outside for a bit of exercise and clear your head LOL 🤣 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich57 Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 Just to clarify guys; the reason for this was not deception (whether illegal or not) but to just make the car look as good / “as new” as possible. The original sticker had a backing of a metallic adhesive security foil, which I could not hope to replicate, especially with a budget of about £10 😐, so I am sure Ford would not be fooled by this but it does look good enough to satisfy my OCD tendencies 😁 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 12 hours ago, Milkman said: So, if I put an 'ST' badge on my front grill, and it's not an, 'ST', am I breaking the law? Technically yes as it is giving your vehicle a false identity, like putting RS Turbo decals on a MK1 1600 Escort, not that anyone would pick you up on that but altering a VIN is a definite nono. My 2007 Fiesta 1.4 Zetec not only has the emissions codes on the VIN attached to the car but it is also printed on the registration V5C document. The tester would not look at the Vin 'sticker' in all probability as the emission codes for the vehicle he's testing will be on the computer screen he's logged into via DVLA, he would most likely just take the VIN from the engine bay so in reality there would be no advantage in replacing the VIN sticker with one with a higher emission code. It shows the CO2 emission limit on the DVLA vehicle checker. This is for the diesel emission test, it has nothing to do with CO2...diesels are incredibly clean and barely produce any CO2 compared to your disgusting petrols. There is a number on the VIN sticker of modern diesels that shows the allowed 'soot' levels. The new MOT regs (since 2018) ask the tester to use this figure - if it's not there (stickers do fall off) they have to use a default figure. It's in the box, bottom right, on the OPs sticker, 0.51. If he removed that figure, the tester would use the default of 1.5 for that car...making an emmisions pass much easier! I think what Isetta suggests is definitely against the 'spirit' of the law, though not actually illegal. After all, we do all benefit from broken diesels having to be fixed or scrapped!! (Regarding the ST badge...everyone 'in the know' knows it's not an ST, anyone not 'in the know' doesn't care and just thinks ST's are all driven by boy racers and madmen... Never seen the point of 'up-badging' myself! ) 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 24 minutes ago, TomsFocus said: (Regarding the ST badge...everyone 'in the know' knows it's not an ST, anyone not 'in the know' doesn't care and just thinks ST's are all driven by boy racers and madmen... Never seen the point of 'up-badging' myself! ) Looked everywhere for a 'Stephen' badge, but that was the closest I could get LOL 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micro Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 15 hours ago, StephenFord said: That's hilarious!! I think the £10 plastic wheel trims (yes, that's for the set, not each!), might give the game away... Honestly, some of you need to take advantage of that hour you are allowed outside for a bit of exercise and clear your head LOL 🤣 You've seen the caliber of some of our criminals on the programs on TV right? 🤣 And I also include the insurers in that - they will find ANY reason not to pay out if you've mis-described your car to them... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 8 hours ago, Micro said: ...And I also include the insurers in that - they will find ANY reason not to pay out if you've mis-described your car to them... You've just jogged my memory. Last year I had a 'parking' bump (a lady driving her unfamiliar husband's car skimmed into me). As part of the claims process, I had to send a full set of 8 photos of my car from every angle to my insurers. The front was clearly on one of them showing the grill badge. So by default, they have accepted my car as is, and I'll be arguing that point in court should the occasion ever arise LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDHXIII Posted May 17, 2020 Share Posted May 17, 2020 What was the font you used on the replica stickers? They have come out very well indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich57 Posted May 25, 2020 Author Share Posted May 25, 2020 On 5/17/2020 at 10:02 AM, SDHXIII said: What was the font you used on the replica stickers? They have come out very well indeed. Thanks, yes for £10 and a bit a of time on the computer they have come out OK. The font is Helevetica, I am not 100% sure that was the original font but it was the nearest to it I could find. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hostahousey Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 I think its totally against the law, and prosecutable . If you can get away with this then surely this is open to stolen cars fitting a scraped cars identity. I think you should apply for a new one through DVLA . Yes it will cost you but would be legal. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 7 minutes ago, Hostahousey said: I think its totally against the law, and prosecutable . If you can get away with this then surely this is open to stolen cars fitting a scraped cars identity. I think you should apply for a new one through DVLA . Yes it will cost you but would be legal. Lock down getting to you buddy? Honestly, you need to chill out. The OP has done a fabulous job tidying up a bit of his car that annoyed him. I admire what he's done, and if he ends up languishing in prison for the rest of his life like you advocate, I for one will be the first visitor with a file baked inside a cake! 🤣 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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