I know from personal experience that smaller chrome bumpers are sometimes decorative-only; I've found that the cost and work of repairing/replacing chrome bumpers exceeds that of fixing the bodywork (with a knock to the rear bumper on my 128 Coupe, it actually transferred damage into three panels instead of the single kink it would have had from that lamp-post I rolled back into while I was tickling the accelerator that morning trying to keep the engine running...)
Anyway, onto the topic of my post. Does anyone know if a car needs to have bumpers to meet NZ WOF (Warrant Of Fitness) requirements? I searched on the LTSA website... I can only find grounds for NOT having these particular bumpers, which are pretty much unlike those fitted to any other car, and are in my eyes a 'dangerous ornament'
I refer you to:"2-1 External projections
Reasons for rejection
Condition and performance
1. The risk of a component (Note 2) hooking a vehicle, or hooking or grazing a person, has not been minimised.
2. An ornamental object or fitting (Note 1) protrudes in such a way that it is:
a) likely to injure a person, or
b) affects the drivers vision or control.
3. A protruding object or fitting that has a functional purpose (Note 1):
a) is of excessively heavy construction for the purpose it has been fitted, or
b) has sharp corners, or
c) slopes forward, unless this is necessary to fit the contours of the vehicle, or
d) has an unnecessarily wide gap between the object or fitting and the front of the vehicle, or
e) exceeds the vehicle’s width by more than 100 mm on either side, other than side mounted glass sheet transport racks and collapsible side mirrors, or
f) is a glass sheet transport rack that is not fitted with a front flaring to minimise the risk of injury to a person.
g) adversely affects the driver’s vision or the driver’s control of the vehicle.
4. A protruding object or fitting is not securely fitted.
...I've placed in bold the two reasons under which, I feel, the original Spider bumpers could be considered to contravene the rules in comparison to 'typical' vehicles on the road today (that have a flush-fitting plastic bumper
) I believe that if you hit a pedestrian at a low speed (walking pace), the Spider's bumpers would cause more damage than a modern-car plastic bumper... not that we want that to happen, of course, but that seems to be what the rules are about.Anyway that's my bit of joking around for the day. I'll ask the local WOF station if there's anything, anywhere, saying that you have to have bumpers. In the meantime, if anyone knows officially, that would be good to know!
I suppose, for completeness, you're all dying to read 'note 1'. Here it is:
"Note 1 Definitions
Ornamental object or fitting means an object or fitting that does not have a practical purpose, eg bonnet emblems.
The external projections requirements relate to the design and maintenance of objects and fittings that protrude from the exterior of the motor vehicle with regard to the safety of other motor vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. The attachment of such objects and fittings to the vehicle is addressed in the Structure section of this manual.
Functional object or fitting means an object or fitting that has a practical purpose, eg bullbars, winches, spare wheel carriers, glass racks, etc.
Modify means to change a vehicle from its original state by altering, substituting, adding or removing any structure, system, component or equipment, but does not include repair.
Repair means to restore a damaged or worn vehicle, its structure, systems, components or equipment to within safe tolerance of its condition when manufactured, including replacement with equivalent undamaged or new structures, systems, components or equipment." http://www.landtransport.govt.nz/certif ... 2-v3a4.pdf
So basically, the bumpers are functional objects that have a practical purpose, but even so, are obviously open to some interpretation about what is 'safe'. My X1/9 had the late-style bumpers and I didn't care too much for those, but the Spider's bumpers are in a different league. You don't see many 70's cars on the roads today - and I don't think I've ever seen a car with more obtrusive bumpers than the Spider
Thanks,