hello, i have recently bought a locost part build and it needs a fair bit of work to complete, i have a few questions and would apriciate any help i can get regarding legal iva issues i have read the manual but some things im still not quite sure about.

my car is driveable at the moment but the previous owner made the pedal box out of cheese i think of something similar it is a really bad job and uses the original master i want to build my own using 2 girling type integral resivoir 0.75 cylinders as these seem alot cheaper and a bias bar would these be up to the job or would i get to much rear braking effort i have the standard escort mk2 rear drums and cortina fronts?

he also i think has used the mk2 escort steering colomn, which i think again is a really bad job!, he has welded it directly to the chassis!!! dont know what your supposed to do if it ever needed replacing, so what i would like to know is, firstly is the escort mk2 column even iva compliant i think i have read somwhere that it needa a colapsable section or something if so could one be added secondly would it be ok to cut the column out and then weld some sort of brackets to it to bolt it to the car... i would prefer to use the column i have as 1, i already have it and 2 it fits well.

my last question is about registering the car, i would like to fit a zetec blacktop with bike carbs and a magajolt ecu however i would like to keep the original plate from the doner escort and as the 1.3 crossflow with the gear box and rear axel are already fitted from the donor, it seems like the best plan to leaving them in till after iva. will these items be enough to keep the original plate and if so would i need proove they came from the doner, i have the v5 but thats about it.
if i did manage to keep the original plate then afterward fit a zetec then hardly any of the original car would remain would i have to re-iva it or would i lose the plate if so i might aswell fit the zetec before the test??

thanks in advance for any help, i have 2 weeks off to work on the car so hopefully i will get some info soon lol!

Hello and welcome to the forum, My instinct would be to try and get it through IVA with the original escort running gear as far as possible to try and retain the original plate. These days emissions are one of the biggest failure items. Older engines are
treated far les harshly. Withregards to your column, a collapsable one such as from a sierra would be best for safety, although
as long as it has a dog leg of sufficient angle you should be ok. If you search old threads on here you should find most of the
issues covered in more depth.

thanks for reply, i dont mean to sound stupid but when you say dog leg do you mean 2 ujs offset so if you crashed the upper part could move forward and hopefully you would not be speared? if so there is an offset between the rack and upper column maybe i should post some pics. i have tried looking through othe posts but couldnt find anything that directly tells me what i need to know, i dont really want to have to change to a sierra column if i dont have to as the one thats in the car fits well its just wether it can pass the test.

If I were you I would get car as near IVA proof as you can and send it through. From what I hear the pass rate is very low. When it fails sort out what needs to be done. The tester will no doubt explain what is required. Not many pass first time unless
they are professionally built so there is no shame.

yeah that seems the best plan, i dont expect to pass first time but the steering column i want done right now because if it had to be moved/changed for a different type it would be a lot more work after everything else has been fitted ie scuttle panel, bulkhead, pedal, dash ect!! think ill just go for the sierra column like you said to avoid the hastle later on. read a few posts saying a granada column is ok to. cant wait to get to work next week lol..

A minor point, you will not retain the Escort donor plate. If you get it IVA'd as is, you should get an age related plate the same year as the donor. Is it an interesting plate you have on the donor or do you just want it age related?

no not an interesting plate, i just thought that was how it worked. Would, i be likely an age related plate just from the original engine and gearbox as i have just found out that maybe my axle is not an escort one as it is a bit wider, could i just say it was from, the doner or would they have some way of knowing it was to wide?

if its looks like i would have to get a q plate i think id go for the zetec right now but id really like to avoid a q plate, whenever i see them for some reason im put off lol!

Welcome to the LCB forum - put your approximate location on your profile, you may find there's someone nearby to come and give you some assistance......

good idea ill do it now