Well, had a good trip to the SVA - the drive was only about 15 miles but really enjoyable. At Avonmouth the SVA centre takes up one unit in a group of four in an industrial estate, but since all the other units are empty they have a huge car park at the front, and we spent about ten minutes driving somewhat spiritedly around little islands testing out the brakes, self-centring, etc. (Got the back out a couple of times!!)

We met the tester, a guy called Bob who was really friendly, and started off the test with the interior and exterior edge checks and other general visual stuff. Despite my fears there were a lot less problems here than I expected.

* Track rod locking nuts radii.
* Track rod end castelated nuts missing split pins.
* Fog light lens not vertical.
* Loose inner ends of front flexi hoses.
* Front indicators too far from edge of vehicle.

He picked up on a few bits of loose wiring here and there but we clipped those up straight away.

We went on to check emissions, which unsurprisingly it failed, but Bob said we could come back to it at the end and try again. The car went up on the ramp and I sat in the car while Bob looked around underneath guided by my friend Pete. He asked a couple of questions about the seat and seatbelt mounting (he thought they might just be bolted to the ali floor) but was happy when told they went though steel plates.

We set up the headlamp aim and then went on tto the mirror check. As expected I failed on all three mirrors, as they could not see over the rear arches! So I am now on the lookout for some on stalks that will work better (any suggestions, I want chrome ones preferably with round glass).

Moving on to the brake test, the front was fine, as was the handbrake, but there was a serious imbalance across the rear, indicating a sticky slave cylinder I suspect. Next was the speedo and noise test which were both fine (2 mph out on the speedo and 95 dB on the noise meter).

Bob then started measuring up the car for the data he needed for the brake performance calculations, having a bit of trouble measuring the distance of the crankshaft from the ground!!

With the test over, we went back to the emissions machine and Bob set it up to give a continuous readout of the emissions so we could have a play with the carbs. He then went off to deal with the paperwork. We spent about 30-45 minutes fiddly with the mixture and timing, sometimes getting close but never quite there (we had really low CO output, but excessive hydrocarbons). Bob came back out and said that since it was nearly lunch, he would do the official test once more and then it would be time to finish. I unscrewed the mixture one more turn on each barrel, and amazingly it passed by miles!!

So, all in all I felt it was a pretty positve outcome - all of the things that failed are pretty easy to fix. I am having trouble finding some good mirrors, and doing the wheel cylinder is a bit awkward where the car is now, but I think I should have the MAC in hand before the end of next week :-)

Matt,

So you fancy a drive up to box hill on december 7th so we can see/be inspired by your car?

Ned.

well done that man,try www.thefast one.co.uk for mirrors,see ya december then

Have looked at thefastone.co.uk but it's hard to tell whether any particular mirror will adjust the right way / enough just from the pictures. Was hoping someone could recommend some that they are using.

Hope to make it on the 7th, but will have to see about uni dates / deadlines ;-)

Cheers,
Matt.

if you have sexy carbon fibre type on at the mo(single bolt fixing)try mir014 for test then changed to carbon fibre on page 13 hth

Excellent... get those things done... then get to Box Hill on the 7th

yup,newcomers allways pay

Nice one matt,i'd say that was a friendly fail myself

See you on the road soon i hope,send some pics to the owners club.

Nice onw Matt,

Hey when you've finished with the front indicator extensions you'll be making, can I have them?

I've got the same ones. Cool aren't they, if a little short.

Cheers

Matt,

Interesting info on Avonmouth SVA centre as this is my local one. They seem to be friendly and fair which is good news.

Sounds like a reasonably easy fail..by that i mean easy to fix and should sail through next time.

Good luck.

Andy

Hope our's is as painless as your's...

Good Luck!