skippad
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 posted on 18/6/03 at 10:03 PM |
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OH BUGGER!
My MK Indy failed its sva today at Newcastle. I was told beforehand that one of the testers there was a right b*****d and guess who i got? Yep, the
tester from hell!
My pride and joy which Ive painstakingly
put together, which myself & me mate (another mk builder) thought would sail through, was torn to bits by this bloke.
18 yes 18 faults he managed to find, most of them beyond belief.
Some of the most serious ones were (he reckons) were of mk's design... extra strengthening needed in bulkhead around master cylinder, even
though i had beefed it up with 1/4 " ali plate.
Seatbelt anchorage on floor rails were in his opinion inadiquate and he needed evidence of compliance to directive 76/115 EEC ? plus loads other
daft things.
When i mentioned these defects to Martin Keenan he said it was first ever failure in these areas and was totally baffled by the testers opinion.
At this i'm moment i am very demorallised
by todays events and i'm going to have few drinks and assess the situation tommorrow.
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Mark Allanson
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| posted on 18/6/03 at 10:19 PM |
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Chin up, at least you have completed your car to the SVA stage, you WILL pass soon, treat it as a challenge to beat the twat ! Do what he say, only
better. you will have that MAC very soon.
But do us all a favour, list everything in detal so we can be prepared for the ordeal, preferably with pickies
Good Luck
Mark
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 18/6/03 at 10:29 PM |
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is there an appeals procedure?
It might be possible to show that MK cars get through at other centres and that the tester isnt being fair.
If you lose however, hes really going to like you.
If all else fails, what about a different sva centre?
atb
steve
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greggors84
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| posted on 18/6/03 at 10:32 PM |
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quote:
But do us all a favour, list everything in detal so we can be prepared for the ordeal, preferably with pickies
Yes please! That would be really helpful, then we can all beat the b**tard testers!
[Edited on 18/6/03 by greggors84]
Chris
The Magnificent 7!
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Mark Allanson
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| posted on 18/6/03 at 10:39 PM |
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As this thread shows, if someone has a crack at one of our own, we close ranks... I am sure the same applies to SVA inspectors
If you can beat the bugger at his own game, without any animocity, the feeling of satisfaction would be far greater, and perhaps he may be a little
fairer on the next locost he tests?
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theconrodkid
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| posted on 19/6/03 at 02:30 PM |
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with ordinary mot,s there is an apealls procedure,they go out to slaughter the tester(bin on the receiving end),might be worth a try
who cares who wins
pass the pork pies
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skippad
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| posted on 19/6/03 at 04:49 PM |
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OH BUGGER!
Thanks lads for the support, i've calmed down a bit since my ordeal yesterday.
I'm hoping to get a letter of support from MK saying that hundreds of these chassis have been passed around the countries sva stations without
a problem.
My mate who helped & guided me with the build had his Mk passed last year at the same station but by a different tester.
To me there seems to be i lot of inconsistencies between testers and stations and as Vic Reeves used to say "Don't let it lie" i
won't.
The failure list is:-
1 Speedo incapable of being read ( because i had the daft sierra wheel on)
2 Evidence required or compliance to directive 76/114 EEC on seat belt anchorages ( got me baffled this one)
3 mk plastic dash not radiused to 19mm
at lower edge.
4 rear fog light not squre to rear( some stations pass some don't - easy fixed)
5 o/s/f wheel rim projects beyond wheel rim (6mm very petty)
6rear fog & reversing lamps edges not radiused ( even though they are E marked, very very petty)
7 ball joint & track rod not radiused to 2.5 mm(i covered & tie wrapped them with pipe foam but he said they had to be permently fixed)
8 mud guard trim not permently fixed(it was fixed until he pulled it off he says glue it)
9rear axle not area not covered ( i left the boot panel off for his benifit so he could inspect inside)
10 ,11,12,13 Various bits of wiring and pipework he was'nt to his liking ( i mus'nt be fussy enough-not)
14 master cylinder mounting inadequate strength. (i bolted 1/4 ali plate to bulkhead just to be sure- obviously not good enough!)
15 brake pipe at end tunnel insecure ( just needs another clip)
16 front brake pipes touching wishbones on full lock( one side -just)
17 emissions above limits ( the co level read .36 but hc read 1470, the engine had been rolling roaded before test but i think it had been idling for
so long the plugs were fouling up and needed a good blast round the block)
18 one of my front calipers wasnt as efficient as other. Again needs good run out to loosen everything up.
And at the end of all that he says ive got nice car with good build!!!
I'll be back!
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Viper
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| posted on 19/6/03 at 06:17 PM |
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Skipad,
after reading through your last post, i can't see where your beef is. All the things that you have failed on have been discussed at length on
here in the past and it clearly states in the sva book what needs to be done, sounds to me like the tester was doing you a favour, that brake pipe
might have only just been rubbing whilst sat in the test station, how bad could that rubbing be mid corner when you have the hammer down???
One or two of the things might seem a bit petty but add them all together and suddenly there is a lot of litle bits need doing, if i had been the
tester i would have failed you too because more than anything it looks like you either didn't do your homework properly, or going by your
attitude over this matter, couldn't be bothered or perhaps you feel you are such a good engineer that you shouldn't have to go through
with a test???
If anyone presents a car to sva that has pipe foam covering the track rods (looks shite and is obviously temporary) and hasn't bothered to fix
the fog lights etc at the right angle and the speedo being obscured deserves to fail. Face it you only have yourself to blame for the failure.
So stop whinging about it, get it fixed properly, get it passed and get out and have some fun in the thing.
I am sorry if this has offended you, but there are loads of people on here struggling to build there cars and don't need this kind of
discouragement...
(Just gonna go get my flack jacket)
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Ian Pearson
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| posted on 19/6/03 at 08:02 PM |
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INCOMING!!
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bob
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| posted on 19/6/03 at 09:41 PM |
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Yeah a bit harsh that but the test is a learning curve for most of us.
IMO this SVA section needs a station by station guide so people know what to expect or near as dammit,you can only make your best effort on the day
and at least you know your 30 quid away from the mac cert.
Best of luck with the retest and let us know what the seat belt ancorage thing is about as its a new one on me.
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skippad
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| posted on 20/6/03 at 12:17 AM |
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oh bugger!
Viper
Yes i deserve to fail on some of the smaller faults but with hindsight i tried to look at the car pre test through a fair testers eyes. My
mate who has already built an MK and already passed at same station helped me to build to similar if not better spec than his own. All we can
assume is the test is more stricter than last year. Having said that MK say that they have any major problems with getting there cars passed at
Beverley, nr Hull.
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kingr
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| posted on 20/6/03 at 12:24 PM |
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I'd say that the mud guard trim was a bit harsh given that production cars have push pit trim sections around windows, door shuts and so on, or
am I misunderstanding.
Kingr
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mad-butcher
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| posted on 20/6/03 at 06:16 PM |
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I take it you put yours in without any inside trim that would be the only way he could have picked up on the seat belt mount bit of old nutsack if
you ask me considering one of martins was involved in a crash at le mans last year and I haven't heard that the mounts gave way on his
seatbelts.
best of luck
tony
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skippad
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 posted on 24/6/03 at 11:09 PM |
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OH BUGGER!
WAYHEY!!!
Good news on the seat belt anchorages.
Last week the tester at N'cstle sva station was adamant that my car would not get a mac cert if MK Eng. could'nt prove that
anchorages were strong enough to pass directive 76/115 EEC ( i STILL don't know what it is).
Anyways after a lot of phone calls between MK - Swansea- Newcastle - Me we finally got it sorted... my anchorages were up to spec ... Phew !.
I don't know exactly what was discussed between Newcastle and Swansea but all im concerned with is that it went in my favour. Retest July
3rd.
I Thank You
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mad-butcher
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| posted on 25/6/03 at 05:48 PM |
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glad it's sorted wouldn't like to have been on the receiving end of a phone call from martin could be difficult walking with a seat belt
hanging out of your arse
good luck with retest
tony
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locodude
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| posted on 25/6/03 at 08:10 PM |
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Some people are quick to jump down the throats of manufacturers and blame them for SVA failures even when they have been told the relevant information
and that it is between the tester and the client. No so quick to say sorry tho' eh?
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skippad
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| posted on 25/6/03 at 11:28 PM |
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oh bugger
I hope your not suggesting that i blamed MK for seatbelt anchorage failure?. Far from it, i defended MK wholeheartardly against the sva
testers opinion because i know how well all the welding is and how much care is put into manufacturiing the chassis.
I very proud to be able to own and build my Mk and i havn't a bad word against them, in fact i found Martin very fair and helpful.
I hope i havnt got hold of the wrong end of the stick!!!
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bob
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| posted on 26/6/03 at 07:01 AM |
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Well at least its all sorted now with a happy ending for everyone,also good to see that MK made the effort to speak with the ministry on this issue.
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marcyboy
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| posted on 26/6/03 at 09:17 PM |
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oh buggar
just a quickie to those in the know...
do the sva test stations have a failure quota like mot stations?
you know what happens when you have your car mot'd on the last week of the month!!,
so good luck on 3rd july,
don't let the bastards grind you down
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Sparky
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| posted on 27/6/03 at 10:46 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by marcyboy
just a quickie to those in the know...
do the sva test stations have a failure quota like mot stations?
I have to say something about this...
I've been testing for about six months, having previously tested in the early nineties.
Mr and Mrs General Public present their cars for test, and we test them. If they meet the regulations, they pass, and if they don't... Well,
they fail.
I work for a specialist Independant American car repair outfit close to an US airbase, and I would say that nine out of ten cars presented for test
are of American origin. None of these US cars have direction indicator side repeaters fitted as standard, so they fail. Not my fault - I don't
write the UK regs.
One week recently, everything I tested had to be retested after repair - I didn't pass a single car first time. This last week, I haven't
failed one. Anything to do with my mood, or a set failure rate, or the weather? No. The cars meet regs, or they don't. Am I expecting a visit
from the Ministry? No, but if I did, every vehicle was tested with judgement and care.
As part of my job, I have to test cars that are brand new, on a visiting forces SVA scheme. These cars, apart from the previously mentioned side
repeaters, and a little reworking of the sidelight colour, pass with flying colours - of course they do. If I had a quota, I'd be making stuff
up, and that might be a little difficult on a car with less than 3000 miles on it.
I'm sick of hearing about how power-crazed testers see it as their divine right to inconvenience car owners by actually finding fault
with their cars.
You present a car with no faults - you'll get a pass.
Why on earth would a testing station risk their authorisation, just to meet some imaginary figures. The appeals procedure is pretty strict - as
Conrod kid says. If you're found to have incorrectly tested a car - either a pass for an unroadworthy car, or a failure for a good one, you risk
losing your authorisation, for you and your boss. My job is reliant on my ability to test fairly, and it's rubbish like 'quotas'
that the Vehicle Inspectorate are keen to lose as an image. It has nothing to do with quotas.
Rant (finally) over.
By the way, hope all goes well on the 3rd Skippad! 
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