Here we are, all calm and collected at Yeading test centre ready for the 9.00am start. The paper work all in order and I saw that the max power setting for the noise test had been reduced by VOSA to 5800 which was encouraging. Very welcoming inspector Malcolm who started by saying that their speedometer verification equipment was US so he would have to pass us on that if all else seemed OK. The centre is mainly for HGV driver and vehicle tests but one lane is set out for SVA inspections. Those are not just for kit cars but also personal imports etc etc. Nev had brought the car up on his trailer and I had taken as many bits and pieces as I could think of following David Ellistons experience. I was very surprised when Malcolm said that kit car submissions have fallen off a lot and that they only see one every 6 weeks or so nowadays. Doesn't bode well for the industry!
First test was emissions with a warm engine. With all the issues of last week and my being away we had not really run the car since the water temp pick up was installed and there must have been an airlock in the system because as she warmed up she blew clouds of steam via the header tank outlet onto the coil pack. But that was not a test issue and once warm she passed the emissions part easily. All credit to Mazda really because we have not touched the 17 years old scrapyard-find engine other than to remove all the emissions gubbins. Then the car is driven along to an extended length hydraulic lift with steering turntables, headlight aim checking etc etc. Now Malcolm started to clamber all over the car, very thoroughly, looking from tyre rotation to steering bolts, wiring routing and was really extremely proactive, pointing out issues as he went with chafe points and so on. So much so that when we needed more cable ties he suggested that there was a B&Q next door so while Neville was adding lock nuts here and there as they were pointed out I sprinted round and picked up a pack. But he seemed to be making a lot of notes about edges and wiring / fuel lines and even though I was able to add a bit of spiral wrap here and there one thing we could not do was add grommets to points where chafing could occur. Harnesses were a question at first but passed. I was asked to press hard on the brake pedal to enable him to check for leaks underneath and in my enthusiasm pressed the accelerator so hard that I forced the pip off the accelerator cable! Thankfully it landed on the bulkhead and Nev was able to slot it back on.
After this it I had to drive the car along to the weight check and brake test rollers. Weight came out almost spot on to estimate (guesstimate actually) at 603kg without the driver. We had not had time given the other issues recently to have the car MOT'd beforehand and the headlight aim was clearly wrong but I think we had used up our time in the rectifications we had done and Malcolm did not suggest we redid them. We had also hoped for the MOT to give us guidance on the brakes etc. Once the front wheels were in the rollers I was given a meter to strap to my shoe and asked to press it onto the brake pedal to show a number of loading pressures. This gave a series of readings on their brake test equipment with variance left to right and I was a bit concerned since I had re-built the calipers myself. However we passed all the brake tests with flying colours. Next Malcolm drove the car out into their road test area and ran some figure of eights to check the steering self centering (fine) then an emergency stop from a speed I forget - again fine. Then I was asked to drive round to the other side of the test centre where the car was parked in the middle of an open area and the noise test equipment set up. We passed that with 94.8 decibels. (It was the first time I had been able to drive the car for more than 30 yards on tarmac and it really felt great).
Then there was a longish wait while all the data was entered into a computer and when Malcolm came out it was a fail and what looked a long list of points. However he quickly pointed out that the car is basically fine but that the chafe points, the aim of the rear fog lamp, proximity of reflectors to rear side lights, interior mirror wrong type and so on have to be fixed before we can get a pass. The re-test will cost £38.00 and we can arrange it directly with Yeading.
So it was back onto the trailer (and while doing so a youngster passed calling out "Wicked car Mister!") and back to Oakhanger. We decided to check the speedometer against Nev's GPS now that we knew the car was basically safe so set off down the local road (private of course) and I drove as close to 30 as I could for a mile or so while Nev sang out the actuals - we were within 2 mph below indictated 30 which is perfect. The car is very sensitive to steering inputs!
Then off for a discussion and a pot of coffee in front of the fire in the local. Neville very splendidly agreed to come and spend Saturday with me and we would blitz the rectifications. And indeed we got a huge amount done yesterday - my muscles tell me so! Nev really is a mine of knowledge and gets things that would take me days and three retries done in no time. There are a few things left:-
- the fog light aim,
- number plate light (don't buy the LED type until post SVA),
- a couple more grommets needed on the front bulkhead,
- lower dash roll,
- wiper motor and ECU to be wrapped,
- a nyloc on the roll cage mount which the SVA missed but we'll fit,
- bleed the hydraulics because we had to re route the reservoir pipes,
- interior mirror and so on
I'm not sure when it will be best to book it. I've a lot on at work over the next 2 weeks or so.
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