Registration Application Made at the Local DVLA Office

Went along to Reading DVLA office today to make my application for first registration.  As I have more than one reconditioned donor part that does not have official receipts I can only apply for a Q-prefix via form V55/4.  This is what I had expected.

Eventually all the forms were filled and the supporting documents checked.  In total this took nearly one and half hours.  There was one difficult moment when it became apparent that I did not have the insurance certificate or a cover note.  I had only been sent the Shedule and the Summary.  I quickly called Footman James.  They e-mailed a cover note to my phone straight away.  The DVLA staff member gave me his e-mail address.  I forwarded to him and he printed it out.  All sorted in 5 mins.  A lucky escape.

I've paid the registration fee of £55 pounds, plus the cost of the tax disc.  Next I have to wait for my inspection.  This will take place at the DVLA office on 13th March.  Unfortunately this is the earliest appointment.  It seems inspections are only held once a week.  Its only a 15 minute slot so should be over quite quickly, but it does mean the hassle of trailering the car once again.

Once the inspection is done the remaining paperwork should be processed quickly and a tax disc sent through the post.  So I was told.

All these local DVLA offices are due to close by next year.  This process is going to be even more difficult if things are centralised in Swansea.

IVA Re-Test Passed!

Had the re-test this morning and the car passed!  Very pleased indeed.

The first part of the test went very quickly, just checking the previous fail points: fog light switch, exhaust clamp and rear brake show inspection holes.

Here I am up on the ramp while the tester checks the rear brake inspection holes.

All of these points passed easily.  It was the next part that I was very apprehensive about - the five point brake test.  I understand this is a relatively new test in the IVA and basically checks what the braking force is on each axle at five points up to the point where the wheels slip on the rollers.  Then these figures are put into a calculation, which I believe takes into account the centre of gravity of the car, and the result is a comparison of the brake distribution ratio vs the weight distribution ratio for each of the five braking points.

How these are measured is quite neat.  With the car on the rollers the tester straps a pressure sensor to the sole of his right shoe.  This sensor is wired in to the remote control for the rollers.  Then the rollers are run many times to take the required readings.  During these the system is measuring what braking force is exerted by the car for a particular pedal pressure.

Half way through the tester decided that the brakes needed warming up.  I assumed that the readings were not coming out as expected.  The car had been in the garage for a week and a half and there was some surface rust on the front discs.  To warm the brakes the tester drove the car twice around the test centre with the brake pedal applied.  He appeared much happier with the second set of measurements.

Then I was told to put the car back on the trailer, while the tester went to do the paperwork.  There was no indication at this point of the test result.  It was clear that the door was closed on any re-run of the brake test.

I waited anxiously in the waiting room for what seemed like an eternity.  Maternity wards sprang to mind.  Then finally I spotted my tester coming out of the office, having done the required brake calculations.  I was delighted to see an IVA certificate in his hand instead of the refusal notice delivered last time.  Time to take the car home, whilst wearing a big cheesy grin.  Next its off to the local DVLA office to make the application for the registration plate.

IVA Re-Test Modifications

IVA re-test booked for 22nd February.  Modifications to address the fail items have now completed.

1.  Exhaust clamp rotated around towards the sill of the car.  Also cut of the excess thread that was showing through the clamp.

2.  Minor wiring change behind the fog light switch so that the switch light only comes on with the fog light iteself.

3.  Brake lining wear inspection holes (13mm) drilled in brake back plates.  New bungs were inserted.  

There aren't too many options for where to drill.  Some of the flat areas are indented for the purpose of holding the shoes in position.  Had to use one of the few spare recesses.

It was quite fortunate that I spent a bit of time working under the rear of the car as I spotted a problem.  I had installed the rear dampers with the adjustment wheel facing up/outwards.  This was okay during the build with the chassis up on axle stands and the suspension hanging.  However, once the car was on the ground and with the suspension moving through its full travel this adjustment wheel was fouling slightly on the horizontal tube of the upper wishbone.  It was lucky I spotted this before any permanent damage was done.

The fix was quite straightforward.  Unbolt the damper top and bottom, spin through 180 degrees so that the adjustment wheel faces downwards/inwards and re-install the bolts.

IVA Test Result

Well not a bad day in the end.  A bit of a challenge getting through the snow and ice to the test station.  However, once there the test went much better than expected.  Only three fail items:

1. Radius issue on exhaust clamp - needs turning around so that bolt is towards the sill of the car.
2. Light on fog light switch coming on with side lights - needs to come on only when the fog lights are actually on.  Easy re-wiring job.
3. Not possible to assess the state of the rear brake shoes due to the inspection hole in the back plate being obstructed by the Tiger uprights.  Need to drill a new hole that is accessible and fit a rubber bung.  On each side of course.

Will get these things fixed in the next few days and book a re-test for a couple of weeks time.  This time I think I will drive it to the test centre.  As long as it is a bit warmer.

Even though the car was on a trailer quite a lot of salty road spray end up on the front of the car.  Even more got sprayed on as the car was driven round the test centre.  Its all washed off now and the car is back in a heated garage to dry off.

First of the tests was the speedo.  Good news no issues here, my calculations to programme the digital dash must have been roughly right.

Second test was emissions.  Like the MoT no issues here as long as the retard 'switch' on the ECU was activated.

Worse than the dentists?  The tester goes into the cabinent of IVA tortutre tools...

When doing the basic brake test the car's front and rear axle weights are measured.  With a full tank of fuel, but no driver this came out at a bit over 600Kg in total.  I was expecting a bit less than this.  Especially given that I have the alloy tank and rad, race battery, as well as no windscreen, heater, etc.  I'll get the car corner weighted at a later stage and double check the figures.

Outside the noise test was performed.  93 point something dB.  Well below the 99 dB limit.  Will also be okay for track use too.  This is with the standard Tiger exhaust set up.

The indirect vision test was a breeze with the big side mirrors.  Anything that couldn't been seen due to the headrests was easily seen in the side mirrors.

Before and during the test I was apprehensive, especially with the weather situation.  In the end though, it is like most people say, an enjoyable experience.  The tester was very fair and helpful.  Having driven around the test centre I definitely cannot wait to start driving on the road.

Oh, I nearly forgot.  When I return for the re-test I need to have the 'five point brake test' done.  The equipment was away being repaired on the day I was at the test centre.  It was supposed to arrive during the day, but didn't.