Re-cap of IVA Test Preparations

I never got around to it earlier, but I'd always intended to write a post about the modifications that I did for my IVA test.  I'll share them here in case any are useful inspiration for other builders about to take their IVA tests.

Exhaust clamp bolt rotated around towards the sill of the car.

5mm rubber cord super-glued to the scuttle, around the dashboard.  The dashboard had been cut a few mm undersize to accommodate the cord.

3mm rubber cord super-glued around the lens of the reverse and fog lights.

Rubber u-trim attached around the upper harness buckles.

Self-amalgamating tape wrapped around the nuts on the side mirrors.

Exhaust heat wrap fitted around the lambda sensor with stainless steel ties.

U-trim fixed around the silencer bracket with Sikaflex.  Nut covers added to ends of bolts/nuts.

U-trim fitted around the headlight bracket.  Self-amalgamating tape wrapped around the upper ball joint adjuster nut.

Rubber pipe split and wrapped around the track rod, to make it the same diameter as the rod end.  Then self-amalgamating tape wrapped around both.  More nut covers added to the bolt heads and nuts, where not in an exempt area.

Front indicator extensions - made from plumbing tube and copper pipe end caps.

A combination of bicycle inner tube and self-amalgamating tape on the bonnet spring catches.

Loops of bicycle inner tube to secure the plastic covers for the rear bonnet catches.

U-trim on front cycle wings.

Nut coves on suspension nuts/bolts.  U-trim added to all edges of the fibreglass.

Ford Sierra steering wheel fitted.  Before the test I discovered that the inside had delaminated in places from the metal ring.  The padding had also gone a bit powdery.  Both due to old age.  I used a sharp knife to cut a long slit around parts of the wheel rim.  Inside I added some black Sikaflex and wrapped it all up tight with tape.  The repair is almost invisible and the wheel now feels as strong as new.

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.

IVA Test Date Confirmed

Email received this morning from my chosen test station to inform me that my test is booked for first thing on the 10th February.  Not long now, better get back to the final items on my to-do list.

IVA Test Fee Paid

VOSA in Swansea called to relieve me of my test fee.  The local IVA test centre should be in touch soon to make the test appointment.

IVA Application Posted

IVA application form, self build declaration, along with supporting docs sent to VOSA in Swansea.

MoT Passed

Passed.  Only issue was the emissions.  CO, etc. was fine, but the lambda value was too high.  Webcon has added a timing retard feature to the ECU to help with this.  With the relevant wire connected to earth the timing is retarded 10 degrees.  This causes the exhaust gas temperature to rise and get the catalyst to 'light'.  The issue is particularly acute at idle as the exhaust gases will be cooler.

The second attempt was better, but still a fail.  Then I noticed the exhaust gas probe was not fully in the silencer. If it is not fully in it can 'sniff' fresh air and upset the readings (due to the pulsing of the air, in and out of the silencer end).  With the probe fully in, everything was good and the emissions test was passed.

With the MoT out of the way I'll get on with making a booking for the IVA test and finishing off all my IVA-prep jobs.

Mirrors Fitted

IVA compliant racing style centre mirror bought from Car Builder Solutions.  This has rubber trim around the edges and  a single M6 threaded mounting.  This was bought in preference to a similar model with a flat mounting base.  The flat base would not have sat flat on the curved Avon scuttle top.

Dumbo ear air brake side mirrors inherited from Bob following his IVA (thanks).  Likely to be upgraded to something more sporty at a later date.

Front Lighting

The IVA test requires that the front indicators are no more than 400mm from the outside edges of the car.  On the Avon this would be measured in from the rear wheel arches (being the widest part of the car).  The rear arches are 1750mm in width so the indicators need to be no less than 950mm (1750 - 800) between their outside edges.  As with most sevens the indicators needed extending on stalks.

I found a plastic waste overflow pipe at B&Q which is the perfect fit to hold the motorcycle indicator units.

To create a fixing to the nose cone of the car I used a 22mm copper pipe blanking cap with a M8 bolt.  An 8mm bolt was used as this is the same as the indicator unit bolt.  The centre of the bolt was drilled out to allow the wires to pass through.  A length of rubber sleeve was used inside the bolt to prevent chafing on the edge of the hole.

As well as using glue a couple of 3.2mm rivets were used to lock the bolt in place and prevent it spinning when tightening the nut.  Finally, prior to fitting, a quick coat of black paint was used to cover the copper and rivets.

To allow more clearance on the cycle wings I've changed from the 5 3/4"  light units to the smaller 4" Dominator motorcycle units.  Being smaller they should reduce drag (a little) and boost the top speed (a little).

The wires needed extending and protective sleeving added.  The colour scheme for the wires was very bizarre.  I had to trace each one to the bulb holders to work out what was going on.  After the bullet connectors were attached I labelled each one to prevent future confusion.

Being a motorcycle light the Dominator has a flat beam pattern, with no kick-up to the left.  This is fine for the IVA test, but to help it pass the MoT the light unit is best rotated a few degrees to give the required kick-up.  To do this a second locating cut-out was filed, to the right of the original one.  This causes the whole light unit to be rotated anti-clockwise when viewed from the front of the car.

Front indicators and headlights mounted and wire in.  I'll replace the bullet connectors with soldered connections after the IVA test.  I've ordered some proper two pin connectors from Ebay for the front indicators.  This will make it easier to detach prior to removing the nose cone.

I had some black card handy in the garage so I thought I'd use it to check the beam patterns.  Here is the dipped beam.  Hot spot in the centre and kick-up to the left.  Hopefully good enough to please Mr (or Mrs) MoT tester.

And here is the full beam.

These are small light units and are mounted quite low.  As such their beam will be masked partly by the front cycle wings.  This should not be too much of an inconvenience as they will really only be used to get home around dusk.  I don't plan to be making too many long distance trips at night.