SVA Test

SVA Test and Registration

• The form was filled in and sent away together with a cheque for £150 on 19/09/06.

• The test was booked for Monday 30th Oct 2006 at 8.00am, at the Bishopbriggs Glasgow VIC. There are only two test centres in Scotland, the other is in Aberdeen.

It wasn't looking too good on the weather report the night before, and sure enough it was raining on the Monday morning. We had put the hood and side screens on the night before, and covered up any potential gaps where the water might get in with waterproof tape. I left at 6.40am for the 45min drive to the test station, my Dad followed in his car, with all the tools. Not really the ideal first outing in the car, dark and raining! Still I got to see what the windscreen wipers and lights were like. It was very snug with the hood up, and thankfully the water was staying on the outside.

• At the test station

We arrived at the test station at 7.20am, by this time it had stopped raining. We took off the hood and side screens, and then I went over to the reception. I was told to drive it over to lane 1 and wait for the inspector.

• The test.

The inspector came across and introduced himself. He had a general look over the car and on first impressions said he was very impressed. He asked us to take off the bonnet so he could check the chassis number. He then inspected the engine bay, pulling and prodding at various things. We put the bonnet back on, this was the one and only time he looked under the bonnet, which surprised me. Next he got me to operate all the lights. Then Kevin, the inspector, got in and tested the accuracy of the speedometer. He asked me if it was a transducer type, saying that a lot of cars with this type had failed. I told him it was a direct drive, which seemed to please him. The speedometer proved to be very accurate, reading 2 MPH below the actual speed, at each of the test increments.

After the speed test it was onto the ramp. Kevin got me to turn the steering lock to lock then move it back and forth quickly. Then I had to apply the foot brake several times, and also the handbrake. He spent a good while under the car looking at various things, then lowered the car down. The headlights were tested, and found to be slightly out of alignment. He allowed us to adjust them. He commented that the nearside wing mirror was partially obscured by the windscreen support. This was one of the things I thought that might be picked up. Oh no I thought, there's not much I could do about it. Luckily he used a bit of discretion and said it would be ok. Phew! The next point he picked up on was one of exhaust clamps. The head of the clamp was sticking out too far. He asked us to loosen it off and rotate it inwards, so it was "non- contactable", to use his terminology. It's not the head of the clamp you should be worrying about, I thought to myself, it's the red hot exhaust pipe that'll take your skin off. It makes you wonder who makes up these regulations?

I drove off the ramp and onto the brake testing rollers at the far end of the lane. Kevin got in and started to test the brakes. He went through various combinations of front and rear wheel tests, including attaching a pressure sensor to his foot, this allowed him to apply an equal pressure each time he pressed the pedal. He also weighed each axle with me in the car and on its own. Kevin explained he feeds all the results into a spreadsheet to calculate the brake/weight distributions. The exhaust emissions were tested, and were found to be well within the limits. Kevin then used a sphere to test various areas of the outside of the car. I'm not quite sure what he was checking for, possibly the size of gaps and contactable surfaces etc. He never used any of his spheres to check the inside the car, which I was expecting him to do after reading about other peoples experiences. I suppose it varies depending on what station you go to and what inspector you get. They will all have their own interpretation of the regulations, and use different degrees of discretion.

Kevin got me to drive the car outside so he could test the noise from the exhaust. I had to hold the revs at 3,500 while he carried out the noise test. He said the result was 102dB and the limit was 101dB, but he said he wasn't overly concerned about it. Finally Kevin took it for a lap round the perimeter of the test station, to check that the steering self centered, and to check the mirrors. He went round twice, I think he just wanted another go! He commented that it felt one of the best kit cars he had driven, he said he gets a lot that are quite ruff and rattly. Overall he said it was one of the best examples of a kit car he had seen. It was good to receive that much appreciation after all the hard work we had put into the build. We were told to wait in the reception, while he entered the brake test calculations into his computer. After a nerve racking half hour wait, Kevin appeared and said it had passed. Yes!!! He handed me the MAC and we made our way out.

• The piece of paper that all the fuss was about.

The weather was still holding out, but we fitted the hood and side screens just in case. Luckily it remained dry all the way back.

• Registration.

The last thing to do before I could drive it on the road legally, was to get a registration plate allocated to it. Having never done this before I didn't know what to expect. Since I was going for a new reg, I filled in a V55/4 form, which is an "Application for a first licence for a new motor vehicle and declaration for registration". I also filled in a V627/1 which is a "Built up vehicle inspection report". You don't always need this but its better to have one prepared. Also required is a "Certificate of newness" which I got from Quantum, a certificate of insurance, receipts for every last nut and bolt and of course the "Ministers approval certificate". Armed with all the paperwork, I took a day off work and went up to the local DVLA office in Edinburgh. I handed over all the paperwork, they actually asked me for the V627/1 form, good job I filled that in! The forms were taken away for someone to have a quick check over. When the guy returned he said everything seemed to be in order, and that a new plate would be allocated to the car. I paid £38 for the first registration fee and £175 for 12 months road tax. He told me it would be ready the next day, I couldn't believe it! So I returned the next day to pick up the tax disc, and paperwork for my new reg. The only problem I encountered was with the chassis number. They said that the one allocated by Quantum wasn't acceptable because they now need to be 17 digits long. So he had to issue me with a new chassis number. This will have to be stamped into the chassis, and also a new chassis plate made up. A bit of a hassle but nothing major. So on the Saturday I went and got a set of plates made up, and fitted them to the car. It was raining heavily on the Saturday, but I managed to get out on Sunday morning 12/11/06 for its first official drive.

So from the time I paid my deposit until the first official drive the whole process has taken 1 year and 5 months. We have estimated the build has taken over 1000 hours of work.