steve_d

Repairing a chassis is just that 'a repair'. Replacing a rusted crossmember or outrigger with a repair panel or a hand fabricated alternative performing the same function is a repair. Welding in a crossmember made of 6mm plate, carrying a winch and 100 ton (approx) recovery points is a modification. Welding on an outrigger that was never there on the original is a modification. Les...IVA police on not, you cannot claim this to be a repair. Steve

3M do an adhesive backed label material you print with your inkjet printer so you can do any shape, text, graphic you like. Once printed you pop it in the oven for the given time (about 10min from memory). The heat process locks the ink into the label material and you cannot scratch the print off. Steve

You will spend way too much getting that going again. It would only be worth doing if that was the right engine number for the 2 door Classic you were returning the showroom. There are plenty of others around. There were a couple in the classified the other day. Steve

What would you find if you 'blued' the assembly and what would you be able to do about it? I'm guessing you would only be seeing machining imperfections of the gears which you can do nothing about unless you had them re-worked. Steve ETA Should have typed quicker, looks like my answer is above.

The pipes that pass under the inlet manifold are only going to the heater so are not part of the cooling for the heads. If they were connected and looped together at the bulkhead they are not going to provide any meaningful increase in cooling. They will however heat the inlet which as I said before may have been done to possibly improve something in the inlet but who knows. Steve

The hole you refer to as being open rather than tapped may be the mixture control and it may have a metal cap pushed in to stop you playing with it. If you must go in there it can be dug out with a small screwdriver then the adjuster takes an alen key. Steve

It looked to me as if running the pair of heater pipes under the manifold on the efi gave some heat to the base of the manifold and may have made the engine work better or more efficiently. If you have no heater I would ignore those pipes and just blank off the pump outlets. Steve

I've done one before. When you remove the large hex fitting on the side the pressed metal housing comes off. Be very careful though as there are some springs and plungers inside which if you put back in the wrong way round result in the pump not working........ask me how I know. I repaired mine just with a box of mixed size O rings. Steve

Which valve are you referring to? If the Bosch then you need the added circuit on the board to beef up the output transistor then connect MS pin 30 to the valve and the other pin of the valve to +12v through a 2 amp fuse. It does not matter which way round the valve is wired. Steve

Does it make the noise throughout the whole pedal travel or just when you get to the floor? It may be over throwing the clutch. If you had some air in the system before it may not have travelled far enough. I can't think of any category your noisy clutch could fail the SVA on. Steve

All the bits you will need you can get from Think Automotive. http://www.thinkauto.com/ Sandwich plate is OK but many have issues with the filter/axle interface. A remote oil thermostat is a good idea because over cooling can be as bad as over heating. Steve

I'm not familiar with how the internal spark control works but made a schoolboy error myself with EDIS which you should also check. The system sparks A, B, C, D but because of the way I mounted the coils I had wired them incorrectly. It ran, just, but gave all the same symptoms you report popping and banging. So the coils & cylinders work like this A = 1 & 6 B = 5 & 8 C = 4 & 7 D = 2 & 3 If you looked straight into the connector on the Ford coil pack pin 1 is on the left and drives the coil on that side and vice versa. Steve

As you say if you formed a saddle that sat on top of the chassis to take the load and locate your frame and then fitted a plate under the chassis with bolts down from above (either side of the chassis rail) you would not be modifying the chassis. If someone challenged that loads were being applied to the chassis it was not designed for my response would be that the loads will only exist during a roll over or impact on the cage. If you drill the chassis you have altered its strength and therefore modified it. I agree this would not be a significant change in strength but that's not how rules work. Yes you should make use of the existing body mounts but could also provide lateral bracing by forming the saddle as an up-turned U. It need only wrap down the side of the chassis by 40mm or so. A nice strip of 1/4" rubber between chassis and saddle should finish things off nicely. Steve

ZR and VR rated tyres are allowed to go higher than the rating if the load is lower than the load rating. i.e. as the car gets lighter the speed can rise. Source...IVA inspection manual. Steve

Fit electric fans. You then cool when it's needed and can switch them off when playing in water so you don't throw it all over the engine. Steve

The fuel sounds like a blocked vent. The rubber hose may have degraded or may be trapped somewhere. The power steering sounds like it is over-filled as there should be no reason for the fluid to be up around the cap unless you play off road at silly angles (the cap has a vent hole in it). Also check that the fluid is not foaming which is an indication that the pump is failing. Steve

Garden hose jet but not pressure wash. Let the cleaning agents do the work. Steve

I agree the test is nothing to fear but until now, with the introduction of IVA, it has not been possible to take the test for most of the modified vehicles that frequent our fraternity. Steve

I get all my wiring etc. from PoleVolt. Steve

I suggested that if the brace had been taken from the top of the cage down to the centre of the bed then the outrigger would not have been required. DVLA has stated any modification to the chassis = IVA but others will tell you that they have been known to deviate from that ruling. I was told even moving an engine mount was a chassis mod. This type of change does not fit any of the MOT inspection criteria. They will only be inspecting that the chassis in that area is sound and is not cracked or rusty. If the cage had been fabricated as a separate structure a beam could be run right across at the height of the outrigger. Supports, with a 'shoe' at the base, could then have been welded under the beam to sit on the chassis without being welded to it. Steve

Is this the one? http://www.marcusglenn.com/catalog/viewpho...h=373&phqu= Saw it while looking for the side light I posted for info on. Steve

IVA section 46 says the tyre must have an adequate speed rating for the maximum speed of the vehicle. It goes on to say....Evidence of, or a written declaration of, the maximum design speed of the vehicle should be produced by the vehicle manufacturer/owner. For my SVA I had to declare the top speed of the vehicle which uncannily was just below the speed rating of the tyres. Steve

I have a pair of military sidelights (new) in Lucas boxes. The box markings are as follows..... LV6/MT3 6220 99 803 3873 SIDE LAMP LU/52448 QTY 1 A Google search on the various elements of those numbers only confirm it's a side lamp. Anybody know what they are fitted too and if they have a value? Steve

There would have been no category under SVA that you could present a bobtail for test (ask Bish how he knows). Under IVA they have re-written one line in the amateur build category which now makes it possible. If you are planning a build then the IVA manual has to be your bedtime reading from now on so that your design takes you towards a pass. Steve

Very true and it basically comes down to the inspector at your local DVLA office. He/she has the power to decide if the mods you are proposing or have carried out will require a test. If the inspector has engineering skills and decides that your mods do not present a hazard then they can be agreed. If the inspector does not have those skills then they may have to require a test carried out by an engineer. As you can see there are both technical and procedural anomalies across DVLA and before you start conducting a survey of where is best to go you can only deal with the DVLA office for your area. Steve