Road Legal At Last!

Yup - at long last the car is registered and road legal...

Sort of. On the inaugural drive the speedometer cable snapped - which is a known problem with the MX5 based Westfields, one that I was hoping to dodge. It's easy enough to replace the cable but I suspect there will be a high likelihood of this happening again unless I can somehow modify the angle at which the cable has to bend in the transmission tunnel.

I think this well and truly marks the transition from building a kit-car to the overhead involved in owning and caring for one!

I've also got a few immediate modifications to do:

• Get some anti-stonechip film on the rear wheelarch leading surfaces
• Replace the IVA compliant steering wheel with one that gives a bit more legroom
  
• Reinstate the designed side repeaters and remove the IVA compliant ones
• Fit the half-tonneau for the "luggage compartment"
• Check the torque on suspension bolts
• Add in the cargo pockets in the driver/passenger compartments
• Get the wheel alignment professionally setup
• Improve the calibration of the fuel gauge (it accurately informs me of the usage of about 1/4 of the fuel tank at the moment)
• Calibrate the temperature gauge properly (I didn't set it right when re-applying the needles when I switched the gauge backs)

So plenty to do still!

But I've got to say that I'm pleasantly surprised at how well behaved the car is (apart from the naughty speedo cable that is), indeed so much so that I've used it for the 100 mile+ round trip to the office a few times already without any drama. And it is great fun to drive too :D

DVLA Inspection - Completed!

Just had the DVLA inspection, to make sure that the chassis & engine numbers matched up with those from the donor V5, and to check which other major components came from the donor. This determines whether the car is issued with an age-related plate or a Q-plate (or possibly not issued at all if something nefarious has apparently gone one). There is a slight stigma attached to a Q-plate as they are issued to vehicles of "an uncertain heritage or age", and once assigned a Q, you're stuck with it - you cannot transfer another registration number to the vehicle.

Anyway, the major components looked for are:

• Engine
• Transmission
• Axles
• Steering
• Chassis
• Suspension

And of these the Westfield Mazda SDV counts as using the Engine, Transmission, and Axles. And according to the inspector, this results in an age-related plate being appropriate. Result!

The inspection was short & sweet (and the phrase "text-book example" was used - and no, not by me!) and so now there is just a bit of waiting for the new V5 and accompanying tax disc to come through. And then all will remain is getting some plates made up and The Widowmaker hits the road!

IVA - Passed!

Another post that does what is says on the tin!

The trip to and from the testing centre was pretty uneventful - the car handles well, no fan-belts popped off, only got very slightly rained on, and I got there on time.

And then the inspector looked at all the fixes and was satisfied with them - the steering centering wasn't perfect but because it was a noticeable improvement he was happy to pass that too.

So to my slight surprise and great elation I was handed a certificate. Which is now in the bowels of the DVLA bureaucracy in order to get a license number for the car along with yet another bunch of forms. I've hopefully filled out these so that it will attract an age-related plate (rather than a Q) coz it's a single-donor vehicle that uses a lot of the original MX5.

Just one more obstacle that I can see - I've got to get the car down to DVLA in Botley in just over a weeks time. And it has to be trailered otherwise they'll not inspect it, which is a bit knickers seeing as I have neither trailer nor towbar...

IVA Re-Test

Yes, you may gather from the title of this post that the IVA test was a failure.

This had nothing to do with the fact that the fan belt slipped off on the way there, nor the overheating that resulted, nor the exceedingly soggy feet due to engine coolant entering the footwell. Nope - coz a random passerby produced a 10mm spanner from his pocket (I had one with me of course - a 10mm spanner that is, not a random passerby) and helped me get it back on before the test itself. The fan belt came off, embarrasingly, by the pully having become a bit loose - which was odd seeing as I would swear blind that I had torque-tightened it correctly.

It was certainly an interesting and stressful test - I spent a lot of it up on a hydraulic ramp whilst the inspectors poked around underneath. No no - poked around underneath the car.

My impressions of an IVA test are that it is long, tiring and very exhaustive. There wasn't any part of the car that wasn't poked, pulled, measured or at least scrutinised. The testers were very thorough but quite friendly (in an official sort of way) and happy to explain what they were doing at every stage.

It was a near miss I think, and most of the items would have been able to be addressed there and then:

1) The backside of the steering wheel boss scraped slightly on my MX5 improvised steering shroud. This was easily fixed by first knackering the old boss trying to get it off - perhaps someone had crept into the workshop at night and overtightened it, yes that must be it - and then grinding the back down slightly on a replacement.

2) Fuel pipes in the engine bay were too close to the steering column (even though they were protected by sheathes themselves, they may have interfered with steering). That too was easily sorted cable-tying them clear out of the way.

3) The fuel return pipe by the passenger footwell was too close to the corner of the aluminium tub so needed protecting. Another easy fix - I've drilled out a rivet and popped a new one back in with a p-clip holding a short length of rubber hose through which the pipe now passes.


4) There were a couple of cables in the transmission tunnel that connect to the gearbox which were not secured down. They're right buggers to get to, so all I could do here was use some plastic metal to anchor a couple of cable-tie anchors to the aluminium tub and strap them down.


5) The tester was not impressed at my ingenious use of gaffa tape holding the new cycle-wing indicator wiring to the underside of the wheel arches (even though it took me quite a long time to coax the tape off). This again has been fixed with some cemented cable-ties and anchor points.

6) There was a brake and fuel pipe touching at the back end of the car which could have led to terrible chafing. A bit of pipe bending sorted that.

Then there were a couple of things that really caused the fail as they wouldn't have been able to be addressed there and then:

7) An ISO-standard marking was missing from the brake fluid reservoir. After contacting Westfield about this they were very apologetic about not having sent one and shortly afterwards a sticker turned up in the post. The tester had been very particular about the durability of the marking, so I'm going to keep the sticker in reserve and instead cut one out of a brake fluid cap that was marked and made it into a pendant-type thing which is now held onto the neck of the reservoir with heavy-duty plastic coated wire.

8) There wasn't enough sign of auto-return on the steering. This has turned into my biggest bugbear - I've tried Westfield's advice of inflating the tyres a lot and toeing the front wheels in a lot - an awful lot in fact. And nothing worth noting. I then went on to replace the track-rod ends from the MX5 in case they were too stiff, re-greasing the steering rack itself, trying extra helpings of camber on the wheels - all to no avail. One of the problems with the SEi is that in cases like this (which Westfield assures me is just due to the new rack being stiff) is that altering the caster of the front wheels isn't possible - and it is the caster that primarily affects auto-centering. But a possible breakthrough occurred when I noticed that the steering auto-centered a bit when pulling the car backwards - so I tried toeing out the wheels as much as I could without them fouling the bodywork - and this seems to make it show some sign of auto-centering when going forwards.

Although it was a failure, I felt kind of proud - oddly enough. Well, the car had physically passed the tests - all the areas I had addressed for the IVA (with the exception of my gaffa taped cycle wing wiring) had sailed through. The speedo which I was concerned about - due to me modifying it and having larger wheels on the car passed OK. The engine emissions - bearing in mind I had almost completely stripped and rebuilt the engine passed OK, better than OK in fact. Exhaust volume, OK. Brake efficacy, OK. Visibility and mirrors, OK. Headlamp alignment, OK (after they helped me align them properly).

And out of all the things tested (which overall took about 5 hours) only a couple of them were things that required a paid re-test. The inspectors were very complimentary about the build, and found it hard to believe that I worked with computers and stuff rather than being an engineer or mechanic.

I did actually find the test interesting, particularly as I got to see the proper equipment that I had been improvising around not having in the garage during the build. The inspectors answered my polite questions about what they were testing and why and overall were very informative. They also gave some friendly advice on some improvements, such as silicone sealing some of the low-slung wire connections, and covering the underside of the main fusebox (which I have done with some latex rubber which I just happened to have lying around).

Oh - and it rained on the way back from the test station. A lot. But the car was great fun to drive, and handled surprisingly well. I can't wait until it's finally passed and road-legal!

Anyway, I've gotta finish this post coz I'm off for the re-test in a minute. I just hope that there is enough auto-centering on that damn steering for them...

Ready for IVA Test

It's been a stressful couple of weeks trying to get the last bits & pieces done so that I've got a good try at the IVA test on Tuesday.

A lot of the preparation involved sticking on protectors that came with kit - such as the dashboard crashpad, the little rubber covers for the windscreen protrusions and about 1 billion nut & bolt covers on the front suspension.


Taking a belt & bracers approach, I've also put rubber edging around the edges of the front suspension arches and then extra foam rubber on the upper balljoint, the blunt end of the upper wishbone and the adjustment ring on the base of the shock absorber. And just for good measure popped some spiwrap on the brake hoses.

Some unwelcome panic was caused by finding out from Westfield that the side indicators on the body would no longer pass IVA. I found that out on Thursday by talking to their chap that has been taking cars through the IVA test - it just goes to show that you're always better off talking to someone with actual practical experience in matters of kit car construction.

Anyway, with only 4 days to go before the test a panic was on to get hold of some stick-on indicators that needed to be fitted to the cycle wings. And the wiring (in a protective sheath of course) sent all around the chassis to be connected to where the real side indicators were. They're a bit naff, but if they get me through the test...

Oh - and I had rubberised the washers (and slightly bent them to better fit the curvature of the wings too) on the mudguards. This is for cosmetic rather than IVA reasons, and I'm certainly happier with the result than I was.

Another problem that came to light in my chat with Westfield was that the position of the fuel tank had caused some concern. As it is slung behind the suspension, in the event of a rear-end accident it would be forced into the suspension bolts and possibly punctured.

I'm not sure whether this will pass the IVA test, but I've attempted to counter this problem in two ways. Firstly I've glued a double layer of rubber sheeting between the tank and the suspension (yes - the roll bar, boot box and harness fixings all had to come off - again).

And secondly, I've put bolt caps on the heads of the bolts.


Minor things were chalking the engine number and VIN for ease of reading, a bit of a clean & polish and that was it.

I've assembled a folder full of paperwork to take. Including the original copies of the invoices I had to send in with the application, the test appointment letter and insurance certificate (just in case I'm stopped for not having a license plate/road tax).

I found getting insurance was a little tricky. The short-term insurers didn't want to touch an unregistered vehicle with a barge-pole, so I purchased a years worth of insurance using the chassis number. Possibly not the most cost-effective way of doing it, but I can always shop around at my leisure later.

All that I've got to do is stuff a backpack with tools, bolt covers, rubber edging, foam tape. And lose all the butterflies...

IVA Preparation

So basically, the car is complete and I'm fairly happy with the end result - all the bits that need to be on are on. So now starts the process of crawling all over it to try and find anything that may cause a problem on IVA test and do something about it.

Things that I know about include a tethered fuel cap - this was easily done by modifying the installed one using bicycle brake cable and a bit of patience to have it run from inside the cap seat.


The fuel tank required earthing, and whilst I was at it I installed a non-return valve (oriented so that outflow wouldn't occur in the event of a capsizing) on the fuel return line. The cable tidy is glued to the fuel tank by the way - not riveted or anything else that may lead to fire-related bumfoolery.

I popped on the covers for the harness shoulder buckles.

And the rather neat exhaust heat shield - shiny!

And finally the seat-cozy.


I've still got to protect a few edges with rubber trim (I need to get more) and all the bolt heads on the front suspension have to be covered with protectors. And I think I can improve on the alignment of the headlamps - well, from utter guess to educated guess anyway, but I'll worry about that later.

I'm also waiting on some IVA guidance from Westfield in case there is something I've missed or don't know about. They're putting one of their built cars through the test today so that ought to be enlightening. I think I'll put in for my test anyway - by the time a date comes through I should have addressed any outstanding issue. So next comes some form completion...

Carpets'n'stuff

Following on from my last post, here's a brief clip of (nearly) the first time the Westfield moved under its own power - yes, it automobiles! The actual first time was immediately prior to this and Gavin (the cameraman for this clip) was the first victim.

It was disproportionately exciting for such a small amount of movement - but up until this point the car had been a rather poorly designed wheelbarrow.

Following on from that excitement I've been getting on with the task of completing the interior. This involved modifying the bootbox for where the roll bars pass through to the chassis, and also holes for the harness fixing points. With a bit of rubber trim applied to the edge of the roll bar holes, I think it's a neat enough job.

Rather than bolt the bootbox through the bodywork (which would involve some serious contortions to get to the underside), I've used four rivnuts to attach it which hopefully will stop it moving about. To help it stay in place (and remove another source of squeaking when in motion) there's foam tape under it between the edge and the main body. Its a stonkingly huge bootbox, possibly large enough to accommodate an entire loaf, certainly a half-loaf. It certainly is not a tourer :)

Next step was to start putting in the interior carpet and side panels. Due to the overall lack of storage space, I've added a couple of net pockets onto the interior panels - these will be around the knees of the driver and passenger. It remains to be seen whether they will be irritating or be in the way (the pockets, not the passenger...)

Al.though I've glued the floor carpets down with spray adhesive, the rear bulkhead and tunnel pretty much rely upon Velcro to hold down the carpet. Although the finish may not be quite as tidy as gluing them down, both these may have to come off for maintenance so it is a sensible move - no really.

The side panels had to go in before the carpet (requiring some re-positioning of Velcro) - and these are fixed in with self-tapping screws to the chassis rails and I used snap-caps to cover the heads for tidiness. Where the panels needed securing to the fibreglass body I used plastic scrivets instead coz I suspect that screwing into fibreglass is not an enduring solution.

I had fun trying to work out where some of the smaller squares of carpet went, but by the time I had finished all the side panels inside had been covered except the drivers footrest panel due to it being a funny shape, and the lower half of the drivers footwell bulkhead coz that's where the pedals live.

There were also a couple of smaller internal panels I had to ask Westfield about the positioning - they were revealed to go inside the scuttle above the chassis rail and hide the join between the scuttle and the lower bodywork quite nicely.

A fair amount of modification to the tunnel carpet was necessary; holes for the harness fixings, contouring for the dropped seat pan, footwell chassis rail clearance, upper footwell chassis rail clearance, and some dirty great holes for the handbrake and gearstick. On the whole I was quite pleased with the end result - perhaps the gearstick and handbrake gaiters could be tidier. I may look for collars to finish them off.


Next I can install the harnesses and permanently bolt in the seats and save for a couple of bits of trim that is the interior done!