Well I won't be going to Burghley in a Cerbera.
Discussion
Not after the MOT. I don't think I can post on a public forum quite how I feel about the man who performed the test.
It was a retest after taking it on Thursday to see how close I was. On Thursday I was told handbrake was way too weak, fog light out, washers didn't work, the front pads were under 1.5mm and the emissions were sky high.
I fixed the handbrake, the fog light was just a loose bulb, the washers did work just fine and the front pads were replaced (after driving to Wrexham at silly o'clock this morning). The cats were put in and I was all set for my retest. I was a little bit pissed off going to the test as I have been to great length to get this car ready for tomorrow and getting hold of the the pads was an issue - made worse by the fact that when the old pads came out they had plenty of material left. Under 1.5mm my arse - easily over 5-6mm!
Anyhow, back to the test. All was going well, the car scraped through the emissions and each failure was ticked off as fine now. Last thing was the handbrake test. The handbrake was much stronger and easily holds the car on a steep hill with three clicks.
The MOT over I was then told. Sorry - can't give you a certificate today. The handbrake is still just under the required limit. FFS!!!!!
Disappointed is not the word. I have worked my b
ks off to get this car ready, done everything asked of me and I have been looking forward to Burghley for months. I couldn't get it bak in as the jobs worth closes at 1pm prompt and it was already 12:45.
The car drives spot on, cruises, accelerates and stops perfect. Has has a geo and just flies over bumps and off camber bends now without drama. It has a clutch lighter than most modern saloons, starts on the button every time and drives flawlessly. There is nothing wrong with that car at all and yet some stupid prick feels justified to ruin months of work and preparation because a handbrake is marginally under some arbitrary value.
I am not happy. Not happy at all.
fking wker.
It was a retest after taking it on Thursday to see how close I was. On Thursday I was told handbrake was way too weak, fog light out, washers didn't work, the front pads were under 1.5mm and the emissions were sky high.
I fixed the handbrake, the fog light was just a loose bulb, the washers did work just fine and the front pads were replaced (after driving to Wrexham at silly o'clock this morning). The cats were put in and I was all set for my retest. I was a little bit pissed off going to the test as I have been to great length to get this car ready for tomorrow and getting hold of the the pads was an issue - made worse by the fact that when the old pads came out they had plenty of material left. Under 1.5mm my arse - easily over 5-6mm!
Anyhow, back to the test. All was going well, the car scraped through the emissions and each failure was ticked off as fine now. Last thing was the handbrake test. The handbrake was much stronger and easily holds the car on a steep hill with three clicks.
The MOT over I was then told. Sorry - can't give you a certificate today. The handbrake is still just under the required limit. FFS!!!!!
Disappointed is not the word. I have worked my b
ks off to get this car ready, done everything asked of me and I have been looking forward to Burghley for months. I couldn't get it bak in as the jobs worth closes at 1pm prompt and it was already 12:45.The car drives spot on, cruises, accelerates and stops perfect. Has has a geo and just flies over bumps and off camber bends now without drama. It has a clutch lighter than most modern saloons, starts on the button every time and drives flawlessly. There is nothing wrong with that car at all and yet some stupid prick feels justified to ruin months of work and preparation because a handbrake is marginally under some arbitrary value.
I am not happy. Not happy at all.
f
king wker.stlol said:
.Edited by Big Al. on Saturday 12th April 17:55
stlol said:
I don't know how things are affected like insurance, breakdown cover etc. if you have no MOT or tax.
v8chimmy said:
Uuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrggggggggg
You're still going to be going though, aren't you? In the oil burner of course.
I'm still going - you can't let the buggers get you down!You're still going to be going though, aren't you? In the oil burner of course.
It won't quite be in my oil burner though...it will be in my low mileage 1998 mint condition Griff 500!
It's the principle of it though, I worked hard on my Cerbera and really wanted to take it. Oh well, I will just have to be brave and solider on.
TimJM said:
I was wondering about that because I thought it was OK (just a fine) but when I checked online for maximum penalties it states up to £1000 fine and up to 8 penalty points. Problem is I have no tax either I bought the car as a project and it has taken me 10 months to get it back on the road so it has been sorn for 2 years now.
I don't know how things are affected like insurance, breakdown cover etc. if you have no MOT or tax.
Maximum penalty if dealt with by a Court for the offence but the Police have the option to deal with you by Fixed penalty notice but they would take into account how long the MOT had expired!I don't know how things are affected like insurance, breakdown cover etc. if you have no MOT or tax.
Your Griff looks mint at least you have an alternative TVR ride! Enjoy!
TvrJohn said:
I symaphise with you, my Cerbera has been laid up for 2+ years and just 2 weeks ago submitted it for its MOT, handbrake is poor, and the MOT tester stated this but asked me to improve it and gave me a pass.
As for the emissions on a decatted car, it was a friendly tester
Exactly - this Cerbera has been restored to a decent level by myself and is mechanically spot on. All new bolts, all worn bushes replaced, new water hoses, chassis and wishbones stripped and rust treated then repainted, diff split drained and resealed to stop leaks, new pads all round, all dials and electrics working as they should - there isn't a thing on that car that doesn't work as it should or better and not many Cerberas can say that. It is spot on and he bloody fails it on being a few percent under the legal requirement on a handbrake.As for the emissions on a decatted car, it was a friendly tester
Still I have been down the pub for a few hours and I feel much more relaxed about the whole thing now...
Edited by TimJM on Saturday 12th April 19:54
Vee8ight said:
I hate to say this, did he test it on the brake rollers? If so, he doesn't know what he is doing as your car has an LSD and cannot be tested in this way, it must be taken down the road with the brake thingy in the passenger footwell.
Yes - on rollers. He did a proper MOT and tested everything by the book - even the emissions. My car passed every test except the handbrake. It has a new cable on but obviously it wasn't up to the "legal requirement" although it was perfectly capable of holding the car no problems at all on a steep hill. If I have problems when I go back for the third time in the week then we will have words.
Either way - I won't be going there again.
I have just been having a little read on LSD and brake rollers. Whilst most people say there is little/no chance it could damage the diff (being rear wheel drive only not 4wd) the VOSA manual states a car with a LSD (even if it was an option as on Cerberas) must not go on rollers.
Well it looks like VOSA will be receiving a formal complaint very soon that at one of their MOT test centres guidelines have not been followed and hopefully trigger a VOSA inspection. Not that anything will come of it...it will just piss him off.
Well it looks like VOSA will be receiving a formal complaint very soon that at one of their MOT test centres guidelines have not been followed and hopefully trigger a VOSA inspection. Not that anything will come of it...it will just piss him off.
carsy said:
scotty_d said:
As Jamie has said the rollers can damage your diff!
I have spoke to John Reid about this and he says it wont do them any harm.Gassing Station | Cerbera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff