Advice on m.o.t

[The Hood]

I'm going to be putting my Chim in for it's m.o.t next week.
I'm sure i saw a thread a while ago with some advice about putting car in for m.o.t e.g taking it for a decent drive first to warm it up etc etc, i have tried a search on here but to no avail and wondered if someone could give me some advice, i was told to ask to be there as not everyone knows about all the buttons etc e.g to open the door.
I have to say i am a bit apprehensive about putting the Chim into any m.o.t place as when they see they have a TVR in there they might not be too kind with it (it is my p&j) which is why i'll ask to be there.
Can anyone give me any advice on this or even so a decent m.o.t place to go to in Croydon.
Thanks in advance.
Glyn.

[bigdods]

Providing its a standard chim and has all its cats in place there is no need to warm it up. The place I go to for my MOT has one chap who is familiar with TVRs so he knows how to open the doors, where the rear number plate lights are, how to properly test the handbrake etc. He also has a hydraulic lift that goes down flat to the floor so no ramps or nasty bits of metalwork for the underside to snag on.

Best thing you can do is ring a few MOT places and see if they are familiar with TVRs. Or better yet ring your nearest Indie - if they dont do MOTs find out who they go to then take it there.

[The Hood]

bigdods said:

Providing its a standard chim and has all its cats in place there is no need to warm it up. The place I go to for my MOT has one chap who is familiar with TVRs so he knows how to open the doors, where the rear number plate lights are, how to properly test the handbrake etc. He also has a hydraulic lift that goes down flat to the floor so no ramps or nasty bits of metalwork for the underside to snag on.

Best thing you can do is ring a few MOT places and see if they are familiar with TVRs. Or better yet ring your nearest Indie - if they dont do MOTs find out who they go to then take it there.

thanks for the advice....have to admit i did not even think of the lift side of things and will try asking around a few but there are not many TVR's in Croydon so am not too confident that they would have done a m.o.t on one before, but who knows?? if i don't ask.
I did try Austec, but with me leaving things to last minute (kind of) they are really busy at the moment and there m.o.t garage is a good 30 minutes away and what with work etc i need to take to a local one after work.
Glyn.

[falcemob]

bigdods said:

Providing its a standard chim and has all its cats in place there is no need to warm it up.

It has to be warmed up or it can't be tested properly.

The Hood, you have mail.

Edited by falcemob on Saturday 12th August 18:16

[ncs]

I use a place in Bromley that is very TVR friendly - quite a few of the locals use them.

Drop me a line if you need more info - they're only round the corner from me so make sure you pop in for a cuppa

Nick

[The Hood]

ncs said:

I use a place in Bromley that is very TVR friendly - quite a few of the locals use them.

Drop me a line if you need more info - they're only round the corner from me so make sure you pop in for a cuppa

Nick

Might take you up on that offer Nick as have not seen you for a while.
Do you know what time they are open untill on a weekday??

[The Hood]

falcemob said:

The Hood, you have mail.

Thanks yhm back.
Glyn.

[ncs]

The Hood said:

ncs said:

I use a place in Bromley that is very TVR friendly - quite a few of the locals use them.

Drop me a line if you need more info - they're only round the corner from me so make sure you pop in for a cuppa

Nick

Might take you up on that offer Nick as have not seen you for a while.
Do you know what time they are open untill on a weekday??

Not sure of their hours Glyn - its called the Westmoreland Garage on Southlands Road, but they do get busy with MOT's so I'd give them a ring asap

Nick

[The Hood]

ncs said:

The Hood said:

ncs said:

I use a place in Bromley that is very TVR friendly - quite a few of the locals use them.

Drop me a line if you need more info - they're only round the corner from me so make sure you pop in for a cuppa

Nick

Might take you up on that offer Nick as have not seen you for a while.
Do you know what time they are open untill on a weekday??

Not sure of their hours Glyn - its called the Westmoreland Garage on Southlands Road, but they do get busy with MOT's so I'd give them a ring asap

Nick

O.k mate thanks i will ring them monday.
Glyn.

[petclub]

A friend of mine is an MOT tester and is fully aware of the Chim's number plate light etc., but not all of his colleaguse are, so be careful...

[falcemob]

What's the story on the rear No. plate lights? They either illuminate the plate or they don't and if more than one lamp is fitted, all must work. If they don't then it fails.

[Mr Jenks]

I can do it for you, welcome to come in and watch but theres not a huge ammount to get excited over unless you really want to see the the underneath of your car, surprising how many people get excited at the thought,not a million miles away either, main dealer/MOT centre in Beckenham. Mail me if you want more details.
Dave

[sparkythecat]

falcemob said:

What's the story on the rear No. plate lights? They either illuminate the plate or they don't and if more than one lamp is fitted, all must work. If they don't then it fails.

Chimaeras have a back lit numberplate. There are no obvious lamps to see, the bulbs are behinds the plate which is translucent. While this works ok, it isn't the brightest light in the world. (think asthmatic glow worm here) If the tester is unfailiar with the vehicle and is carrying out the test in a very brightly lit testing station, he may well think that the numberplate lamp is missing/not working and fail it.

[falcemob]

sparky, thanks for the info, I'll remember that if I ever have to test one.

[g9eg]

I stayed with mine the whole time when mine was done a couple of months ago,which was a good job because for starters they could't get in it and second he kept pulling the emergency door opener to try and release the bonnet,he felt a bit embarrased but there you go.

[johnnytvr]

The Hood, Its a shame you dont live up in Lancashire, I spend a lot of time testing the lovely machines most days and yes the cat has to be lit to work properly but you dont have to go thrashing up and down the motorway to do this, there is plenty of time during the test to get the cat up to temp. Good luck in your search for a TVR friendly test centre.

[The Hood]

Mr Jenks said:

I can do it for you, welcome to come in and watch but theres not a huge ammount to get excited over unless you really want to see the the underneath of your car, surprising how many people get excited at the thought,not a million miles away either, main dealer/MOT centre in Beckenham. Mail me if you want more details.
Dave

Dave YHM.
Glyn.

[The Hood]

sparkythecat said:

falcemob said:

What's the story on the rear No. plate lights? They either illuminate the plate or they don't and if more than one lamp is fitted, all must work. If they don't then it fails.

Chimaeras have a back lit numberplate. There are no obvious lamps to see, the bulbs are behinds the plate which is translucent. While this works ok, it isn't the brightest light in the world. (think asthmatic glow worm here) If the tester is unfailiar with the vehicle and is carrying out the test in a very brightly lit testing station, he may well think that the numberplate lamp is missing/not working and fail it.

Mines not a backlit no plate so no worries there.
Glyn.

[Derek Smith]

One thing to note: the handbrake can be marginal. The kerbside weight of the Chim was given by TVR to VOSA as 1200kg when it is, according to the handbook, 1060kg. The weight defines how much retardation the handbrake must provide. Take your handbook as evidence and show the tester the correct weight before the test.

At the completion of the test the examiner will have to change the weight on the computer.

Oddly, all TVRs are given as 1200kg, from Ms to Cerbs.

I've been in discussion with VOSA over this and a brief report is in a recent issue of Sprint.

Derek

[falcemob]

Derek Smith said:

One thing to note: the handbrake can be marginal. The kerbside weight of the Chim was given by TVR to VOSA as 1200kg when it is, according to the handbook, 1060kg. The weight defines how much retardation the handbrake must provide. Take your handbook as evidence and show the tester the correct weight before the test.

At the completion of the test the examiner will have to change the weight on the computer.

Oddly, all TVRs are given as 1200kg, from Ms to Cerbs.

I've been in discussion with VOSA over this and a brief report is in a recent issue of Sprint.

Derek

Does the handbook state 1060kg as kerbside or unladen? The weights on the VOSA (Siemens)computer system are kerbside weights which includes a nominal 140kg for a driver and some extras such as bags or tools so 1200kg would be correct.