SVA Passed!!!

[ianhunter]

What a momentous moment! Thanks to all who have contributed and helped!
Only Registration to apply for and I can actually take to the road!

Best regards

Ian

[Neil O]

Well done Antony. Ooops, sorry, I mean Ian.

Was there a lot to change from the American spec?

[jeff]

well done and congrats

[andicole0]

Well done Ian, I'm definitely thinking the class of '08 is going to be massive

Andi.

[dingocooke]

great timing Ian, enjoy the summer

[ianhunter]

Neil

Most of the changes we made were to remove sharp edges inside and out. So we changed the bonnet catches, fuel filler, windscreen pillars, front indicators and number plate lamp bolt; we carpeted under the dash and covered the door hinges - I installed the strange hoops over the dash to allow the flick switches to remain! We also fitted a radiator grille and chrome edging to the side louvres. The spinners were replaced with hex nuts to hold the wheels on. All well known Cobra problems that the UK is quite used to.

We needed to add self-parking for the wipers, screenwashers, brake fluid level warning, pillar mounted exterior mirrors and side repeater indicators to bring the spec up to 2008. (In the States a 1965 replica has only to comply with 1965 rules!)

The only real US vs UK issues we had were exhaust noise (!) and we had to weld a bead to the tailpipe edges; install cable guides for the handbrake cables; fit a collapsible steering wheel boss; change the seat belt mounting bolts and fit lower seat cushions to get the correct seat belt shoulder strap height.

Otherwise, I had emission problems - firstly a faulty spark plug (too much unburnt fuel) followed by a loose manifold bolt (too much oxygen)! My suspension settled so the rear fog lamp was 1 cm too low! I moved it on to the body, they then complained it wasn't square to the rear so I had to fit a cheese shaped piece behind it!

All in all, not a bad list for a first timer (me that is!) and for a US car not designed specifically for the UK SVA test! Overall, the testers were impressed with the design and build quality.

As far as future customers go, we will be supplying everything needed to comply - some items will be sourced from the UK and some mods will be done at the factory as we have fed back details of the work we have done. We will also provide a supplement to the build manual to help ensure first time passes!

The test is tough, may be even frustrating, but overall the guys at Southampton were fair and helpful - they even contacted Europa themselves to check on the spec of the brake fluid remote reservoir hoses!

Time to get the suspension and steering angles properly set up - then let the fun begin!

Best regards

Ian

[Neil O]

Ian, not too bad considering it's not really designed for our market. Well done. The next one will be much easier obviously.

Good luck with registration, in some ways it's a bigger hurdle than the SVA.

[TINKA]

But was it not Antony Chimeara who actually built the car

[dolphinboy400]

congrats ian

[Chimeara]

Congrats Ian, It makes it all worth while.

Just to clarify I built the rolling chassis and addressed many of the SVA isuues also. We also prepared all of the body work, fitted doors boot bonnet etc and painted the car. All parts however were supplied by Ian/Factory Five UK and Ian did build his engine himself.

Ian then refitted the car after paint and SVA'd it.

We did however completely build the Daytona from start to finish.

Look forward to seeing the cars and catching up again at forthcoming shows.