MOT failed :(

[RMS]

Hi guys,

Well, after spending the last two days in the pouring rain fitting the refurbished wings, front panel and lights, my 1967 Carawagon went in for its MOT today - and failed

Nothing serious, but I really should have noticed the faults before I took it in.

A bolt missing from the transmission brake relay to chassis
I don't know how I missed that, but it was obvious once it was up on ramps and my MOT guy showed me

Insecure steering box - again, something only obvious up on ramps with a helper swinging on the steering wheel, and a ball joint on the steering box drop arm.

I'm really annoyed as I normally get Patrick, (or last time SWMBO ) to sit in and swing on the wheel while I check it all over - I'm sure if I'd have thought to do that, I'd have spotted those problems.

Anyway, all is not lost; a couple of hours to sort those out and a quick check by my MOT guy and it should be on the road ready for Ripon


Not bad really, as I think the last time it was on the road was at least 4-5 years ago, and that was to recover it from a field in Wales, with a broken chassis, so I've no idea when the last MOT was.

At least my chassis patches passed scrutiny

Cheers,
Robin.

[overlander]

Tough Luck Robin, I've been anxiously awaiting this post. But as you say nothing too serious, I'm sure you'll be all set for Ripon in 10 days time.

cheers

John H

[kevanf1]

Well, rather than dwell on the negatives, and let's face it they are only little niggles, I'll say well done on getting the welding patches up to standard

Next, pictures of it newly MOT'd

[elisencooper]

Good work Robin,
have you thought of a name for him/her yet ?

Richard

[RMS]

Thanks for that, Richard.

I'm more annoyed because the faults were things I normally check for, and easily sorted, but it's just been lack of opportunity with the weather me and no helper when I've thought about it - there's nothing worse than crawling about underneath in the rain when you're working outside

Also, as far as I remember, that's been my very first MOT failure in all the years I've been messing about with old cars, so that's my copy book blotted with my MOT guy

Never mind - all repaired now - the brake pivot bolt replaced, and all the steering box bolts and chassis support bolts nipped up.

I had trouble finding a shouldered ball joint (S2) at short notice, so ended up fitting an S3 steering rod tube and two new fully threaded balljoints from my local supplier

So, Monday it will be a quick check by my MOT guy, and a tax disk A shame he closed early yesterday as I could have got a pass within 24 hours of the fail!

Anyway, interior and roof this weekend.

I'm hoping to replace at least the two ply side pieces of the roof before Ripon, and the seals while I'm at it. Also, I've done nothing with the interior - it's filthy and the veneer is peeling off the cupboard doors. Might just have to peel the rest off and sort it out later.

Gotta go - things to do and it's not raining

Cheers,
Robin.

PS: No name yet - I can't think of anything really appropriate for PPJ - anyone else?

[RMS]

Well, I now have a fresh MOT certificate and a tax disk, so now road-legal

I've still to clean the inside properly, and I didn't manage to replace the roof woodwork as when I cut the new sheet of ply I had for the sides, there was an area in the middle which wasn't laminated properly
I tried another two cuts, but it looks like the fault goes through most of the board - I now have 3 new sides which are no good!
So, I patched up the ends of the old sides in situ, and it will do for now

The seats are now sorted, with the pieces of wood to support them when made up as a bed, and the curtain rails are re-fitted.

The rubber gas hoses have been replaced and the copper gas pipe and fittings leak tested.

So, before Friday, I've still got to change the engine oil & filter (I've been waiting to give it a run so the oil is warmed up), clean it out thoroughly, fit the curtains, fit a cig lighter socket for the sat nav, and load up the bedding, food and drinks

Oh, and I suppose I ought to give it a bit of a run, a bit further than the 1 mile to the MOT garage and a further mile to the PO

All being well, I'll be at Ripon Classic Car show at the weekend in my 'new' Carawagon

Cheers,
Robin.

[overlander]

Good one Robin, it's a great feeling to get an MOT pass.

cheers

John H

[RMS]

Remember this - my Carawagon, as collected with 'modernised' S3 look?

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Well, as it's been pouring down over the last couple of weeks, while not getting drowned working on the essentials for the MOT, I've been a bit busy with the spraygun under the carport on the proper S2 panels:
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Sssshhh - don't tell John as he'll be wanting me to paint his - though once he has a good look at my efforts, perhaps not

Cheers,
Robin.

[jerryd]

Well done Robin, you've worked miracles I've just got my dormobile through it's roadworthy (mot)too, it hasn't had one since 1979 when it landed in oz The rules here are that as long as you own the vehicle, you don't need to have your car inspected.Only when you buy a car and register it to your name do you have to have the vehicle tested and show the certificate.Luckily the previous owner let me keep it registered in her name while I did a few renovations This means I have kept it's number plate and haven't had to have any mod plates fitted, or have any gas certificates issued. Quite a result and I was really chuffed,as the transport department here can be a real pain especially on older vehicles. My next goal is to get permission to install the 300tdi, yes it has to be approved before fitting and then inspected by an approved engineer, who has to supply a certificate to the transport office No shortcuts here !!

[RMS]

Thanks Jerry,

Yes, we've probably got it fairly easy here with engine changes.
Recent changes to the regulations mean that we can swap engines on vehicles classed as Historic (pre-1973) without any engineers/garage report
Just swap the engine - even Petrol to Diesel or Diesel to petrol - mark it on the registration document and send it off.
We then get a new registration document showing the new engine - easy-peasy

Cheers,
Robin.