The IVA Test

[Terry_Scott]

Hi all
so has anybody got a Berlinetta through the IVA test ?

I have a car i am building with Cortina suspension and the big wheels Marlin supplied many years ago.
The big wheels stick outside the wings and trying to narrow the track width is not really an option, if i put 13 " wheels on they almost fit inside the wings but look a bit out of place on the front because of the gap between the top of the tyre and the bottom of the wing.
An option is to fit sportster cycle wings, but thats got a cost, plus the car wont look like a Berlinetta.
To make the Berlinetta wings wider would be a dockyard job and to pack them out from the body would look horrible.

so guys, anybody got a Berlinetta throught the SVA, if so how did you make it comply.

any help is appreciated.
terry

[chris_cussen]

Re: The IVA Test

Well if the 13 inch wheels ARE just legal why not submit the car for IVA with them fitted? You can always change them later.
You will need to fit edging to the wings anyway otherwise you will fail the radius test, my Cabrio had to for IVA , but the edging fell off mysteriously later.

[Robert in Cumbria]

Re: The IVA Test

Or borrow a set of wheels that look good and are acceptable?

Is it totally compliant in every other way?

[Mike]

Re: The IVA Test

Hi all
so has anybody got a Berlinetta through the IVA test ?

I have a car i am building with Cortina suspension and the big wheels Marlin supplied many years ago.
The big wheels stick outside the wings and trying to narrow the track width is not really an option, if i put 13 " wheels on they almost fit inside the wings but look a bit out of place on the front because of the gap between the top of the tyre and the bottom of the wing.
An option is to fit sportster cycle wings, but thats got a cost, plus the car wont look like a Berlinetta.
To make the Berlinetta wings wider would be a dockyard job and to pack them out from the body would look horrible.

so guys, anybody got a Berlinetta throught the SVA, if so how did you make it comply.

any help is appreciated.
terry

Terry
The IVA test is for your car "On The Day", so you have to play the game their way. You make sure your car is compliant on the day of the test. You can then fit after market wheels (your Marlin originals) at a later date just as any boy racer would to his car.
The common approach has been to prepare your car to the minimum specification required to get through the IVA, and then add other bits, such as hoods, switches, or nice steering wheels, which could fail the test, until later.
Sharp edges are a very common fail, so you will need to check all the exposed radii, particularly on the front suspension, and cover all edges, including nuts which fail.
Those who have gone through the test say it is a sobering experience, but satisfying to know that it has been thoroughly inspected - much more so than an MOT - and you can have confidence an independent engineer has approved it as being safe to go on to the public highway.

Mike

[lizbillings]

Re: The IVA Test

We haven't answered the question. Doug thinks a Berlinetta passed IVA. I can't remember. Perhaps Lee or Danny know? I do know it won't pass if the tyres are outside the wheel arches and that is just the beginning! Good luck

[danny_nelson]

Re: The IVA Test

I know of two Berlinettas that were being prepared for SVA some years ago, but I have not heard of a Berly going through the current IVA.
Of course anything can be done, but at what cost, and just what the appearance of the finished car would be. I do know of a Berly that was finished this year and the owner made one visit to the test centre and decided against the work involved. His words (my car would look nothing like a Berlinetta even if I was fortunate enough to get through )
eventually.
Danny.

[Mike]

Re: The IVA Test

Danny

You paint a very black picture....................is it really that difficult?

[danny_nelson]

Re: The IVA Test

Hi Mike,
For early cars yes, difficult but not impossible. However your car was designed with consideration for the SVA test. Now that this is IVA and more changes could be made, I would suggest that you have your car tested ASAP and then finish it after you have a registration. This is just my personal opinion.
Danny.

[chris_cussen]

Re: The IVA Test

Before giving up why not get the IVA manual from here http://www.marlinownersclub.com/foru...3&d=1350051060 and go through it carefully checking the points as you go to see the likely failure points. Then you can assess if you wish to carry on.
Most recent Cabrio/Sportster builders have done this process and with only a few minor problems have got through.

There a a few 'gotchas' and my Cabrio was the first to get through IVA. It failed on
1 Radius of wings/ mudguards. Fixed with U section edging from CBS
2 Exposed bolt heads in front suspension. CBS again for some push on nut covers
3 Radius again, tie rod adjusting nuts. Covered in concertina plastic piping and held in place with tie-wraps
4 Chassis number on wrong side of car and not in a single line. Re-punched the chassis No. on the offside
5 No VIN plate. I mucked it up by putting a '3' upsidedown when punching the chassis no on the day before IVA so never fitted it
6 No sticker near the brake fluid resovioir with type of brake fluid to use (CBS do one but I made my own).

We had some debate about my Cobra 7 seats as the headrest and harness slot requirements were marginal, but I think the new ones are IVA compliant.
There was also some debate about the steering wheel. Mine had a foam crash pad in the middle, and there is also a deliberate mis-alignment in the linkage, hovever there was some debate if these items were compliant. In the end they were deemed to be OK.

[Robert in Cumbria]

Re: The IVA Test

Chris, thank you for posting the link to the IVA manual, that is much appreciated.

[cameronfurnival]

Re: The IVA Test

Chris most useful. I have been doing some research on this and the rules can be vague and interpretted differently, for example I heard that all CBSs mirrors had passed IVA and all had failed - so I guess its up to the individual use and placement in some things.
I also beleive that a sterring column can fail with an aftermarket wheel on as it isnt part of the 'type approved' unit.

[Terry_Scott]

Re: The IVA Test

hi all of you that answered my original question, thanks it is appreciated.
i am still wrestling with the wheels compliance with the IVA test, i have numerous options, i think it is fixable for the IVA, but it may look a strange Berlinetta in the end, but hey its a kit car they dont all have to look the same.
having taken a long look at all the IVA problems, i guess the most difficult one has to be the steering column being about 4 inches to short, even before the IVA and SVA it looks like the steering is a challange.
i had thought of cutting the steering column outer tube and inner shaft near the top and weld in a 4 inch spacer, but it really does seem a hard way to fix it and i could scrap the cortine column if i dont get it right. (dont worry i do understand safety, i have been an aircraft engineer all of my working life.)

my latest fix having removed the cortina steering column is to replace it with a sierra set up that looks a bit longer, does anybody have any experience on this ?
terry

[cameronfurnival]

Re: The IVA Test

Hi Terry, you can extend the column but the joint has to be both sleeved and staked. The guys at CBS can sell you the correct splined shaft extensions.

[Terry_Scott]

Re: The IVA Test

hi, thanks to all of you that have replied to my IVA questions.

BOY DID I FIND A BOMBSHELL IN THE IVA REGS YESTERDAY !!!

It seems i have till the 29th april 2013 to get my berlinetta through the IVA test before a timelimit on glass complying with BS 875 expires, after that date it has to comply with a european requirement (E 43R) which basically means ALL the glass has to be laminated.

So all you budding Berlinetta builders out there if you read this tomorrow you have one day less than yesterday to get you car through the IVA test.

bearing in mind all the discussion about getting the wheels to fit inside the wings i am thinking of putting mudgaurds on for the test, then maybe the proper wings will find their way on afterwards, it will look horrible, but hey, what else is a guy to do....

because i am the fifth person to try and build this car i have couldnt rely on anything anybody else had done , so i have to start again, at the moment its just a chassis, with running gear, engine, rad, and gearbox, not far to go really, (who am i kidding!!)

i am keeping note on what peoples cars failed the SVA on so please keep them coming, i can only learn buy others mistakes

terry

[Mike]

Re: The IVA Test

Hi Terry

Things may not be as bad as you imagine.

The deadline for E marked glass has been deferred each year for the past three years........................ and probably will be again next year!

If the deadline is not deferred, it may be possible to have an E marked screen cut from an existing screen - my Cabrio screen is E marked and was cut out of a Landrover flat front screen.

Mike

hi, thanks to all of you that have replied to my IVA questions.

BOY DID I FIND A BOMBSHELL IN THE IVA REGS YESTERDAY !!!

It seems i have till the 29th april 2013 to get my berlinetta through the IVA test before a timelimit on glass complying with BS 875 expires, after that date it has to comply with a european requirement (E 43R) which basically means ALL the glass has to be laminated.

So all you budding Berlinetta builders out there if you read this tomorrow you have one day less than yesterday to get you car through the IVA test.

bearing in mind all the discussion about getting the wheels to fit inside the wings i am thinking of putting mudgaurds on for the test, then maybe the proper wings will find their way on afterwards, it will look horrible, but hey, what else is a guy to do....

because i am the fifth person to try and build this car i have couldnt rely on anything anybody else had done , so i have to start again, at the moment its just a chassis, with running gear, engine, rad, and gearbox, not far to go really, (who am i kidding!!)

i am keeping note on what peoples cars failed the SVA on so please keep them coming, i can only learn buy others mistakes

terry