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SVA Tips & Hints for Locust 7 Kitcar 2003 - Paul Woollard
 

Plus some other sundry tips that may help

1 Seat belt fixings if the fixing has not got a weld nut to screw into make sure you use a lock washer or Ny-lok nut also make sure that you keep the receipt and make sure it states that the bolts are 8.8 M12 x 1.75 or above if metric & 8 ton if 7/16 UNF

2 Seat belts must run over a plastic or nylon runner to avoid chafing of webbing

3 Bonnet edges should be turned trough 180 degrees or an edging material should be fitted, note notched edges at corners of bonnet

4 Headlights are able to be adjusted easily at the test centre and rigidly mounted For example I had a problem with a headlight housing being loose on its riveted mounting although the part was new

5 To avoid headlight-mounting brackets, when fitting cycle guards at front the headlights on my car were modified to mount directly to the side of the nose cone and then rotate the lens by 90 degrees this gives a nice clean SVA friendly mounting. To make the nose cone Rigid enough I add 0.75inch x 1inch deep hoop fibre glassed into the nose

6 Wiring the entire loom is now required to be covered, with convolute tube or similar material as the SVA centre I used would not except the mass production loom I used with insulation tape wrap.

7 Cycle guards these should have edging material fitted as the edges of most that are manufactured do not meet the SVA

8 Do not neglect you exhaust out let this must have a 3mm radii or you will fail

9 Do not fit and manufactures vehicle labels i.e. raised letters as I used current rover 75 badge for the 7's on mine and this failed the SVA

10 Do not fill in the weight area of the form unless you have made the full calculations as the rolling road at the SVA centre will weigh the vehicle before they start the brake test and they will do these calculations as on a 7 rep they are not what you would expect

11 Test Brakes before you go take you car to the local MOT station and ask to use their rolling road to see if you have a 60 /40 slit system approx. If you cannot get on a rolling road drive the car with 1 foot on throttle and 1 foot on brake and make sure the front brakes lock before the rear this is not conclusive but will ensure the car wont swap ends on you.

12 I you have used a none collapsable column use a MOMO or similar steering mounting boss these are expensive but do have this feature built in, and make sure that you time the universal joint correctly to avoid the wheel speed changing when turning a corner. Also make sure that you have an off set in the intermediate shaft for collapse purposes

13 If vehicle is seven derivative remove wiper and screen for test as this will avoid any problems as you do not need to have a roof or windscreen by law this also avoids the need to fit a heater which will never get used as you are unlikely to drive the car in the winter anyway.

14 Lights make sure they all comply to the radius required at the time as I had several problems with so called SVA approved light assembles. I ended up filing all the lenses to comply. However they do not seem so bothered weather they have the E marks now.

15 Rad grill be sure that this has all the right rad's note I fitted a unit when I arrived as I cannot get enough cooling with anything fitted in this area. I have noticed that some people even enclose the sided to avoid air spilling out through these gaps.

16 Remove number plates as they are not required for the SVA and will fail the test good isn't it, that means every car on the road would fail an SVA test and this is the Government regulation to fit an item that does not comply to vehicle regulations

17 Make sure all suspension bolts have Ny-lok or split pin fitted in the case of Ny-lok that at least 2 threads are through the nylon. If you use split pin be sure that they cannot be contacted on Seven type vehicle by the checking ball. If they can fit nut covers in plastic obtained from Namrick or similar.

18 Front Suspension components should all have the necessary radii, if not fit lagging foam tie wrap and then cover with insulation tape as this is classed as a permanent fix. This includes the steering rack track arms when cycle guards are fitted.

19 Bonnet catch use Dzues type fasteners if you need exposed fixings on 7 type vehicle as they are flush enough to pass the test. Or obtain rubber covered catches

20 Bonnet if you have louvers make sure you fit edging foam as these will be higher than the SVA minimum

21 Fit wind cord around the under side of the tub edging material if you use aluminium to avoid the radii being below the minimum.

22 Make sure fog light faces directly rear wards if mounted on a bracket also not the 100mm clearance to the tail light

23 My tester did not like screw drive type bolt holding seats he required that I change them too bolts, also note this guy is supposed to be the tightest in the south

24 Knee bolsters require padding fitted as this was one issue I failed on as I did not have anything to do this on day of test

25 Make special nuts with min radii for windscreen mounting's as these protrude into cab and can be hit with your knee ( if you are a contortionist )

26 Exhaust Minimum clearance to steering more specific to a Pinto vehicle type 7 as they can be very close SVA wanted minimum of 12mm on both locks

27 Exhaust if using the unit like I did supplied by Deamon Tweeks you need to make a bolt cover, I will lend anyone wanting one, mine as it is made of steel and passed the SVA test and I have now removed it as it looks awful and weights about a 1lbs 28 Make sure you get the SVA guy to check your rev counter with his calibrated unit as mine was out and caused me to fail the noise test the second time but when he checked it with his equipment it passed. As my rev counter was under reading by about 1000 rpm at 3800 I was really revving at 4500.

29 Have all the necessary paperwork with you to prove the engine age or he will test as a new vehicle, Also check you engine number is marked on your engine as ford built some engines in the 80's with out engine number on Pinto unit guess what mine was one of them, so if it is not their stamp it on

30 Wheel stud should come completely through nut or engage with tread by at least 2 dia's, although mine were standard ford components I had to lengthen the front one so they had the same engagement with the nut as the rears

31 Make sure if you use a proprietary battery tray it works ok as the one I used failed the test due to flex in brackets when he pulled on it.

32 Brake pipe follow a corner as these are made to suit vehicle they sometime touch the corner in this instance fit a split rubber sleeve and clip both sides of corner this will avoid any chance of the pipe being worn through by vibration, Note maximum clip distance 225/250 for copper pipe & were possible use substantial clip. It should be noted rubber pipes must not touch other components in any extreme of their travel (note if any club member would like to borrow my roll over stand this makes piping a piece of cake I paid £350 for this so a contribution for the loan would be greatly appreciated). I can deliver if required for the cost of the diesel all you will need is some very helpful neighbours or an engine hoist and you can roll the car on its side without any damage.

33 Wooden dash will need a 19mm radii filed on the lower edge before it is fitted with a padded surface or you recess the clocks in. Remember that real wood will splinter and could fail the SVA for this reason with a very sharp SVA examiner. Also not close in Under dash to avoid having to cover all this wiring as if it is covered by trim it does not need to meet the covering requirements.

34 Brake failure warning light, note this must be able to be tested from inside the car and the switch must be marked with the standard ID or a Decal if you use a standard switch which I used and stamped up a piece of ally plate and screwed on as on the first test I failed for having dimo tape labels (self adhesive plastic)

34 Try and keep all the gauges behind the steering wheel envelope therefore don't fit that Water or oil temp gauge until after the test this will mean you do not have to buy expensive gauges only standard ones that would not pass the SVA test due to the edge

35 Fuel Lines were ever possible make these in a conductive material as fuel produces static while it is being pumped and this need to be dissipated, you don't want to have the same problem as the new Mini do you. Also use the shortest jumper hoses you can although it is possible to obtain conductive lined rubber hose this is expensive and difficult to source. Therefore use copper pipe/aluminium or steel pipe as much as possible. This is not really an SVA requirement but a safety one really although a sharp SVA examiner will pick up on mass's of nylon or rubber hose. Also note that Rubber hose is porous and will allow fuel to leak over time in very small quantities yes that would evaporated but this leaves you carb dry and you will have difficulty starting engine.

36 Fuel Pump cut off assy, for those of you who have fitted an electric fuel pump myself and my neighbour have come up with a tricky little add in circuit which runs from you charge light. Basically this circuit keeps the pump running if the alternator is running ie engine. If the engine stops or the fan belt breaks the fuel pump will stop. This resolves the problem of changing from a mechanical fuel pump. I will send a drg's of this circuit to anyone who needs one or I can supply the parts if required.

 

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