NJ's Basingstoke Build (UK)

[NJ.]

So... update time and there's lots to update on!

Been madly working on the car over the last few weeks/months slowly working towards getting it ready for an IVA.
Below are a few photos of progress and lessons learn't for others...

So when putting on the floors, we cut the ali a smidge wider on the outside.  This meant I could fit some white edge trim on the floor which the side panel then sits on. It applies a nice radius for the ball test and also adds a white 'style' line that compliments the top white bar.




I made a ali floor for the tank area. It gives something to mount the wires to and keep the IVA man happy as stops leaking fuel from contacting the exhaust.





Bit annoyed as messed up the position of the 5/6th harness points which then meant the seat runners fouled the harness eye bolts.



So I made up a new bracket to move the eye positions.




As others have done, I made some plates up to mount the arches without drilling holes through them..








Once the glue set I used fibre glass to bond them on properly.




Rear arches finished - found some LED's that fit the space stuart designed in the arches.
My reverse and fog are in the bar above the exhaust.



Tank installed and hose runs in and protected. I went for a centre top fill position.



Interior in. Added some pillow quilt to the centre tunnel which is a bit nicer than the raw aluminium. 



With the IVA fast approaching had to pull out all the stops - come rain or shine we had to make progress on the the car. An event tent was perfect to keep dry at the weekends...... Big thanks to Chris and dad for helping out on the weekend before the test getting it ready. Weather was miserable but we got there in the end.  



Figured out a 'permanent not permanent' solution for the centre mirror. Didn't want to drill holes in anything just to then remove it later.  Foam protects the frame and the jubilees do a good job securing the mirror.




I had my IVA booked in for the 25th July, and just about managed to get the car together in time for the test.  Only up till 2am for a couple nights before....

[NJ.]

And that brings us to IVA day...

Iva was booked for Bristol so up early for the 2hr drive. Car was loaded on the trailer and ready to go... big thanks to Alec for coming down and towing the car to the test.




Arrived 5 mins late due to road works and so was immediately in the examiners bad books
Almost his first question was is the tank full which obviously it wasn't - another black mark - things were going well...



Emissions test was first, failed round one but I wasn't surprised as I trailed it there and he let me run the car for 1min before starting the test.  Managed to pass the second try after warming at 3000rpm for 5 mins.

He checked the car over with various foam balls for the knee and head test.
Seemed to mostly check by eye and then use the ball for anything suspicious.   The only rad I missed was the track rod nuts but with a little amalgamating tape applied he was happy.

He questioned my race harness, specifically the way I wrapped them round the harness bar and back through the buckle. Standard practise I thought, but he had to ring head office to check.

Asked to see petrol tank ground wire, but was happy to see a photo and I didn't have to remove the rear cover which I was pleased about.

Next up were lights. Front indicators failed the internal 45 degree viewing angle as they were blocked by the nose of the bonnet. Basically they weren't far enough out, but luckily I was able to adjust them so they just cleared.

The Dominators that I bought from amazon were E marked and sold as flat beam, but turns out they were not that flat. And yes I did fit proper osram bulbs rather than using the cheapo ones supplied.
Had to file notches in the housing and index the bulbs to fix the aim pattern as I think others have had to do.

Brake test was good, despite my fears of keeping the ABS unit, and the ABS light coming on during the test

Exhaust noise levels were perfect at a quiet 96.2db
My phone app said 90 so bear in mind they aren't that accurate.


Weight of the car was 720kg unloaded, just over 800 with me and fuel in it so not that light but hey ho. I've kept ABS and added a fair amount of 'styling' steel over the base frame.

Think that was most of it. Definitely take tools, trim, spanners and a couple of mates.  They can fix or modify things whilst you and the examiner continue with the test.

My examiner was actually a right laugh in the end and anything he found that wasn't up to the standards was easy to discuss. He certainly wasn't there to fail the car and it was usually easy to agree on how to fix whatever he wasn't happy with.  

Having said that, it was still super stressful as they are poker players, not letting on how you're doing till the end.

4 hours flew by, and I'm super chuffed as got a first time PASS. Was so pleased as it meant the wedding plans were still on track...

I collected my certificate and we couldn't have picked a nicer day to drive it back...



Unfortunately the drive home was short lived, about 20 mins in total as the alternator broke and nearly caught fire!
Had to trailer it the rest of the way.
Just a thought - had I driven it there as other suggested, I would probably never have made it... so trailering does have some benefits.

So, passed the IVA on the Tuesday, forms were in the post on Friday as I'd already applied for and received the V55/5.

And so that brings us to now, where I super impatiently waiting for the forms to arrive.
I'm getting married two weeks Saturday so I'm hoping to get the V5C soon to get in a few shake down runs prior to the big day. Would be pretty embarrassing to break down... 

It's not all bad though, I'm cracking on with the usual post IVA mods - windscreen, LED's and carbon wing updates to come...

Just wanted to say big thanks to Dad, Dave, Chris and Alec + everyone on here for your help.
It's a great forum where it seems no matter your problem, someone seems to know the answer.

[miket]

Great news - well done Nick - 1st time pass is impresssive.
Good luck with the paperwork and congrats re the wedding.

Perhaps update the IVA thread if you haven't already

[davetherave]

Well done car looks amazing

[freshp5]

Good one mate

[h20boynz]

Nice work. Looks great!

[trident]

Well done... great looking car.

My car .... well the car I built also now lives in Basingstoke with its new owner. 

[p2tav]

looks amazing i'm just starting mine hope I can create something as nice would be chuffed,


please could I ask how you uploaded your pictures as i'm having problems??


good job regards Paul

[mikeeyboy]

The car looks great! Enjoy

[NJ.]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your kind comments re the car - I'm sure some of these are in relation to the pics I uploaded to FB....

Anyways, for the non FB users, thought I'd give an update.

My numberplate certificate form (V948) arrived on Saturday via the return special delivery envelope I included in the registration pack I sent.  That means the DVLA turned my application around in 2 weeks which I can't complain about!

Certificate in hand, I popped down to the local halfrauds to get some plates made up and then like a small child bombed it back to the car to affix.  On Friday / Sat morning whilst waiting for the post, I managed to get the windscreen fit and also wing.

First drive was to my parents.  Whilst there I thought I'd better get some photos whilst the car was as clean as it's likely to ever be....  













I currently have the first picture set as my desktop background... Every time I see it, I still can't quite believe it's finished, road legal and mine!  After drooling for so long over the black exomotive MEV Exocet - www.motor1.com/news/91762/exomotive-mev-exocet/ it's mad that I too am now another proud owner....


p2tav - re photos - I'm using Flickr as I think it's free. Once uploaded, you can click on the photo -> share (bottom right) -> BB code. then pick the size and copy paste the code into this forum. Job done.

[jgilbert]

Yes, agree great quality build, well done of 1st time IVA. Feel proud, Very Proud!

[p2tav]

looks fantastic you must be made up, if I get close will be chuffed. can you tell me the spec of your lights. what did you used for side lights in the end? I'm also trying to get a quick release boss for steering wheel but cant figure out if mk2.5 is same as mk1 and mk2? where did you get yours from? please forgive me for asking the questions hear but not able to send personal messages yet.

regards paul

[buildercg]

Your car looks great!

[aterro]

Great build.

Why did you add sections to the wishbone? Strengthening?

[d7lcd]

Aug 14, 2017 18:09:39 GMT trident said:

Well done... great looking car.

My car .... well the car I built also now lives in Basingstoke with its new owner. 

Does this mean there are now 3 Exocet's in Basingstoke?