IVA - Passed!

Result! The IVA is passed and I have the certificate to prove it.

The final part was emissions; 

Simon @ GBS re-worked the map to use both my narrowband lambda correctly and adjusted the IACV settings to get through the emissions test. Both Lambda & IACV are options I decided to re-fit, many of the cars run without both or go wide-band Lambda.

GBS agreed to bring the car down and take it through the test - then if any tweaks were needed I had the experts on the job. Simon had already spent time setting the car up in Nottingham & checking with their local test station.

It sailed through the test first time... almost so quickly we didn't realise!

I met Simon & John at the Gillingham test centre around 2pm, sorted out the fee to the testing station and once the car was warmed up the test itself took less than 5 minutes; Simon held the revs at 2,800 then idle - the machine said YES, the inspector said YES & I have a nice official IVA certificate !

My Zero back in the garage after a month away - its been missed:

Thank you GBS: Richard, Keith, Simon & John


Next step DVLA, road tax & plates - now surely that is going to be easier than my fun & games with VOSA ?  (touches wood, salutes magpies, avoids black cats, ladders & mirrors).

One step forward - planning

The plan

1. Ask GBS to set everything up and make sure I'm within limits on their testing kit, both sound & emissions - its at Nottingham now so hopefully this will also catch any other gotchas - air leaks etc

2. Contract a firm to deliver the car to Kent

3. Minor changes - remove the spare carrier and re-prep for IVA

4. Re-book a test - potentially with some support from BD locally in Kent - then trailer/to/from test - since i've shot my bolt on chassis insurance & driving is no longer an option

The last question

The one question still in my mind is this tweaking of emissions during the IVA.
I'll be fine if the car is setup and I just need to hold the revs - but if it needs adjustment in the test experience so far is I just make things worse with ad-hoc changes;

I'm ok making changes at low revs - but even there when the mixture was right the revs would drop and ECU move to another site which richened everything back up to prevent a stall.

Wot no pictures!

Makes for really boring posts unfortunately - no pictures - but writing does help me think through the options.

Perhaps I'll change the blog to a 'shed blog' in the meantime - the garage hasn't been this empty for a while so I spent last weekend re-installing insulation in the ceiling:

Bureaucrats

Everything has been quiet on the build front - but behind the scenes its been fun and games with VOSA.

The chronology goes something like this:

Note - at every step the test reference is shared with VOSA which has details on the type of test, its current status etc.

21st March	- IVA Test #1 at Gillingham   Failed with 7 items to correct
26th April	- IVA re-test at Gillingham   Failed with 1 item - emissions to correct
30th April	- Rang VOSA contact centre and enquired around moving the car back to the factory and taking the outstanding emissions test local to Nottingham - they confirmed this would be ok (*1) - Rang & Mailed GBS to check if they were ok to take the car; adjust the ECU/Emissions and take it throughthe test in Nottingham - they confirmed this would be ok.
2nd May	- Now decided to drive the car up to Nottingham so... - Rang the Insurance company to check my cover - I was good until Monday 6th - Rang VOSA again to check it would be ok to move the car and take the remaining test item at Nottingham, they said it would be ok, but could not contact Nottingham who were all on courses. - Rang GBS, they contacted Nottingham VOSA direct who agreed in principle the remainder of the test could be taken there.
3rd May	- Took the car back to GBS in Nottingham
7th May	- Rang VOSA contact centre to request the paperwork is moved to Nottingham - Gillingham test centre called me back to explain Amateur builds cannot be transferred - Rang VOSA contact centre and escalated to the team lead who agreed to investigate - VOSA contact centre team lead rang me back and confirmed the advice they gave me on 29th April & 2nd May was wrong - amateur tests could not be transferred. - We discussed the option of a full re-test at Nottingham & provided I paid I was told that would be ok, The team lead also agreed to simply transfer my existing application to Nottingham to avoid a lengthy wait for re-processing (*2).
15th May	10:52 - Rang VOSA contact centre to request the application for a full re-test was moved to Nottingham as per their offer on 7th May. They confirmed this was ok & Gillingham would call back in a 'couple of minutes' 13:00 - Rang VOSA contact centre, since I received no call from Gilingham. The contact centre confirmed they would ask again and send Gillingham an email. 13:10 - Gillingham test centre called me and said a new application form would be required, they would not be able to transfer theirs to Nottingham. 13:30 - Rang VOSA contact centre team lead who confirmed he would investigate and get back to me. 16:00 - Nottingham test centre called me to indicate they could not accept a transferred application and the best route would probably be a re-application direct from GBS. 16:40 - Rang VOSA contact centre team lead; He confirmed the application could not be transferred & I would have to re-apply (*3). He apologised for the conflicting information supplied & Invited me to submit a complaint via the VOSA email address. 16:50 - Rang GBS to update them; they shared a couple of other contacts atVOSA head office who might be able to help. 16:50 - Rang the VOSA head office who recommended I call in the morning.
16th May	10:40 - Called VOSA head office and spoke to the applications team who investigated options 17:05 - VOSA head office called back and said any re-application full or not would have to be taken at the Gillingham test centre, i.e. even if I start again with a new form the test would have to be through Gillingham. He invited me to make this request via email where he 'might' be able to give an alternate messsge quote "if you know what I mean" 17:14 - Called GBS to update them - hold everything until I come up with a new plan
21st May	Email request returned - confirming the same message - any re-test full or partial must be at the original station. Included an apology once more for the conflicting information.

The end game & lessons:

1. If you begin an amateur build IVA test at one station - it has to be completed at that station - this is documented on the fail form.
2. Any re-application for IVA on the same vehicle at any point in the future must be taken at the same testing station as the first test.
3. Don't trust anything the VOSA call centre tells you - double/triple check with the testing stations themselves, it seems like the testing stations are the place policy and decisions are made. The call centre are helpful - but only for putting you through to other people. (see highlighted items above *1, *2 & *3 where the call centre gave me bad information)
4. Its cheaper to take the car through via the factory option!

To be clear - everyone I speak to at VOSA is working to Policy except the call centre who give out inaccurate information which led to me moving the car to the other end of the country.

The VOSA rules are documented in the small print on the fail form (for partial re-test anyway) - I didn't see this originally, hence asking questions all through the process.

The VOSA Policy is immutable - even when mistakes are made, in my example by the call centre, they cannot work any exceptions to help you out of the hole they helped drop you in.

The plan:

I think the only option is to bring the car back to Kent and find a local mechanic who can work with me on it... I need to take a step back and think through though. There is no point me taking the car to any test station, I have tried and failed twice to adjust mixture.

When do get the car on the road I'm going to try and claim some sort of record for the highest mileage vehicle to get registered!

Post Script (September 2013)

I made a formal statement/complaint to VOSA about the above process, did not argue that the rules were wrong, but merely that I was misled at various stages.

To their credit they did offer to compensate some of my financial loss & address their internal procedures.

Made it - Zero safely at GBS

177 Miles more on the clock

Good run up to Nottingham; no windscreen and only goggles for protection - its a nice cruise around 60mph & sunny most of the way too. 

Couple of blips on the throttle through Dartford tunnel + out of the wind it was warm.

The M11/A1 route isn't bad for a small car - two lanes most of the way so I didn't feel too overwhelmed by larger traffic as on a motorway.

I did put my foot down here and there  - but without a screen or helmet the wind just gets painful! Close to GBS the last stretch of A roads is perfect for Zeros - sweeping roads & rolling hills with a couple of sharp corners. I love the engine intake sound when you put your foot down - you can hear it sucking in that 2 litres per rev of air capacity with a whistle as the power comes through.

I can understand why many drivers don't ever put windscreens on - while I understand, I will be putting one on my car eventually otherwise I don't think my wife will be passenger again.

Arrived & Zero left behind

The car is safely at GBS, I just need to persuade VOSA to move the paperwork up from Gillingham and with a bit of luck we'll get the car registered:

The only minor problem - I lost my Silencer bracket guard. I was just showing Richard around the car to mention any non standard assembly & all that was left of the bracket was the jubilee clip that held it on! The vibration on the trip up did for it. Shouldn't be a problem since its done its job now.

(Standing back from the car for the first time - that nearside front wheel arch isn't in a perfect position, its a little far from the tyre - but I can't really change it now)

The car looks pretty good, even when sitting alongside the factory builds, I'm really happy I got the build to this stage; This first real long drive with no problems really made the effort over the last 12 months worth while.

The little machine I built/assembled in my single garage took me half way across the UK on its third outing without issues - Its been fun & rewarding to build - I can completely recommend a kit car, and specifically a Zero, to anyone considering a project.

12 months on

Its virtually a year ago I was first at the GBS Factory being shown around - the GBS team were preparing for Detling then & I was a potential customer for their Kit.

Today, one year down the line, the kit has returned as a finished (save windscreen) Car & GBS are busy preparing for the National Kit Car Show - Stoneleigh so everything at their offices is on the move for the show stand:

A little time to wait before Keith could give me a lift to the station so I wrote some feedback on the process which GBS decided to publish on their testimonials page.

Just need to find a train back to Kent now!

Back to GBS

I have a plan,

I'm not getting anywhere trying to adjust the ECU on the fly at IVA, I decided to ask GBS to help get me through the final emissions test. They know the cars, and if its failing due to some assembly mistake on my part they will be able to correct that too.

The challenge is getting the car the 177 mile route back to the factory. My insurance is good on the chassis plate until Monday and IVA rules say I can drive to a pre-arranged appointment to fix any item outstanding from the test.

The car is good except emissions - so no reason I can think of not to drive it :)

• Oil - check
• Coolant - check
• Spare wheel - check
• Duct tape & basic tools - check
• Power map installed - check
• Breakdown cover - check
• Fuel can - check
• Windscreen - nope !

The only couple of bits of fabrication; a couple of swing clips to ensure the spare bracket bolts stay in place even if they manage to shake the thread lock loose. I have a broken 3.2mm drill bit which leaves only about 5mm of bit & means I could safely drill in this area without any risk of hitting the fuel tank above:

We shall see if I get there...


View Larger Map

The biggest challenge might be reaching up high enough to pay at the toll booths for Dartford tunnel.


If anyone sees a loon in a red Zero, no windscreen heading up the A1 tomorrow - give me a wave !