IVA Test forms sent

[seajayare]

I have had a look in the IVA manual it it couldn't be easier to find, section 1, called "noise" and hardly any words. 99dbA at 500mm at 4000rpm. just like you said.

I will get some new glasses!

[Si Richards]

Well needless to say my Eleven failed its first test but yesterday was the re-test and I'm now the proud owner of an IAC. I thought some of the guys that are heading in the direction of the IVA may be interested in some of the issues that I had and although I'm sure a lot of the items I failed on are down to the individual tester and stations opinion it may just help you avoid any problems.
It all started off well and I had a great inspector (or so I thought) who even rang me the night before to make sure I had arranged a few bits which I thought was great but then his governmental side came out as he then told me I would be failing straight away as apparently I had to have a signed letter (donor V5 isn't acceptable according to him) that dated my engine to prove it was only eligible for a visual smoke test. Got past this on the day by bringing loads of documentation off the internet stating date ranges for the 1275 engine and backing it up with the V5, he back tracked quite quickly and said it was fine.
The guy was friendly but extremely awkward, one minute he would say ok I'll let that go and then he would change his mind and fail the item which was very frustrating. He said the car was lovely to drive the brakes were brilliant and all its braking tests were perfect but kept saying he would be failing the brakes as in his mind they felt spongy (If I had hair I would of been pulling it out in clumps at this point!!!)

In the end he failed it on the following:
Noise (parked me in the test zone which is next to the front of a great big warehouse so was 1db over)
Brake lever didn't have enough reserve travel.
Front grill (he wanted a mesh cover or bar across it as he could wiggle the sphere through it. I measured the gap at 95mm at home so it was an unfair test anyway but I just smiled and got it fixed with a bar)
Seat belts (wasn't happy with the outer ones running between the carpet back and the clam shell)
Number plate with the fog light and reverse light mounted wasn't solid enough.
Fog light indicator sign wasn't permanent enough (I used a printer like everyone does)
All the rear lights were 5mm too low (my own fault as I put them bang on the minimum and I guess the suspension had settled since installing so were too low)
Passenger headrest was deemed as not being strong enough (Ian who gave me the headrest had his XI tested and passed at the same test station)

All in all it was a good fun day although I was disappointed at how negative he was telling me no less than 4 times that my mirrors were a failure before he had even tested them and even suggested the way I should rectify the problem. He then drove the car to the mirror point and rather sheepishly confirmed that they were absolutely fine!!!!!

The sound issue was easily overcome by stuffing some stainless steel scouring pads in the cone that is supplied with the exhaust, this took it down to 95db so I'll be hanging onto this for quiet trackdays at Goodwood. I fibreglassed a strut into the rear clam which has made it much more rigid and stopped the headrest from making the panel flex. My tester said that he only needed to see a tell tale sign for the fog light and none of the other switches required any labels, he wasnt happy with the Dymo printer labels that I used as they looked gash in his words so I found a rather nice one off that well known auction site which fitted over the warning light and looks great.

If anyone one wants to make use of the passenger headrest to avoid mucking around fitting Westfields full back seats Ian has said that I can pass it on as it does the job beautifully and saves having to install two lots of seats. In fact if anyone can make use of any of the IVA bits Rear number plate, mirrors etc. Let me know and we can sort something out.

Registration forms were sent today so fingers crossed I'll be able to have a bit of fun before it gets too cold and then I am going to get it painted over the winter ready for next year and lots of trips out and about.

Cheers
Si

[tnwesty11]

This is my first time posting to the site but I have been viewing from across the pond (USA) for quite a while. I have to admire your diligence and fortitude in your inspection and registration process in the UK. Mine went a little different here in Tennessee.
It was a bit of paperwork, four photos (front, back, left side and right side), and payment of the taxes down at the county courthouse. You get your registration and plate but you still cannot take it on the road. It is a little matter of not having a serial number so you cannot get insurance.
All this goes to the state and if acceptable they schedule you for a visit from the state trooper's office. This takes about 8 weeks. When the state trooper arrived he wanted to document the engine serial number. He witnesses the placing of the serial number sticker, shook my hand, and gave me the title. It took all of 10 minutes and he was gone. I had previously talked to my insurance agent and we had a quote for an agreed value policy for my 1957 Lotus Eleven replica (as titled). I visited him and we were done. Other states are different but once you get it registered you good to go anywhere.
It seems the state of Tennessee has two concerns: taxes and no stolen parts. I have had it on the road for two years, done three Lotus Owners Gatherings (national Lotus Ltd. club annual meeting) along with numerous local car shows. We have a few winding roads here in east Tennessee including the "tail of the Dragon" (318 curves in 11 miles of mountain roads). It has been a hot summer but with the fall brings cooler temperatures and fall colors.
I have added my car to the Registry so take a look. It is not your typical Westfield Eleven but what is? I have only seen three Westfield Elevens in person so I encourage everyone to share your car by adding to the Registry. I know I enjoy looking at them.

Don Z.

[jonclancy]

Congratulation, Si!! Excellent result!!

I sometimes wish we had the US way of registration over here!!

Welcome, Don. And thanks for your informative posting. Your car looks very interesting indeed. How did you find your FWB in the States? Imported recently or found locally? Out of interests sake, I'd love to know how you got it fitted. Adaptor plate?

Cheers

Jon

[Splat]

Basically; ditto!

Congratulations Si. Sounds frustrating, but all behind you now. Time to prettify!

Interesting car, Don. I'd love to see some more detailed shots of the mechanicals. Start your own thread. Mines going onto 15" wheels just as soon as Dunlop remanufacture R5s of the correct size. They've been unavailable worldwide now for over a year!

[Westfield 129]

It is said that California has the most onerous registration proceedure, but this is certainly not the case, judging from what you have to go through in the UK.

Here, we can register the car under a "special construction vehicle" rule set. This allows just about anything special construction to be registered without problems.

We need to show our paperwork. The invoice for the kit, statement of origin, and the cost of the components, as well as an estimate of our labor costs. This is only to determine the amount of registration to charge, as the costs relate to the "use tax" that is the registration cost.

As far as inspections, we go to a "Gold Seal" station (essentially a emissions testing facility that can do emissions related service, and can check brakes and lights), for a brake and light inspection.

The California Highway Patrol will want to see the car to affix a VIN if it doesn't have one. Current W11 kits have a VIN stamped into the chassis, and a chassis plate that can be affixed to the chassis.

A trip to the "BAR Referee" is necessary to do a visulal inspection for a crankcase ventilation/PCV installation, and to affix the "EXEMPT" sticker eliminating further emissions tests as they are not required for most special construction vehicles.

No drive test, no inspections for little plastic bolt head covers, no head rests, safety steering wheels... We can run treaded vintage race tires if we want (no one will be looking), dual master brakes... The only thing that will be checked is headlight height, and even then... Maybe not.

I have registered several Caterhams, W11s, Noble M12-M400s and Rossion Q1s here in California without any problems, even with the limited number of registration slots available. I once did 10 Nobles at once at our local DMV, as they are very familiar with Special Construction protocol, and made the phone calls and gave us our registration numbers while we waited.

We recently took a Kelvin Jones Lotus 23 through the full inspection, having only to make a headlight riser setup for the inspection (the 23 makes the 11 look 'tall as a bus). We were even able to create our own VIN.

There is a way to streamline this process... But it may be illegal in some states. Using the donor car VIN and registering it as a special body Spridget is possible in some states. Many of the W11s here in the US have been done this way, including all of the early production cars, as this was the legal method of registration back in the 80s~2000s. Registration in this way requires only verification of the VIN (in that it isn't a stolen car), then off to the DMV for the plates. An independent DMV rep can come by your build location and do the verification, and handle the registration if you wish. In reality, California is enlightened when it comes to kit cars.

[erictharg]

Sounds as if your inspector was going through the male menopause. Or just a complete twat...
Bad luck either way. Hope the re-test is clean.

[Westfield 129]

Longstone shows stock on the 450 and 500 X 15 Dunlop R5 and the CR65s in 450 and 500L sizes.

I use the 450X15 CR65 and the 500LX15 CR 65. Fit is fine on 4.5" ~ 6" rim width. ( I install 5" front and 5.5~6" rear rims on the cars, and may fit 15X5.5" and 15X6" alloy wheels on my personal W11. These are allowable rim selections for the tires.

I have been purchasing these tires for the last couple of years in the UK without any problems from Longstone. No interruption in availablity.

[Daggers-xi]

Hi Si,
Do you still have the headrest, sill have a few jobs to do but getting close.
If headrest is gone do you have a few photos to inspire me?
Daggers

[Splat]

FWIW

Dunlop ceased production of historic tyres in the U.K. a couple of years ago, shifting production to a factory in (Eastern?) Europe. This has caused a major interruption in the availability of certain tyres. (I heard somewhere that in some cases new mounds have been required.) A small run of the most popular road legal R5s were produced a little over a year ago, for the likes of DB4s and 5s. However, "our" tyres (450x15 and 500x15 R5) have been nil-stock worldwide for a couple of years.

HPTyres here in the U.K. distribute ALL of the historic tyres to all of the suppliers; Longstone, Demon Tweaks, etc. They also supply the "suppliers" for all of the territories worldwide, including Vintage Tyres Ltd of Nova Scotia who redistribute to all of the NA suppliers. I've contacted them all. They all laugh as soon as you say the words, "Dunlop R5".

As of today both HP and Longstone say that Dunlop intend to have limited supplies of "most" of the R5 range available in time for the start of next year's racing season, i.e. April 2017 (although they will not say what "most" might preclude!).

If anybody can find me a set of four tyres anywhere, I'd be pleased to hear from them......