uk owner - rusty 500

[guru_1071]

hi all

I'm a U.K owner of a 1964 500 coupe

its been stood outside for 15 or so years and as a consequence is pretty rusty - a real shame as it was a California import in the mid 1990's and was a very tidy show car at one point.

ive always wanted a Corvair as they are such an interesting 'dead end' of automotive history, but they are really rare over here - I looked at a terrible one last year, and then this one popped up on ebay and was only 20 minute drive from where I live, so it seemed rude not to buy it.

plans are to do the welding, paint it, sort the trim and enjoy it, its never going to be an original car due to the lack of parts availability over here and the value of the end product, buts its good fun working on something that's completely different to what I'm used to (classic minis)

will start the thread in the project section!

[Conspiracy]

Welcome from Cornwall After 6 years in a barn, our '62 Greenbrier is just about ready for MOT. Insured her yesterday with agreed value & European breakdown for the grand sum of £93!!!!! Good luck and look forward to seeing the pictures

Chris

[cad-kid]

Welcome to the forum.

[Corventure Dave]

Welcome. There are a few Corvair owners in the UK that post here and on other forums.
So you have some fellow enthusiasts on the island.

Corventure Dave

[firstgencamarojunkie]

I like to watch Wheeler Dealers and often hear about the MOT testing. I'm curious what exactly is needed to pass a MOT test? Here in California the only testing you need to do is to pass smog, and, then only for 1973 or later vehicles.

[guru_1071]

I like to watch Wheeler Dealers and often hear about the MOT testing. I'm curious what exactly is needed to pass a MOT test? Here in California the only testing you need to do is to pass smog, and, then only for 1973 or later vehicles.

ok, its a little complicated for more modern cars, but using a corvair (or any pre 1980 car) as an example

the test takes about 45 minutes and costs anywhere from 25-50 pounds - you pay the garage for their time and the cost of the actual test, so some garages do a cheaper test in the assumption that you will then get them to do the work on the car if it needs it

if the car fails on some items you will get a free retest, some items you will have to pay for a full new test

the test lasts for 12 months, and you need the test to be able to tax the car (i.e no test + tax = not road legal)

now a days its all electronic, so its easy for the police to flag cars that are been driven with no test / tax / insurance, nowadays you can also go online and type the registration plate into the DVLA computer and it will tell you the history of the mots - quite handy when you are looking at secondhand cars where the seller is been less than honest!

pre 1960 cars are now mot exempt, mainly because modern garages cannot cope with the testing of such diverse cars, but you can, if you wish, still have them tested - which many people do, as it 'proves' that the car is safe.

so, the test


you turn up with your car to a pre booked test and the garage will enter the details onto the computer system

they will then get the car on a ramp and check for wear in all the steering joints, steering rack etc, look for oil leaks, check the condition of all the brake lines, pipes, tyres for wear, wiper blades, horn, seat belts, no cracks in the screen etc etc

they then look at the condition of the body, and welded repairs must be done correctly - no rivets, brazing, glue, tiny welds allowed

the car is then run up on a brake tester to make sure the brakes work.

there is no need to test the emissions on older cars, just a 'visible smoke check'

its a fairly easy test, and most cars will fail on stupid things like failed bulbs, torn wiper blades etc

occasionally you will get a proper 'fail' if the tester pokes a hole in the sills or something like that, but that's pretty rare - what finishes most modern cars of is emissions problems or failed shock absorbers, where the costs of the parts / fitment will exceed the value of the car


for example

my last mot on my classic mini failed because one of the front headlamps wouldn't go onto main beam - took 2 minutes to fix!

my last mot on my modern daily failed on a front anti roll bar drop link, so the garage fixed it as part of the test

its a necessary evil, and most people don't worry about it, its people running heaps on shoestring budgets who will try and bodge cars through, or find 'easy' garages who will fiddle mots, but that's pretty rare now since the electronic history thing came on line

[cad-kid]

[Bertle]

The key is to find a sensible garage, some testers fail a car for the fun of it! If they fail it often it is on a point that could be argued but it is less hassle to sort it than argue the point. On the other hand it is a safety inspection at the end of the day so if there is a genuine fault you want to know about it, I don't want me or my family driving a car with a safety related fault which I have missed. The MOT can be a double edged sword but on the whole I think is a good thing.

[TexasUK]

Just to point out that you can just as easily get dodgy ones as well. Not as easily as you used to be able to, but there are a lot of garages that will look the other way for some misdemeanours.

I'm in favour of the tests, at least you can get some sort of minor faith in what you are buying can be driven.

[mart]

as many on here will know, I have been welding a corvair that was in terrible bodged condition for 5 years...it had a current PA inspection sticker on it when I bought it....it would never have made it to the testing station, never mind pass. I recently bought a 75 Maverick from CA, thankfully it has no rust, but although it too had a current inspection sticker, It has taken me 2 months to get it in a safe enough condition to take it for a test...it passed

[firstgencamarojunkie]

Thanks for the info! The one that stands out for us Corvair owners is "check for oil leaks......"