9th August 2012
Made the trip to the DVLA ‘local’ office in Bristol this morning. Like most local offices they don’t understand the rules of registering a car so insisted on an inspection. That was pencilled in for the 14th so if I was really lucky it would be road legal for the track day at Abingdon on the 17th
8th August 2012 – 16:00
The RAC man has arrived, then another one who needed to borrow something from his van. They both had a good look around the vehicle trying to ascertain why it was using coil packs like consumables. Eventually we noticed that there was no earth strap on the engine. I have no idea how it was actually earthing! We added a strap from the block direct to the battery and set about sourcing a new coil pack.
I’d already called around the local motor factors I could find on my phone with no success. However, a bit of local knowledge works wonders and the RAC guy tracked one down. A shame it was the other side of Bristol during rush hour but to his credit he willingly made the journey to get it. Think that took him over an hour by which time the VOSA centre had closed so I’d wheeled myself just outside the gates. I wished I’d fitted a radio!
When he got back he quickly swapped it over and it fired up straight away. With the earth strap it was a lot quicker to start and I noticed some of the gauges were reading a bit higher. With the engine having a better earth it must have increased the voltages.
No further dramas on the way home and I made full use of my last no-number-plate drive!
8th August 2012 – 14:20
The IVA inspector was less bothered about my ill Westfield than I was. He was happy with the emissions and speedo (still not working) from the previous test. I expect he may have had some sympathy for the bad luck was having with the car.
It didn’t take him long to rattle through the previous failure points and tick them off. He may even have just wanted to see the back of the car! I was duly handed my IVA certificate but there wasn’t much time to reflect on that as I had to turn my attention to getting the thing home. I placed a call to the RAC and waited for them to arrive…
8th August 2012 – 13:20
I’m pretty sure this thing is cursed! Just lost another coil pack about 8 miles ago. Still, I’m here now so lets see how it goes. Can suss out how to get it back later…
I’m sure the inspector giggled when he heard my car turning up on two cylinders!
8th August 2012 – AM
I popped into the garage this morning on the way out. I had it in my head that I stopped putting the nut covers in the toolbox when asked to remove them at the IVA and put them in a carrier bag as some were covered in silicone. Alas, no sign of carrier bag. But I did kick over the box for the electrical hook-up for the tent. There they are! I’ll pop those on when I get home, pack up some bits and venture out into the rain.
So I’ve gone from wondering how I’m going to improvise nut covers, to being slightly optimistic. It’ll just be the handbrake that’s contentious I think.
Westfield build, Mazda SDV 