Put the car in for the MOT today:-

Failed:-
Emissions - off the scale
Corrosion within 30cm of suspension
leaking steering box

Oh and orange sidelights... so why do new beemers and Range Rovers get away wwith orange sidelights (I know they're not 3 years old yet, but the MOT gets info from the lighting regs does it not?)

Serves me right for having to spend over £1000 on a transmission rebuild..
And getting new shocks & struts, and new tyres...

Anyone want an 84 T/A? about 5 months road tax left, no MOT...
Offers?

 

Emissions - off the scale

How far off, and in what categories?

Corrosion within 30cm of suspension

Got photos? There may be methods to address that without too much effort.

leaking steering box

Can't help you with that one. That should be a rather straightforward repair.

Oh and orange sidelights... so why do new beemers and Range Rovers get away wwith orange sidelights (I know they're not 3 years old yet, but the MOT gets info from the lighting regs does it not?)

Being unfamiliar with the regulations, what is required? Are these the OEM side markers, or the lights behind the front wheel arches? If they are the OEM (corner) lamps, there may be options.

 

I presume they mean the Carbon Monoxide (CO) emissions.

I think they mean the small hole in the wheel arch, AND other corrosion (will see when I get to the garage).

I have one parts place looking to see if there's a seal kit etc.

The lights which have failed the test on my T/A are the orange lights at the front of the car, inboard of the headlights, which come on when you press the P part of the light switch. They are not concerned about the lights on the sides of the front wings (indicator repeaters)

Cheers,
Mark.

 

You are allowed a certain percentage of Monoxide by year, but it has to be under 3.50 for cars before 91, [ approx] mine runs at 1.50, i can get it lower as i have a new Edelbrock, but running too weak isnt that good.
Shame you are'nt near me, i do welding, as long as it not 99% of the vehicle.
Yeh my m8 passed my lights [amber fron, red indicators rear], but i promised on a stack of Playboy mags i would sort it before next October.
Just get a couple of cheap white lights [any car shop for trailers etc], double sided tape and some scotchlocks, fit them and then rip em off after.
The leak on the steering might take the most work.

 

Oh. The front turn/park lamps have to be clear/white? That's vertically fornicated. It appears that the lenses are only ultrasonically welded to the housings, or perhaps simply glued. It would seem that a bit of work with hobby knife and some clear Lexan would solve that easily. Not that it makes any sense to us Yanks (???), but if that's what it takes...

 

If the CO is high, a lean tune and functional cat converter should cut that considerably. Does this one use the aftermarket carb or the original E4ME? The electric Quadrajet should be able to make emissions with a functional O² sensor and good tuning, even with a very weak cat converter.

Did someone mention they needed seals? What year?

 

They must be white front side lights [park] orange at the front can only be turn signals.
Same at the rear, except only red for park\brake, orange for turn signals, and white for back-up lamps.
Mine has no cat, and no emmision junk, which is legal before 91 here.

 

LOL Vader!
I know it's vertically fornicated as you so eloquently put it

The bulb is a dual filament stop/tail bulb. As you know, the bright filament kicks in when you use the indicator.

However, it has now turned into a matter of principle. Yes it will cost me the price of another MOT test, but like R1UK, I will get the certificate with the lights as they are
I believe you have a term for this? It's called "Sticking it to the man" i.e. the authority figure

At least my rear indicator lenses are orange

Hey R1UK? Aren't you Manchester way? If so, then it's only an hour to 1.5 away from me in Chipping We should arrange a meet sometime!
My friend has some contacts - his ex-girlfriend is an MOT tester and he knows some welders too

 

Carb is a Holley 600cfm - vacuum secondaries.

I do have a portable CO meter so I will have a play with the mixture screws on the Holley.

I'd just replaced the HT leads (all 8 of them) yesterday. Hopefully the plugs (fitted earlier this year aren't screwed).

Nearly time to go home and pick her up from the garage (with the failure sheet)

 

Yeh i'm only up the road, be nice when the weathers warmer.

 

Would that Holley be a 4150 or a 4160? The 4150 is a bit more adjustable. You could drop the float level, increase the idle screw rate, and possibly eek past the sniffer, unless the numbers are way off. I'd be wary of opening the air bleeds too much and causing a permanent lean condition, but that would be another method. Then again, if you happened to have two carburetors....

 

It's an older Holley I believe - 1850 or 1860 IIRC.

Maybe I should turn the mixture screws right in - say only half a turn out, sit her at 4000 rpm for a minute and then tell them to take a reading, assuming she doesn't melt a piston etc..

UPDATE -

American & Speciality Auto (my local parts place over at Farnworth) apparently do replacement headlights (brighter too) COMPLETE with a sidelight installed! All I'd have to do is split the wiring from the original light so that the one in the headlight is powered at the same time. I may as well go for this option, considering that one of my headlights has got duct tape around its edges and still has broken glass in it from a blown bulb..

I will keep you guys informed.

So what if the headlights aren't raised when the parking lights are on? OK to be picky I could raise the lights then turn the headlights off...

 

I mentioned this somewhere else, and as far as i know, the front sidelights just have to light up, theres nothing to say you cant raise the headlights to turn them on.

 

Precisely R1

 

Prices -

£48.50 each for the headlights

£37.50 for the master seal kit in the steering box.

Oh yeah, and I have the ball ache of tightening the bolts in the steering rack (tilt mechanism slightly loose). What a rigmarole!!

 

Thats a pain, the normal sealed beam units [no s\light] are about £12 each.

The steering is always worth doing properely imo.

 

LSUK supply headlight units (minus the halogen bulb) that fit Transams. I think mine cost around £30 about a year ago.

 

Crafty *******!

New LAnd Rover Disco's have whit esidelights in the headlamp units - so those orange ones are just marker lights. oh well, I assume beemers are the same.

Mark.