07/03/09
Well, the SVA is now a distant 2 weeks ago! Not an awful lot has happened since then to be honest as I've taken a bit of a break from being in the workshop all night every night. I have completed a couple of smaller jobs just for something to do though...
Firstly, I've fitted a high level brake light. Originally, I was going to fit this so that it hung under the rollbar, but eventually I decided that it would be better to mount it from the crossbar behind the seats.
This makes it much easier to route the wiring and avoids drilling into the rollbar. Job done.
I've also started fitting a pair of air horns. I had fitted the horn from the Fiesta originally, but it sounded so weak and feeble that it would've been embarrasing to use it! Given that the Mojo is quite small, I need to be able to let other road users know that I'm nearby so the horn really does need to be a bit louder than the Ford part.
Finding a space to mount the air horns has provoked a fair bit of head scratching. Eventually I managed to squeeze them into a space under the bonnet with the use of a bit of angle aluminium as a bracket. There's no particular reason why they're pointing directly towards pedestrians (honestly!) but they do seem to fit quite well here and don't require long runs of air hose. I just need to find somewhere to mount the compressor now...
The wheels have been changed back to the Wolfraces, the gearstick has been shortened a bit, and I've changed the steering wheel to a slightly smaller one. I'm hoping to get to Stoneleigh this year so I'll be on the lookout for a better steering wheel along with several other bits at the same time. The engine cover lock has had an extra support added to help stiffen up the rear end, and I've ordered some sound deadening pads which should also help. I've also covered the washers under the bonnet-hinge bolts as the plain steel finish looked a bit out of place. I had a couple of 'carbon fibre' stickers which did the job well. Finally, I've fitted the tax disc holder in anticipation.
I've also had my DVLA inspection recently. A letter arrived on Friday 3rd April saying that the inspection was confirmed for 11am on the Monday. Thanks for the advanced warning DVLA! I managed to get the morning booked off work, and I then set about hiring the trailer that would be required. That's when the problems started. I'd sent my photocard driving licence to the DVLA for identification as requested, but the trailer hire company wouldn't hire a trailer without a valid driving licence. There wasn't enough time to go to Ipswich and try to get my licence, and they woudn't accept a copy. Dammit! To cut a long story short, the whole situation was solved (yet again) by my wife who arranged to also have the Monday off work and we'd hire the trailer in her name. Moral of this story - don't send your driving licence in as identification if you need to hire a trailer!
The sequence of events went something like this:
Drive to Ipswich, and pick up the trailer from the hire place (www.tow-it.eu). Confirm that I wouldn't be driving (since I couldn't present my licence) and that my wife would be driving instead. I then drove home(!) with the trailer (bounce bounce etc), unhitched it and pushed it into the driveway, then hitched it back up again. Got the Mojo out of the workshop and carefully drove it onto the trailer. Balanced the weight approximately and secured the Mojo with 6 ratchet straps. I wanted to make sure it wasn't going to go anywhere! Slowly and carefully drove to the DVLA. Halfway there, I suddenly remembered that I should be breathing and that I ought to be looking out the front window a little more than I was looking in the mirrors.
I know that Ipswich DVLA has got nowhere to park apart from a small side road covered in double yellow lines so we just ended up parking there and hoping for the best. Almost as soon as I'd got out the car though a woman in a hi-viz jacket arrived and said that she was here to do the inspection. Needless to say, this was a little more efficient than I was expecting!
After a grand total of 4 minutes, she had checked the VIN plate, the stamped VIN number, and the engine number, and had confirmed that I would get an age-related registration in the next 2-3 days along with a new tax disk and the V5. So, no number plates on the way home then. Oh well...
Drive back home. Undo the ratchet straps and drive the Mojo off of the trailer. Forget that I'm now in a 500Kg car not a diesel estate with a trailer and scare myself silly as I plant the throttle and leap towards the horizon. Oh I'm going to enjoy driving this! Park the Mojo and breathe again. Unhitch the trailer and push it back into the driveway, then back the tow car after it. Just for a change, my wife drove the Mojo back to the workshop and then we rehitched the trailer yet again and headed back to Ipswich for the 3rd time that morning. We dropped the trailer back and then headed home once again. Got home, had a quick coffee, and then headed to work. Sat in a traffic jam on the A14 for about 15 minutes and got to work at 1:50pm. Knackered. What a morning!
The final job to do was to replace the leaking coolant hose with the nice new silcon hoses I ordered on the 30th of March. Well, I could fit them if they had arrived yet! I'll chase them up again later.
So I should be on the road in the next few days just in time for the lovely hot sunny weather we'll have over the bank holiday weekend. Yeah right - you watch. it's going to rain for the next 3 weeks or so, I can almost guarantee it...
In an unforseen flurry of efficiency, a tax disk and numberplate document fell through the letterbox this morning! So, I headed straight off to Halfords to get a set of plates made up. The front one is a bit big so I've also ordered a tiny 9" x 3" plate which should help maintain some airflow. I'll keep the 'legal' one just in case Mr Plod has a word.
So that's it then - P65 UCL is on the road! I just need to let Footman James know the new registration and I can go and enjoy the winding back roads of Suffolk. Just as soon as I sort out the coolant pipes that is...