MOT day - Yea

So dropped her at the garage today for it’s last official MOT. She was 40 in November and will be registered historic by April.

Also going to have the oil changed and front brake hoses replaced.

Will be back on the road later this week for another year of driving a whole 500 miles or so if the last 2 or three years are anything to go by. Would like to do 2000 or maybe 3000 miles this year if I can.

Tilt your phone left by the way




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So still not mot’d. Sump bung thread came out with the sump plug

New sump arriving tomorrow and then can have some oil to be driven into the mot bay.

So far on a little look over we have

2 new brake hoses
New sump
New exhaust rubber
New thermostat


All this and it drove like a dream the other day. At least a few little jobs are done now.

Let’s hope the mot itself goes a little smoother.


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It's worth getting a rubber sump gasket seal instead of the paper/ card one and be careful of the 2 bolts near the gearbox as they screw into aluminium and can be tricky to get in straight as room is tight and you don't want to cross thread them.

Your MOT place may fail you on the black number plates  as they are not legal till you register the car as a classic.  

Pre 1973 I think?

Also they might fail on no rear reflectors

Thanks both. Plates covered with normal ones. Pass last time with same lights so should be ok.

Garage is doing the sump on a ramp and they are very good. Used them for years on jobs I can’t be bothered to do on the cold floor this time of year.  


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paul_c said

Pre 1973 I think?

Also they might fail on no rear reflectors

You can put black and silver number plates on your car when it reaches 40 years old and you register it with the DVLA as an historic vehicle.
It used to be pre 1973 cars but now it's changed.

I was wondering that too, so I looked it up. It changed again on 1st Jan 2021, they stopped the rolling 'black plates allowed' linked with "historic tax" status, ie 40+ years old.

I think the last year was the V reg so you've just missed out.

Worth checking……

They like keeping us on our toes changing the law again…
At least I'm ok with black plates on my 1978 Mk1 Scirocco.  

Best continue to take it for an MOT test each year, it proves its "roadworthy" to an insurance company

Making old cars mot exempt is as stupid an idea as having "smart" motorways, IMHO.

paul_c said

I was wondering that too, so I looked it up. It changed again on 1st Jan 2021, they stopped the rolling 'black plates allowed' linked with "historic tax" status, ie 40+ years old.

I think the last year was the V reg so you've just missed out.

Worth checking……

Was a bonkers idea matching it to MOT/VED exemption.  Most vehicle regulations stick with the original date the rule/law changed, seat belts, side indicators etc

Suspect it was going to be used as an easy way to identify MOT/VED exempted vehicles for when they were banned from town centres or could only be used to attend official car shows.

jazzydog said

Making old cars mot exempt is as stupid an idea as having "smart" motorways, IMHO.

Totally agree about the MOT exemption. Think it was driven by harmonisation with EU laws, which would have then lead to historic vehicles being banned from town centres or only being able to be used at weekends or for licenced summer vehicle rallys or shows which is how some euro countries do it.

I have a friend who is has an old exempt Land Rover. He is law abiding and always maintained and fixed his cars if they failed the MOT. Now he hasn't done anything to the Land Rover for years, the exhaust is hanging off, the chassis/out riggers and most of the brake pipes/connectors are rotten, there are holes in the foot wells but he doesn't have to fix it so …. he doesn't. Which is EXACTLY how the MOT came about. We are lead by complete muppet politicians..
 

As mentioned above, some cars really do need MOT to prove roadworthiness, i now work in a garage and some of the cars that turn up even 4yrs old are dangerous.  With all the best will and intentions we all "fix" and make do with repairs  that was temporary and the "we" don't remember to put right.

We "dont MOT" ourselves we take to 1 of 3 garages that do trade MOT, so we cannot make a judgement call, if the car has failures we Fix, if advisories and cheap to fix we do and bill accordingly, if lots of advisories then we call customer and go through whats fixable and cheap, or fix all they require.  Theres no rush 3hr MOTs here…. we just say done when done, if fails.

kennysclassiccars.co.uk

We get failures for number plate bulbs, and rear wipers, over long towbars…. really petty stuff at times, where if they gave us the pass on condition that we fix, then we could give car back straight away "30mins" as we have them parts on shelves. But no we have to put on and return to show done.

My wifes 2017 plate polo failed  on friday, on cords showing(really she does 750miles a week) and even though standard tyre they are not kept locally in stock. spent a full day hunting tyres. So that she could go work 6am monday.  I'm more than happy to be inspected by someone impartial, so that im keeping my standards high and that i'm not missing much…. except wifes cars, she is insured for 700k so i'll be ok…

I totally agree I still a stupid idea. Especially when classic cars are laid up for such a long time over winter and bits perish or harden into position (cv boots, steering gaters etc).

Number plates. 1st jan 1980 is the cut off. I missed it by 11 months exactly.

Mot. It will still be done. Maybe not with a formal certificate but the same checks once a year as my mate owns the garage. (Plates will stay though )

Personally I feel having a MOT every year or so will help preserve the value of the car can one that does not so worthwhile investment aside from the safety elements.


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Loving the road tax exemption tho !