Midas Cars Forum - www.midascarsforum.com

Sorry if this repeats anything previously - but can anyone advise on the accuracy (or otherwise) of the Rover 213 instrument pack with the Metro 1275 engine and gearbox (I presume it is with the 3.44:1 final drive ratio).
Am asking as am working toward finish build of the car and will have to submit it for IVA testing which checks speedo accuracy on rollers. I really don't want this to be a fail item as retests are expensive (and a long way to travel!).
I do have 185/55/13s fitted right now.
Want to investigate now whilst engine and gearbox are out and speedo drive is reasonably accessible (though not sure what items remain available if I need to change drive gears).
Any comments welcome - with thanks

Allan

Do you know the deviation? Have you checked the speedo f.e. with a Tomtom? If yes, what drive gear is presently installed? Based on that info I can advise you. I've done so on my car and mine (Rover213 dash, 3.11 diff, 175/50 tyres) has a deviation of less than a mile. Just perfect.

Hi Hans,

Car is still in bits - am just anticipating getting it together and having to put it through the IVA test when the speedo is checked for accuracy

Allan

Why does it need iva testing is it not rather difficult to iva a Midas

This was a thread concerning my speedo problem:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=488&p=1992&hilit=drive+speedo#p1992
There are a few links to calculate the speedo. Else use my data (speedo crown/pinion 17/5, 3.11 diff and 175/50r13 tyres) and calculate this back to your diff and tyres.

Hi guys - thanks for your contributions particularly your links Hans
I'm assuming that I have to undergo an IVA test as the vehicle has never been registered. Unfortunately the previous owner cannot locate his folder with background to the donor car either and the Midas element is that it's one of the three Pastiche builds.
Would love it if I could avoid the IVA - but my reckoning right now is that it's unavoidable (and a pain, and expensive!)
Am hoping I don't have to argue crash testing /steering deformation/displacement as it's not an "original" Midas.

Allan

Ofcourse that kind of testing will not happen. In the worst case scenario it will be an SVA. Are you sure it has never been registered? If you can give use the VIN number we can check with club data.

b1zbaz wrote:Why does it need iva testing is it not rather difficult to iva a Midas

It shouldn't be difficult to IVA a Midas, so long as you work through the IVA test manual and make sure you present the car conforming to its requirements.
Typical mistakes include:
Not pumping the hydragas up sufficiently, so the headlights and fromnt indicators are a few mm below the minimum.
Fitting the side repeaters too high so they are hidden from the rear view by the wing mirrors.
Having insufficient radius/padding on the bottom edge of the dash and, in particular, the glovebox - yes the bottom edge of the standard Metro glovebox is too sharp for the IVA requirements!
Some steering wheels also fail the IVA interior edges check, but the MG Metro wheel is okay.

The only real issue with older cars is the quarterlight frame which has sharp edges. I have addressed this on new cars with a door frame that only has a small triangular upstand that is masked by the wing mirror. so the only contactable edges are those provided by the mirror. Thankfully, the standard Metro mirrors meet the IVA exterior edge radius requirements.
If you want to keep the original quarterlights then you can stick on some suitably radiused rubber extrusions. This may look unsightly, but the exterior edges are only checked during the IVA test and not on subsequent MOTs, so no-one is going to notice if the rubber extrusions come unglued and fall off shortly after!

Alistair

AllanH wrote:
Am hoping I don't have to argue crash testing /steering deformation/displacement as it's not an "original" Midas.

Allan

One more thought. The crash test of the Gold Coupe was performed for Harold Dermott's Midas Cars Ltd, but the seat belt anchor tests on the Convertible were performed for Pastiche.
I took both reports along with the first Gold Convertible that I had SVA tested and the examiner looked at them with mild interest, but I haven't bothered with them since.
The only time that I've needed the reports was when the Southampton test centre failed a Gold Convertible (a GTM car) as they "could not assess the structural integrity of the chassis" - yes they actually wrote that on the test report.
This was more down to the Southampton test centre being geared up for Japanese imports, rather than kit cars, and I helped the car's owner lobby VOSA to get a free retest at Gillingham.

Regards,

Alistair