WOF - MOT

GRTV8

GRTV8

Well-Known Member
Took my Almond wonder for her bi-annual medical yesterday .
The sign said I could only stand behind the yellow line .
I can see this stranger touching her with greasy hands . He's now officially a bastard .
Squinty eyes studying her every nook and cranny .
Torch into her private areas .
Moving parts fiddled with . Hydraulic rams lifting her into uncomfortable positions .
Vital statistics noted with nary a glance my way.
I can't watch anymore .
I go to the fridge in the lounge for a coldie but only find tea and crap instant coffee .
My stress levels are huge - no beer .
Other customers are more freaked than me . They want to talk about the Rover . I can only hear mumble mumble . They don't make things better for me.
I think I need a doctor.
Im called by the bastard to look at the clip board he's holding . Very medical now .
Ticks in all the boxes lined down the right of the page .
Who called him a bastard ?
The whole lot electronically loaded onto a secret government document lurking in some back room in a place far away .
Im out of my terror for another six months .
$45 lighter and a little 30x20mm sticker on my windscreen is all I have to show .
Oh yeah - and a few grey hairs that weren't there before .
Gerald
 
I'm glad you passed but I know how you feel.

Had mine there two weeks ago.

For the first time ever they insisted on lifting it by the floor / sills. Every previous time they have done it under the cross members or suspension.

I protested, but he insisted. He said he would use extra foam blocks to spread the load.

I refused to go and sit down and I insisted on standing beside it as it was lifted. I was watching very closely as she went up.

He also poked, prodded, wobbled, bounced and shone his torch into various places.

Everything very thoroughly checked.

Thankfully it passed.

When I got home I checked it over and found that the nearside floor pan was dented up the way.

Lifted back the carpet and hit floor a thump with my fist. It popped back into shape again.

Even though the guys at the test centre are always very civil, That 20 minutes nearly makes me a nervous wreck.

At least we only have to go once a year!

Colin
 
Haha

Oldies day at the test centre! by EthelRedThePetrolHead, on Flickr

It's a big day for any elderly vehicle. I've always thought of it as a court appearance for my car rather than a medical examination, with the walls of the test centre with their pressure charts giving way to hushed oak-lined panels and the hydraulic platform representing the dock for the defendant, my car.

My car's mechanic becomes her barrister as he pleads her case and his overalls, so often replaced in my imagination by wizard's robes and occasionally a dunce's hat become silk robes and a wig.

If it pleases my learned friend, I would like to draw attention to my client's previous good character - in fact it was only 12 months since she was accquitted before this very court of having pitted brake discs and play in the steering.
Click to expand...

I don't usually watch from the public gallery and usually let the barrister take the client to the court in Leek, but I did once get justice for my car in Moss Side, Manchester

Up for the MOT by EthelRedThePetrolHead, on Flickr
 
I hope the Gordon Keeble owner can sort his own brakes - he won't have much chance of finding a repairer in Yellow Pages!
 
smokin1942 said:
I hope the Gordon Keeble owner can sort his own brakes - he won't have much chance of finding a repairer in Yellow Pages!
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Lake View Garage on the Macclesfield Road has extensive experience of the Gordon Keeble - this example was serviced by the Garage for many years. It almost remained in the Lake View stable but I passed up the chance to buy this car- I bought a P5B Saloon and a Series One 3500 and had ££££ to spare from the asking price! The Gordon Keeble is a nice car but could really do with a nice automatic gearbox because it is quite difficult to drive around town.
 
I know a lot of those "kit " cars back in the day used parts from other car manufactures .Makes sense . My lotus had Marina door handles . Did that model Keeble use Rover rear lights ?
Nice looker P6 , Mr Ethelred
 
GRTV8 said:
I know a lot of those "kit " cars back in the day used parts from other car manufactures .Makes sense . My lotus had Marina door handles . Did that model Keeble use Rover rear lights ?
Nice looker P6 , Mr Ethelred
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Thanks. LOL @ Gordon Keeble tail lights - that is exactly what I said when I first saw the car - "they look like they're off a Rover 2000" but apparently not, they are very expensive Italian lights that look like P6 lights.
 
[quoteThanks. LOL @ Gordon Keeble tail lights - that is exactly what I said when I first saw the car - "they look like they're off a Rover 2000" but apparently not, they are very expensive Italian lights that look like P6 lights][/quote]

Yes, taillights are apparently the same as a Ferrari 250. :shock: But take a close look at the GKs rear number plate plinth...
 
I can with hand on heart say that I never stress at WOF time always a pass, never hands and prying eyes where they shouldn't be, just a row of ticks and a nice crisp new sticker.

Graeme
 
Got to love a Gordon Keeble and a few similarities between it and our favourite cars: American V8, De-Dion axle and oddly similar rear-end styling.

Only 100 made. Should have been a star.
 
I know what MOT stands for, and RWC in other parts of Oz, but what is WOF please, just to broaden my acronym knowledge thanks. Here in Western Australia we have SFA, by that I mean we don't have any yearly inspections for cars but do for heavy haulage/goods vehicles. But if you do happen to get pulled over by the police and they decide to give your car the once over and notice, say, worn tyres, then they will give you a yellow sticker which means you have to fit new tyres then have to go over the inspection pits and be given a thourough inspection of everything before the yellow sticker can be removed, that is unless they find anything else which needs attention.

Scott
 
Here in N.S.W, there is the annual registration inspection, known as rego or "getting a pink slip", which now is actually white rather than pink, but the name persists. The car must pass the test prior to being able to pay the annual registration fee, which when combined together amounts to about $350, say 210 Pounds. If the car fails the test and the registration fee is not paid, the car is then unregistered and legally cannot be driven.

Ron.
 
The Isle of Man has no annual inspection.

Any non-new car that wishes to be registered on the Island has a super-strict one off test and after that, it's up to you - they trust you to look after your own vehicle. Therefore you see some proper sheds on Manx roads and cars that have largely vanished from the UK's roads - when I was there for a year in 2007/8 there were still quite a few Sierras on the roads.
 
westOz74P6B said:
I know what MOT stands for, and RWC in other parts of Oz, but what is WOF please, just to broaden my acronym knowledge thanks. Here in Western Australia we have SFA, by that I mean we don't have any yearly inspections for cars but do for heavy haulage/goods vehicles. But if you do happen to get pulled over by the police and they decide to give your car the once over and notice, say, worn tyres, then they will give you a yellow sticker which means you have to fit new tyres then have to go over the inspection pits and be given a thourough inspection of everything before the yellow sticker can be removed, that is unless they find anything else which needs attention.

Scott
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Hello WestOZ
WOF stands for "Warrant of Fitness" and is standard test throughout NZ . Unlike OZ . Older cars before 2000 are tested every 6 months . Later cars annually .[ these rules are changing in june ]
All testing stations are approved by a government body .Depending on where one gets an inspection , the rules can be bent to suit your relationship with the inspector . The chap that does my car is a private operator and we have beenon first name terms for years . He takes into account the cars 40 yrs and if in doubt he will ask questions and/or give me the option of getting it fixed before noting it down and therefore on record . That practice wouldn't happen in a franchised workshop where the inspectors are more hard nosed and expect "ALL" cars to be 2014 models .
 
GRTV8

I have found the WOF inspections to be reasonably objective over here in NZ, as long as you find a place with experience of older vehicles. I don`t like having to point out the dates of regs about high level stop lights and rear belts to people who are paid to understand the compliance rules. Luckily, like you, I have a mechanic who is really experienced and keen on older cars. The Elegant Thirsty Dinosaur hasn`t failed a warrant since it returned to duty in 2012.

I think the UK`s approach of accepting that pre 1960 cars are invariably owned by enthusiasts / specialists who keep them to a standard way above the MOT level is a sensible one. It must make the training burden for MOT test centres a bit easier and avoid lots of appeals caused by uninformed MOT testers getting carried away.
 
rottenlungs said:
GRTV8

I have found the WOF inspections to be reasonably objective over here in NZ, as long as you find a place with experience of older vehicles. I don`t like having to point out the dates of regs about high level stop lights and rear belts to people who are paid to understand the compliance rules. Luckily, like you, I have a mechanic who is really experienced and keen on older cars. The Elegant Thirsty Dinosaur hasn`t failed a warrant since it returned to duty in 2012.

I think the UK`s approach of accepting that pre 1960 cars are invariably owned by enthusiasts / specialists who keep them to a standard way above the MOT level is a sensible one. It must make the training burden for MOT test centres a bit easier and avoid lots of appeals caused by uninformed MOT testers getting carried away.
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I concur
Still a nervous time for most , waiting for the big tick . Not as bad as waiting in the birthing ward though .
 
Showing your age there, Gerald. We younger fathers were in there rubber gloves and all, pulling the little blighters to freedom. I can tell you that the experience alters your perceptions in all sorts of unexpected ways.
 
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