If your up for Rego in NSW - Read this.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Merv and Sharon

Sounds like your engineer will be out of a job soon? Clearly he isn't needed. This would be complete farce Baz, if it wasn't so serious. Did he have any problems with the colour of the car?

This is how I see it Merv.

The NSW Govt., is broke. I have paid my Engineer $2,500 for his work which included the Brake test, Sound Test and Mechanical Examination.

I don't know what occurs in Qld or Vic., but here, when you take your car to the RTA for them to do their inspection, you are not charged.

The RTA Inspectors are pretty pissed that the Engineer is getting all that brass and they are getting zero. Whether it's a power thing or whether they have been told by the State Labour Govt., to discredit the Engineers by ripping their reports to shreads I don't know, but what I am sure of is that it's either one or the other.

What I do know is that the NSW Govt needs every cent it can get. After going through what I am going through at the moment, I now firmly believe that their tactics are to remove the private Engineers from this equation through discrediting their Mechanical /Structural reports and gathering that revenue for themselves.

Unfortunately, I can find no other ICV Cobra owner that has gone through this ridiculous new process in NSW. I think I am the first and I'm not too happy about that at all.

What I do know is that my Engineer is really going to earn that $2.5K. I will comply with their requests as this has been my dream for 45 yesrs. My Cobra will eventually wear my COB-600 number plates which I have had in storage at out local RTA office for almost 3 years, but they haven't heard the last of me by a long shot. Mark my words.


Baz

[Zedn]

Baz,

How are the headrest covers actually attached? Is it just a cover with foam in it that slips over or is it actually attached? If it is not firmly attached then it wouldnt be serving the intention of the standard and they have reason to request it to be fixed. Even though there is no way your head could physically whiplash over it. Perhaps you can find someones seats to borrow for the inspection?

My RX7 seats are border line, if measured from the bottom of the bucket they are 855, if measured from the bottom of the back rest section they are closer to 750mm. The diagram in the ADR is not the clearest to know where to measure from.

The thing i have thought about is modifying the mounting location of the bracket that connects the seat back to the bottom, so the seat back is mounted higher thus leaving a gap at the bottom that can be filled with a lumber support. Perhaps you could discuss that with your trimmer. Only problem is that one side is mounted with a bolt to pivot on.

Are the fittings for the tonneau cover screwed on? Can you just unscrew them.

Dont be intimidated by him going through every ADR, your car has been built by a professional to comply with them. An expert inspector wouldnt have to read through every ADR, they should have such a good knowlege that they just have to occasionally look up specific numbers. I reckon he is just busy and is giving you an excuse. If i were you i would just wait for the report and try not to get him upset.

Makes you wish you were building a hot rod. They have life so easy, yet try to make out these are "just kit cars" and are heaps easier then hot rods.

I wonder how the clubbie guys are going with all this. Has your Engineer got anyone else going through or did you keep in touch with others doing the brake test?

[Beejay]

Baz,

What you are going through is terrible, and the RTA clearly has an agenda to stop ICV's getting registered. What a shame for the whole industry.

Having said that, do you think that modifying a head rest is going to meet Euro 4 standards? It would have been easier to buy the $200 SAAS seats or others that comply.

Sorry to be a party pooper.

Ben

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Beejay

Baz,

What you are going through is terrible, and the RTA clearly has an agenda to stop ICV's getting registered. What a shame for the whole industry.

Having said that, do you think that modifying a head rest is going to meet Euro 4 standards? It would have been easier to buy the $200 SAAS seats or others that comply.

Sorry to be a party pooper.

Ben

Ben,

From what I was told yesterday, it would appear that I will have to source some really narrow seats, e.g. Clubman dimensions, as the position where the seats fit between the transmission tunnel and the doors is really narrow and seats such as SAAS just won't fit.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Zedn

Baz,

How are the headrest covers actually attached? Is it just a cover with foam in it that slips over or is it actually attached? If it is not firmly attached then it wouldnt be serving the intention of the standard and they have reason to request it to be fixed. Even though there is no way your head could physically whiplash over it. Perhaps you can find someones seats to borrow for the inspection?

My RX7 seats are border line, if measured from the bottom of the bucket they are 855, if measured from the bottom of the back rest section they are closer to 750mm. The diagram in the ADR is not the clearest to know where to measure from.

The thing i have thought about is modifying the mounting location of the bracket that connects the seat back to the bottom, so the seat back is mounted higher thus leaving a gap at the bottom that can be filled with a lumber support. Perhaps you could discuss that with your trimmer. Only problem is that one side is mounted with a bolt to pivot on.

Are the fittings for the tonneau cover screwed on? Can you just unscrew them.

Dont be intimidated by him going through every ADR, your car has been built by a professional to comply with them. An expert inspector wouldnt have to read through every ADR, they should have such a good knowlege that they just have to occasionally look up specific numbers. I reckon he is just busy and is giving you an excuse. If i were you i would just wait for the report and try not to get him upset.

Makes you wish you were building a hot rod. They have life so easy, yet try to make out these are "just kit cars" and are heaps easier then hot rods.

I wonder how the clubbie guys are going with all this. Has your Engineer got anyone else going through or did you keep in touch with others doing the brake test?

Liam,

Yesterday, he displayed great pride in informing me that through the week he rejected a Clubman which had 22 issues so I'm not alone.


Baz