What will be checked when I take my 1989 mini 30 for nct?

countyhouse

What will be checked when I take my 1989 mini 30 for nct?

Will it need a rear fog light?

Does it need clips/mechanism to hold the front seats in place when in the down position? Has rally seats in the front at present without any.

What about emissions?

Will intermediate tyres pass the test?

Anything else to watch out for?

kadman

It will be checked to see if its roadworthy and safe.

You must assume that un fixed rally seats will raise eyebrows,
as well as tyres that were not standard for the car.

Emissions I believe will be based on the manufacturers spec for the year.

If a foglight was original spec, I expect they will want to see it working

macplaxton

NCT MANUAL PDF V4

PsychoPete

Once the seats are using proper seat rails, they should pass. If the tyres are rated for road use, they shouldn't be an issue either. A big thing they look for in older cars is corrosion

kadman

PsychoPete wrote: »

Once the seats are using proper seat rails, they should pass. If the tyres are rated for road use, they shouldn't be an issue either. A big thing they look for in older cars is corrosion

OP says the front seats dont have hold down clips.
If the seats tip forward, surely thats an issue??

kadman

Page 23 section 7, tipping seats not secured are a fail.

PsychoPete

kadman wrote: »

OP says the front seats dont have hold down clips.
If the seats tip forward, surely thats an issue??

Thought the OP meant something else, if there's no mechanism to keep them secure I'd definitely take them out for test

kadman

PsychoPete wrote: »

Thought the OP meant something else, if there's no mechanism to keep them secure I'd definitely take them out for test

I think we all know only too well that Mr Nct Tester does not need
to find much to fail a car. And I suspect the unknown classic cars will make them fail anything they are not familiar with, just to be sure.

PsychoPete

PsychoPete wrote: »

Thought the OP meant something else, if there's no mechanism to keep them secure I'd definitely take them out for test

Surely it would fail with no seats ?

Tazio

On the NCT manual (page 17) there is an exception for Mini 1300 carbs cars as follows:

For the following Rover vehicles: a) Mini 1300 carburettor and open loop three-way catalyst, b) Metro Rover 100 1100 carburettor and open loop three-way catalyst, first registered on or before 31 December 1994, the exhaust emission limit for CO is 3.5% and for HC is 1200 ppm. Where a vehicle meets the CO limit but fails the HC limit, the inspector must perform a further HC test at 2000 rpm. If the vehicle meets the HC limit at 2000 rpm, it is considered to have met the requirements(1).

JabbaTheHut

Tazio wrote: »

On the NCT manual (page 17) there is an exception for Mini 1300 carbs cars as follows:

For the following Rover vehicles: a) Mini 1300 carburettor and open loop three-way catalyst, b) Metro Rover 100 1100 carburettor and open loop three-way catalyst, first registered on or before 31 December 1994, the exhaust emission limit for CO is 3.5% and for HC is 1200 ppm. Where a vehicle meets the CO limit but fails the HC limit, the inspector must perform a further HC test at 2000 rpm. If the vehicle meets the HC limit at 2000 rpm, it is considered to have met the requirements(1).

That sounds like someone won a battle against the NCT with this one.

macplaxton

Tazio wrote: »

On the NCT manual (page 17) there is an exception for Mini 1300 carbs cars as follows:

Not applicable. That's for carb + cat.

A 1989 Mini Thirty is carb / no cat. Tested to 1/10/1986 - 31/12/1993 standards for CO (max. 3.5%) and HC (max. 750ppm)

countyhouse

macplaxton wrote: »

Not applicable. That's for carb + cat.

A 1989 Mini Thirty is carb / no cat. Tested to 1/10/1986 - 31/12/1993 standards for CO (max. 3.5%) and HC (max. 750ppm)

So does that mean my mini must meet the standards you quoted above. Officially where are those standards prescribed and I will get my garage to check the emissions.

If the engine is fitted with a 286 fast road cam and performance head (seller stated that it was years ago) what are the implications for emissions and how do I approach this for the nct?

Treppen

Rust

countyhouse

PsychoPete wrote: »

Once the seats are using proper seat rails, they should pass. If the tyres are rated for road use, they shouldn't be an issue either. A big thing they look for in older cars is corrosion

I checked the floor where the rear leg of the original seats sat and there is a plastic pad built into the carpet, but no sign of any bracket or mechanism to hold the seat in place when in the down position, does that mean there was none fitted originally and should not therefore be a requirement for the nct?

On corrosion, you are correct and today my garage has advised getting some welding done where floor pan meets lower front wings, otherwise body good.

DaveCol

There would originally have been a bracket for the seats bolted to the floor. It probably got removed at some stage. This is what it looks like:
http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Interior/Seats,%20belts/HFU10001.aspx?1705&ReturnUrl=/search/classic/floor%20bracket.aspx|Back%20to%20search

macplaxton

countyhouse wrote: »

So does that mean my mini must meet the standards you quoted above. Officially where are those standards prescribed and I will get my garage to check the emissions.

If the engine is fitted with a 286 fast road cam and performance head (seller stated that it was years ago) what are the implications for emissions and how do I approach this for the nct?

Officially, they are prescribed in the NCT Manual as posted above. Any A-series engine in reasonable shape should pass them.

countyhouse

macplaxton wrote: »

Officially, they are prescribed in the NCT Manual as posted above. Any A-series engine in reasonable shape should pass them.

Thanks very much, that clarifies things for me

kadman

Whether you pass or fail an NCT, its the best value for money check on your
cars roadworthiness, if you are not tech savvy for classics or any car.

You will get a comprehensive breakdown of your cars condition for 50+ euros.

you wont beat that.

Sam Russell

Also, you will get fix list which if you get them done in time for the retest, then you will pass with no further fixes.

Bargain, at €55, for what they do, and what it means for road safety.

antodeco

I've put several minis through the test and nearly everytime they can't figure out how to open the bonnet. It doesn't start well.

Things to watch out for:

Loose rear seat
Front seats will fail if no catch is there
Wiper blades
Headlights are an obvious one.

Also, are they the original rear lights? IE: The indicator lenses aren't clear? They have a tendency to fail for not being orange enough.

Also, the number plate light, as useless as it is on the mini, needs to be working.

Engine wise/emissions wise, should be fine if it's all working as it should.

Do you have a bodykit on it by any chance?

countyhouse

antodeco wrote: »

I've put several minis through the test and nearly everytime they can't figure out how to open the bonnet. It doesn't start well.

Things to watch out for:

Loose rear seat
Front seats will fail if no catch is there
Wiper blades
Headlights are an obvious one.

Also, are they the original rear lights? IE: The indicator lenses aren't clear? They have a tendency to fail for not being orange enough.

Also, the number plate light, as useless as it is on the mini, needs to be working.

Engine wise/emissions wise, should be fine if it's all working as it should.

Do you have a bodykit on it by any chance?

Thanks very much, wipers are quite slow, but improve if it’s raining, will this be a problem if tester tries them dry? No body kit, but need to source drivers seat to fit as present rally seat doesn’t have one and the day I cleared the car for the vrt, I happened to get one of the testers passing and he said if I was using the rally seats in the car at present I would have to get an engineers report. any idea where I could source a secondhand drivers seat if only for the test and condition would not be that important?

countyhouse

macplaxton wrote: »

Officially, they are prescribed in the NCT Manual as posted above. Any A-series engine in reasonable shape should pass them.

Left car with the Mini Specialist this evening and informed him of the emission spec to be met.

Because the engine has been modified with an MD Kent 286 Rally fast road cam peg drive, LCB Maniflow 1 7/8 Side Exit System and an RC 40 Cooper Exhaust Fit Kit, he said it may be difficult to achieve the required NCT emission levels compared to what is required in Northern Ireland for the MOT. I would appreciate your thoughts on this and any suggestions for overcoming the problem without putting the engine back to original spec. ie 998cc.

zg3409

Put car in for test. If it fails then worry about it. Do basic checks yourself.

countyhouse

macplaxton wrote: »

Officially, they are prescribed in the NCT Manual as posted above. Any A-series engine in reasonable shape should pass them.

Getting mini back in few days, CO now at 1.6, however mechanic does not have way of checking the HC. If the CO is low would that suggest that the HC May come in below 750? Any suggestions about checking the HC and where would I get this done before the nct? I am in Donegal.

kadman

What state of tune is your engine in, does it perform well on the road.
Is the compression well up and equal, is the ignition system in good order. High
HC readings normally suggest unburnt fuels at the exhaust.
Which could point to possible ignition issues, or compression at the cylinders.

I imagine any garage offering pre NCT checks can do an emission check for you.

Tazio

High HC is also over fueling on a carb setup.

I had high HC (nct) on a carb in the past with "worn" jets.. they were 35 years old and were corroded.

countyhouse

kadman wrote: »

What state of tune is your engine in, does it perform well on the road.
Is the compression well up and equal, is the ignition system in good order. High
HC readings normally suggest unburnt fuels at the exhaust.
Which could point to possible ignition issues, or compression at the cylinders.

I imagine any garage offering pre NCT checks can do an emission check for you.

Thanks very much, engine is running well, has now been fitted with electronic ignition, fully serviced, so will put through nct and hope for the best.

countyhouse

Tazio wrote: »

High HC is also over fueling on a carb setup.

I had high HC (nct) on a carb in the past with "worn" jets.. they were 35 years old and were corroded.

Thanks very much, when the engine was modified a new bigger jet was fitted to the carb, my mechanic has now fitted a finer jet which should help, so will put through nct now