Eric,
This all came up a couple of weeks ago, when someone asked me what an MOT was,
and there was discussion for days on whether or not it was a good idea to have
a compulsory safety check!
The MOT (Ministry Of Transport test) in the UK covers pretty much the same
stuff that Reid listed as applying in Florida. On top of this there is:
1) Structural bodywork check - no penetrating rust in any structural area
(principally sills and chassis), or within a foot of suspension or seat belt
mounting points, and body tub mounting points on a separate chassis car like a
Spitfire. Surface rust is OK, but they will try and push a screwdriver
through it and if it goes through, you fail.
2) All wheels are firm against movement due to worn bearings or steering or
suspension parts - just jack the car up and try to wobble the wheel.
3) Condition of brake pipes, particularly flexible ones that connect to hubs -
also that pipes have adequate protection against chafing (I failed last year
for not having the coil thing around a front brake pipe, that protects it from
rubbing against the top wishbone.
4) No cracks in items like steering rack gaiters, CV joint gaiters (obviously
not applicable to RWD cars like Spits) etc.
5) Tyre tread depth limit is 1.6mm (about 66 thousandths of an inch, if that
is how you measure it in the States).
I think that is pretty much it.
Richard Gosling and Daffy
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