What is the Single Vehicle Approval (SVA) test?

The SVA test was introduced by the British Government to regulate the kit car industry. With main stream car manufacturers they submit a new car for Type Approval. This costs in the region of £300,000 to obtain for a new car. This is a mere drop in the ocean for a mass manufacturer like GM or Ford, but for a kit car manufacturer this would not even be a year's worth of sales.

 

So another mechanism had to be introduced to regulate the quality of kits produced for and by customers. Thus the SVA test came about. The test started in 1998 and since then it has been up to the customer who purchases the kit to make sure that their finished kit is correctly built. Most manufacturers have altered their kits to enable passage through the test. 

 

You pay £158 to have your car evaluated against a pre-set list of criteria by a trained engineer to determine whether your pride and joy is safe and fit to be on the roads. If your car passes it is issued with a Ministers Approval Certificate (MAC) which says that the Minister of Transport approves of the car.

 

Well, that is the theory part, so what was my experience like?

I prepared the paperwork and sent off the application and fee to VOSA.  About 10 days later they wrote back asking for photographic evidence of the build, receipts for the major parts and a confirmation that I had built the car myself and not used a professional builder, to make sure I legitimately qualified for 'Amateur Build' status. 

 

I duly pointed the VOSA engineer in the direction of this website for the photos and mailed back the declaration together with my receipts.  About a week later I got a confirmation that everything was in order and was advised to contact the Gillingham test centre to book my appointment. 

 

When I telephoned Gillingham the lead time for a test appointment was about two weeks.  As it happened I made the appointment and then had to re-schedule it twice because I wasn't quite ready.  This is no problem and there is no charge for rearranging providing you give  at least 3 working days notice.

 

In the run up to the test date, I was too busy trying to get all the last minute jobs done to worry about the test.  My friends from the Cobra Club had advised me to treat the test as a two part process; where you get it tested and get a list of fail points, then you pay £30 for a re-test fee and pass… I think if you have this mindset it certainly helps. 

 

Anyway, woke up bright and early on the day and fortunately the heavy persistent rain cleared before I needed to leave for Gillingham and the sun shone for the entire afternoon, good news indeed!  The journey down to the test centre (about 50 miles) was exhilarating and somewhat nerve racking.  I chose to drive the car myself rather than trailer it, so this was the first real test over any distance.   While I hoped everything would be OK I did  take the precaution of organising roadside assistance!  Needless to say the journey to the test centre was great.

Ian, my tester, who was a very nice chap, very knowledgeable and helpful was very impressed with the quality of the build.  He was clearly an expert and very interested in cars, at every stage of the test he knew exactly what he was looking for.  When it came to the headlights he allowed me to make some adjustment so that they were correctly set… I had expected this may be an issue as I was told the MoT testing machines are invariably different.  

 

Ian spent a lot of time examining the safety aspects of the car such as the brakes and steering. He found a very small brake fluid leak from one of the brake line joints. He said this was not surprising as they were tested to extreme conditions.  It turned out to be a slightly loose joint and required a quarter turn to resolve the problem.  After almost 4 hours of thorough testing Ian presented me with the MAC certificate..... I felt elated at passing first time!

 

 

So what's exactly included in the test?

The SVA test is comprehensive and can last up to three hours. The main sections the test covers are:

- Anti theft device

- Defrosting/demisting

- Wipers/washers

  • - Seats
  • - Seat Belts
  • - Interior
  • - Radio Suppression
  • - Glazing
  • - Lighting
  • - Mirrors
  • - Tyres
  • - Doors, latches, hinges.
  • - Exterior
  • - Steering
  • - Design and construction
  • - Brakes
  • - Noise
  • - Emissions petrol engines
  • - Emissions diesel engines
  • - Speedometer
  • - Weights

 

Below is a summary of what is included in each of the headings listed above. The tests are too detailed to fully outline here, so I've paraphrased things and given the gist of the test. This page was never meant to be a detailed description of the test in full. There is an Inspection manual available from VOSA; this covers every aspect of the test in detail. I would strongly recommend if you are building a kit car in the UK you invest in one of these manuals. It becomes a bit of a bible after a while!
You can get the manual from:
The Vehicle Inspectorate
PO Box 12
Swansea
SA1 1BP.

 

1. Anti theft device

  • In addition to the normal ignition switch the vehicle must be permanently fitted with an anti-theft device. A battery cut off switch will do the job.

2. Defrost

  • The vehicle must be fitted with a system or systems capable of defrosting or demisting the windscreen to allow the driver an adequate view in front and forward of the nearside and offside of the vehicle.

3. Wipers/washers

  • Check that all wipers continue to move automatically over the windscreen. Check that they park in the correct position and that they operate at a minimum speed. Check that there is enough capacity in the windscreen washer reservoir and it can withstand a certain pressure if the pipe or nozzles are blocked.

4. Seats

  • Check each seat is firmly attached to the vehicle structure with load spreading washers where appropriate.

5. Seat belts

  • Check each seating position is fitted with the required number of anchorage points and the anchorage points comply with the strength and location requirements. Check each seat belt is fitted with an 'E' marked belt of the appropriate type and that it is secured. High tensile bolts marked 8.8 are required for the fixing points

6. Interior

  • The vehicle interior surfaces shall not include fittings or design features which have any dangerous roughness or sharp edges due to their exterior shape or design likely to be contacted by the occupants. This is a very detailed area dealing with the shape and radius of switches, height protruding from the dashboard etc...

7. Radio suppression

  • Check that the HT system is fitted with radio interference suppression equipment.

8. Glazing

  • Check that all windows are made of safety glass to a recognised standard and that when seated the driver has full view of the road in front and forward of the nearside and offside of the vehicle.

9. Lighting

  • Check that all obligatory lights and reflectors are in the required positions, of the right colours, intensity and are visible at the required angles. There is a large section on visible angles and position of lights both for the obligatory and optional lights. Watch this one lots of vehicle fails on this one. Minimum heights seem to be the one that catches people out; it is measured from the bottom of the light.

10. Mirrors

  • Check the obligatory rear view mirrors for positions, security, adjustment and size of reflecting surfaces. A large area is mapped out on the ground and the vehicle positioned on a certain mark. The examiner sits in the car and makes sure they can see set points posts and floor markings for each mirror.

11. Tyres

  • Check that each type has and 'E' approval mark and is of the correct speed rating for the type of vehicle.

12. Doors, hinges and latches

  • Check that all doors are capable of being securely latched in the closed position and have intermediate and fully latched positions.

13. Exterior

  • Between the floor line and a height of 2 metres there must be no features likely to catch or increase the risk or seriousness of injury to any person who could come into contact with the vehicle. This like the interior is another large section that deals with radii and projections from the body, wheels etc...

14. Steering

  • Check that the steering provides adequate protection from injury during normal driving and in the event of a frontal impact, and will self centre at about 10mph.

15. Design and construction

  • Check all aspects of the design and construction of the vehicle or its equipment that no danger is caused to any person in the vehicle or to other road users. Check the design, construction and attachment of each sub frame mounting and assess its ability to withstand the forces and vibration to which it may be subjected. Check all fuel system components and their ability to withstand the forces, vibration and environment to which they may be subjected. Fuel lines must be secured with plastic clips and not contact the chassis.

16. Brakes

  • Check that the vehicle is fitted with a braking system capable of performing the certain listed operations. They perform 5 tests using ever increasing pedal pressure on the front and then the back wheels. This is obviously a detailed area which goes in depth into the vehicles braking system.

17. Noise

  • Check that the exhaust system is complete and fitted with a silencer and meets the required sound levels 101db is the limit.

18 & 19. Exhaust emissions petrol and diesel

  • Emission will be visually checked if engine date of manufacture is before certain cut off dates. Otherwise it will be checked using an approved and calibrated exhaust gas analyser. Engines manufactured after August 1st 1992 should be fitted with a catalytic converter

20. Speedometer

  • Check that the speedometer is accurate to within defined limits at certain road speeds.

21. Weights

  • Check that the declared maximum gross weight and maximum permitted axle weights is not less than those weights calculated using the kerbside weights and the appropriate passenger/luggage weight.

 

Note: The above information is a guide only, I'd recommend the SVA manual it certainly helped me when I was ordering parts and fitting items to the car.

 

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