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MG MG Y Type - Is your Y a James Bond car !! Shaken but-------

Hi All,
Yesterday i took my modern car!! a 32year Sierra for MOT. At this garage it is now a oneman operation,as i watched, the car started to shake violently all the lights were on including the brake lights this shaking went on for at least 15/20 minutes whilst the mechanic went over the whole underneath of the car.I was appalled,the heat on the lenses in the rear lights with the stop lights being on plus the shaking must have been damaging to bulbs and parts of the car.Thankfully i don't have to put my 70year old YB through the same test because i would have serious misgivins about doing it.Driving home the Sierra did not feel right at first.Has anybody but their y through this type of MOT test yet.
John YB0362
JC Jebb

I don't have too much of a problem with the shaking John although I might if it was taken to excess like yours seems to have been. The shakers that I have seen at my local MOT place are only used for a few minutes when they look for slackness in the suspension joints. This seems to me to be a useful tool. They do have a tendency to leave the lights on though but surely the brake lights can't be on with nobody pressing the pedal?
Where I do have a problem, however, is with them leaving the engine running for the length of time they do while they check for exhaust leaks. I expect this is done due to an overinterpretation of the regulations which require the engine to be up to temperature before testing - and laziness. I personally would be loath to work in an atmosphere so thick with exhaust gasses but maybe they think it won't harm them. I also used to feel uncomfortble asking for the engine to be switched off as it was liable to overheat (BGT V8) but that car is now exempt as well. I expect that MOT testers are glad to see the back of us people who bring in cars which don't fit neatly into their modern car routine.

Ian
ian thomson

Hi Ian,
The Stop lights,they have a device which is fitted between the steering wheel and the brake pedal which pushes down enough to keep the stop lights on. You say only suspension joints,the operator in this garage was talking about with the
shaking the body and chassis rail flex to quite a degree and any faults show up. I also noticed on line comments about the shaking exaggerates the amount of wear in componets.I still stand by my feeling that putting a tired 70 to 80 year old car though this stress will do it no good i:e wooden glued dried out joints/headlining infills also tired fabric covered wiring etc etc. There are many of us Y owners who do not want/cannot afford/or not enough years left to undertake a body off full restoration back to as new however much we would like to.
John YB0362
JC Jebb

I think we may be on a hiding to nothing with this one John. As with so many things in life the interests of the minority are steamrollered by the claimed interests of the majority. We may think we are an equal society but when claims can be made to safety, and other such things, no matter how tenuous, individual needs are trumped by those of the compliant majority. Indeed I would argue that the MOT test is not really about safety anymore but trying to argue that line with people who live life in fear is a fruitless task. Such discussions go far beyond the realm of old car driving so we should count ourselves lucky that, for now, we can opt out of the official control system which we call the MOT test.
Ian
ian thomson

When the original pre 1960 MOT exemption was announced it was explained to me that one of the reasons was that cars of that era were not suitable for the one-man MOT testing facilities that the powers that be were hoping would become the norm. Particularly in the case of suspension components being put to the test on the shaker plates.

A Sierra shouldn't have anything to cause concern though, but it does sound like your MOT wasn't done in the normal way. 15-20 mins on the shaker plates out of a 40 minute test is ridiculous.

I asked my usual MOT test centre about it and they said they could do an MOT the old way if there were concerns about the shaker plate causing damage in any way, but whether all test centres would be prepared to is another question.
JRB Moyes

John,

I have yet to see the shaker plates you refer to. I take mine to garage that uses a pit and does the test the way it has always been done.

Ian your comment is so very true......."I think we may be on a hiding to nothing with this one John. As with so many things in life the interests of the minority are steamrollered by the claimed interests of the majority"
Richard Knight

This thread was discussed between 12/02/2022 and 13/02/2022

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