Common SVA issues - Sportster

[Patrick]

Thought it might be an idea to put together a thread of common / known Sportster issues when it comes to SVA:

A few thoughts from speaking to owners at Stoneleigh this year:

Indicators at the front fail as they are too far away from the sides of the car so they need to go on brackets

Headlights fail for being too low - wined the suspension up to pass.

Any more?

[RobDorey]

One thing I'd like to see is an upgrade in basic quality control.
The fuel tank leaked and had to be re-welded (pressure testing isn't rocket science), the gear stick & hand brake gaiter was probably made by a one armed man with his good arm tied behind his back and had to be remade, the dashboard and door combing weren't worth the wait and had to be stripped and remade (the backing metal is too thin and flimsy and the door combings are of two different lengths).
The bottom shock mount (E36 type) had to be cut off because it was positioned too low and the suspension arm stopped the bolt from through. And even if you could get the bolt in, the nut without a washer would have had to be 5mm thick to squeeze in the gap between the suspension arm and shock mount. I made a new mount and had to weld it on the top destroying the powder coat in the process.
Also, I think that a basic list should be produced of nuts, bolts, etc, instead of the bags of fittings supplied. There was a lot of fixings either missing, too short or of bad quality, etc. You have to buy a lot more of your own fixings anyway, so you would be better off supplying your own.
The door hinges, front of the doors and 'A' post need strengthening so the doors don't wobble about when open.
All of the aluminium panels could do with being a little thicker.

I don't expect a 'bolt together straight out of the box' type of kit, but its frustrating to have to remake some of the parts because they just don't work.

[Patrick]

Ok so we've got:

• Indicators at the front fail as they are too far away from the sides of the car so they need to go on brackets
• Headlights fail for being too low - wined the suspension up to pass.
• Leaky tanks - not pressure tested by Marlin so you have to do this
• Suspension issues if not fix properly on the E36 kit
• Hand brake compensation mechanism - may not be an issue depending on your examiner, Andy had problems with this on his car.
• Seat belt anchorage bar likely to fail - very flimsy design from the pics I've seen on the "build manual" cd so a more ridge design or seats with harness holes should do it!
• Steering column and shaft not designed to minimise upper column displacement in impact - can be fixed with an after market wheel that has a collapsible boss

I picked a few that seemed more kit specific out of Andy's thread.

Any more?

[peterux]

Originally Posted by Patrick

Ok so we've got:

[[*]Seat belt anchorage bar likely to fail - very flimsy design from the pics I've seen on the "build manual" cd so a more ridge design or seats with harness holes should do it!

Any more?

I don't always defend Marlin over quality issues (in fact, I seriously upset Terry recently over my "attitude" to my propshaft not being made correctly-but that's another story ;-0) but i thought it was worth pointing out that Andy's seat belt bar was made by Vindicator cars and was not supplied by Marlin. The bar supplied by Marlin is in fact very stiff and i cannot detect any flex when I lean my weight on it. It's only a tube but welded both ends to a "U" channel which I think gives it its stiffness. Also, I'm not absolutely sure if the seat harness holes are regarded as sufficient?

Anyway, I think it is a good idea to get a consolidated check list.....

On the other points, John from Warwick has agood list of his SVA issues over on the MOC forum. It was posted on the 12 Jan 2006 and is still there.
And there is Stuart's list posted here on MAKC on the 2nd May 2006.

VIN numbers with too many digits seems to be an inherent Marlin issue as the 5exi boys have had the same issue. I think my badly stamped on number is 19 digits long. Not sure what to do about that one?

I'll add some more, if I think of any more from past articles, etc

Peter
Oh yes, one more. Speedo's can over-read by one tenth of the true speed pluse 6.25mph so it's best to calibrate for about 5mph over reading. Under reading by any amount is a fail.

[Patrick]

My issue with the seatbelt bar was the method of attachment, but fair point if it's stronger than it looks.

I'd rather not turn this into a Marlin bashing thread but a list of fair points we need to look out for at SVA time