IVA Test!

After getting my old faithful Land Rover Discovery serviced, and my Ifor Williams Transporta trailer brakes checked I was ready for the long journey.  My friend Mervyn agreed to come with me for moral support, and also to help in case we broke down!

My plan was to take the GD down to Andy at the Grantham headquarters for a sense check, then off to Derby for the IVA.  With the overnight ferries being a bit tricky to get booked during holiday season, we managed to get some space which sort of worked.

Arriving in Aberdeen at 7am, we had a 422 mile trip to Grantham.  We stopped twice for fuel and made it to GD Cars at approx 4pm.  Andy had a quick look over my car and we made a list of things for us to to confirm on the Monday.

Checking the brake bias, and adjusting the handbrake

IVA Compliant Fog Light Fitted

IVA Compliant Head Rest In-Fills Fitted

Speedo re-calibrated to 33000 as per Andy's Spreadsheet calculation

Adjusting the steering to try to get her to self centre while driving in a circle

Lowering the fuelling at idle to ensure she was within emission limits - she was!

Arrived at Derby on the 30th July

Nervously waiting to enter the test bay

Being checked over

IVA Success!  A massive thanks to Andy!

In the trailer ready for the long journey home

Celebratory Steak!

Getting ready for IVA

Working through the GD checklist for the IVA test, I double checked all points to make sure they were covered.  I sent photos to Andy at GD to make sure he didn't see anything obvious before I sent in my IVA application.  This didn't flag up anything so the application was submitted!

Rolling Road

I managed to book in a slot at Specialist Technical Solutions rolling road up here in Shetland while liaising with Dave at Canems to ensure the car was going to run as good as she could.

Ray got to work strapping the car down and started the tune after a good chat with Dave regarding the software and tune.

My engine isn't a standard LS7, it has had a camshaft and other various internal items and if you remember clocked 620bhp on the engine dyno.  I was expecting less power through the drivetrain and with the lesser quality of fuel up here (Far from super unleaded) so we put it to the test.

A good few runs were done and the basic tuning was put in place.  There was however a slight misfire at higher revs.  After speaking with Dave he confirmed that it appears when I got my engine it had been supplied with aftermarket coil packs and these could potentially be the route cause.

I ordered genuine GM ones from Rockauto.com along with spark plugs and leads.  

• Coil Packs - GM 12699382
• Spark Plugs - ACDelco 41-104
• Leads - GM 748UU

Once these were fitted, the misfire was gone and the rest of the tuning could take place.

I requested that the car didn't need to have every ounce of power extracted from it, as long as it was comfortable and smooth to drive.

Ray comfortably got 544 bhp and 562 ft.lbs of torque with no sign of pre-detonation.

Once on the road we can fine tune it.

Harness Buckle Covers

 For the IVA prep, I notice that you need to cover the safety harness buckles (The clips that clip onto the rool hoops).  I was originally thinking to cover them with rubber edging, but then I watched Maxwell Millz Youtube video detailing Vikash's build (Recommend watchinng it):

I noticed he had small covers over the top of his ones.  I thought I could perhaps make ones to suit, but once I had searched Google, I found ones for sale at KitCarDirect.  I thought at least this will save me some time.

I promptly ordered them.  They don't take long to place over the eyebolt, and clip in the harness. 

Job Done!

Speedometer Calibration

Now that the car is pretty much complete and ready for testing, I thought I had better calibrate my Smiths Speedometer.

I bought the Caerbont Automotive Instruments Smiths Electronic Speedo (200mph anti-clockwise).

To be able to calibrate the speedo, you need to follow the instructions very carefully. (Online Download)

The first piece of information requried is the rolling circumference of the rear tyre.  I stuck on a piece of masking tape onto the tyre and drew on a straight line.  I then placed masking tape on the floor with a similar straight line.  From the starting point of both lines touching, I rolled the tyre across the floor and when it went full circle, you guessed it, I placed another piece of masking tape down with another line.  Measured between the lines I got a measurement of 2087mm.  This is for the 275/40 R18 Michelin Pilot Super Sports.

Since my speedo is in MPH, the instructions request "Wheel revs per mile = 63360 divided by the distance travelled in inches".  

To convert from mm to inches you need to divide 2087 by 25.4.  This gives the answer in inches (82.16535433)

Therefore the Wheel revs per mile for my car is 63360 / 82.16535433 = 771.1279348 (give or take a few decimal points!)

We can now figure out the calibration number with the following calculation "Calibration number = (wheel revs per mile/km) x (diff ratio) x (number of magnets or bolts)"

The diff ratio for my Dana Spicer Hydratrak is 3.07:1

The VSS for the T56 Magnum has 17 pulses per revolution (That's what most people seem to confirm on the online forums!)

So, finally, the Calibration number sum of the speedo is:

771.1279348 x 3.07 x 17 = 40245.16692

The instructions state "the calibration number you have calculated should be rounded up to the nearest whole number" so my final Calibration Number is 40246.

To enter this data into the speedo itself,  as per the instructions:

"The calibration mode is selected by switching on the ignition while simultaneously pressing the trip reset button. The pointer will travel to full scale and return to zero. If the button is released before the pointer returns to zero, the manual setting procedure will be selected and the LCD (ODO.) will read ‘SET PPU’. If the button is released after the pointer returns to zero the ‘drive to set’ mode is selected and the LCD will show ‘DTS PPU.’  At this point, pressing the reset button momentarily will toggle between ‘SET PPU’ and DTS PPU’.  

Manually Inputting The PPU Number

Set the LCD to display ‘SET PPU’ as described above.  Press the reset button for 2-3 seconds, the LCD will show the calibration number currently set. Each digit within the calibration number will flash in turn for approximately 2 seconds. When a digit is flashing, each depression of the reset button will increment the digit by one. Once the last (right-most) digit has been set/reset, the whole number will flash. Press the reset button and the LCD will display ‘DONE.’ After 3 seconds the LCD will display ‘SET PPU,’ the setting is now complete. Switch off the ignition."

It is fairly easy to setup once you know all your figures - as long as you remember to press the reset button when all the digit flashes to ensure the number you have put in is stored...  When I double checked that I had put the correct number in, I found that the default number "008380" was still there.  I re-did it and remembered to press the reset button when all digits were flashing.  I have since re-checked, and my number has been stored.  I will test it properly once on the road compared against the sat nav.

Windscreen Footwell Covers

I wasn't sure how to deal with the windscreen that protrudes down into the footwells.  Since I have power steering, this differs from the standard GD frame which will differ from the usual covers that I think they can provide.  I will just make ones.

Using card, I created templates so that these could be made out of stainless steel.  My friend created these from my template - only a small bit of welding required.  The edges are nicely rounded.

I prepped them and sparayed them semi-gloss black, along with the heads of the bolts.  The bolt that holds them on is the lower Windscreen bolt.  I felt that was the neatest way to fasten them on.  Fairly finishes off the footwells.

Boot Carpets

The last bits of carpet to install are for the boot.  There are quite a few pieces, so I laid them out and tried to figure out what they all were.

Since I have a larger fuel tank than normal, I asked Meena to add on material to the standard carpet so it would fit my tank.  This was done so the seam is on the edge of my tank.

I started loosely laying all the pieces in to see how they fitted.  I realised I was going to have to create a cover over the top of my fuel pumps just to fully protect them.  Also, where the fuel hoses run and I have a couple of valves in a void on the passenger side, this would be best closed in.  At the driver's side, this is a perfect size to hold my Windows 10 tablet in it's case, so this will remain empty.

Using some 20mm plywood, I cut a perimeter support around the pump assembly.  Then upcycling an old Land Rover Series 3 hardtop, I cut a piece of aluminium as the cover.  I stuck on some loop velcro on the bottom, and glued the rest with a mix of superglue for the wood, and CT-1 for the rest.  I sprayed it black although nobody will see it.  I used some edging strip to protect the wires / hoses.

For the side void, I just cut a piece of aluminium and screwed it onto the bodyshell.  Again, edging strip was used for the wires.

Now that everything was ready to go, I felt the easiest bits of carpet to start with were the upper side pieces - these go behind the outer roll hoop bar onto the rear wheel arch.  Minimal trimming required.  A bit of triming required on the leatherette flap around the roll hoop, and on the passenger side a bit of trimming due to my fuel pump cover.

Carpets were all glued in using EvoStick Timebond.

The next pieces I chose to glue in were the rear corners.  These are quite odd shaped, but are flat and require to curve compoundly.  With the floor carpet in place (Mine doesn't fit since my tank is bigger - need modificaiton!) as well as the rear panel, I marked where the rear quarters best fitted to ensure everything was covered.  These were glued in with the help of a clamp.  I trimmed pieces out of the carpet to aid the curvature and remove the ripples.

The main upper carpet which covers the top of the fuel tank as I mentioned had an extra section added in.  The seam fits at the correct location.  The only issue is, the side wings of the carpet are too short to cover the rear wheel arch.  So, I strategically cut the wings off the big carpet so that I could glue the wings on separately on the wheel arches.  The main carpet could fold around the fuel tank around 50mm so you can't tell from the boot opening that the carpet has been cut.  For the passenger side, I glued in off cuts to fully cover the new aluminium panel and the side of the fuel tank.  I have left the driver's side for my tablet.

For the main carpet, it has pre-cut holes for the roll hoops which velcro closed.  This needed minimal tweaking to fit due to my fuel pumps.  I glued the edga along the top of the tank and the front of the tank, but left the main part on top loose.  The carpet isn't too flexible, but through time it may follow the coutour of the fuel pump cover.

The boot floor carpet, the one that immediately meets you when you open the boot, is standard GD size.  Since my tank is bigger, I had to notch out the tank shape in the carpet.  I measured and marked a few times to double check I wasn't going to cut it wrong.  Once cut, it fits neatly up against the tank carpet.

For the rear section of carpet that covers the rear lights, this passes underneath the boot latch.  I had a look and felt that if I was to use self tappers, it would pass through to the outside...  I decided to mould in a boss with stainless nuts.  I set everything in position and made a mould and laid in P40, and then P38 fibreglass.  I left this to cure and then sanded it down a bit.  The boot latch now fixes using button head set screws.

The final part for the boot was to fit the seal and also some edge trim.  The seal is an adhesive type so I just slowly stuck it on - I made the join line up with the boot striker rather than the centre of the car.  I felt that having a different line might make it all look askew!  The seals and edging strip faily finish off the boot area.  All in all, a good job, and the boot is still big enough to get a lot of stuff in it.