Voigt 5spd and Centre Console/Gearstick

[alan.barker]

In other words they don't check the Speedo at MOT Test.
So it's irrevelant
Alan

[HCA]

You do not give up do you

Section 7.8 of the MoT manual:

You must check the speedometer of vehicles first used on or after 1 October 1937 with a maximum speed above 25mph. You do not need to check Class 3 vehicles.

If a road test is needed, for example to carry out a decelerometer test, you must check whilst driving that the speedometer is working.

If a road test is not necessary, you should only reject a speedometer if it’s clearly not working.

Speedometers do not need to be lit on:

vehicles with no front or rear position lamps
vehicles that have front or rear positions lamps that are permanently disconnected, painted over or masked
You can accept a tachograph as an alternative to a speedometer if it satisfies the requirements of this inspection.

Defect Category
(a) Speedometer not fitted where one is required Major

(b) Speedometer:
(i) operation impaired - Minor
(ii) not working - Major

(c) Speedometer:
(i) not sufficiently illuminated - Minor
(ii) not illuminated - Major



In your defence, error is not tested, but it will be a pretty dumb tester who, during a brake test, does not notice a speedo needle sitting at zero - as would be the case on a GPS speedo without a signal.

And, pre-empting the next bit you will latch onto - that the car in question might never see an MoT station. To which I answer that I guarded myself with the word 'if'.

[alan.barker]

Hi Hal,
no hard feelings but to be honest i thought Speedos were not checked.
Does that mean my Lotus Elan Sprint fhc which is only in Miles should not pass "le controle technique" here in France or anywhere in Europe
I have lots of friends here who have imported from the USA and all thier cars are in Miles.
For my TVRs it's different they have Miles and also Kilometres.
Or many Triumphs have both Miles and Kilometres.
I suppose if i was stopped here in Brittany i could say to "Mr Poulet" i thought the 50 i was reading is in Kms
Alan

[HCA]

I think only UK cars made after 1977 need to have kph superimposed on an mph speedometer.

[alan.barker]

bonjour Hal,
to be honest i don't know if things have changed in the UK from Jan 1992 when i left to go to France.

I have lived in France for 30 years + and never seen Speedo inspected at "Controle Technique" to see if it functions or if it is in Kms.
I have seen people take the reading on the Miles "parcouru" and write on the Paper the same number as if it is Kms.
When i moved from Dept 28 Eure et Loire to 56 Morbihan (in 2012) i had to change the Reg Plates to the new "SIV". Went to the "Prefecture" and the woman said do you want to continue with "Carte Grise Collection" or change back to "Carte Grise Normal" on your Lotus Elan Sprint, i said no i'll continue with "Collection".
Thanks for the information.
Amicalement
Alan

[ChrisD]

Hello Alan,

I bought a old and broken speedo on ebay and put in a cheap china gps unit.
I didn`t want to destroy my original speedo.
This works very well.
In Germany too this is officially not legal but no one cared..

Cheers Christian

[alanr]

Hi Christian,
That sounds like a great idea and also a cheap solution to the issue!
I think though that my thoughts are perhaps jumping ahead too much and perhaps best to fit the gearbox and see what results the supplied speedo gear gives me.
Order for the gearbox is now in with Voigts but I understand it is going to be a some months before I take delivery anyway so plenty of time to think about things.

Thanks again for the input,

Alan.

[Foxie]

Have you considered an electronic speedo conversion ? Smiths face, no angle drive, no calibration problems, no speedo cable . Uses a proximity sensor at the drive shaft bolts.

I got mine here : https://www.caigauge.com/

[alanr]

Have you considered an electronic speedo conversion ? Smiths face, no angle drive, no calibration problems, no speedo cable . Uses a proximity sensor at the drive shaft bolts.

I got mine here : https://www.caigauge.com/

Thanks,
Yes that looks an interesting option!
Have you mounted your proximity sensor off the inner diff end of the driveshaft or the outer wheel end?
You probably have UJ's or Cv's making the sensor mounting a liitle easier being a smaller drivejoint than mounting the sensor off Rotoflex Donut bolts which I have in my car?
Was mounting the proximity sensor off the propshaft never an option for you?...i was also wondering if mounting off the front end of the propshaft bolts was possible, through the bung hole in the centre console transmission side body hole?
Also how much of a faff was the calibration of the speedo instrument to get reasonably accurate?

Thank again,all good stuff.

Alan.

[SimonH]

To be fair I think the mot check for an operative speedo didn’t come in until about 2006/7 ish. It had to have one fitted to be road legal but one of those funny quirks that it wasn’t tested for operation at all.
That has changed now but if someone hasn’t put a car in for a uk mot for years as they have lived in a foreign country for 30 years then why would they know?
I have no idea what daft quirks tests implemented abroad have.
A gps one is acceptable as it works outside. Most won’t register at the 2 or 3 mph the brake test machine works at anyway. Certainly not one with a knackered cable winding up and releasing flicking the needle about.

[alan.barker]

Hi Simon,
Thanks and good to have different ideas.
However not all ideas outside the UK are "daft quirks" mon ami.
The GPS set up looks a good idea and you can change between mph or kms at the touch of a button. If you change Tyre size or Diff ratio nothing to recalibrate. You can also blank off where the cable comes out of the Gearbox and stop the oil leaks.
Alan

[alanr]

This thread of mine possibly gettting confusing with Alans x2?

Alan

[alanr]

Having done some more Googling it seems to me that regardless of what UK MoT standards may be, you do NEED to be able to tell how fast you're going, no matter what the environment, that is the actual legal bit.
So...You do legally therefore need some way to tell your speed particularly in tunnels and other area's which will affect the reliability of a gps speedometer!
The more I delve into my options to eventually sort this it seems that the route that Foxie has gone with an electronic feed off the driveshaft/propshaft is the only sensible route.

Alan

[HCA]

Sort of what I told you at the start. If you read it then, it would have stopped all this utter nonsense.

[Foxie]

Thanks,
Yes that looks an interesting option!
Have you mounted your proximity sensor off the inner diff end of the driveshaft or the outer wheel end?
You probably have UJ's or Cv's making the sensor mounting a liitle easier being a smaller drivejoint than mounting the sensor off Rotoflex Donut bolts which I have in my car?
Was mounting the proximity sensor off the propshaft never an option for you?...i was also wondering if mounting off the front end of the propshaft bolts was possible, through the bung hole in the centre console transmission side body hole?
Also how much of a faff was the calibration of the speedo instrument to get reasonably accurate?

Thank again,all good stuff.

Alan.

I have Spyder CVJs.

I have attached a pic of the fitment. I made up a small bracket for the sensor, and glued it to the diff housing flange. This was so simple compared to positioning it to work off the propshaft. The sensor is threaded to adjust the gap to the drive shaft bolt boss.

Calibrating is simple once you study the instructions. Using the Lotus tyre and the 3 pulses per revolution gives 2,755 pulses per mile, or the calculated accuracy being the inverse of this number is 0.036%.

Another advantage of the electronic speedo is the the needle does not wave about like the mechanical speedo, but is always steady. The mileage/ tripmeter is a digital readout.