At last, fill the gear box and engine with oil, water system with a water/antifreeze mix, cross your fingers and turn the key. Hopefully everything will run as expected and you can prepare for the SVA.

Before motoring off to the nearest test centre it is not a bad idea to go for an MOT which will ascertain as to whether your brakes are functioning correctly, the emissions are OK and headlamp aim is spot on. They will also find the bolts you have left off or loose (yes it can happen) and you will need an MOT for the registration purpose anyway. Before you do any thing there is one final and very important job to do.

The suspension first needs to be set for height by winding the spring mounts on the shock absorbers to give approx. 120 mm ground clearance at the front of the chassis and about 160mm at the rear. To align the wheels first set up two string lines one each side of the car at wheel centre line height these need to be parallel and centred around the centreline of the car; this can be achieved by measuring into the centre of each wheel and establishing the same dimension both sides front and rear. This will be different both ends as the track is wider at the rear. Next thing to do is swing the steering wheel from one lock to the other and back to a centre point to establish a centre point. Because the wheel is mounted on a hexagon shaft it is not possible to get an exact centre point so when close centre the wheel, the track rod ends can take out the anomaly. Next check the camber settings for each wheel.

Both front and rear wheels needs to have approx. 1 degree of negative camber, easily achieved on the front with the adjustable rod ends; at the rear it may be necessary to slot the upper ball joint mounting holes. If you do not have access to a camber gauge use a plumb bob or spirit level placed against the outside face of the tyre; when it touches the tyre at the bottom it should show a gap at the top in a corresponding position of about 10mm. This done check again the string line dimensions as they will have been disturbed in the process.

A good starting point for the wheel alignment is 0.5 to 1 degree toe in. Alter the toe links on the rear and the track rod ends at the front to achieve this measuring the distance from the string line to the wheel rim at the front and rear or each wheel, it should give no more than about 0.5mm more on the front reading. Lock everything off and cover the front track rod ends with the sleeve for the SVA. Finally check the tyre pressures which should be 18psi. at the front and 20 at the rear. Much has been written about the SVA so it would be pointless to duplicate it hear but the actual test is not much more than a glorified MOT test so do not be intimidated.

Apply to Swansea Vehicle Inspectorate and they will send you an application form for your SVA and give you a list of testing stations. Approach the test as if you are going to fail but take loads of tools with you and you may get through without a retest.