IVA retest booked

Now that all the work is done, it's time to get the retest booked. £90 later and I have the 10th of April, at the slightly more civilised time of 11am (although it's still an 8am start to get there in plenty of time!). It's also in the school holidays so hopefully less traffic. Well, at least on the way down, there is a possibility I get caught in holiday traffic on the way back. And of course because I can't see my phone very well it's not as if I can avoid traffic jams, I just have to take it as it comes. The main thing I'm a little disappointed with is the time until the retest, I thought it might be quicker. Initially they said next Wednesday which would be far better, but then they weren't able to book it. Nothing else showed up for all of March, so April it is. They did say I can phone back and see if there are any cancellations, so I'll phone up each Monday and see if I can get a cancellation. Apparently retests can be moved as often as reuqired. 

There are a few jobs outstanding, not IVA specific but more a 'quality of life' thing;

• The first job is to drop the tyre pressures. I put them up to 30psi, partly because that's what the donor car uses but mainly because of self centring. The normal way to deal with a lack of self-centring is to put more air in the tyres, but that's all done now. It doesn't need to be 30psi, 18 to 20 is probably more suitable. This should also mean a bit more grip on the brake test rollers, so two birds and all that.
• I also need to adjust the clutch. As I mentioned last time I've replaced the slave cylinder and it works well, but clutch disengagement still isn't the best. Fortunately I did retain adjustment in the pushrod, it's just a bit awkward to get into the footwell!! Once I get down there I'll get the clutch pedal tightened up so it can move the clutch fork as much as possible. Then maybe one more bleed before declaring it fit for use.
• One thing for IVA is that I need a full tank again. Fortunately there is a filling station near to the test centre so I'll top up once I get down there, but in the meantime I need to stay with my jerry can to keep things topped up. There's still a bit left from the whole fuel tank fun and games so I'll put that in the car then go get another five litres (or two, depending on how much was used during the test). 

Given how much time I have, I'm also looking at replacement lenses for my telltales. On the way back with the rain all the symbols now look like they've melted. They still show the right symbol and colour but it's really not a good look for them. I want to redo them but make them waterproof. Luckily my wife has a laminator that will hopefully do the trick. I'll have to cut the symbols really closely to the edge to maximise the laminate seal, but if that works it'll be a longer term solution. I could do the same with the toggle switch legends but they're a lower priority. It could also be partly to do with the bulbs no longer being sealed, as I've mentioned before I had to go for a version 2 of the lights with a bit extra room and ventilation for cooling. Of course, whatever lets air out can also let water in so that's not a solution anymore.

I'm going to need somewhere to put my phone when I go for the retest, in my jacket seems logical but also having it visible would help. Hmm, I have a 'sticky' pad somewhere that is meant to keep things from sliding around on a dashboard, I wonder if that would work here. I will also need a battery pack as I have no USB source yet. Definitely one of the first things on my 'to do after IVA' list. 

Soon it'll be time to service the two tintops so that will be a nice distraction. But overall now I'm just waiting for the retest and trying to resist the old engineer adage 'if it ain't broke, it ain't got enough features'...