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The same legal requirements are applicable for the Burton, as for any other car. It is important that the rolling chassis is in compliance with all legal requirements in your country.
The following are some of them: (Attention, these are legal requirements for the Netherlands). The difference may seem to be small, however they could be important.
The chassis has to carry the complete load of the car; therefore, it should not be weakened by rotted spots or any other damage. If a chassis has been - or needs to be repaired, it may only be done by welding. The alternative, pop riveting is not allowed. Special pre formed repair pieces are regularly available to repair the most common weak spots of the chassis. It is highly recommended to have your chassis treated with some sort of underbody coating in order to prevent rust in the (near) future.
The brakes of your Burton are an essential part of your safety, as well as that of others. The minimum legal requirement is a slow down of 5.2 metres per second square. For the front wheels a difference in slow down capacity between the left and right wheel of 20 percent is allowed. For the rear wheels, the allowed difference is 30 percent.
The hand (park) brake has to function properly as well. Its slow down capacity has to be 1.2 metres per second square or better. The brake discs have to have a minimal thickness of 4 millimetres. The brake lines should all be free of rust and once sanded, are not allowed to show any pitting. They also have to be properly mounted to the chassis. Of course, brake fluid leakages are out of the question.
Leakages are easy to detect. However, the slow down capacity is more difficult to verify, as long as you only have a rolling chassis, there it applies to the complete car. This is why you should have a complete breaking system in perfect working order. Any part that is potentially suspect should be replaced by a new part as a precaution.
The steering is not allowed to have too much play. The maximal play allowed for the ball pins is 1 millimetre. These ball pins should have a minimum diameter of 21 millimetres. When new, they are 22 millimetres in diameter. You are better off to replace a ball pin if it shows any play. It will need replacement sooner or later anyway and access is far more difficult once your Burton is completely assembled. Apart from that, every car drives much better when its steering is free of play.
Suspension; the spring canisters are not allowed to have any decay. (First check the lids) Inertia dampers as well as normal shock absorbers all require to be in good shape and capable to do their job. Check to see that the rolling chassis stops swaying after you pressed it down and let go again. It should neatly return to its initial state. It is also important that no suspension parts have any metal-to-metal contact. All rubber parts that are there to prevent that from happening should all be in good condition.
The engine once warmed up and idling at 800 to 850 revs a minute, is allowed to produce a 2 percent carbon monoxide (CO) emission. For the older 2CV engines, the limit is less strict. The CO emission mainly depends on a carburettor adjustment. The petrol supply line is not allowed to show any leakage; therefore, you should check all lines and connections. Both engine and gear box support brackets should be mounted tightly and are not allowed to show any signs of excessive wear. The complete exhaust system has to be gas tight and should be properly mounted and free of rattling. The maximum allowed noise level is 82 dB.
Wheels and bearings; bearings are not allowed to be felt nor heard. The width of the track front is allowed to be 128,50 cm maximum. The tyres should not show any dry cracks and are required to have at least 1.6 millimetres of profile dept. If this is less than 2.5 millimetres, it is highly recommended to replace the tyre. The same rules apply to the spare wheel!
All rubber gaiters, used on the drive shafts, as well as the ones used on the steering and suspension are not allowed to show any leaks nor dry cracks. You may pass your test with one or more leak, but if you have dry cracked gaiters, you may expect them to start leaking in no time. You are better off to replace them when the body is off the chassis |
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