Edd China’s Basic Classic Car Health Checks: Inspecting Under the Bonnet

Welcome to my classic car health check. Well, we're now going to go under the bonnet, so the first question is does the bonnet release work easily? Go ahead Danny, please. Very good, seems easy enough, which is great. The next thing to look for is the safety catch.

Is that actually working nicely, and it turns out it is, which is great, and then, we want to worry about the hinges. Do they support or these actually let the bonnet operate nicely, which they do, and then it's the bonnet stay. Is it present? Does it work? In this case, it does, and if it has gas struts, are they strong enough to support the weight of the bonnet?

Well, so far everything's great, so now, we can get deep into the engine bay. Right, well the first thing we're going to be looking for is the wiring, and we're looking for anything untoward, anything frayed, perhaps any bits that are rubbing up against moving parts, any loose ends that might be shorting out. Make sure there's none of those. The next thing to check is the battery. Make sure that it's actually held down securely, but also that the battery terminals are nicely done up as well.

Then, we start looking at the actual structure of the vehicle. Again, we're looking for any rust damage, any cracked bits of metal, anything like that at all, and pay particular attention to areas where the suspension and the steering, the braking systems may be actually be attached, and of course, if you've got MacPherson strut suspension, check the strut tops as well, and then, if you get yourself a little bit of wire or string or even a rolled up bit of A4 about basically 30 centimeters long, if you then find any of those mounting points and imagine this radius around those parts. If you find any corrosion or damage at all, they will need to be having a welded repair before they go for the MOT. And next up, as you can see, is the steering. So Danny, my wonderful assistant, is actually moving the steering wheel from side to side, and the first thing I'm going to be checking for is any delay in the action from the steering wheel down to the wheels.

It gives you an idea of how much slack is in the system. Also while he's there, he's making sure that the steering column is securely attached to the car's structure, which is great. And then depending on the design of your car, you can either then check the next bit from inside the engine bay or from underneath the car. We're having a close look underneath in a later video, but what I'm going to be looking for is any of the moving parts from the steering. So things like universal joints, the steering box or a steering rack, depending on what you've got, and making sure that when Danny's actually moving the steering, there isn't any slack in any of those parts.

Also while you're there, check any gaiters that protect those moving parts because they need to be fully intact as well. Now, if your car is fitted with power-assisted steering, you going to want to turn your attention to that making sure that any of the pipes, there's no fluid leaking from anywhere, but also while you're there, check the level in the actual reservoir itself. Now having pumped the brake pedal a couple of times, you then want to check the brake fluid in the reservoir. Now in most cars, it'll be somewhere in the engine bay. On this particular little Moggy Minor, it's actually under a carpet inside the car, but once you've checked that level and made sure it's where it's supposed to be or topped it up, next you want do is actually turn your attention to the lines themselves.

Now you follow 'em as far as you can all the way from the master cylinder and see them weave around inside the engine bay. You want to make sure that there's no corrosion and there's no seepage anywhere. Now, having checked all of the brake lines, the next thing you want to do is turn your attention to the fuel lines. Now, you can see there is a copper line, a hard line, going all the way to the tank, so you check that as far as you can. If that looks in order, then move to the flexi lines.

Now, you can see here that actually looks in quite good order. You want to be checking for any perishing that's going on and any leakage. In fact, if you can smell even a whiff of fuel, try and follow your nose to where it's actually leaking from, and then obviously fix that before you take it for an MOT. Having dealt with that, the last thing to check under the bonnet is actually the VIN number. I want to make sure that it's intact, it's in place, and actually is very readable because, of course, the MOT tester we'll need to see that put in his notes.

Right, next up in the next video, we're going to be looking on the interior of the car.