Once again, I had been feeling quite nervous about today because the car had to be driven in rush-hour afternoon traffic to the DVLA office in Wimbledon. The clutch is still terrible and so snappy it's virtually undrivable on the road. Also, I'm still expecting something to fall off, break, or fail, but this time I have no tools with me!

Matt drove there and I held the TomTom in my hand since there is no screen to stick it to. It works rather well.

We turned up at the office and then buzzed into the car park. They let us in and then sent a guy down for the inspection.

We had been reading the rules of the registrations, and found the following on the DVLA website:

Where all the parts of a vehicle are supplied new by the manufacturer. Subject to the provision of satisfactory receipts and a certificate of newness these vehicles will be registered under a current registration mark.

Kit cars which have been built using not more than one reconditioned component will also be registered under a current mark. This is subject to the provision of satisfactory evidence that the component has been reconditioned to an "as new" standard. An ESVA, SVA or MSVA test will be required.

So in theory, we should be given a 2007 plate. The engine is a late 2007 used engine with 800 miles on it, and the diff has obviously been reconditioned too as supplied with the kit. Along with everything we were asked to bring, I printed a list of modifications to the engine in the hope they may deem it new. Dry sump kit, exhaust, induction system, fuel rail etc.

The guy obviously had no idea about the diff, and was happy with the engine receipt so it was given a brand new registration. I was just happy we didn't get a Q plate, but I was really really happy we had a brand new 08 registration! Incidentally, we didn't need a certificate of newness.

The guy was really friendly and very into his bikes, so naturally quite interested to see the Busa engine in a car. Matt and I popped upstairs to finish off the paper-work which took quite a bit of waiting. After about a 20 minute wait we saw someone who was expecting us, finished it all up, and we were on our way with a fully road legal Busa!

We just had to get some plates made up and that was job done. It was a very satisfying feeling knowing that we could now drive the car as much as we wanted without any worry of legality...well...you know what I mean ;)

We popped over to my Dad's shop to get a numberplate made up for the Busa, but we did this in my car since it was quicker in traffic. Once home we made a couple of calls, stuck the plate on, then 4 of us went out that evening for a drink at Bottley Hill Farm House, a pub based on a 60mph road so we could have a nice little drive up there and take Kriss and Dan out for a spin.

The weather had turned from sun to very gray cloud, but it didn't look like rain to me. We got to Bottley Hill Farm, then I took Dan out for a spin down the road and back. The speed is sensational even limiting the engine to 8k (until it has done 1000 miles). Dan was pretty shocked at the speed, and I was shocked at how nervous the handling was. Now the SVA has taken place, I need to have a proper look at this suspension setup and make it feel a lot nicer.

Matt then took Kriss for a spin along the same route and I filmed his fly-by. The sound is just brilliant. It's all induction noise and it really doesn't sound like a bike! When it passes you it makes a crackling sound from the exhaust - it really is a bit of an ASBO!

After a drink we left and then Matt and I headed down to Caterham Bypass so I could bed the brakes in a little bit. A few stops from 60mph down to 30mph in blocks of 5 are the AP Racing instructions and have always worked well for me. After a few blocks of these I could feel the pedal improving all the time, and less and less pedal effort was required to stop the car. We were on our way back home, and decided we wanted to stay out for a bit longer.

We called by Jon's girlfriend's house in Croydon on an extended route home. It was pretty dark by now, so we showed him the car and Matt took him out quickly. Whilst he was out it started to rain lightly. We were going to take his girlfriend out too, but we decided to head back because of the light rain. Matt did his first couple of clutchless shifts on the way home and they felt awesome!

I took my crash helmet and gloves out that evening to see what it was like, and it makes driving in it feel a lot safer. I gave these to Matt, and it was very lucky that I did! The rain got a lot heavier and the drops hurt my face at 30mph to the point that I couldn't stand it. I had to duck my head down to avoid the pain. I don't know what  we would have done without the crash helmet as Matt couldn't have driven!

The rain got heavier but it didn't take long to get home at all. Just as we got into our road, Matt flipped his lid up and said in a laughing voice, oh well, it had to happen sooner or latter, better to get it out of the way :)

We put the car away, leathered it off, and noticed that no rain had gotten inside the cabin with the exception of a few drops when we were stationary. I'm feeling much happier about the car now it has been driven a bit.