Having earlier failed on:
Pannard bush steering damper bush swivel seals exhaust hole excessive brake travel
... Replacing two bushes (in stock at the local main agent) - £2 each. wiping the swivels - £0. replacing exhaust front pipes - £90 adjusting rear brake shoes and replacing brake fluid - £5. Leaving car at MOT station for 1.5 hours with the keys in my pocket - £0 Leaving car at MOT station for 1.5 hours again - £20
Getting shiny new MOT after the above - Priceless!
The front nearside pipe (it's a V8) had a hole in it. This turned out to probably be the fault of the last place that fitted a front box and moved the front pipe so that it chafed against the chassis. The same place that did this didn't want to do the front pipes in case the manifold studs broke. The next place I went to (PETS in Cosham) said that the studs probably would break, but so what -they carry new studs and a stud extractor. One stud did break on tightening so they replaced all three.
The Pannard bush was a real pain. Took my friendly neighbour over an hour to get the old one out. Eventually had to get the inner out then collapse the outer ring as it was seized against the hole. New bush was incredibly tight to get in. Damper bush easy.
Brake travel was down to the rear hub adjustment bolts - Easy once you know. The brake fluid looked decidely tired - dirty and thin, so replaced it, except that we can't easily get to the front bleed nipples so theres some old stuff still there. I will probably replace the swivel seals anyway, but at least it's at my leisure.
Overall, the MOT tester was surprised at the state of the chassis - he couln't find any rust. Last year it needed a front o/s outrigger, but this turns out to be a local problem since water always sits in the drivers footwell after rain and has found a way out where the floor joins the wing, so it falls on the outrigger.
Might even treat the old lady to a wash and T-Cut at the local valeter - I'm sure she could look like new again - not bad for a 20 year old :)