Shine a light - it's always dark underneath a car and manufacturers compound this by mainly using a dark brown and black colour scheme. Pipes, wires, nuts pipes etc are usually colour coordinated and require careful scrutiny to work out what they are and where they are going.

Things to look for are :- oil leaks, which can ruin a good pair of overalls, brake failure, which can cause the car to run away while you are underneath and shock absorbers that have lost their nerve. The normal test for this is to get someone strong to press down on your body (quite hard) if you bounce up you're OK but if you go all wobbly it's a bad sign.

Snails should be dealt with immediately . The manual recommends garlic and parsley (I hope that's what they mean by Persil) and a young Beaujolais.

I have never seen mushrooms growing under a car myself, but a quick saute in hot butter, a crisp Saumur and a baguette (literally a rod) will do the trick here.

(Peering photos Andrew Duff)

When all is said and done scrutineering has its psychological dimension and, like chess this involves intense periods of inactivity which are key to finding the mettle of the team and and the vehicle. Any cracks that appear now, or unfortunate leaks that occur, would only be worse in the testing conditions found on a Rallye stage, although it has to be said that these are rarely as bad as achieved by determined scrutineers.

Tomorrow we will probe inside and start looking into the engine proper.

The first reports on the cars actually in the Rallye will appear with any penalties incurred for infringements of the rules.

And we will explain why the car on the right only narrowly made it past the scrutineers.

Some quotes from Andrew Duff -Expert Scrutineer

Wayne hadn't realised that fitting an engine from a Lancaster bomber (Merlin, 12 cylinder, late exhaust stack type) would cause problems with his suspension (horizontal volute, twin bogey)......

"Of course, to be historically accurate, the compass in a '54 model should be of the reciprocating gimball sundial type, I see you're using a late '80's Woolworths special, completely wrong for your car. Also, I can't help noticing that the grease on your door locks contains molylibdenum disulphide, it should of course be tallow, refined by boiling in a vat (with ear of newt and eye of bat) and filtered through the muslin drawers of a peasant from the Alsace region. And another small point, I've taken paint scrapings from your car and I must point out that metallic indigo was not introduced until the following year's model...

Until tomorrow,
or depeche mode....