[MOT and seat belts]

R.E contradiction,  thats kind of what I was getting at. Mot's are supposed to be unambiguous, but you can argue the toss either way on some points. Best way is to find a sympathetic tester who is happy to view things your way because if they want to fail it for no seat belts they can.

[MOT and seat belts]

General rule for Mot is if it was fitted from the factory, it should be available at the time of Mot test.  If you remove the rear belts, you run the risk of failing. Would you expect to pass if you removed the front seat belts?  I have a 1960 series land rover which has no seat belts, but was made before they were mandatory so not required for mot.  The Mot is a funny beast,  you can fail for a cracked screen, but if you remove it and turn up with helmets and remove the wipers, no problem.

[to cat or not to cat. that is the question]

I too am of the opinion that a non cat test is appropriate.  Finding an Mot tester who will listen too your argument is a different story. Although the engine code is the same as a uk spec model, the ECU map will be different to run on higher octane Jap fuel.  This means it wont be found on the database. Mot testers aren't supposed to have an opinion, they follow the flow diagrams as shown above. Some also don't like being told they are wrong. Talk to some different testing stations and see what they say before you book.

[Best way to cut sheet metal?]

Hi. Wandered onto this thread and thought I would throw in my opinion. When cutting thin aluminium with a jigsaw, chatter or bounce can be an issue, keep the cut edge as close to the bench as possible to allow you to keep good pressure on the saw. Mount it on some 12mm mdf and cut through both if this is not possible. Also make sure your blades are sharp as otherwise you will just heat up the ally. I use my table saw with a tct blade to cut ally, and for complex shapes I would make a mdf follower, rough cut with a jigsaw to within 1mm of the desired line and finish with a router trimmer with a tct blade. The finish is superb and only needs a scrape to take the sharp edges off. Just a few ideas to throw in the mix, hope they help.