On-Board Tools...

[mopho]

No, not the driver


So I've been carrying around a plastic case of cheapo tool kit in the car and it takes up a lot of space in my very limited boot, so just purchased a tool roll.
What tools do you keep in the car? Anyone ever inventory what size wrench/sockets are fitted to the car so to not carry unnecessary tools?

And no jokes, Doug, about how I can stand there looking at said tools until help arrives... ;)


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[slomove]

I carry enough tools to take the engine out if need be (provided somebody helps with the lifting). Most every wrench, plier and bit that I ever used on the car plus some spare bolts, connectors, tape, clamps etc. It takes up about 1/4 of the boot but since I do a lot of long distance driving in remote areas it provides some peace of mind. Also when I work on the car at home I don't need to collect the tools in the garage, I just take it out of the boot.

Well, I notice I did not really answer your question. I guess if you don't know if you will need a specific tool, you probably won't need it. But the most common metric wrenches and sockets (assuming the Caterham is metric), some combo pliers, Allen set and common screwdrivers would be a good start.

[Doug Liedblad]

:rolleyes:Along with my cell phone this is the primary tool I carry:

AAA.bmp

Morgan, I'd never make fun of your lack of experience with tools. You'll be over that with a few more breakdowns.:rolleyes:

I usually don't carry tools, if they come loose in the boot they dent it from the inside out.

Besides, what's going to break?

[moosetestbestanden]

I carry enough tools to take the engine out if need be.

And what about the roll of duct tape, plywood, chewing gum etc.? :D

assuming the Caterham is metric

Well, uh, it's..... both, or maybe more. It's English you see, so distances are measured in miles and yards and feet and inches and such like while other things are measured in some other way(s). And if you drink as much as I (and they) do you're always sure to grab the other kind of spanner when you needed the other kind. No, not that other one, the other other one.

[Doug Liedblad]

Morgan

Unless you're doing a cross country like Gert I wouldn't try to bring everything.

Except for the strange thing we found in your bell housing, what things have failed you on the road and caused you to be towed?

Bring the tools to fix those and you'll probably be as secure as you can be.

Maybe some green slime to fix a flat tire or a tire plug kit and a spare throttle cable.

The Zetecs are very reliable and the electrical systems are far better than in my Bugeyed Sprite days.


Doug

[mopho]

Morgan

Unless you're doing a cross country like Gert I wouldn't try to bring everything.

Well that is the idea, I am trying to pare it down to the bare essentials, but at the same time I don't want to have to call for a tow because something simple loosened up and 2 minutes with a wrench would get me going.

[soareyes]

I carried a small soft case containing a socket wrench and socket set (only the sizes that fit my car), one of those Leatherman type tools that convert to pliers, wire cutter, knife, etc., a multipoint screwdriver, an adjustable wrench, zip ties in various sizes, a length of baling wire, and some duct tape. I also carried a small jack but never used it. Come to think of it, in six years of Birkin ownership, the only 'on road' repair I made was to tighten the serpentine belt.

Of course you could always drive with Gert and you wouldn't need to carry any tools!

Stan

[Sean]

What tools did you carry in your Elan?
rutabaga

[sdcat]

I used green slime last week mountain biking in New Mexico. They have so many goatheads, with long sharp hard spines that collect on the tires like riding through a field of tacks. I was amazed at how well it works. I pulled countless thorns out of the tires, and it just sealed them right up!

I may start carrying it in my car.

Justin

[mopho]

What tools did you carry in your Elan?

With the Elan I just had the Snap On tool truck follow me along with a sweep vehicle driven by a guy named Nigel

I carried the same plastic tool kit I have been lugging around in the seven, but the Elan had a big boot so it wasn't really an issue

[slomove]

Of course you could always drive with Gert and you wouldn't need to carry any tools!

Believe it or not, on tour I did use the tools and spares almost always to help other poor souls who drove without. Only major repair I needed was a loose alternator charge wire and to straighten out the mangled wing stay tubes on my trip with that Jalopnik reporter. In that case I did use duct tape to hold the wing together but against common belief I do not carry plywood or chewing gum.

The Brits on the USA2005 tour were even more resourceful. I was not present but I heard they changed a cracked sump at the side of the road with on-board tools and spares (including the K-type pan). I don't carry a spare sump with me all the time.

[Michael Murphy]

Here is my recommended list - less than needed for a complete rebuild but should cover most roadside repairs:
3/8 metric sockets 8mm to 19mm
3/8 SAE sockets 1/4 through 3/4
short and long extensions for the 3/8 drive
wrenches (spanners to a pommie) same range as the sockets, both kinds.
needle nosed pliers
large adjustable wrench for the big thing that nothing else will fit
vise grips for the awkward thing that the adjustable wrench won't hold
Spare set of fuses - best to get the size that actually fit the car (don't ask...)
Screwdrivers -- short and long, flat and phillips.
Allen keys, but only if you have allen head screws on your car (can't remember if mine does)
Zip ties and duct tape - in case the thing you can't get off with the adjustable wrench and the vise grips is actually broken
Spare 18 gauge wire -- to garotte the serial killer lurking in that off-the-beaten-track hotel. Wire cutters to trim things up nicely after you have trussed the corpse.
The only "odd" tools that I am aware of, and that may be hard to beg, borrow or steal from a passing motorist, are the 41mm socket for the rear axle nuts and a big (9mm?) allen key for the screw securing the top rear damper. Everything else is commonly available and if not, see adjustable wrench, vise grips and duct tape, above.

[Doug Liedblad]

.........wrenches (spanners to a pommie)..... .............

Allen keys, but only if you have allen head screws on your car (can't remember if mine does).........

Spare 18 gauge wire -- to garotte the serial killer lurking in that off-the-beaten-track hotel. Wire cutters to trim things up nicely after you have trussed the corpse.
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What's a 'pommie'?

There are usually some small allen screws on the throttle bodies. Don't remember if metric or imperial. They will be what ever you don't have.

I thought the serial killer was the one to use the wire?

[moosetestbestanden]

What's a 'pommie'?

Aussie (pejorative) slang for a John Bull, Tommy, Britisher, Limey, Redcoat, Inselaffen.

In other words a English person.

Like many Aussie-isms, the etymology of the word is unclear.

[Michael Murphy]

Reputedly, "pommie" derives from the acronym "POHM" or "Prisoner Of Her Majesty" as stencilled on the fetid rags of the first convicts transported from blighted England to The Great Southern Land aka Australia.