Jump to content

What do you carry when out on a drive?


Recommended Posts

Just a phone...:D

Sorry Chris....... Anyway welcome to this wonderful Forum,  you will get lots of info here I hope, Which model do you have?

Answering your question, if I knew which part would give trouble, I would definately take that bit with me,  I try and take as little as possible, but enough to try and get home, plugs, points, coil, voltmeter, fan belt, and and so small tools.   I have done some prity long trip in the last years, its all in the preparation, and knowing your car.

John

Edited by John L
Link to post
Share on other sites

I have a water pump in the spare wheel because it's about the only thing that I haven't changed in the 20 odd years that I have owned the car and it must give up eventually. My spare pump did get fitted to a friends car 2 years back when we were touring Scotland and I spent the rest of the trip expecting my pump to die, perhaps I should carry 2. :huh:

George 

Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, chris172 said:

As per the topic.... what tools & spares do you carry when out? 
You never know what might happen with an almost 50 year old car

A policy of desperation!    Then you should carry a spare engine, preferably broken down into parts so that you may replace the failed item, rather than just swap engines.  If you fear that the water pump will fail, for goodness sake fit a new/another one before you set out!

Some carry brake fluid, oil, coolant etc, as if they travel in an uninhabited desert.   Others, spare hoses, as if that is an amulet to prevent the ones fitted from failing.

Carry a modicum of tools, yes, adjustments and tightening may be needed.  But do your preventative maintenance before you set off!

John

Link to post
Share on other sites

Search will reveal several posts over the years with several lists of touring spares and even articles in TR Action. Agree with earlier comments, know your car and fix it before you leave home, mobile will do the rest. Spares are the key, most people have tools you can borrow.............enjoy the ride !

Link to post
Share on other sites
12 minutes ago, john.r.davies said:

 If you fear that the water pump will fail, for goodness sake fit a new/another one before you set out!

Hi John

How meny times have you read on this forum of new parts failing within a very short time of being fitted? 

George 

Link to post
Share on other sites

It's quite amazing what you can get away with with our old cars, carry some tools and some electrical spares and maybe some hoses and all should be good.

 For example I knocked out a big end bearing on a previous 6 while I was in Frankfurt in the 1980s. On advice from my old dad who had driven all over North Africa with the 8th army I removed the plug lead from the affected cylinder and drove home to Kent on 5 cylinders. I was quite sceptical as to if I would get very far at first but it worked fine.

George 

Edited by harlequin
Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Chris

Many people have broken down and been unable to do a simple fix because the necessary spare was back in the garage. In the UK breakdown/recovery may be a simple solution except maybe in the more remote areas. In remoter parts of the rest of Europe then it can be more difficult so I carry quite a lot of spares and the necessary tools to fix the car. My feeling is that if I have bought 'spares' then they are more use in the boot of the car than back home. I do preventative maintenance anyway and have got to know the car quite well over the last 32 years (I have a 4A) so I have got to know what can happen to my car (and others). Over the years fixed lots of things when out and about such as replacing leaky brake cylinders and seals, lights, points, Stromberg diaphragms, fan belts, front wheel bearings, broken wires, broken steering, distributor parts etc (not all on my car I might add). Get to know your car if you are mechanically minded and then you will begin to see what might be useful to have with you for both tools and parts. 

I know John Davies thinks people like me are pessimistic carrying lots of spares but never yet had to be transported home on a trailer and only once called out a breakdown company in over 30 years TR-ing and that was a waste of time because they didn't know how to fix the problem. I ended up doing the repair myself. The cars were successful rally cars in their day because you could fix them by the roadside. A far cry from modern cars that are difficult for the dealers to fix never mind the owners.

Keith

Link to post
Share on other sites

A mobile phone and credit card tool kit is what I hear from the people who borrow my spares on club events.

In Australia I encourage members to carry the common break down items because help might be a long way away. You might be waiting a long long time for help to do that 3 minute fix. And you might get towed to the nearest mechanic but without spares who is going to fix the car.

On our rally around Tasmania in 2017 I covered 4,500kms, the cars from Queensland another 1500kms or so. 6 cars were kept going using my spares, including mine for a condensor.

Most issues are ignition/electrical or simple carbie problems, water pumps etc and can be fixed in a few minutes if you have the bits.

I have been using my BRG TR2 as my everyday car since 1976 (possibly 200,000 or more miles) and have seen just about every item on my list used in my car or another Register members car. Most of the items are in the spare wheel compartment with the spare, behind the fuel tank cover in the boot or in a small bag in the boot.

My list is:

Ignition - The usual cause of a fail to proceed is ignition related.

Plugs

Plug and coil leads (have them fitted to the distributor cap)

Distributor cap

Rotor button (2) for your DM2 or 25D4 dizzy

Points (if fitted or as spare for electronic ignition)

Condensor (Bosch GL103-c) (if fitted)

Spare electronic ignition (if fitted) or a set of points

Coil

Engine

Carbie needle and seat (for the float bowl)

Manifold, Rocker cover and gaskets (fit behind the boot panel next to the fuel tank) and Form a gasket or equivalent

Top radiator hose

Fuel pump kit or equivalent if alternative pump fitted

A litre of engine oil (can be used in gearbox if needed to top up).

Coolant (best in concentrate form)

A length of rubber fuel hose

Water pump with pulley in the spare wheel compartment

Electrical

Spare Regulator

Globes for all lights

Thermal fan switch (if fitted)

A two way (on/off) switch (if a dashboard switch fails you can rig something up to keep going)

A three way switch to jury rig an indicator switch or horn

Wiper blade/s

Electrical tape (get quality stuff, the cheap stuff will break and won’t do the job properly)

Electrical connectors

Wire

Suspension/Steering/Brakes

Front wheel bearing (good 2nd hand will get you out of trouble but new is better)

Front hub retaining nut and D washer (they can get lost if a wheel departs company with the car or in a roadside repair in the dirt)

Brake fluid

Tube if fitted. They aren’t readily available in the right sizes.

Various

Nuts, bolts, washers (plain, spring and fibre) and screws, split pins, thread tape

Rainex (for cleaning windscreen when the wipers stop working)

Tools

Spanners, screw drivers, pliers , small socket set, feeler gauge etc

 

 

TR TOURING SPARESv5.docx

Edited by John McCormack
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the clubs A plan insurance scheme and have the breakdown cover. 

I have had 2 breakdowns in 5 years. The first mechanical fuel pump when racing / hill climbing. About the only spare I didn’t carry !!

and more recently the gearbox comprehensively gave up and funnily enough I didn’t have a spare !

I would carry more spares if abroad.

but in the UK we have such a great club and forum network I bet we could help each other out quite quickly and effectively. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Just basic tools carried here to allow tightening or adjustment of anything that may work loose but I have no expectation of anything failing, if I did I'd change it before setting out  so if anything happens that requires new parts then it's coming home on the back of a truck (and it has when the ignition switch failed)

Link to post
Share on other sites

This is what I had in my boot when I cleaned it out a rationalised stuff before the RBRR. I had accumulated a lot if stuff. Mostly packed around the spare wheel. I was really pleased I pack a spare accelerator cable pm the 2018 event as it snapped <20 miles from the end. 

Tim

20210824_181924.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Tim D. said:

This is what I had in my boot when I cleaned it out a rationalised stuff before the RBRR. I had accumulated a lot if stuff. Mostly packed around the spare wheel. I was really pleased I pack a spare accelerator cable pm the 2018 event as it snapped <20 miles from the end. 

Tim

What - no soldering iron and solder? And no big hammer for venting frustration on the car?

I have looked at possibility of welding 2 metal boxes (one each side of the car) on the side of the boot well. With a handy lid for each in the boot then all the tools etc could be carried there instead of around the fuel tank and in the boot well. Something that Triumph could have designed into the car.

Keith

Link to post
Share on other sites
16 hours ago, harlequin said:

It's quite amazing what you can get away with with our old cars, carry some tools and some electrical spares and maybe some hoses and all should be good.

 For example I knocked out a big end bearing on a previous 6 while I was in Frankfurt in the 1980s. On advice from my old dad who had driven all over North Africa with the 8th army I removed the plug lead from the affected cylinder and drove home to Kent on 5 cylinders. I was quite sceptical as to if I would get very far at first but it worked fine.

George 

Cool Dad!

Link to post
Share on other sites

It depends where and how far you are going.

If I am going 1000 miles away from home in Europe I don't want my holiday spoiled for the lack of a repair I could do myself.

So a spare ignition system (cheapo electronic ignition as well as the original points) coil, king lead and the longest plug lead.
Wire. A hose kit. Between us an alternator, metering unit & drive dog, fuel pump and injector (and foot pump to clear injector) & a fuel pump. Clutch master and slave seals and brake master seals) Sheet of gasket paper.

Around the UK relatively little as it's not the end of the world to get trailered home. (once in 30 years) and used a coil once when it died after 25 years on the way to Spain.

We have to remember that most TR spares can be got hold of quickly in the UK the time framed abroad are different.

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
4 hours ago, RobRennie said:

Cool Dad!

In those days the army trained its drivers in all sorts of get you home bodge type fixings. They were also keen on keeping things simple like side valve engines instead of OHV, and later they looked at using the same components on lots of different vehicles.

George 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Please familiarise yourself with our Terms and Conditions. By using this site, you agree to the following: Terms of Use.