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Minimum viable tool kit


Wrightpayne

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I've been pondering the amount of tools / kit I carry around in the seven 'just in case' as the bag weighs over 7 kg.

Car does not have a spare wheel.
 

I wondered what tools / spares you would carry if you had a 2kg weight limit and it needed to fit in a zip up shoe bag.

My thoughts...

screwdriver & bit set incl allen key bits

adjustable spanner

pliers/cutters

Plastic snap blade knife

tyre strings

12v pump / light unit

fuses, wire, tape, crimp connectors

Bike inner cable / clamp (accelerator cable repair)

Clutch cable

phone charge cable

 

I know the simplest answer is an AA card (which I have anyway) but I'd like to 'self help' simple repairs on the go if I can.

 

Any thoughts / additions? Perhaps you've had a roadside breakdown to deal with and a particular item was useful??

Regards

Ian

 

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a meter 

hacksaw blade

bit of sandpaper 

a length of wire long enough to feed the fuel pump from the battery

is a brake light switch still relevant ?

Fan belt (alty belt pre located in the engine especially if an Apollo is in use) 

speedo and clutch cables and tools to fit - big spanners are a nuisance here 

gaffer tape

zip/cable ties - long ones

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I foresee a delightfully divergent thread: a minimalist tendency for a credit card or recovery card and a 'phone charging cable, and another approaching the full touring kit plus the hindsight of individual misadventures.

It would be helpful to include the assumptions around multitools: with a few exceptions mine is with me anyway and covers a fair number of Ian's proposals.

Jump leads.

NB A jack and handle can be fitted in front of the heater and cables can be strapped to chassis tubes. And a tool tube can be used instead of that shoe bag and can be located elsewhere than the boot... 

Jonathan

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me too and the only "flat" I have had so far (in 20 years) involved both rear wheels delaminated simultaneously. The fix was wife with two spare wheels in her tintop's boot. I have noticed that reduced tread depth significantly increases the risk of a puncture.

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I fitted a small tool box in front of the bulkhead secured by 4 rivnuts/screws in the shelf and 2 long bolts/penny washers through the bulkhead. (rigidity and security has been accident-tested)

In this I used to carry an over-the-top number of spares (see list below) which I haven't used but have helped a number of others over the years.

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Throttle cable inner

Alternator belt

Alternator strap

Spark plugs

Oil/water sender

Fuses

Various relays x 3

Ignition switch

Battery master switch

Bulbs

Radiator cap

Oil

Thermostat

Paper gaskets

Brake light switch

Fan switch

Exhaust & radiator bobbins

Exhaust bracket

Sump plug

Wheel nuts & washers

Cable ties (all sizes)

Jubilee clips

Duct tape

Miscellaneous fixings, wire & connectors

Insulating tape

Velcro roll

Quicksteel

Glue

WD40 (small aerosol)

Front wheel bearing kit

Tyre repair kit

Aluminium tape

Spanner roll (metric)

Mini spanners

Allen keys (metric)

Tyre pressure gauge

Tyre valve tool

Magnetic pick tools x 2

Mini pliers x 5

 

Then in a tool tube (secured on the cross-member under the nose cone):

Towing strap

Leatherman/Gerber tool

Mini, medium & large adj. spanners

Ratchet handle

Short & long extensions

16,18,19mm sockets

Mole grips

Water pump pliers

Stubby screwdrivers x 2

Screwdriver & bits

 

And finally in the boot:

 

Halfords mini pro tool kits x 2

Multimeter

 

Goodness knows how much that lot weighed *yikes*

 

 

 

Toolbox.thumb.JPG.5d43c97fb381a5b4a653ad75fe1f7559.JPG

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#21:

if you are touring Europe then I think a big kit/parts selection is fine.

I agree.  I carry a pretty comprehensive set of tools and parts for my French tours.  It's a habit developed in my early motorcycling days, when every journey was an adventure touching the void of unreliability.

The snag is that it's easier to keep all this stuff in the boot when in the UK, rather than prune it down a tad.

One portable tool I've found invaluable is this gas-powered soldering iron.

And one part I've never regretted carrying is a Duratec coil-on-plug.  I suffered total COP failure on Cyl #1 a few years in the middle of nowhere in France.  Without that spare, I faced the unwelcome prospect of running on three for a couple of hours.

#16:

...if three was better than four there would only be three...

 Nobody is suggesting that.  The trick of using a radiator bobbin to replace a failed exhaust one is a get-you-home tip as old as the 7 bobbins themselves.

JV

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"The trick of using a radiator bobbin to replace a failed exhaust one is a get-you-home tip as old as the 7 bobbins themselves."

The same bobbin can also be used to attach the seat on my Windcheetah! That's the machine in my signature image.

But it's not the only Lotus connection...

Jonathan

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The trick of using a radiator bobbin to replace a failed exhaust one is a get-you-home tip as old as the 7 bobbins themselves."
 

Radiators too expensive for that. Better with tie wraps, string or my trouser belt. 
Must remember not to stand up too quick though. *rofl*

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