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MG MGA - Spares and tools

Just a little something to get the brain matter going, I remember asking this question on the MGBGT site a few years ago when I was planning a long trip.

As a new guy to MGAs my question is:

what do you, or what do you suggest I carry as spare parts and tool kit etc. For a trip to France.

It was quite funny when I asked this before to the GT guys one guy said 'I don't carry anything, only my credit card, good one.

Cheers Jack.
Jack New Forest

Now you have done it Jack, you have set us off!
There are about a million different opinions on this subject, anywhere between only taking your the credit card on the one hand to pre-positioning a couple of complete spare MGAS along the route in case yours breaks down!
cheers
Colyn
Colyn Firth

Jack

Don't let Colyn get you started on this one otherwise you will end up with a spare engine in the boot. There was a comprehensive thread on this topic last year. Worth a trawl in the archives. I rarely carry much other than a few spanners and screwdrivers. Once you start on other things you never know where to stop. May be I am just trusting to luck, but I spend as much time tinkering with the car as driving so I like to think that nothing is likely to go wrong that cannot be fixed with my small toolkit.

Steve

PS. Seems he just posted first!! I said it would get him started!!
Steve Gyles

First, buy a trailer....
Graeme Williams

Very good Graeme, I'll have a look at the archive posts.

I bet Colyn is writing a list as I speak, good man.

Cheers Jack.
Jack New Forest

Jack, this is a cut and paste of the reply that I posted to this same question exactly a year ago.
You will notice that I keep most of the stuff is stored in cubby holes around the car except for a couple of tool rolls in the boot.

"I carry a reasonable number of spare parts and tools in the car on my European trips. Because I don't have a boot rack fitted I am limited for space and so I have to be creative in fitting them into the car.

UNDER THE BONNET
I slot a sealed plastic food storage box in the space under the bonnet between the master cylinder and the inner wing. It is wrapped in bubble wrap to stop it rattling around.
In it I keep the items most likely needed when you are working under the bonnet
Spare spark plugs
Points,rotor arm, condenser.
Plug spanner
Radiator cap
Posidrive and flat blade screwdivers
Snipe nose pliers
small adjustable spanner
spare fuses
Imp feeler gauges
SU main jet adj spanner

BATTERY BOX
I have a single 12 v battery and so I keep another larger plastic box in the spare battery holder under the battery cover.
Master cylinder seals
Brake caliper seals
wheel cylinder seals
Spare fuel pump
Test meter
Cable and connectors
spare light bulbs
Brake fluid

SPARE WHEEL SPACE
I fit a soft canvas bag inside the space beneath the spare wheel and this is a surprisingly large space.
Water pump hose
Top and Bottom hoses
Spare U/J Kit
Spare Ignition Coil
Spare old distributor with points already set up complete with dist cap and plug leads
fuel hose and clips
Blue silicon instant gasket
Hylomar sealant
Bostik impact adhesive
Float chamber seals
Spare switches (ign, headlightand spare pull switch.
Self amalgamating tape
Spade connectors and special connector plier
Spare wiper arm and blade
A few high-tensile nuts and bolts

IN THE BOOT
I slot spare hydraulic hoses for the clutch slave cylinder, the front brake and rear brake cylinder on the boot floor below and behind the boot latch.
I also keep a spare fuel hose and an oil pressure gauge hose here too.

I slide a spare cylinder head gasket set slides into the narrow space between the boot lid framework and the inside of the boot lid.
You can slide a rocker cover gasket into this space too.


I keep a list of spares in the car which reminds me exactly where I put them because I usually forget.

You may wonder about the spare distributor but I can swap the dizzy in about a quarter of the time it takes me to fit and set some points.

Will leave the choice of which tools you take to you but there are some which are hard to come by in Europe.
The socket that fits the hub nut for example. All are AF sizes remember.

Take a copy of the Moss MGA catalogue so that they can express-delivery any parts you need in an emergency.

Lastly I keep a roll of black DUCK TAPE perched on top of the gearbox tunnel. It stays put though most of your cornering manoeuvres and you can slot a mobile phone or a compact camera into the centre of it.

In the USA they say that if you have not been able to fix something with Duck Tape, then you simply haven't used enough Duck Tape!"

Jack,
I do spend a lot of time preparing the car before these trips and so it is not surprising therefore that I have usually not touched the spare parts.
To be honest, they take up so little space that I now leave them in the car all the time.

(The only time I have had a problem is when a wiper blade tore on our Pyrenees trip and I couldnt fix it because I had given my only spare away to a fried who lost a blade earlier in the trip.

hope this helps

Colyn
Colyn Firth

Don't take spares, just take Colyn
Graeme Williams

Great list, Colyn, and good packing instructions. Since I drive a B, I have the advantage of way more room under the bonnet. I can stash whole gallons of fluids under there.

Of the two spares that I always like to have, I only saw the distributor on your list. The other I like to have is a water pump. My logic is that both of those parts are hard to fake when you are out on the road. And, do you have tie wire (like used for rebar work) on your list? If it is not on your list, I bet it is in your car!

I know that some snicker at us for packing heavy, but it is nice not to wait around for stuff out on the road. In my first semi, I actually carried oxy-acetylene torches with me, and what's worse is that I used them more than once.

Charley
C R Huff

Cheers Charley,

my brother-in-law has a really nice MGB and I must admit that I envy him the space he has in that car, he can actually fit a suitcase INSIDE the trunk!

I had considered carrying a waterpump as a spare but I have never yet had a catastrophic waterpump failure. They usually start to leak a little and the bearing starts to get noisy quite a long time before they fail.

It may look as if I carry a load of spares but almost none of it takes up any space in the trunk/boot.

The trick to packing an MGA is to use lots of small soft bags which will squash down into every bit of the limited and irregular space available.
If you try to force too much in there you will find that the trunk lid will be pushed up away from the seal and if it rains, everything inside will become soaked through.

I usually lay a thin waterproof cover over the fully packed boot contents to be sure everthing stays dry.
This waterproof cover doubles up as a picnic blanket and something to lie down on if you do actually need to repair the car.

I must admit that also, we usually manage to sqeeze a couple of bottles filled with essential, alcohol based, human anti-freeze in the boot.
Mine is distilled in Scotland under various trademarks whilst Chris prefers the less strong version produced in vinyards.
It seems to have worked very well so far as neither of has yet shown even the slightest signs of freezing up on any of our expeditions! :-)

Colyn

Colyn Firth

'Tis a strange thing about risk and individual human evaluation of probabilities and possibilities. When I was a project manager I used to workshop risks with my team ( I was an engineer in off shore oil developments ). We then used to categorise risks based on probabilities and consequences .
If the multiple of the two latter was too high then you needed mitigation to reduce the risk..including making special equipment and having extra resources standing by , incl. spares.( This is also the Safety Case approach ).
When you have done all of this you usually have thought out the problems so well that the feared event does not happen.
Colyn would seem to have this approach built into his DNA...
Neil Ferguson

Neil and others

I do something similar in my mind. I tend to look at what I have needed to do in the way of emergency repairs over the previous couple of years of general driving and base my limited spare toolkit on that. Whilst I commend Colyn for his thoroughness I do feel it is too much. Because I maintain my car to a good mechanical standard and have a feel with its day-to-day performance I am very confident that I will not need anything for the fuel pump, ignition circuit, wipers, and braking circuit etc. Sure I have had some issues on a long drive. but nothing that has required me to dismantle the prop shaft, replace the MC seals etc.

Come on now. I know it's an old car, but most of us have rebuilt or re-engineered our cars to modern tolerances and safety standards. In most ways our cars are as reliable as many present day cars. Do we take extensive tool kits in them? No, we all have roadside recovery insurance for them; something I have with my MGA and I will use it if necessary.

Steve
Steve Gyles

It all comes down to DNA in the end. Either you are a worrier and can envisage the worst things happening, or you are the opposite. A "good" worrier will take the bits he needs to manage the "inevitable". I am sure life is much easier and simpler for those who don't worry, but I will never know.
Graeme Williams

My toolkit is a mobile phone and RAC membership.
C Wilson

I'm with Steve and C Wilson on this one. Really Colyn? Brake seals, cylinder head gasket, etc, etc,etc?!!!! Even with the greatest respect and admiration for your thoroughness - need to get a life? A few things are obvious like spark plugs, points or a spare pertronix, a few simple tools, but after that it's a mobile phone, credit card and roadside recovery - the latter comes built in (UK and Europe) with insurance policies from the likes of mine with Adrian Flux, others too I believe. In fact I would much rather get my car repatriated straight home for repair in a controlled environment (in my garage) than, say, changing a cylinder head by the roadside.
Good on you Colyn, but for me, all too much. Admire you though for such thoroughness!
Best
Bruce.
B Mayo

Funnily enough Graeme, I am in the laid back camp and I tend not worry too much about things that could happen.

So there is another reason for my hiding all these spares around the car.

Steve, all of my trips abroad so far have not just been leisurely driving holidays.
They have been planned long distance runs with a group of other MGAs with set routes and timetables, often with distances of up to 300 miles per day to be driven.

So my plan has been to carry enough spares to be able to quickly fix the minor breakdowns, ignition, brake, fuel system, etc and hopefully still be able catch up with the group later in the day.
Waiting for a couple of days for parts to be delivered from Moss would probably mean that we would not be able to catch up with the group until after the tour was over.

For the same reasons, we usually shared out amongst the group 1 spare generator, a starter motor, a control box etc.

So yes Steve, I agree that at home in the UK it is probably not worth carrying this stuff, or if you are on a leisurely touring holiday where it doesnt really matter if you stop for a few days waiting to have the car fixed.

But, at the risk of becoming boring on the subject, I will repeat that almost "none" of my spare parts take up any of the useable boot space and so you dont realise they are in the car unless you know where to look.

Finally, I have had to fix the car by the roadside on a couple of occasions over the last few years and I have had to use my spare parts to get me back on the road, and in the process changed what could have been a ruined day out into just being a memorable one.

Probably added into the mix is that I really like the satisfying feeling of being able to fix the car myself without calling for help. (not sure what that says about me Graeme? :-)

Colyn Firth

"not sure what that says about me Graeme? "

Beyond help, Colyn.

(However, I can't be critical as I would fill every nook and cranny for a long journey. I don't have such a wide range of spares at the moment, that's all. Plus I tend to go for spares which fit the A and the Frog - coil, fuel pump, bits of wire, bent wire hangers....... kitchen sink)

Graeme Williams

OMG, now there's a real challenge Graeme, how on earth am I going to fit a kitchen sink in there too?☺
cheers
Colyn
Colyn Firth

Fair do's Colyn if you are carrying the travelling workshop for all others in your group. I trust they carry your excess baggage and duty free for you! It does make me wonder though how well maintained some of your group's cars are to need those extensive spares. I guess they don't have an annual service, knowing that you will do it for them during the journey! I did not see an oil filter and a gallon of oil for their oil change.

Which reminds me that the only time I truly broke down on a journey was when I had just finished the rebuild and was on the way to Silverstone. The engine suddenly lost all oil pressure and spewed the sump contents over the M6 and underside of the car. I just made it up the approaching exit. Parked the car; diagnosed the problem (new oil rubber ring over the solidified old one in the filter canister and it blew out). I walked half a mile down to the local motor factor; bought more oil; removed the 'old' rubber ring; filled up and on the way again. Lost about 90 minutes, but all I was carrying were a few adjustable spanners, a car jack and, surprisingly, a waste oil container (not sure why that was in the boot; must have had a premonition). It can be done.

As I don't have the hood fitted I am able to carry a lot of my personal luggage behind the seats, retained by a cargo net.

Steve


Steve Gyles

Steve: 90 mins! Colyn would hardly have needed to stop for that repair.

I hesitate to mention this but the fact you drive around without a hood is the same mindset as minimum spares. "It won't rain and it wont break down". To you it doesn't but to the likes of Colyn and I it will rain AND breakdown at the same moment.
Glass half empty or half full. Not being critical but it's all about DNA.
Graeme Williams

Nope Steve! My hidden away stash of spares are tailored to suit both my car and also for my own peace of mind.

I also can fit all the luggage I need in the car with space to spare for the odd bottle of vino so no help needed there either.

For me it's all about being self sufficient.

I am happy to help anyone who has broken down but I don't really understand the thinking behind anyone carrying at least their own basic essentials in spares.

On our last European trip I believe that at least one of our number planned to leave their spare wheel at home to give more space for luggage. I suppose if you are gambling man,then the odds against getting a puncture are pretty high.
But for me, the odds against having to abandon a great days driving my MGA because of a puncture are much better if I do carry a spare wheel.

So I will keep my spares stashed away and hope that that are not needed, but if they are, I am confident that I can fit them and get on my way.

Colyn

Bruce, I have actually replaced an MGA head gasket on the roadside and I'm sure that I could do it again, but even if I got a mechanic to do the job, actually having the gasket kit could speed up the job by a day or two.

( It feels a bit like it's me and my spares against the entire MGA world at the World at the moment! ☺ )
Colyn Firth

To late to correct my last post in the time allowed and I missed a word out.

I intended to say that "I couldnt really understand the thinking behind anyone NOT carrying at least their own basic essentials in spares"

Colyn
Colyn Firth

All I need is Colyn's phone number!
Graham V

The point is Colyn, you will always be the winner, and have the proverbial last laugh. As you said, even if you get a mechanic in, you can shorten the repair time by several days because nowadays our parts are not "on the shelf". For the same reason I carry a spare inner-tube because most tyre places would have a go at replacing the inner tube, but are unlikely to have one available. Actually in true Colyn fashion I carry two, in case they b*gg*r the first out up!
Graeme Williams

I'm so glad I started this thread it's been brilliant reading material, you guys are a good laugh, but on a serious note, I have to say I'm swaying towards Colyn's corner, if you have the spares and you can fit them in safely, why not !
A spare fuel pump is no good sitting in your garage on a shelf, if yours packs up halve way up some mountain road in Normandy.

So it's Go Colyn Go for me. Haha!

Well done boys cheers Jack.
Jack New Forest

For long trips I carried a fuel pump,water pump,fan belt and points. Never had to use them. A few years ago on a 16 mile trip from home my coil went out.Had to have someone from home bring one out. The Lucas one that failed had a date code of '64 on it. Piece of junk Lucas stuff just doesn't last,they don't make them like they used to ;)
gary starr

I know it's not an MGA but this is what I took to a National MG Meeting a few years ago......but no tools!!

We had clothing for 7 days and 7 bottles of good red wine, the top hat was essential for the final dinner/presentation.

My TF has a wheel hammer and a starting handle.

Don TF 4887 'Figaro"


Don Walker

Time for geography lesson Jack. Make sure you include an atlas in your spares kit for your mountainous trip to Le Mans!

Yes, all good fun. Hope that Colyn has not taken me too seriously. I have had a good chuckle. You could also do what James Martin did when he did the Mille Miglia a few years back and vacuum packed all his belongings to save space. However, unless you take the vacuum with you what do you do with all the soiled kit for the return trip?

Steve

PS. I wont attach the photo of the arm chair on my boot rack.
Steve Gyles

Yes Steve, I went to Le Mans classic two years ago, pretty flat run but they do have some nice forest runs in that area, I think I now have a good idea what I will do !

I'll just take the Volkswaggon Golf haha!

Cheers Jack.
Jack New Forest

Jack

I did the MGA 50th anniversary run to Le Mans back in 2005. I had the spare wheel on the boot rack and everything else in the boot. There were some 25 cars in the procession down there. The biggest issue for a number of the cars was overheating when we did a parade through the nearby town. Bob West was on hand and looked at their configurations. That was where I picked up most of my knowledge, just watching him and listening to his advice. Other than that I was not aware of anyone suffering any form of breakdown. My only problem was a broken speedo cable to my Type 9 box on the way back. Not something that warranted a spare in the boot. It was an issue at the time with the first Peter Gamble kits; later rectified with right angle drive connectors on the box.

I have done the Normandy runs a few times to celebrate D Day. If you have not already been to Honfleur put it on your list. Well worth the stopover.

Steve


Steve Gyles

Hornfleur is lovely, it was the last stop on the Revolution a few years back, bit of a boring run back to the ferry if you have a departure time set. over that week the only thing that broke was a speedo cable which is a pain when its a regularity. Very basic cars so should not need many spares, if I recall right none of the MGA had problems. I took a water pump, gasket set, wheel bearings, spare electrics - a cap was given to a riley dragged out of a barn to have a go, and that still finished. On the Welsh a support crew were kept busy at midnight with piston head failure on a Mini, on other runs Jags seemed to be the most fragile: diff and wheel bearings. look for the common fault failures and plan ahead.


mog

Colyn: speedo cable! Take two
Graeme Williams

Yes Steve, I used to take loads of spares when I took my MGBGT but never had any trouble, slight oil leak from back axle once.

Yes we have stayed at Honfleur twice love it.

I would be interested in Bob's theory on overheating, a big problem I had in hot weather with the MGBGT

I have an electric fan, so I'm thinking of fitting it to the A.

Cheers Jack.
Jack New Forest

You have done it again Jack!
You have mentioned the "F" word!
As soon as anyone mentions FANS and cooling, all hell breaks loose on this forum!

Have you checked to see if Steve is standing behind you whispering all these contraversial topics subliminally in your ear?😈

Best if I keep quiet on this subject I think.
send me a pm if you would like her my ideas about this, (it may be safer! ☺)
Colyn
Colyn Firth

Nice one Colyn.

You own SparesRus

I own RadsRus.

By the way, I notice that your list does not directly address a car jack (not to be confused with the New Forest Jack). I trust drivers use sensible modern car jacks on their journeying and not one of the 50+ year old jacks issued with the MGA.

JacksRmine: http://www.classic-british-car-jacks.uk/

Steve
Steve Gyles

Jack

I will keep this short. You do not need a fan in the temperate UK climate. You just need a proper original spec MGA radiator core. I still can't get above 170 at the moment no matter how hard I try.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Phew, that was short and sweet on the subject of cooling Steve!
But amazingly, I completely agree.

I do carry a car jack Steve but it is not a standard one, because my cars suspension is lowered so much, I have to use a scissors type jack to be able to fit it beneath the car.

Colyn
Colyn Firth

Ditto

I use a Metallifacture Jumbo scissor jack. It's in the boot right now!!!! It's also the one pictured in my Metallifacture database. (other makes are available).

Steve
Steve Gyles

But Steve if you loaded your car up with spares in every nook and cranny the extra weight you would be carrying round does cause it to run hot!
Graeme Williams

Tell you what Guys,

I am waiting for some parts to arrive to complete my engine work and so I have a couple of days to spare.

So I will take some pictures of the boxes and bag of spares in situ and post them for you for you all to look at.

If only to prove that I am not buried up to my neck in spare parts when I am sitting in the car ;-)

I will try to do this in the next day or so.

Colyn
Colyn Firth

Don't try taking them from a long way away so they look smaller!
Graeme Williams

Dont want to let you guys down - the classic car season aproaches and I was woken by the mention of over-heating, fans, etc.
Playings devil's advocate, why on earth do we want our cars running at temperatures at or below 180 degrees? The standard MGA thermostat opens at 180 and so this is the absolute minimum temperature the car should run at. Engines like to be hot, within constraints of course. In my youth I remember we did all we could to heat up the engine, with tin foil blocking air through the grill,etc The use of pressurised cooling systems, etc is all desigbed to allow the engine to run at much higher temperatures.......

There, said it - off my chest - you can now ignore me and continue with your discussion
Apologies for the diversion, I cant help it!

Graham
Graham V

Graeme, your comment reminded me of one of my favourite Father Ted scenes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFTgkibl7DU

Graham, you will have really upset the "Cool-Running 175 Splinter Group"! You should be prepared for a visit from their Enforcer, he will force you to fit a new "Original Design MGA radiator core" complete with a built-in ice making attachment! :-)

Colyn
I couldnt get the YouTube link to work so you may have to cut and paste it into your browser to get it to work
Colyn Firth

Colyn..thanks for your massive missive on what you cart round with you and where you put it all.
Will follow some of the former ( a few steps too far for me ) but it was the latter that really got me interested and the grey ones working ...the space generator!!.
I have looked over the nooks and crannies in my car and and its chocker block boot and .....
..got rid of the Stanley tool bag ..replaced with a tool roll and this fits neatly under the front of the pax seat ( I have front raised and seat inclined compared to standard ).
...Moved a few small tools and parts to the area adjacent to the brake/clutch reservoir .
...Moved the knock off wood lever, knock of hammer and emergency triangle to under my seat.
...Moved the scissor jack and handle to the driver empty side battery holder( i have single 12v unit ).
All I have in the boot is the spare , side screens and 5 lt inhibited water .
Given I can put the wheel on my rack ,and I have a hard top, there a clear area behind my seat and I have put a fitted rubber mat on the area above as well.
I was overwhelmed with the acreage ..Wow....!
Neil Ferguson

I'm on record above for not carrying many spares, but one I will admit to carrying for about 5 years was a spare battery! I had both trays occupied by 12v batteries (spare from my golf caddy days), wired in parallel and each with its own isolator. I used to swap over the in use battery daily. My assessment was that it was a waste of time and did not help with the longevity of either battery. It did have its moments though when starting on a cold winter's day. I could double the power (not volts) if the lazy old starter was on strike and going slow.

Something else close to my heart that has not been mentioned is a fire extinguisher. If you don't have one fitted do it now! I have two in the cockpit and of good size with both in reach of the driver. I have been in a 2-door car (Cortina Mk1) when it caught fire and it was not a pleasant experience, trying to evacuate the family including a baby in a cot on the back seat. I was rescued by an extinguisher-carrying German BMW driver on a Hannover autobahn. I have carried an extinguisher ever since. You are foolish if you do not carry one and in an accessible position.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Has any one ever seen any reasonable pragmatic analysis of the most likely total failure modes of an mga ie undriveable but rectifiable in a reasonable time( up to a few days ) ?
My own frights , based on my own experience, are loss of coolant ( or cooling ..ie fan) and oil... Ie hoses etc for former and spare volumes of both. ....but hardly a comprehensive list.
Barney must the source of good bumf on this given his new roving lifestyle .

Neil Ferguson

Neil

My Cortina experience was a ruptured fuel feed to the carbs. The car started running rough. I stopped, switched off, went round the front and opened the bonnet. At this stage the fuel caught fire on the exhaust. My colleague a few years back suffered a similar rupture in the crossfeed pipe between the carbs on his MGA. First indication was rough running. He stopped with engine still running, opened the bonnet and saw the jet of fuel spraying upwards. He killed the ignition and all was well thankfully.

My total loss of oil from the A is outlined above.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Where do you keep the extinguishers? I've been trying to work out the best, but least visible location.

Colin.
C Wilson

Glad to be of help Neil,
I owed you one anyway after I copied your twin-cooling fans idea last year which works really well.

I also would like to give due credit to Stuart Mumby who is the true "Space Generator" as he suggested most of the places that I now use to stow my spares and tools. He also suggested many of the spares that I now carry. ( I have recently added a spare throttle cable to the listof spares that I keep in the spare wheel space.)

On the breakdown subject, I have had an electronic distributor fail (twice!), a blocked fuel filter (quite a few times) and also broken wire on the distributor.
(All fixed by me at the roadside!)

There were underlying reasons for the first two problems, two electronic distributors were burnt out because my faulty alternator was pushing our over 19 volts. The blocked fuel filter was caused by fuel tank sealant used by my DPO.

On our recent LE-JoG trip we had a few failed generators, control box failures, a few head gasket failures and coil failures.
Maybe our MGA Register Scribe has more specific breakdown information for the trip.

Colyn





Colyn Firth

I keep a fire extinguisher on the angled face just beyond your knee in the tunnel. Its a couple of inches wide and has plenty of room for an extinguisher.
I guess it can be seen by someone peering in but it is accessible and not in the way.
Graeme Williams

Colin W

See my website re fire extinguishers: http://www.mgaroadster.co.uk/Fire_Extinguisher.htm

Steve
Steve Gyles

Thanks Steve - very useful.

C Wilson

Great thread!
Graeme Williams

A late entry on this thread. Having done a lot of miles in my As, most in the days when they were 'bangers', i.e. late 60s early 70s, I have a reasonable history of breakdowns. Hence this got me listing my breakdowns and what one should carry.

My road side failures are dominated by ignition issues hence I would always carry disi components and a spare HT lead. In fact I carry a known good whole disi plus points and condenser(s). I am a bit paranoid about condensers having had one in a brand new disi fail at 150 miles.

Petrol pumps do give problems but they usually respond to a tap if you do a proper fix when you get home.

I have had a few fan belts go but I know the ones on modern cars are almost indestructible so if ours are of a similar quality perhaps we are OK, but I would always carry one.

With carb problems you can usually get home. Even when a float starts leaking as one of mine did last year I got home OK. Also on the fuel side I would carry a length of flexi fuel pipe and some clamps.

Yes I have had water hoses go but not for a long while so perhaps they are OK now if you routinely inspect. Although I do carry spares.

I had an accelerator cable go a couple of years ago so carry one.

Yes I carry a spare wheel but my tyres are tubed and I carry a spare one of these.

Clearly I carry bulbs and fuses.

It is interesting Steve's comment about a second battery as I have had the experience of an instant failure with a modern battery. Unfortunately this happened to the 'day to day' car just after I had left in the A taking our daughter to her wedding using wedding cars tonbridge and my wife was marooned in a hotel car park.

Battery terminals clearly can be an issue but a tap will normally get you home and

Other failures, albeit in the old days, which are not roadside fixes include major engine failure caused by dropped valve, gearbox failure (but I think I could still get home), rear spring failures but got me home ,and clutch plate rivets failing totally. Another area is front suspension but with routine checking and lots of grease shouldn't really be roadside.

The tools are the ones required to do the above.

That's my basis and I clearly currently have a couple of gaps in my running spares stock.

Paul

Paul Dean

Paul

Point on the accelerator cable. It's a standard bicycle brake cable, available from any good cycle shop.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Forget about all the spares for any of you guys going to France imminently (Le Mans etc). Instead, make an inflatable fuel tank that fills the boot space. France is changing its employment laws. As a result one of the unions is blockading fuel distribution and petrol stations. France is grinding to a halt.

Check the situation before you leave!

Steve
Steve Gyles

Yeh a bit worried steve, but Le Mans is a month away, hope it will be sorted by then.
And Colyn you never did post the photos of all your hiding spaces for spares haha! Would be good to share.
Jack New Forest

Jack

I hope so, but these type of actions in France have been going on for years. Currently ATC action is also affecting flights as well as the petrol problem. Bet your bottom dollar that they will try to impact the European football finals. That could have knock on effects on Le Mans.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Sorry Jack
I have been so busy fitting my new engine and gearbox with its new carb, linkages, tubular exhaust manifold that I haven't had much time to spare.

I will go in the garage today and take my camera with me.

cheers
Colyn
Colyn Firth

Steve your not cheering me up, let's have a bit of positivity I'm flying next week not to France I might add.

I've bought my tickets for Le Mans classic arggggg! Just about to book my ferry, perhaps I better take out some insurance against cancellations,

Oh! Well hey ho! Fingers crossed.

I still haven't managed to get up to Motobuild for my new tonneau cover, but I'll let you know when I do and hopefully pop in and see you on my way back Down to the new forest.

Cheers Jack.
Jack New Forest

Cheers Colyn, don't want to stop you from that mammoth task, well done you for tackling that, I like to do lots of maintanance myself, but have limitations, I've restored fully including engine rebuild a Frogeye, and a midget, and on my MGBGTs I've replaced all the suspension and brakes.

Must admit I'm no motor mechanic, when I rebuilt the Frogeye engine, it was lots of guess work, and when I completed it. I started it up it ran well and I used it for about six years.

I used my fathers theory, "if you take something apart and clean it, put it all back together" CORRECT !

But if you put it together and have a part left over WRONG ! Haha!

I was a tad younger then, I find crawling under the car now a bit of a hassle, I've got some ramps that wind up, quite good, I wish I had a four post lift oh! Heaven haha!

Cheers Jack.
Jack New Forest

Well I have finally gotten around to taking pictures of all the places that I have stashed my spares and whats in the boxes. (well apart from those in the spare battery box which I just didnt have the time to get to)

Bear with me as it seems like I can only upload one picture at a time and so it could take some time.

I wont list everything in the pictures as I will later add the list that I have made of what I have in the car and where it is stashed.

This is the small plastic box that I keep between the master cylinder and the inner wing under the bonnet. I keep the things that I will most likely need in the engine bay and it includes spark plug spanner, plugs, main jet spanner, feeler gauges. (most would also include a set of points, condenser, rotor arm)

I always keep the box wrapped in bubble wrap to stop it from rattling about.

Colyn


Colyn Firth

This is what I keep in the box I keep under the bonnet.

(I have a Weber carb now and so I only keep the SU main jet spanner as it was the first MGA tool I ever bought back in 1975)


Colyn Firth

This is the boot with the spare head and exhaust gaskets pushed in between the boot lid and its frame.
Also on top of the spare wheel is the bag that I keep the jack, wheel brace and a few other spares.
Tucked away on the left is an electric tyre inflator and a 2nd tiny hydraulic jack. I also keep some spare hoses laid down on the floor behind the boot latch.



Colyn Firth

This is what I keep in the bag along with the jack.

Included is a set of engine gaskets and seals including inlet valve seals, my dads very first ball peen hammer that he bought in 1933 which I keep for sentimental reasons and some wheel nuts to fit my space saver spare as the alloy wheel nuts are the wrong size.


Colyn Firth

This is the bag that I keep in the enormous space inside the spare wheel, its surprising just how much you can fit inside that wheel.


Colyn Firth

The contents of the "Spare wheel bag"
Including spare Sports Coil, spare electronic distributor complete with cap and ign leads (wrappedin bubble wrap), SU float chamber seals, propshaft universal joint, all the various hydraulic pipes for brakes, radiator and bypass hoses, clutch and oil pressure gauge, spare ign and light switches. etc


Colyn Firth

This is a glimpse of the plastic box I keep in the unused battery tray, sorry I just didnt have time to take this box out of the car but it has lots of stuff in there, mostly things that are least likely to be called on.

They include brake caliper seals, rear brake cylinder seals, Dot 4 brake fluid, spare cable and connectors, crimping pliers for Lucar connectors, test meter etc


Colyn Firth

Very innovative Colyn. However, what caught my eye most was the black electrical 'thing' in front of the plastic box by the MC. What is it?

Steve
Steve Gyles

This is probably the most important part, it is the list I keep in the car of what spares I am carrying and where I have hidden them.
It is in Microsoft Word format and it doesnt seem to want to cut and paste into this post. So I have taken a picture of it and I hope it is in enough detail to read. ( sorry it is sideways but it turned out to be a bit bigger that way)
If not, anyone who needs a copy can email me and I will send you a copy.

If you have a look at the picture of my boot space you will see that it is almost empty in spite of all the spares I am carrying around.

Colyn







Colyn Firth

I have tried to take a better picture of the Spares list, it may be a bit brighter than the first one.

Colyn
Colyn Firth

Sorry, clicked the send button instead of the upload one.
2nd attempt, this picture looks a bit easier to read.

Steve, the black gadget is the starter solenoid that my car came with. I have a push button starter switch in the dash instead of a pull switch, it has always worked ok and so I have just lived with it.

Colyn


Colyn Firth

Bloody hell Colyn, you have more stock than Moss!
Ha ha - I am only jealous.
Out of interest, do you keep all the different radiator hoses?
Graham V

Graham,
yes I have all the hoses in there somewhere although the top and bottom hoses are the same and so you only need the one spare unless you are really pessimistic!

I have some special short top hoses that fit the electric fans thermostatic switch and so I dont really need to carry the two hoses.
I have some other stuff in there that I dont need any more as I have now fitted a Weber DCOE. So the SU spares will soon be taken out.

I have just uploaded a picture of the boot showing that the only things in there are a couple of tool rolls.
The only spares in sight are a spare fan belt and throttle cable

So, contrary to popular rumour, it is not packed to the brim with spares afterall!

Hope this has been of some help.

Cheers

Colyn



Colyn Firth

Colyn that's impressive, I'm wondering do you worry about the weight of it all ?

Cheers Jack.
Jack New Forest

Your asking about the weight makes me wonder if you were a racing driver Jack, always trying to pare away at their car to lighten it!
I never thought to weigh the spares when I took them out.

I would think though that the spares I carry won't weigh any more than the the weight saved by using a single 12v battery instead of the two 6v types.

This reminds me of my kart racing days, back in the 80s.
My 210cc 2-stroke gearbox kart had a minimum weight limit (including driver) of 165 kilos I think.
Most successful drivers were of a small build, weighing around 7 stone, so they usually had to add lead weights to their karts to achieve this limit.
At one race meeting I had finished 2nd overall out of a field of 30 drivers and was called in with the 1st 3 finishers for the weigh-in, to make sure non of us were cheating by being underweight.

The other 2 drivers were small lightweight guys whose karts had a lot of lead weights on them. So their karts were really heavy but they both just gently tipped the scales by a few pounds.
However,my kart had no lead on it and was therefore suspiciously light. The scrutineer gave me that smug look that said, "Caught you!"

However, when I stepped on the scales with my kart, they didn't just gently tip like the others had.

Instead, the scales balance crashed down with a loud BANG! ,dust flying everywhere and with the scrutineer yellling "Get òff, get off!, you'll break them!"

Obviously my extra 7 stones had taken him by surprise!☺

I really enjoyed my racing days but I probably am enjoying my MGA just as much!
Cheers
Colyn
Colyn Firth

As usual Colyn a very interesting and funny story, I'm not too bothered about weight, when you think I'm a small 9 1/2 stone, but if my brother in law get in my car he is more like 17 stone, sure tests the springs haha!
After your info I'm now replanning my spares list, thanks.
Jack New Forest

I would still make room for more practical items such as a few full fuel cans. France in total chaos. ATC controller strikes; ferry terminals blockaded; tanker ports blockaded; and 60% of fuel stations shut down. They are now eating into their 3 weeks of strategic fuel reserves. Keep clear of France TFN.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Hi Steve, yes I'm getting worried now, I've got my tickets for Le Mans but holding back on booking the ferry, I'm going to leave it till next week see if things get better, a full tank would get me down to Le Mans but not back.
Watch this space !
Found out something this morning I wasn't aware of, on a ferry you can carry a spare 5 litres of diesel but you cannot carry spare can of petrol !
Jack New Forest

Jack. If you are referring to the Le Mans Classic (early July), I suspect France will have either be totally broken by then or, more probably, one side will have won (probably their Unions!) and petrol will be available by then. They can't go on too long as is. In any event, we always go Portsmouth- Caen as it is the shortest drive in France to Le Mans for an old car, only just over 100 miles. Should be able to get there and back on a tank full with limited driving around locally, if necessary. You could reasonably chance booking that route I suggest, particularly as ferry bookings around that weekend will by now be getting very busy. Go for it and see you there! (Assuming the ferries have fuel of course!)
Bruce.
B Mayo

Hi Bruce, I think your right, surely they will fix it soon before the whole country comes to a standstill, I was planning on the 14.20 from Portsmouth to Caen on the Thursday, gets in about 21.30 and book a room for the night and drive down to Le Mans next day.
Jack New Forest

Jack

Sorry if I have appeared the pessimist rather than optimist, but I think it was correct to raise the potential problem. The French trade unions have been at it for years and are much stronger (in my my opinion) than ours.

The ATC (Air Traffic Control) problems have been going on for decades. Even back in the late 60s they did their best to scupper our transits through their airspace. I remember very well flying down through France with a 4-ship of Lightnings. The French ATC would not answer any of our RT calls. One of our guys transmitted: "B****y French playing silly b*****s again". Immediately they responded: "Unidentified aircraft say your callsign". Silence from us. Play them at their own game.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Sorry if no one wanted me to resurrect this thread after two and a half years but I just thought you may be interested in our experiences in May this year on our trip to traverse the Outer Hebrides.
(Apologies if I have already posted about this)

In May this year Roger Martin had arranged to take 5 MGAs to tour the Outer Hebrides from North to South, although in the event it changed to 4 MGAs and an MGF due to brake failure a day or so before the off.

My car had developed a fan belt squeal which I adjusted en-route but that didn't fix the problem, it just reduced the squealing a little.

Three of the cars arrived at our overnight stay near Stirling after about 300 miles driving but the last 2 cars were very late.

When they did arrive it turned out that Mike Maze's car has developed a misfire and Roger and his son Tom had methodically swapped all the ignition parts, one at a time to see if they could fix it.
They changed plugs, points, condenser, leads, cap, rotor arm, coil and even the fuel pump with no improvement. Mike car struggled in to the hotel car park late in the afternoon.

We all discussed the problem over dinner and Mike was resigned to calling a recovery truck and maybe hiring a car so at least they could still continue on the trip.
By breakfast time Roger and I both decided it would be worth looking at the fuel supply before we gave up on it.

We looked to see if there was a fuel filter and we found one hidden behind the heater unit. On inspection it turned out to be almost totally blocked, I donated a short length of metal fuel pipe that I "happened to carry" in my spares and we used it to bridge the gap in the pipe.
This immediately solved the misfire and both Mike and his wife Mary were delighted.

The next days 250 mile drive up to Ullapool was not without its problems, my slipping fan belt problem got worse, (we could now smell burning rubber from it) and Rogers car had started to misfire slightly as well, with a hint of white vapour coming from the exhaust.

It was too late to look at the cars that evening and so we decided to get the cars over to Stornaway on the Isle of Lewis the next morning on the ferry as arranged.

The ferry to Stornaway takes 4 hours and is an incredible journey with fantastic island scenery plus dolphins, whales, seals and birds to watch on the way.

After a short sightseeing tour of North Lewis we noticed that Rogers misfire had become worse and that the hint of vapour from the exhaust had now become more reminiscent of the chimney in the Vaticans Sistine Chapel when they choose a new Pope!

So we decided to see if we could fix the two cars after breakfast the next morning in the hotel car park.

It was a sunny morning and I decided to change my fan belt whilst Roger wanted to tried using a coolant additive he had carried for years, to see if it would work as claimed on the tin, it was supposed to seal small leaks in the radiator and in a cylinder head gasket.

My spare fan belt proved to be too small, it was a 1600 belt rather than the MGB 5-bearing engine belt that I should have brought but fortunately for some reason, Roger had the correct type in his boot. The slipping belt didn't seem faulty apart from having some scorch marks and although it stopped the noise, it wasn't a week or two later that I found the cause of the problem. (A semi seized alternator bearing)

Roger poured the additive into the radiator coolant and ran the engine for about 20 minutes to see if it would help.
In the end it didn't but it did create a most impressive fog bank which completely obscured the hotel car park.

So it was to be a head gasket change, we had a choice of three spare head gaskets between us all but none of us had thought to bring a torque wrench along!
So we sent Tom off to find a Motorist Discount store in Stornaway and buy a torque wrench and some scrapers to clean the head.

I have added a link to a YouTube video I took of us changing the gasket and which shows just how much white smoke was coming out of the exhaust and of the gasket.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY5MCWAZz6s

It took us about 4 1/2 hours to swap the gasket which included a 30 minute lunch break and it was really satisfying to be able to fix the car and rejoin the others without missing more than a couple of hours of the tour.

So between us, our spare parts (and our pride :-) let us fix two cars that would otherwise have almost certainly been loaded onto trailers and sent home.

Most importantly, we also had a lot of fun fixing the cars too and it has made the trip even more memorable.

Cheers
Colyn


Colyn Firth

Colyn
Thanks - I enjoyed reading that account of your adventures, especially as it has a nice happy ending.
Fortunately the weather looked good for that pit stop in the hotel car park.
Looks like they couldn't have managed it without you standing there with your camera; I hope you didnt get your hands too dirty! (only joking!)

Graham


Graham V

Glad you liked it Graham, it was a fantastic trip and we were very lucky, I think we got the only 2 week spell of sunny weather that the Hebrides has experienced this year.

The only problem I had was with the wiper arms falling off each time we used them (the splines had worn off the spindles). Fortunately we had just one day of rain the whole trip and we had to depend on Rainex to see us through it.
I have fitted new wheel-boxes since then.

And yes I did get my hands dirty, on our lunch break I had to resort to the old mechanics trick of holding my sandwich in my greasy fingers using only one corner, eating until I got close to the dirty finger prints and then throwing that corner away.

The failing alternator was a surprise, it spun freely enough when I checked it during the fan belt change but on the way home I noticed something strange with the rev counter.

Its an MGB electronic rev counter (to suit my 5-bearing engine) and I noticed that the needle would suddenly flick up to 7000 rpm and then down to zero even though the car was running at a steady speed.

The alternator was intermittently seizing up which dropped the charging voltage to zero but then it would free up and the voltage would spike up for a second.

I swapped the alternator when I got back home and the problem went away immediately.

So some interesting things to fix on that trip including some completely new ones that I have never heard of before.

Fortunately I love fixing MGAs almost as much as I enjoy driving them.

Cheers
Colyn


Colyn Firth

Colyn
Very clever - "we had to depend on Rainex to see us through it"
But you are right, to me the whole classic car thing is not just about driving them, its playing with them too. And also for me, often it is learning more and more about them.
Graham V

Jack
Honestly the distance you are going to travel isn't all that far really
I'd just have a decent look around the hoses etc. and take a spare fan belt(that fits-try it on before you stash it away)A roll of decent tape and some wire for temp. repairs a set of ign. points, screwdriver and a pair of pliers , a bottle of water and away you go--- If it breaks it's part of the adventure
If you get a hole in a hose or something you don't have to run around desperately looking for a new one instantly , tape it up refill , leave the cap off on the first click and fix it at the end of the day at your leasure
If you're still running a generator , don't forget to put some oil in that back bush, it probably hasn't been oiled for years-? and don't tension the belt up real tight like with an alternator, a little bit slacker takes the load of everything
Enjoy your trip
willy
William Revit

Willy,
I resurrected this thread which dates from summer 2016 because I thought my Hebridian mechanical maladies would add to it and so I'm sorry for causing any confusion.

Jacks never did let us know how his trip to Le Mans went and what spares he took with him (or had to use) on it.

My Hebrides experiences haven't exactly convinced me to leave any of my spares behind, (with apologies to the "Credit Card Repair Scheme" faction :-) but I have instead learned that I should always include a torque wrench in my tool kit! :-)

Colyn
Colyn Firth

This thread was discussed between 28/03/2016 and 05/12/2018

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