Emergency Kit

Hi, I was on the Maintenance for Beginners Course last weekend (Excellent, by the way!) However, I always thought that the correct fix for a broken fan belt was a pair of stockings and I was disappointed to learn that carrying a spare fan belt was actually the correct fix.

There was some talk of emergency kits and what should be in them. I was wondering if people wouldn't mind listing things they think are 'must haves' to carry in the boot. Alan Egan told me that nail varnish is indispensable, although not Hot Pink apparently. I have completely forgotten now what the varnish was for because I wanted to know what the back story to the hot pink was...

On a more serious note, I'd be really grateful if people would list anything they think is indispensable to carry or quick fixes to get home when you find yourself stuck by the side of the road - allegedly you can use Guinness for clutch fluid in an emergency - or did I dream that?

Extra points for any funny stories...

Lucinda

Here's my tips for top 10 getting off the side of the road or not ending up there items.

1) A distributor, populated with points, condenser and at least one lead. You might chose to get by with just the points condenser and a HT lead but I'd prefer one complete device, swop on failure in one fell swoop and do the fancy stuff at home.

2) A coil.

3) A fuel pump and its attendant in line filter.

4) A fan belt.

5) Fuses.

6) Tie wraps.

7) Insulating tape or duct tape.

9) Couple of meters of electrical wire.

8) A 1 ltr container of oil. If you get a catastrophic oil leak it just might get you to civilisation without damage, if you get a coolant leak you can empty the oil into the engine (won't do any harm for a bit) and use container to get some water and top up. No container no can do so to speak.

9) Handful of jubilee clips.

10) A little electric compressor with crocodile clips on it that you can clip to the battery and which will reach any of the four wheels.

There's loads of other things but for me those cover the common sudden failure items that will stop you in your tracks and they don't take up much room and we have to be practical here in terms of space, these cars are small. Even if you don't think of exactly what to do with any of these items at the time its still best to have them, even if a genius stops to help they won't be able to do much with nothing to hand so to speak.

One more of my pet ones, get and fit the biggest battery you can fit in the space you've got, ignore what the talking heads in the motor factors tell you "was standard for them" and fit the biggest ba*t*rd you can. If other things go wrong and the car is hard to start or it won't idle and needs loads of starts or it loses clutch and you need to start it in gear or stops charging then a big battery will get you home.

Oh and now I'm going to try the hot pink and stockings as well, in my spares pack I mean, although.........😀😀😀😀😀

Replies

Niall Power October 27, 2023 at 6:23pm

Here's my tips for top 10 getting off the side of the road or not ending up there items.

1) A distributor, populated with points, condenser and at least one lead. You might chose to get by with just the points condenser and a HT lead but I'd prefer one complete device, swop on failure in one fell swoop and do the fancy stuff at home.

2) A coil.

3) A fuel pump and its attendant in line filter.

4) A fan belt.

5) Fuses.

6) Tie wraps.

7) Insulating tape or duct tape.

9) Couple of meters of electrical wire.

8) A 1 ltr container of oil. If you get a catastrophic oil leak it just might get you to civilisation without damage, if you get a coolant leak you can empty the oil into the engine (won't do any harm for a bit) and use container to get some water and top up. No container no can do so to speak.

9) Handful of jubilee clips.

10) A little electric compressor with crocodile clips on it that you can clip to the battery and which will reach any of the four wheels.

There's loads of other things but for me those cover the common sudden failure items that will stop you in your tracks and they don't take up much room and we have to be practical here in terms of space, these cars are small. Even if you don't think of exactly what to do with any of these items at the time its still best to have them, even if a genius stops to help they won't be able to do much with nothing to hand so to speak.

One more of my pet ones, get and fit the biggest battery you can fit in the space you've got, ignore what the talking heads in the motor factors tell you "was standard for them" and fit the biggest ba*t*rd you can. If other things go wrong and the car is hard to start or it won't idle and needs loads of starts or it loses clutch and you need to start it in gear or stops charging then a big battery will get you home.

Oh and now I'm going to try the hot pink and stockings as well, in my spares pack I mean, although.........😀😀😀😀😀
- Lucinda Blyth > Niall Power October 29, 2023 at 9:07am
  
  Thanks for your very useful list. And thanks also for the picture I can't now get out of my head
- Niall Power > Lucinda Blyth October 29, 2023 at 9:20am
  
  All part of the rich tapestry of life eh 😁😁
Niall Power October 27, 2023 at 5:53pm

We'll come back to the mechanical and electrical elements of the emergency pack in a minute but for sure, hot pink nail varnish and stockings are 100% the best items for getting roadside roadside assistance in getting home quickly😀😀😇😇. There's nothing they wouldn't be best for fixing!

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