How to Organize the Perfect Tool Kit for Road Trips

[Mark E.]

I’m readying a ’70 for extended road trip duty. A recent water pump gasket failure while driving in town reminded me how important it is to pack a tool kit and supplies to handle small failures.

Three questions:

• Which tools should be in the kit?
• Which parts and supplies?
• Which bag(s), box(s), roll(s) to organize/hold this stuff? Any favorites? I’m thinking of a soft bag which won't scratch the car, has lots of loops and compartments so it's organized, and is small enough to easily fit behind the seats. One bag? Multiple bags? Separate tool roll for wrenches? Best way to organize socket sets? I discovered C.H. Ellis bags with Google which look interesting. Other choices?

My initial tools, parts and supply list:

• Basic toolsIgnition repair tools- Above plus ignition wrench set, allen wrench for points, compact dwell/tach/volt meter
• Plug R/R tools- Above plus boot puller, spark plug starter, spark plug socket, gap tool
• Carb repair tools- Above plus 9/16” line wrench, float gauge
• Parts- 1157 bulb, fuel filter and gasket, points, condenser, maybe an extra coil and set of plugs (all this stuff is compact yet somewhat capricious)
• Supplies- Paper towel roll, fender cover, moving blanket (to lie on), gloves, safety glasses, duct tape, electrical tape, RTV, 1 qt oil, WD40, dielectric, hand goop, old jeans and work shirt
• Emergency- Flashlight, LED flares, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, flat tire inflator, rain slicker, 1 gallon water, bourbon

What else? What should be cut? It’s easy to get carried away, so I’m trying to balance readiness with bulk. After all, I need some room left for luggage! Jack stands are too bulky to bring, so the assumption is call a tow truck if it can't be fixed with tires on the ground.

I’m thinking this list applies to pre-metric/pre-electronic Corvettes. Maybe substitute the points/cond. for a module with HEI cars.

I'm surprised my search for other threads on this topic came up empty. Did I miss something?

Edit: Assuming a tow truck is called if it can't be fixed with tires on the ground, and excluding fasteners not likely involved in a repair (for example, the bumpers' hardware), it looks like the largest socket needed is 5/8" (AC compressor bracket) and the largest wrench needed is 9/16" (a bunch of fasteners). This makes the kit a bit smaller.

[Richard M.]

Re: How to Organize the Perfect Tool Kit for Road Trips

Parts:
Upper radiator hose and extra clamps.
A coil of wire and butt connectors and various terminals in a zip lock bag
Spare Ballast resistor. (If TI, a spare TI module is a must to have at ALL times)
A few extra spark plug wires(long ones for #1,3,2,4), and extra coil wire.
Definitely extra coil.

Tools:
Tire repair kit.
12V Compact Air Compressor.

===

[Joe R.]

Re: How to Organize the Perfect Tool Kit for Road Trips

Don't forget to have a AAA card in your wallet and your mechanic on standby!

JR

[Mark E.]

Re: How to Organize the Perfect Tool Kit for Road Trips

Parts:
Upper radiator hose and extra clamps.
A coil of wire and butt connectors and various terminals in a zip lock bag
Spare Ballast resistor. (If TI, a spare TI module is a must to have at ALL times)
A few extra spark plug wires(long ones for #1,3,2,4), and extra coil wire.
Definitely extra coil.

Tools:
Tire repair kit.
12V Compact Air Compressor.===

Great suggestions. A compact air compressor is very small yet may save the bacon.

My only push back is the radiator hose. It's bulky, and the one installed is virtually new and high quality. I will have duct tape.

[Don H.]

Re: How to Organize the Perfect Tool Kit for Road Trips

If it is a Fuel Injection car, always carry a spare fuel pump drive cable. I also carry a cranking signal valve & various size viton O rings. Also for any car, a good pair of mechanics gloves for working on a hot engine. Don H.

[Patrick H.]

Re: How to Organize the Perfect Tool Kit for Road Trips

I will have duct tape.

I generally find duct tape to be useless, especially when dealing with fluids.

I carry a roll of the tape that fuses to itself (black silicone?) and have done some amazing repairs with it. I don't have the name here at work, but if you Google "tape that sticks to itself" you'll see what I mean.

[John D.]

Re: How to Organize the Perfect Tool Kit for Road Trips

A small can of Brake fluid should be included. As far as an AAA card goes upgrade your membership so you have at least 100 miles free towing, etc.
For my GMC 2500 tow vehicle it has more bulbs than most Christmas trees so I carry a complete set of bulbs in a small box. For the old Corvettes it wouldn't hurt to carry a low beam bulb.

Cheap tip for a '58 to early '64 fuel car. Cranking signal valves are expensive and not always reliable unless properly rebuilt. Instead of just an extra valve carry a 4 or 5" piece of 1/4" rubber hose. Very important and effective tip.

Put the longer piece of hose between the CSV and the vacuum lines (swing the vacuum line up in the air first). Then when the car starts clamp the hose shut. Use Vise grips or another method. That takes the pesky CSV out of the system and you could drive across the country like that.
But always carry a drive cable. And grease for it. Lots of the correct grease.
Lately there seems to be a lot of failed igntion coils. So carry a good known Delco-Remy coil with you. Like we did i the old days with our Model A Fords. That and points and condenser. JD

[Joe R.]

Re: How to Organize the Perfect Tool Kit for Road Trips

Hi Mark,

Great thread!!! You have obviously put some thought into this.

Joe

[Duke W.]

Re: How to Organize the Perfect Tool Kit for Road Trips

These old cars are pretty simple and reliable as long as they are well maintained. Most failures can be avoided if parts subject to wear or deterioration are replaced on a reasonable time or mileage basis. If one doesn't know the age of radiator, heater, and fuel hoses they should be replaced. Old hoses can suddenly blow out without warning.

If the water and fuel pumps are more than 20 years old it's a good idea to rebuild or replace them. The grease in the water pump bearing can dry out with time and the fuel pump main diaphragm slowly deteriorates due to exposure to fuel.

I'm sure there are thousands of vintage Corvettes that have fatigued breaker plate ground wires about ready to fail. The best way to prevent this is to go ahead and install the repair part that you can install without even removing the distributor.

The only time my SWC left me stranded was when the points burned back in the sixties. It has the 0.3 ohm ballast and ...091 coil, and the problem was common enough that Chevrolet wrote a TSB on the subject.

My recommendation is before replacing points, set the dwell angle of the old points, and keep the used point set and condenser in the tool/spares kit. If they need to be used, just install and move on. The dwell angle will be wherever you set it prior to removal.

The HEI on my Cosworth Vega left me stranded twice, so I carry a complete spare distributor and a 9/16" wrench wrapped up in bubble pack and keep it in the center of the spare tire, which is mounted upside down under the load compartment floor panel. If it ever fails again I can just swap out the distributor in a few minutes and be on my way.

A spare voltage regulator for those models with remote mechanical regulators might be a good idea... maybe an alternator, too, but that's a pretty bulky item.

Harbor Freight has a good selection of different size small tool bags that will likely hold everything you need and they should fit into the wells where the jack is stored.


Duke

[Mark E.]

Re: How to Organize the Perfect Tool Kit for Road Trips

Good stuff.

I didn't know about self-fusing silicone tape until Patrick's post. From on-line reviews, it looks like a superior substitute for electrical tape. I'm unclear if it can seal a leak in a hose since it does not stick to anything but itself.

Duke- I also use the trick of removing an adjusted point set to pack away as a spare. Coincendially, I visited Harbor Freight last weekend and was disappointed in their selection of tool bags. Maybe out of stock, or maybe only on-line? So far, Home Depot is the brick and mortar with the best tool bag selection I've found.

Another thought:

After over 40 years of driving, I've only had one tire failure while driving. The other handful of flats were found the following morning due to a slow leak. So I'm thinking of removing the spare, and using the carrier for tools, spares, and supplies. This also gives me room to carry radiator hoses and belts. With a tire sealer/inflator, tire repair kit, and portable air compressor, I can still handle many failures. If not, call AAA and buy a replacement tire. (215/70x15 tires are pretty cheap anywhere.) What do you think? Smart trade-off?

[Richard M.]

Re: How to Organize the Perfect Tool Kit for Road Trips

Good stuff.

After over 40 years of driving, I've only had one tire failure while driving. The other handful of flats were found the following morning due to a slow leak. So I'm thinking of removing the spare, and using the carrier for tools, spares, and supplies. This also gives me room to carry radiator hoses and belts. With a tire sealer/inflator, tire repair kit, and portable air compressor, I can still handle many failures. If not, call AAA and buy a replacement tire. (215/70x15 tires are pretty cheap anywhere.) What do you think? Smart trade-off?

If you carry a spare, you never will get a flat tire.

If you have no spare, you always will get a flat tire.

[Brian M.]

Re: How to Organize the Perfect Tool Kit for Road Trips

A space saver spare leaves more room for spares.

[Gary C.]

Re: How to Organize the Perfect Tool Kit for Road Trips

Recommend one of the mini jump start power packs. As an example: http://www.batterychargers.com/sl1/

Gary
....

[Patrick H.]

Re: How to Organize the Perfect Tool Kit for Road Trips

Good stuff.

I didn't know about self-fusing silicone tape until Patrick's post. From on-line reviews, it looks like a superior substitute for electrical tape. I'm unclear if it can seal a leak in a hose since it does not stick to anything but itself.

Yes, it will work. It also works well to seal vacuum leaks when preparing for a PV.

[John R.]

Re: How to Organize the Perfect Tool Kit for Road Trips

Good stuff.

So I'm thinking of removing the spare, and using the carrier for tools, spares, and supplies.

What a great idea!

Regarding the toolkit. When I was packing for Carlisle I thought to myself, "I finally have these brakes sorted," and took out the bleeder wrench. Well when I arrived I had to go to the auto parts store and buy one so I could bleed the system. Years ago we had a brake issue on the same trip. As I took that wrench out I was thinking that if I needed something once, I may need it again. That's my new rule.

I use a fabric duffle bag for my toolkit. It's a strong canvas one and has served me well.

Also, the sun and heat were terrible during some of my roadside repairs. I saw some small EZ-Ups at the show. I plan on keeping one in my car from now on. Technically not a tool, but can make the difference between a successful repair and no repair.