Tool Roll Challenge

[Heuer]

With the spectacularly high prices being asked for original tool rolls I thought it might be an idea to create a practical alternative. In the 50,000 miles I have driven my E-Type I have never once resorted to opening the tool roll because, quite frankly, the contents are all but useless other than in a dire emergency. So the challenge is to take an original (or repro) tool roll and populate it with the modern tools you are likely to need to keep your E-Type running. This is what I now pack (original tools chucked into a carrier bag and kept on a shelf until their value exceeds that of the car!):



Spark plug gap tool
Tyre pressure gauge
Adjustable spanner
Pliers
Small screwdriver
Spark Plug socket
Leatherman 'Pulse' (a tool kit in itself)
Mole grips
Spanners A/F x4
Cross head screwdriver
Flat head screwdriver
Long and short socket extensions
A/F hex socket set
Punch
Hex socket ratchet

Only other thing I carry is a small torch and multi-meter. And, yes, the roll closes! The repro rolls are available from Richard Smith, BAS and others. I believe Angus is loaning BAS his original so they can produce a much more accurate copy.

Please feel free to add your own tool roll contents and when we are dome I will add it to the 'Upgrades' forum. Next will be jacks.

[Simon P]

Glad someone else has seen the light :D

I simply went out and through a combination of Halfords, Machine Mart and t'Internet replicated the content of the OE spec tool roll for an S2:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/849 ... %20Kit.pdf

(Incidentally, don't know what it's like on earlier models, but the tyre valve extractor is actually built into the tyre valve caps on an S2). The whole lot then fitted into a very smart brown leather-look wash bag that I found in M&S for a tenner one day (they even threw in some over-powering aftershave for free :D ). The kit was finished off with some latex gloves, an assortment of cable ties, a roll of electric tape and a roll of gaffer tape. The bag squashes neatly within the spare wheel and I pack out the remaining space with jump leads and some 'in the field' cleaning kit.

Also onboard is one of Lionel's spinner tools together with the necessary adapter socket and 'serious mutha' wheel brace. The jack is the original (restored) Metallifacture in its bag - mainly because the square plate is exactly the right shape for the jacking point, the jack itself works remarkably well (if you're not in a hurry), and the whole thing stows neatly flat on top of the spare wheel. A lead mallet sits inside the bag in case anything needs 'persuading'. In the glovebox is a torch, spare fuses, tyre pressure gauge, a Swiss Army knife and a multitool.

Glad to say I haven't had to use any of it in anger yet - although as I'm mechanically inept most of it is there simply so that I don't face the embarrassment of ending up stranded somewhere because something's worked loose and just requires tightening up again. Beyond that I rely on the 21st century toolkit: a mobile phone and a credit card :D

[Heuer]

For this challenge everything (except glue, ties, gloves and sundries) has to fit in the roll. You have the right idea though!

[Simon P]

Dammit! Does that mean I now have to go out and buy myself a roll and start again? :D

(And I take it that simply sticking the mobile-phone-and-credit-card option inside a toll roll and claiming that I'm done wouldn't count? )

[Heuer]

No - just buy a tool roll (~?30) and populate it with your current stuff. The idea of the challenge is by limiting you to what will fit in the roll to means you make economical and sensible choices of what to carry rather than the entire contents of your garage which some people seem to deem necessary

[Gfhug]

Try as much as I can can't fit my tyre pump and pair of overalls into the tool roll. So I've cheated, just like Simon, and use an old holdall that is a close enough blue to match the interior vinyl and it carries all the tools, plus the sundries, spare bulbs, can of oil, etc. Now David will tell me off, but that's half the fun of posting this

[Heuer]

Yes, but what tools in your bag do you deem to be essential? And BTW how many times have you had to use that tyre pump? I put my 'sundries' in zip lock bags which fit in the gaps around the spare. This leaves the spare wheel well free for overalls, tool-roll, jack bag, fan belt, Bentley Inc. service manual and SNGB catalogue.

[Dave K]

I have actually used a 7/16" OE out of my not standard for my car but complete with the correct period tools My front brakes locked on a few time last year and I used the spanner to undo the bleed niples to allow the pressure to escape.

Never used anything else on mine.

Dave

[Gfhug]

Yes, I do use the tyre pump, but normally before setting out. If I'm away for a few days, then it'll be useful to have to hand. Now let's get serious (!) about the tool bag and get one of these at a mere ?210 :


http://toolbagcompany.com/

Or, spend the money on tools not an expensive carrier bag 8)

[Heuer]

Looks to be beautifully made and practical although I am not sure it would fit in the spare wheel of the E-Type so of no use to OTS owners. The tool roll might be OK especially as it only costs ?45 or so although BAS sell a replica one for ?20.

[Heuer]

Holden Vintage also do a range of tool bags starting at ?39 for leather:

http://tinyurl.com/q7ova4w

[Heuer]

As I was tidying up the wheel well I decided it was time to upgrade my toolkit in the light of experience. This is what I now have:


Tyre pressure gauge
Bulb voltage tester
Adjustable spanner
Pliers
Magnet
Telescopic handle for magnet
Spark plug socket
Mole Grip
Electricians screwdriver
Leatherman Pulse
LED Torch
Screwdriver with 4 interchangeable ends
Britool Spanners 11/32" to 7/8" AF
Two socket extensions, giving three possible lengths
Socket set - 11/32" to 3/4" AF
Punch
Ratchet

Voltage tester bulb is superb value at ?2 and includes a sharp spike to penetrate insulation. I use it more than my multimeter to trace faults - so simple!:

In the workshop I use its heavy duty big brother:

The magnet is essential if a nut, bolt or washer rolls under the car or drops into an inaccessible space, a loss that could leave you stranded.

[christopher storey]

Is that a metric adjustable second from the left ? Actually, seriously , I would carry two more, one of intermediate size and one larger one . They are creations of the devil in the way they chew up nuts, but invaluable on a dark and rainly night

[Heuer]

Now there's some words you rarely see in the same sentence - E-Type, out, dark, rainy, night!

I rarely use adjustable's for the reasons you mention, besides most of the important bits can be tackled with 1/2" or 5/8" spanners/hex sockets. If I want to chew something up the Mole grip does an admirable job