Toolkit

As any owner of an oldish Jag will know, a toolkit and emergency equipment is essential. Here's mine.

Spare wheel: In the centre of the spare wheel or around it in the spare wheel recess, I keep the following:
- Two 1.0 litre bottles of distilled water.
- One bottle of ATF.
- Cruciform hardened steel wheel spanner (my Jag came without the original spanner, and the mild steel spanner supplied by Viv's Motors actually bent the first time I used it).
- Three metres of mutton cloth.
- A couple of old T-shirts, mainly used for cleaning oily things.
- Heavy duty jumper cables.
- Two 1 litre bottles of Total Quartz 7000 oil.
Boot: In the boot (trunk, for the Yanks) itself I keep:
- A jersey (you never know when it'll suddenly get cold).
- The toolbox itself.
- Map books.
- The jack, tucked away behind the toolbox.
- Two reflective warning triangles.
- An umbrella.
- The XJ6 Repair Operations Manual and XJ6 Parts Guide.

Toolbox: In the toolbox I have:
- A standard set of socket spanners, including spark plug socket.
- A coil of standard wire.
- Several metres of electrical wire. This proved useful in a Toyota I owned once for tying the bonnet down after it unlatched and hit the windscreen while driving at 130km/h.
- Assorted bits of vacuum pipe and water hose (leftovers).
- A set of spanners.
- A multimeter.
- Two sets of hex keys (metric and imperial).
- A bottle of brake fluid.
- Several chamois cloths and sponges.
- Assorted screwdrivers and pliers.
- A crimping tool.
- A pair of heavy-duty scissors.
- Tinsnips, handy for cutting wire, sheet metal etc.
- Hacksaw with several spare blades.
- A razor saw (very useful for cutting hard plastic, rubber etc).
- A hammer.
- Electrical tape.
- Masking tape.
- A roll of high-temp insulation tape which hardens, suitable for repairing radiator pipe leaks etc.
- A couple of rolls of self-adhesive foam strip.
- A huge collection of spade connectors, screws, bolts, washers etc.
- A large collection of spare light bulbs and fuses.
- Several hose clamps of various sizes.
- Contact adhesive, a tube of cold solder, Bostik adhesive, epoxy glue, silicone sealer and epoxy putty.
- Cable ties (very, very useful).
- Other little bits and pieces.
- A roll of toilet paper, for cleaning hands and tools, etc.
- Some old stockings which might be able to work as a fanbelt in an emergency.
- Spray oil.
- Spare relays and switches.
In car: In the car or on my person I keep:
- A camera (for general use as well as for use in case of an accident).
- A pen (a small fold-up pen on my car keys).
- A penknife (Victorinox with blade, file/screwdriver, scissors, toothpick and tweezers).
- A torch (with spare bulbs and batteries).
- An accident report form from my insurance company which has spaces for all the important things that one might forget to note down in the chaos of an unexpected collision).
- Automobile Association membership card.
- Credit card and petrol card.
- Cellphone.
- Chequebook.
- A small canvas bag containing commonly used tools and some masking tape.
- A 1kg fire extinguisher under the passenger seat. Required for insurance.
To get: Items I still need to get include:
- A first-aid kit, for those occasional emergencies. I've asked my brother-in-law, Allan de Souza, who is a top paramedic, to give me a list of the items I ought to have in such a kit.
- Wooden chocks and support for jack (thanks to Tom Golodik for suggesting those).
- Hand cleaner (ditto).
- A couple of tactical nukes for BIG problems.

Graeme Adamson