Subject: road trip stories
Gary Nafziger <naffy@netins.net> wrote:
"Since we are talking about British Car Week and getting our cars on the road
more; and I would like to take a several thousand mile trip in one this
summer; I thought it would be interesting to hear horror stories of
breakdowns on the road in an LBC. You know, the ones where it's midnight,
in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a storm..........
These stories will either get me out of the mood or generate the juices to
really give it a try! Also, suggestions on the best tools to take in the
littlest amount of space would be good. Do I need more than duct tape and a
vice grips!!??"
Maybe I'm a bit paranoid, but since I do a lot of long distance traceling in
my LBCs,
I always carry the following:
1/4 " drive socket set:
regular depth: 5/32, 3/16, 7/32, 1/4, 9/32, 5/16, 11/32, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2
deep: 1/4, 5/16, 11/32, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2
extensions: 3", 6"
"screwdriver" drive
ratchet
3/8 " drive socket set:
regular depth: 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16, 3/4, 13/16
deep: 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16, 3/4
extensions: 3", 6"
spark plug sockets: 5/8, 13/16
adapter - 3/8 to 1/4
ratchet
1/2 " drive socket set:
regular depth: 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16, 3/4, 13/16, 7/8
extensions: 3", 6"
adapter - 1/2 to 3/8
ratchet
combination wrenches: 1/4, 5/16, 11/32, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16,
3/4
standard screwdrivers: 1/8 x 2, 1/8 x 4, 3/16 x 4, 1/4 x 1 1/2, 1/4 x 6
phillips screwdrivers: #0 x 1 1/2, #0 x 2 1/2, #1 x 3, #2 x 1 1/2, #2 x 4,
#3 x 6
ratcheting screwdriver & bits: 3/16" std, #1 & #2 phillips
pliers: needle nose, common, dykes, 9" channellock, 5" locking
miscellaneous: awl, 3/8" chisel, punch, knife, hacksaw blades, wire brush,
hammer, allen wrenches, wire strippers/crimper, feeler gauge, 12v test lamp,
spark plug test lamp, scissors, file, 4" adjustable wrench, gasket scraper
spares/consumables: fuel pump, 15 & 30 amp fuses, relay, switches,
electrical wire, tape, test leads, large & small tie wraps, small steel wire,
fuel line (1/4, 3/8, 4mm), fuel line connectors, hose clamps, fan belt, steel
wool, emory cloth, gasket material, rtv tube, hand cleaner, rags, poncho,
plastic bags, trouble light, jumper cables, flashlight, emergency strobe
light
by cutting off a couple of inches of the hammer handle, I manage to get most
of the above in a 6 x 6 x 12 canvas bag I bought from Northern Hydraulic.
comfort items: blanket, small pillow, folding "kindergarten nap pad," folding
chair, sunglasses, sunscreen, light jacket,
hat, dimes and quarters
In all the long distance trips I have taken, I have only had three problems:
1) On the way to Pennsylvania, the throttle pedal fell to the floor, and the
engine dropped to an idle. A cotter pin had fallen out of the throttle
linkage, allowing the linkage to come apart. That took about 30 seconds to
fix, as not parts had been lost.
2) On the way to John Twist's Summer Party in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in '95,
in my MGBGT, I pulled off onto the shoulder just out of Cinncinati to check
my map. When I pulled back onto the highway, I smelled gas. I didn't smell it
while I was on the shoulder, nor did I smell it after I got back on the road.
I assumed it was someone else, but, being the cautious type, I pulled into a
service station at the next exit. When I lifted the bonnet, I saw what was
almost a steady stream of gas pouring from the front carb. It was missing the
exhaust manifold by less than two inches. The feed tube from the float bowl
to the carb was loose. As I had never worked on SU carbs before, I didn't
know how the tube fit into the bowl, so I wound up taking the entire
carb/manifold assembly off the car in the parking lot. If you remember the
summer of '95, and this was at 1:30 pm in August, then you will believe me
when I tell you the temperature was 101 degrees that day. Not ideal
conditions for car repair. I had to remove and replace the carbs twice before
I learned how to fix the leak. Now, I could fix it in about five minutes
without removing them. I guess that tells me what the most important thing to
have with you is - KNOWLEDGE.
3) Coming back from Key West last November in my TR6, just this side of
Chattanooga, about midnight, as I was passing an 18 wheeler, I noticed the
smell of burning wire. I immediately slowed down to check it out, and the
smell went away. Once again, I thought it was someone else's problem, but
remembering the Cinncinati incident, I pulled into a service station at the
next exit. A thorough examination of the car revealed no visible problem, so
I got back on the road. Several miles later, I caught up with the truck
again, and once again smelled burning wires. As I slowed to check on my car
again, the smell went away. I speeded up again and caught the truck again.
This time the smell was very strong. I decided to pass him, and if the smell
went away again, I would know for sure that it was him; if not, then it was
me. I never got to pass him. All at once, my car went dead. Kaput. Nada.
Zilch. No motor, no lights, nothing. Let me tell you, I don't care how late
it is, how long you have been driving, or how tired and sleepy you are - this
will wake you up!!! Luckily, there were enough cars on the road to provide
enough light to see to pull off the the road, but not enough to create a
hazard.
It turned out, the main feed wire from the battery had burned in two at the
ammeter. I reached into my handy-dandy emergency kit listed above and pulled
out a lenght of 10 ga wire and proceeded to rewire. The temperature was about
30 deg, and a strong wind was blowing - not ideal conditions. Long ago, I had
replaced the positive battery cable with an aftermarket cable that had a
short spare lead attached to the terminal with a butt connector attached. I
stripped both ends of the wire, and crimped one end to the battery lead. In
the dark, and the cold, and in a cramped position, I caught the fleshy part
of my index finger in the wire cutter part of the crimping tool. As I bore
down hard to make the crimp, I took out a nice chunk of my finger. Hurting
and bleeding, I decided I did not want to make anymore crimps. Instead, I
used one of my test leads to make the connection from the new fed wire to the
ignition switch. The test leads consists of a piece of 16 ga wire, about 30"
long, with alligator clips on one end. I drove the remaining 90 miles or so
home holding the test lead in my hand. It got quite warm, but never so hot as
to be a problem, and it was powering the whole car - engines, lights, and
all. Seriously overloaded.
Next morning, when I checked the burnt wire, I found it had seriously
corroded. The wire was nearly eaten in two. I still don't know why. None of
the other wires, anywhere in the car, showed any signs of corrosion, nor
could I find any signs of water leakage. I replaced the ammeter with a
voltmeter, and rewired the whole alternater/battery circuit (the remainder of
the wire was not long enough to make a new connection, and I did not want to
get into opening up the wiring harness to replace it. I just cut the loose
ends off, and routed the new wires along side the harness).
Excuse me for running on so, but you asked!
Happy motoring!!!
Dan Masters,
Alcoa, TN
PS: has that cured me? No, I am going to Miami in the MGBGT in march.
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