What would you take to France?

[bmcecosse]

You must be a Boy Scout then " Be Prepared" !

[chesney]

Well I've got plenty of spare split screen windscreens and they will fit on top of the spare wheel easily enough.

On top of the spare wheel? Where will the spare head gasket and fan belt go ;)

[moggiethouable]

A crate of Double Maxim.

[dalebrignall]

a little over the top i would say a recovery card ,fuel pump ,coil ,rotor arm ,leads ,dizzy cap fan belt light bulbs ,and spare tyre ,or tow a trailer with a spare engine in the trailer .

[bmcecosse]

No need for trailer -spare engine goes in the boot.......

[MarkyB]

Hundreds of Minors make this trip every year without any problems.
The most common problem is head gasket failure, surprise, surprise!
Take a supply of 20/50 as you can't easily get it in France. And beam deflectors too, much cheaper to get them here than on the ferry!

[horologiumwatches]

This really is great input, thank you all. I will compile a list of what I'm taking soon and post it up.
In the mean time, I am doing some work on the car to get her ready for the trip:
http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f= ... 65#p476265

Thanks
Tommy

[simmitc]

Surely the only thing that a true Englishman would need is a ticket back to Blightly

[Morris Mike]

Why should your car breakdown any more in France than in this country.?
I travel all over this country to shows,events and just day`s out in my classic cars....they have not let me down as I maintain them.I must have racked up tens of thousands of miles in them.

As for travelling around France it is not like it was 30+ years ago when a trip over the pond was an adventure and us Brits waved to each other on the roads etc.
Now when you get to the tunnel (example) people are travelling over to the continent on a daily basis for work etc. I regularly travel 500 miles south of Calais to the south west of France,to the Dordogne,gone are the day`s when a conversation was struck up on a garage forecourt about where you are going or where you have come from.
People are zipping around Europe like we go to Birmingham.

We have a couple of classic cars in the Dordogne a Morris Minor Traveller and an MGA Roadster,i drive all over the place in them and in nine years have only had a puncture.One trip was 3,000 miles from our property to the Pyrenees,up and down every mountain pass then into Spain and back again.Nothing happened to the car at all.I put it through its paces up some torturous roads only a goat would tackle,but it survived.

We will be in the Dordogne in June,look us up if you like,we will give you a free tour of this fantastic region of France (the best we think), I could also introduce you to some of our french classic car enthusiasts,they have cars we have never seen this side of the pond.

P M me for a contact number.

Gresham Flyer[frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame]In September we have this event.[/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

[Morris Mike]

And find things like these in local village barns etc.

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[aupickup]

could not agree more mike
mineis an everyday car and ges treated as such
dont know why some get het up if the have to do mor than 50 miles

[Rasputin]

I find that the more I use my car the more reliable it becomes.

[aupickup]

aint that true

[bmcecosse]

Of course the car is 'no more likely to break down' except that it will probably be driven rather faster than is possible in the UK - and in higher ambient temperatures. The problem is availability of the normal 'easy' spare parts in France - hence the need to carry a few sensible spares so that breakdowns can be easily / quickly rectified without delays waiting for parts...... Obviously anything 'major' is just indeed a case for the Recovery Card.

[horologiumwatches]

Exactly. In the UK it wouldn't bother me if I broke down, it's happened before and I have my fair share of stories to tell, it's more a case of preparation for any eventuality. If I don't have a spare hose for example you can guarantee one would split on a Sunday with shops shut in the middle of nowhere and be a real pain in the bumper on the holiday. I'm just trying to reduce the chances of something going wrong by working on the car before hand, and carrying spares to be able to fix it if something does go wrong.
More a case of piece of mind.

[irmscher]

Think on the bright side you can fix most things at the roadside in a minor in a modern you cant everything will be fine