Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello Everyone,

we are heading to the South of France camping in a few weeks time in our Traveller and it looks like we will be covering 1,500 miles over the space of 2.5 weeks and we wondered what tools we should take with us?
Any other advice would be useful.
Many thanks
Marcus and Charlotte

General tool kit is fine , selection of drivers,grips, side cutters, pliers, feeler gauge,plug spanner,adjustable spanner, set of spanners up to 3/4, torch,you know the sort of thing. The odds & ends are worth a thought, tape, bits of wire, cable ties,bit of emery paper, jubilee clips, odd bits of fuel type hose small bag of odd nuts & bolts,oil, water. plastic ground sheet to lay on, gloves, warning triangle & hi-vis jacket ( which should be worn, if broken down, particularly on auto routes). Seems obvious, but check jack is complete & works also spare, don't assume.
I've only had one break down & it was the fuel pump, hence the mention of spare jubilees!
Don't know your route, but I am 15 mins south of Bergerac nr N21 if you get in trouble within my area, Send me a pm if you want my details.
I'm sure it'll be fine, have a good holiday.
Barry Kerridge

Do not forget a complete set of spare light bulbs and a several breathalyser testing kits.
Do you have mainland Europe breakdown/recovery cover - if not I would suggest that you obtain it before you go.
A most important part of your tool kit.
Enjoy your holiday.
Phil

The AA website ( http://www.theaa.com ) covers touring abroad and lists the following , in addition to the warning triangle and Hi vis vest,
Orig.Registration document
Orig.Insurance document
GB sticker
Headlight beam adjustment

Since most breakdowns are electrical : - spare plug, condenser, a set of points
A spare wheel nut ( when you've kick one of yours into the long grass ! ) small aerosol of WD40 or equivalent. An empty 4 pint
milk carton with clean water. A roll of PFTE tape. A spare fan belt.
If you don't have a Dis-connect on your battery terminal keep the spanner ( that fits the terminal nut ) down by the drivers seat.
Bob

You will need enough oil for what your engine consumes; by the sounds of it you already use your car regularly so should know the oil consumption, but bear in mind high speeds result in increased consumption. I would advise 2 gallons assuming the engine is in good condition. Also take a petrol can, but this must be empty for the ferry.

JOWETTJAVELIN wrote:You will need enough oil for what your engine consumes; I would advise 2 gallons assuming the engine is in good condition.

Really?? 2 GALLONS in 1500 miles?? I don't put ANY oil in mine in 1500 miles.

So, as you now wont have any room for luggage, you will have to take the black Traveller as well!

DOH Moggalot
but this plan is floored excuse the pun its still having the snail weld the new pans and cross member in! We are in to month 10 i think!!

thank you all, this is sounding as much fun as the drive further south than here!

But what about the tools spanner sizes etc?

thanks
Marcus and Charlotte

It's a pain in the - - - - - - - - but the Morris is a mixture of Imperial AF sizes ( mostly the engine bits , Barry suggested up to 3/4" size ) and Whitworth for the rest. A traditional set of both types AF/ Whitworth would cover 98% of what you might encounter on the road. Open ended spanners get to most places , whilst a ring spanner set gives more positive location on the nut.
Half of the stuff you pack , you won't need.. the secret is trying to figure out " which half " you don't need ! A breakdown service membership, a mobile phone and credit card are the best bits of kit.
Have a great holiday.
Bob

Thank you MogBob,
will sift through my spanners and MMOC nut and bolt list and pack accordingly

The joys of Footman James and the Coop will sort the other bit out and if all fails then The Nationwide as a back up for recovery and money Doh

A long time ago, on a trip to France, I shared the back seat of a Reliant Scimitar with an emergency windscreen and goodness knows what other paraphanalia. None of it got used thankfully. Hope you have an enjoyable and trouble free trip. I live in Northern France (Gisors) should you need any assistance in that region.

before you go give it a decent service and replace all hoses (dont forget the bypass hose),belts, plugs, points and HT leads. Much easier to do at home than by the side of the road in the rain. throw in a couple of screwdrivers, a smallish shifting spanner and some pliers, then relax and enjoy your holiday, it will be fine.
Cheers JohnG

After you service it - ideally you should run the car for a least a couple of hundred miles to settle in before departing for France.
It is surprising what can happen to the car/engine after it has been serviced.
Phil

See this link which may help http://minors-on-tour.org.uk/general/#G ... reparation
Have a good trip!

Thank you everyone for your ideas and advice,

We got back last Saturday night 1,300 miles and only had 3 small problems the choke cable falling apart, a perished seat strap and on our penultimate arriving in Dinnan before going on to St Malo i had to get under and adjust the clutch.
We only travelled on one Autoroute, so we mainly stuck to N roads and got to see a small part of a large France,
from tasting wines in Samur to the cave at Ruffinac and Lascoix, to the City of Carcassone and a taste of wines ion the Langadoc and then on to St Emillion for a look and a taste and a paddle through the caves of Razan, drinking Burrou and a tasty on draught Bordeaux red, it was amazing how much we managed to get in on our return!

We tootled along around 50 and got between 35-45 mpg!

Sunny wishes to all
Marcus and Charlotte

Marcus and Charlotte
Glad to hear your troubles were only " small ones " and that you made it back, safe and sound , having had a good time !!
I guess it's back to the daily routine now and you can start planning for the next long trip in the Moggie.
Bob

Any pictures of the trip

On the subject of taking the Minor outside the UK, ours is insured with Norton Heritage with full W European, Nordic and most E European countries covered, as is roadside (& trackside) recovery and, if required, full repatriation back to the UK. Multiple trips up to 90 days per year.

We have needed to use it three times in France (amongst multiple European trips over the last 18 years).

The first time a new replacement cam belt broke (conversion for the duplex chain and removed immediately once the car was back in the UK!) and damaged valves etc. Not a roadside repair, so the 'full repatriation' package was used. Car collected within 45 minutes of the phone call back to the UK, and a hire car supplied for the rest of the time in France and again from the ferry in Dover back home.

The other 2 times the car was transported to a hotel and parts shipped out from the UK, so that I could effect the repairs - once in a cark park in the middle of Bordeaux and the second time in the hotel car park. Hire car supplied for the 2 days each time when the Minor was off the road.

In the UK we dropped an almost new inlet valve head on the Silverstone GP circuit and less than 30 minutes later the recovery truck was in the pits (track days are part of the cover provided). We were home in less than 1 hour after that.

Superb service and we have just had the renewal for this year at £167 - 4 drivers >25, agreed value £12,000, annual mileage 5,000 and all the modifications notified and agreed. That to me is exceedingly good value. Includes MMOC discount of ~10%.

There are 3 conditions - 5,000 miles annually maximum, not a 'daily drive', must be a '2nd' car and all drivers >25 years old.

Oh, and they answer the phone almost immediately without the usual tortuous interrogation and select this option, then that option etc.

Link: http://www.heritagecarinsurance.co.uk/? ... 56700928:1

P.S. I have no interest of any kind in Norton Heritage, just an extremely satisfied customer.