This post was made in another thread following which it was suggested to make the content a topic of its own, possibly as our great little marque is prone to letting us down on occasions at the most inopportune moment. I'm sure we all know that regular maintenance is a key to happy motoring, but sometimes a part just stops working for whatever reason and we need to get ourselves going again.

Having been around these little cars for over twenty five years my experience is that, other than something major like a head gasket, dropped valve etc in which case the car is going home on a trailer, the problems that seem to strand people the most are electrical. Because of this, I've always carried a small tool box with me in which, besides basic tools, I carry a coil, plug, dizzy cap, rotor button, points, condenser, fuse, HT lead and regulator. These are supplemented by fan belt, tape and a bit of fuel hose. These items are not bulky and will generally get you out of trouble. My tool box is wrapped in a towel and sits on the floor behind the passenger seat.

I would be interested to hear what other members on here consider to be essential spares. Obviously there are things like fuel pumps etc but there is a limit to what you should carry because you don't want it to become too bulky.

cheers

I have a small fishing tackle style box that i have in my car all the time .

It has all the spanners and screw drivers that i think i might need , to do most jobs , in it i also have
a set of plugs , points ,rotor button , condensor , plus some electrical wire & tape , a test light , some silastic , a spare set of wheel nuts , as i have mags but only a standard spare , i also have a 12 v soldering iron that i chucked in as well , only because it was sitting in an old toolbox and never got used .

When i do a long run, ie ;( Rylstone Classic Weekend ) i have another small plastic box that has cleaning gear in it , as well i have a spare set of rad, heater, bypass hoses + new clamps in it just in case and a spare Elec fuel pump .

Forgot the sperm suit , just in case i have to lay down in the dirt .

I think i'm pretty well covered .

Goodie, your idea of wheel nuts is one that many of us, including myself, may forget. The majority of Minis wear some sort of after market wheel with a stock wheel in the boot. Invariably the wheel nuts are different which leads to an "Oh sh1t" experience! Something so simple and yet it could leave you in a bind.

cheers

I have a peg in the mini... for the important job of starting it when the choke cable doesn't play nice.

I spare accelerator cable is also handy.. and cheap/light so no big deal to carry.

I'd be interested in hearing more about the number/sizes of spanners and/or sockets that people carry...

should I just get a second set for the car, or are only a few certain sizes needed

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1975 Hairy Lime/White Clubby
Build Thread: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=80657

Add a small container of hand cleaner or rubber gloves and wiper blades

Mini always breaks down when I wear my glad rags

i have a small socket set, 2 phillips heads, 2 flat heads, pliers, electrical tape, lighter, pocket knife. i haven't done any big trips so not bothered with much else yet, wheel nuts is a good idea when i put mags on, i also have a beanbag in the back so i can sit in the back & relax waiting for RAA if im in a real pickle

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I've got a plastic box/crate that just fits inside the boot. Inside is a 10L jerry can, trolley jack, a couple of planks of wood (to drive on/jack from), a bunch of spanners, socket set, screwdrivers, degreaser, rags, fan belts, cable ties, etc.

Out of the plastic box is a 4L bottle of coolant and 4L of oil

I do have a jumpstart pack in the shed, which I should really charge up and bring along just in case... I'll grab my multimeter too, that's a good idea

Most of our MITG runs are a few hundred km and it would be easy to get stuck a fair way away from a garage

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i always carry spare fuel filter + clips and some heavy duty wire (strong enough to wire in place a wayward exhaust system) plus a selection of tools and some electrical spares as mentioned by others.

The core of my small tool bag contains a 7/16, 1/2 and a 9/16th spanner.
Plus two different size shifters for the rest (very large and very small).
One long nose and one short nose pliers,
One phillips, and one blade screwdriver,
One multimeter,
One set of points (the electronic type, I don't want to fiddle with a gap), and
WD40.

There's not much you can't take apart with that lot!

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

I carry a bottle jack with a adaptor i made out of 5mm steel plate 25mm gal pipe and a bit of a council wheel bin axle welded together fits in them square jack points perfect and the pipe fits over the jack a lot better than the standard jack and use a old bent tie bar as a handle with some pipe welded to the threaded end

An RACQ card in my wallet and a mobile phone.

And if you snap a fan belt for example in the middle of nowhere you'll have a fun couple of hours waiting for someone to turn up and tell you it's broken, and a further few hours waiting for a tow (if they are anything like NRMA roadside)

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Ha ha, I'd like to see a roadside assistance guy fit a fan belt to a mini. Most of the young one's wouldn't know what a mini is.
I forgot to mention, I am the RACQ guy for round here and we don't fit fan belts. It's really changed when it comes to us 'fixing' cars on the roadside, if it's not a lock out, battery or flat tyre, it'll probably end up a tow. Too much OH&S, WPH&S, litigation crap. "oh the brakes were fine till the RACQ bloke jump started my car", " the RACQ guy put my space saver spare on the lhr, and it spun out on the round about". That sort of crap. I just look after my car as best I can and use it as insurance. While on the subject, how many people have actually broken down and had the right part ti fix it? You carry a coil, points, condenser, leads, rotor button etc and the fuel pump craps it's self. I don't know the other club ratings but I have RACQ Ultra, covers anything I drive or ride, hire cars, recovery home even if I'm in Perth, hotel accomodation if I'm away and car can be fixed in 24hrs. The list goes on, I sound like a RACQ salesman.
Funny thing is I've never actually used it, I've been driving for 40 years and never been towed for a break down, had one flat tyre, one out of fuel (old vintage car with no guage), 2 crashes (both in Mini's ), one cow jump through the window, so I'd say a hour or 2 waiting on the side of the road, every 5-10 years is ok with me. I'll keep my boot for a picnic basket and blanket. Each to there own.

Good planning of preventative maintainance goes a long way to having trouble free trips .

IE; how long have the radiator hoses been on the car , what about the bypass hose , fan belt , fuel filter & fuel hoses , easy & cheap stuff to change in the shed rather than on the side of the road .

You will never be able to predict the unexpected , but you can shortcut a lot of the maybe's .