Basic First-Gen Toolkit
09-13-12, 01:31 PM
#1
Basic First-Gen Toolkit
Hey Guys,
I'm prepping to take my friend Marc's project car on its first long trip, and as part of the trip prep we decided to put together a toolkit to have in the car "just in case".
That got me thinking. When I first started working on my FB a decade ago, I just had a handful of cheap tools and was able to do almost everything. So why not put together a list for the "Beginner's" or "Basic" toolkit that every first-gen owner should have.
Here's what I've got so far. I want to know what you guys think. What else should be in every SA/FB Owner's toolkit?
In the toolbox
- Wrenches in 8,10,12,14,17, 19mm
- Ratchet and Sockets in 8,10,12,14,17,19mm and Spark Plug Size
- Extenders for Ratchet
- Phillips and Slotted Screwdrivers
- Vice Grips x2 and Channel-Lock Pliers, Needle-Nose Pliers
- Hammer, Scissors, Knife
- Duct Tape, Electrical Tape
- Electrical Tester
- Red Silicone, JB Weld
- Zipties
- Spare Fuses
- Flashlight
- Roll of 18ga Wire
In the other bin
- Bottle and Funnel (to source water in case of a coolant leak)
- Jumper Cables
- Heynes Manual and Electrical Diagram
Attached to the car
- Jack and Tire Iron (stock ones will do)
- Spare tire checked for proper inflation
Also, a tip for anyone looking for tools : I've had great luck sourcing really cheap tools at local pawn shops. They don't cost much, so I don't care if I lose or break them, and one of the local shops has bins/buckets of things so you can pick them up "a la carte" instead of buying a whole kit.
So let's hear it, what's in *your* basic toolkit?
Jon
Edit: Added my favourite bits from the posts below. Way too many ideas to fit the kit in one bin, so I had to pick and choose.
I'm prepping to take my friend Marc's project car on its first long trip, and as part of the trip prep we decided to put together a toolkit to have in the car "just in case".
That got me thinking. When I first started working on my FB a decade ago, I just had a handful of cheap tools and was able to do almost everything. So why not put together a list for the "Beginner's" or "Basic" toolkit that every first-gen owner should have.
Here's what I've got so far. I want to know what you guys think. What else should be in every SA/FB Owner's toolkit?
In the toolbox
- Wrenches in 8,10,12,14,17, 19mm
- Ratchet and Sockets in 8,10,12,14,17,19mm and Spark Plug Size
- Extenders for Ratchet
- Phillips and Slotted Screwdrivers
- Vice Grips x2 and Channel-Lock Pliers, Needle-Nose Pliers
- Hammer, Scissors, Knife
- Duct Tape, Electrical Tape
- Electrical Tester
- Red Silicone, JB Weld
- Zipties
- Spare Fuses
- Flashlight
- Roll of 18ga Wire
In the other bin
- Bottle and Funnel (to source water in case of a coolant leak)
- Jumper Cables
- Heynes Manual and Electrical Diagram
Attached to the car
- Jack and Tire Iron (stock ones will do)
- Spare tire checked for proper inflation
Also, a tip for anyone looking for tools : I've had great luck sourcing really cheap tools at local pawn shops. They don't cost much, so I don't care if I lose or break them, and one of the local shops has bins/buckets of things so you can pick them up "a la carte" instead of buying a whole kit.
So let's hear it, what's in *your* basic toolkit?
Jon
Edit: Added my favourite bits from the posts below. Way too many ideas to fit the kit in one bin, so I had to pick and choose.
Last edited by vipernicus42; 09-13-12 at 09:01 PM.
09-13-12, 01:49 PM
#2
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i would add a 19mm to your list, for the 21's you can use the stock lug wrench. i personally would skip the vise grips, and bring channel locks and a set of long needle nose pliers. switch the red silicon for grey or black (the red stuff is horrible, its ugly! i can't believe you'd ruin a rotisserie restoration with that stuff), oh and you need an 8mm for the brakes, and any of those junk screw type hose clamps.
you actually could almost restore the whole car with that....
with peepers, since most of the car is stock, i only carry tools for the aftermarket crap. i have a really long wide flathead screwdriver for the weber jet stacks, the little screw driver for the tokico's, the allen wrench for the camber plates/spring perches, the allen wrench for the intake manifold, and that is it.
you actually could almost restore the whole car with that....
with peepers, since most of the car is stock, i only carry tools for the aftermarket crap. i have a really long wide flathead screwdriver for the weber jet stacks, the little screw driver for the tokico's, the allen wrench for the camber plates/spring perches, the allen wrench for the intake manifold, and that is it.
09-13-12, 02:11 PM
#3
...
i personally would skip the vise grips, and bring channel locks and a set of long needle nose pliers. switch the red silicon for grey or black (the red stuff is horrible, its ugly! i can't believe you'd ruin a rotisserie restoration with that stuff), oh and you need an 8mm for the brakes, and any of those junk screw type hose clamps.
you actually could almost restore the whole car with that....
...
i personally would skip the vise grips, and bring channel locks and a set of long needle nose pliers. switch the red silicon for grey or black (the red stuff is horrible, its ugly! i can't believe you'd ruin a rotisserie restoration with that stuff), oh and you need an 8mm for the brakes, and any of those junk screw type hose clamps.
you actually could almost restore the whole car with that....
...
Which reminds me - Shop Towels and Mechanic's Soap!
As for the Vice Grips, I've used them so many times in so many ways on the car that I'd never think of leaving them out of the toolkit. They're the indispensable tools as far as I'm concerned! Needle-Nosed pliers are worth adding though, for some delicate tasks.
Last edited by vipernicus42; 09-13-12 at 02:13 PM.
09-13-12, 02:43 PM
#4
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Forgot two very important items. Bailing wire and zip ties. Make sure that you've got some dykes or cutters for the bailing wire. Also it doesn't hurt to have two sets of wrenches. I typically carry one set that is boxed and open ended and the second set are double open ended but with different sizes. There are more than a few situations where you need two wrenches when you can't fit a socket on one side. Having a magnet pickup tool can be very handy too. I also keep a half a dozen pairs of latex/nitrile gloves in my bag as well along with a few mechanic's rags.
09-13-12, 03:02 PM
#7
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Basic fluids. I always stash a quart of oil, gallon of antifreeze (premixed) and brake fluid right
behind the passenger seat (SA). I put my tools in a nice canvas bag behind the drivers seat.
Also, air up the spare and take a piece of wood to put the jack on when on soft ground or
gravel.
Ah, yes, a DVM is most useful out there in the ******* when the electrics decide to die and a
good flashlight. Fuses as well.
Emptyy gas can for just in case.
behind the passenger seat (SA). I put my tools in a nice canvas bag behind the drivers seat.
Also, air up the spare and take a piece of wood to put the jack on when on soft ground or
gravel.
Ah, yes, a DVM is most useful out there in the ******* when the electrics decide to die and a
good flashlight. Fuses as well.
Emptyy gas can for just in case.
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09-13-12, 03:08 PM
#8
Along with an extra slave cylinder, razor blade, 2 phillips screwdrivers, 2 flat bladed screw drivers, 6ft of red 18ga wire, 6ft of black 18ga wire, electrical tape, and a wire cutter and stripper.
I've had too many electrical issues as you can probably infer.
09-13-12, 07:10 PM
#11
When I was 16 and just started driving legally (Started driving home from the drive-in regularly at 13), my mother handed me a VISA card, hit me in the shoulder and firmly told me, "I want grandchildren!"
So I would consider a credit card an important tool for any road trip.
A clean set of workers coveralls are a nice to have in case you have to put on chains or crawl under the car for what ever reason.
I always kept and overnight bag in my RX7. You never know if a 'friend' will invite you to stay over,
Actually, that was important during one of our major earthquakes here in So. Calif. Then the freeway overpasses fell, many people were in need of a good pair of walking shoes, versus office shoes.
I never had so much as a flat tire in my RX7, and as much a tool-nut that I am, I don't have any tools in my RX7 other than the jack and a tire pressure gauge. I hate when things roll around when I'm making turns.
So I would consider a credit card an important tool for any road trip.
A clean set of workers coveralls are a nice to have in case you have to put on chains or crawl under the car for what ever reason.
I always kept and overnight bag in my RX7. You never know if a 'friend' will invite you to stay over,
Actually, that was important during one of our major earthquakes here in So. Calif. Then the freeway overpasses fell, many people were in need of a good pair of walking shoes, versus office shoes.
I never had so much as a flat tire in my RX7, and as much a tool-nut that I am, I don't have any tools in my RX7 other than the jack and a tire pressure gauge. I hate when things roll around when I'm making turns.
09-13-12, 08:53 PM
#13
Wow. There are lots of great ideas, but for my own personal kit I'm going to have to trim some things out. I want it to fit in one bin, out of the way. Other folks can toss together whatever they'd like, but if I grabbed everything in this thread, I'd fill the whole damn hatch area!
09-14-12, 07:47 AM
#15
But more than that, the idea is to make a toolkit that not only counts as an emergency fix kit, but is also a good base for beginners to start from, and a portable kit that you can bring with you to autocross!
09-14-12, 08:46 AM
#17
Seeing as I've had my car pulled over and searched more than once when I was younger just for the crime of being a young guy in a fast-looking car, I'd never keep any illegal substances in my car. Plus, you never know when you'll want to hop across the border for some cross-border shopping, and the US Border Officials just love searching cars to break the tedium of sitting in a border station all day!
Was it the weed that made you hallucinate that an RX-7 has a trunk?
09-14-12, 10:20 AM
#19
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lol, weed isn't illegal here, well mine ain't anyway. Although it is illegal to consume before or while driving. You are right the seven has a tiny hatch even moreso with the cage and soon to be subs with amps 
09-14-12, 10:26 AM
#20
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Haha, well the only place I ever really need to use silicon is on the blockoff plates I have around the Intake Manifold. When I was staring at the great wall of silicone at the local parts store, the red stuff specifically said "High Temp" so I grabbed that. You're right though, it's not great to look at, so I always wipe off as much excess as I can so that you don't see it.
09-14-12, 12:57 PM
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Vice grips have so many uses I could not imagine being without them, especially for emergencies. I've had to change a fuel filter on the side of a road 300 miles from home, and used vice grips to pinch the fuel line closed.
09-14-12, 01:11 PM
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It looks familiar...
In fact from Jan 12, 2004:
Other similar threads about tools in the car and garage (there's probably others):
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...ol-kit-259514/
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-gen-non-...i-need-999595/
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...set-fb-478219/
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...easier-616289/
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati.../tools-703923/
In fact from Jan 12, 2004:
The basic tool list above (I carry a regular old Canadian Tire 100piece toolkit with metric open-end wrenches, sockets, wratchet, magnetic screwdriver, air pressure tester, voltage tester, x-acto knife, pliers etc... in one neat little case)
plus a jackstand and I make sure I oil my stock jack once in a while so that if I need to do anything serious, I have a jack and a jackstand in the car, along with most of the tools I use on the car. I've done most of the work on my car with that simple 100 piece toolkit, and one 14mm offset boxwrench for the stupid brake caliper mounting bolts. And ever since the Rx7 show this summer I carry a few extra bolts. One of the guys at the show coming in fromi Toronto 5 hours away lost a caliper mounting bolt on the 416 and had a bitch of a time finding a proper replacement.
I try to keep fluids out of the car... but a small 1L of antifreeze is a must.
And when I get around to it I'm going to keep an extra set of drivebelts in the car, with some sparkplugs and plugwires. You never know when you'll need those. Oh, and I keep a length of thick-ish stereo wiring. You'd be amazed how useful that stuff can be when it comes to bypassing shorts and other electrical probs until you get home.
Jon
plus a jackstand and I make sure I oil my stock jack once in a while so that if I need to do anything serious, I have a jack and a jackstand in the car, along with most of the tools I use on the car. I've done most of the work on my car with that simple 100 piece toolkit, and one 14mm offset boxwrench for the stupid brake caliper mounting bolts. And ever since the Rx7 show this summer I carry a few extra bolts. One of the guys at the show coming in fromi Toronto 5 hours away lost a caliper mounting bolt on the 416 and had a bitch of a time finding a proper replacement.
I try to keep fluids out of the car... but a small 1L of antifreeze is a must.
And when I get around to it I'm going to keep an extra set of drivebelts in the car, with some sparkplugs and plugwires. You never know when you'll need those. Oh, and I keep a length of thick-ish stereo wiring. You'd be amazed how useful that stuff can be when it comes to bypassing shorts and other electrical probs until you get home.
Jon
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...ol-kit-259514/
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-gen-non-...i-need-999595/
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...set-fb-478219/
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...easier-616289/
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati.../tools-703923/
09-14-12, 01:48 PM
#24
Waffles - hmmm good
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It looks familiar...
In fact from Jan 12, 2004:
Other similar threads about tools in the car and garage (there's probably others):
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...ol-kit-259514/
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-gen-non-...i-need-999595/
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...set-fb-478219/
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...easier-616289/
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati.../tools-703923/
In fact from Jan 12, 2004:
Other similar threads about tools in the car and garage (there's probably others):
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...ol-kit-259514/
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-gen-non-...i-need-999595/
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...set-fb-478219/
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...easier-616289/
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati.../tools-703923/
