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 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.

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.

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.

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.

great thread

an extra engine. just in case :lol:

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 willies when the electrics decide to die and a
good flashlight. Fuses as well.

Emptyy gas can for just in case.

I put these exact fluids in the driver's side bin in my FB - exactly what I was going to say.

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.

How did I forget the Heynes Manual and Electrical Diagram?! That's a must-have in the toolkit!

My AAA card with 150-mile towing range.






I have too many tools to carry.






PS; NONE of you thought of jumper cables?

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.

A phone

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!

Why not just rent a tow trailer and pull it home and not worry about it?

If the car breaks down on the highway 200+km away from home, getting it towed is expensive! Especially if it's something small that you can fix/patch on the side of the road.

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!

I keep a bag of weed and a cell phone in my trunk just in case I break down. That way I can smoke up and call someone to help me get it home ;)

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!

:scratch: Was it the weed that made you hallucinate that an RX-7 has a trunk? :scratch:

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 ;)

the factory stuff is grey.

I would add that it helps to have a COMPLETE set of all size sockets and wrenches, as it's not uncommon to find non-factory size nuts that have been used over time. I have a complete range of 6mm - 23mm in by toolbag, and have definitely used the 13, 15, 16, and 18 mm -- probably all of them at one time or another, if not on my cars then on someone else's.

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.

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/

Bookmarking this thread. when I start driving my FB daily in the spring I will build a little kit for it.

He pwned you vipernicus42 and from 8 years ago! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Haha, wow! Verrt got me with my own post! I'd completely forgotten I'd made that.