Couldn't resist it, sorry.

I have found that a box or two of the size that originally held 10 reams of 8-1/2x11 paper will fit nicely into the space below the package ray (in a 244). They will hold a lot of the things on the list and leave lots of space for the rest of the everything.

Good luck and good traveling,

Bob

:>)

In descending order of importance for travel from Baltimore to New Hampshire:

1/ A decent sleeping bag.

2/ A cell phone.

3/ An AAA Premium Membership card.

4/ A pair of long nose Vise-Grips.

5/ A 4-in-1 screwdriver.

6/ A hank of No.16 annealed, carbon steel wire.

Rich

I don't know about the rest of the world, but in Vermont I carry a come-along and some rope and logging chain: when the snow finally goes, the mud is on its way. I have only needed it once for my own car (not counting steep-grade plow truck woes), but have pulled several others out of ditches...

For tools, I go lighter than a lot of you: a motley assortment of the sockets I've used on the car and 1/2" and 5/8 breaker bars, screwdrivers, scraps of copper wires, a hatchet, a hammer, a knife, two flashlights, lug nuts, and a piece of tarp for crawling under her on dirt roads

empty 1 gallon gas can, washer fluid, oil, brake fluid, steering fluid, lithium grease, belt dressing

spare plugs and wires, distributor cap, fuses

and a blanket, because you never know!

Lot of good suggestions there... Volvo folks sure do think ahead and plan for the worse ;-)

I'd say first that it depends on how far you are going.... I keep only the basic stuff for my regular commute type driving.. safety stuff, spare tire (check the air regularly) and known good jack, a random (and rotating as needed) assortment of screwdrivers, wrenches, tape, baling wire, jumper wires, fluids.

For long trips, I take a spare AMM, fuel pump, fuel pump relay... in older cars, I'll take a spare distributor. and a much larger assortment of tools.

I don't take a timing belt, but I will check it. If it's age is in question, I'll replace it before I leave, along with the water pump of course.

The one thing I wish I'd have thought of this past summer is a spare brush pack/voltage regulator. That shut me down, and it's a hard thing to find in the middle of nowhere, Wyoming. and it only takes a few minutes to replace.

A good flashlight or two is a must... A 4 'D' cell maglight is my weapon of choice. bright enough to see house numbers or street signs from a good distance, big enough to break out a window or beat off a bad guy or dog...

A mini-mag light is nice to have too for obvious reasons...

And spare batteries for both.

--
-Matt I ♥ my ♂

Key safety items that I carry are:

1: ABC fire extinguisher
2: A large pair of cable cutters for the battery cable (stop that electrical fire NOW).
3: Sharp utility knife or cutters for seat belts. (Only extract driver if the car is on fire!)
4: A spring loaded center punch or window hammer to pop windows out.

I have had to use the above "kit" twice in the last fifteen years, but never on my own car. Both times I used it to help people out after they had serious accidents. Stopped an electrical and an oil fire quite effectively, on the oil fire, it was necessary to break out the window so the occupant could breathe.

I consider the above to be vital tools, just hope someone from the VFD (not me, as I am not VFD)or someone else with these tools will help out when I need it!

jorrell

ps. For road side repair tools, I run the standard Volvo kit plus tail light bulbs, duct tape (hose repair), nylon stockings (temporary alternator belt replacement), pocket knife, and flares. The flares are great if you find the failure to be terminal, you can pop a lit one in your tank! (JUST KIDDING)

--
92 245 245K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently in pieces

I think I pack less lightly than some of the folks below... but I pack it in such a way that the car is completely uncluttered. I drive a wagon and fit everything I might need should I break down someplace and have to do an emergency repair. Most of this kit I fit into the back storage hatch:

1) stock jack and toolkit
2) 3 each philips and flat blade screwdrivers (different sizes)
3) channel locks, vice grips
4) magnetic telescoping pick-up tool
5) multimeter
6) set of brake pads and mounting hardware
7) distrib. cap and rotor
8) med gague copper wire, wire cutter/stripper, needle-nosed pliers
9) a handfull of extra lug nuts
10) spare set of spark plugs
11) 1/4 drive socket set
12) welding rods (for fixing dangling exhaust)
13) spare flame trap screen
14) wiper blades
15) pry bar
16) a set of metric wrenches size 8 thru 19, plus a large size for the oil drain plug... and a few small sized SAE wrenches for the odd English nut (no offense to our friends from the UK) on the car
17) timing belt and v-belt set
18) a mini spray can of WD40
19) work gloves... and an odd assortment of zip ties, wire brushes, electrical tape, etc.
20) rags packed in to keep everything from moving around
21) emergency blanket

Overkill you say? Probably. But since it all fits in that little hatch it doesn't get in my way, -- so I figure why not carry it just in case?

I also carry two small, high-intensity LED flashlights (one is a camping headlamp for hands-free lighting), and a Swiss army knife in the glove box. At least two quarts of oil in the storage compartment across from the spare tire. Jumper cables. And finally a small canvas bag with a full set of socket wrenches in all three sizes that I can easily carry with me or stash under the seat if need be.
--
'92 245 5-speed, '92 944 GL auto

13 and 10 mm sockets definetely, ok, and the wrench i have never needed less than 10mm, and i would get 11mm and up, i think 22mm is the pulley if you do the timing belt.....wire cutters, phillips screwdriver (try to get a "craftsman professional" its thicker handle is great for leverage, check out a snap on tools catalogue and look at the mechanics beginner set for other ideas, spark plug socket too, for the socket wrenches -a 3" and 6" extension is a must and a universal joint adapter for the socket so you can get the back bolt of the a/c compressor loose for changing belts

and they pretty covered the waterfront of things.

These things are for longer trips, many miles from a Volvo dealer. Listed in the order in which I thought of them.

(1) About 4 inches of old newspapers.

(2) A piece of 2x4 lumber around 10-12 inches long. Goes under the jack.

(3) An air pump that plugs into the lighter socket and attaches to tire stem. It can pump up a flat good enough to get 10 to 20 miles, providing the hole is not too large. BTDT

(4) Some kind of block to chock the off-diagonal tire when jacking up the car.

(5) A blanket, especially for cold weather travelling.

(6) One roll paper towels, wrapped in its plastic wrap lest it get soggy.

(7) Service & shop manuals.

(8) More than one flashlight.

(9) An empty anti-freeze container.

(10) Several wire coat hangers.

Now you see why my first Volvo was a wagon, and whenever we were without one I placed a high priority on getting another.

Good Luck,

Bob

:>)

Now that I have worked out some of the glitches in my 240, I carry the following:
a spare fuel pump relay
a spare distributor cap
a spare distributor rotor.(this fried once and left me stranded).only use Bosch
a small spool of bailing wire...fixed a flopping radiator shroud and a broken muffler mount
a package of zip ties...the type with the metal zipper are the best
a roll of duct tape
a tube of quick setting binary epoxy (i like the type that comes in a tandum syring with a mixing tip.
I believe that with some thought...the preceeding 3 items can fix 99% of the worlds problems
a can of spray lubricant like pb blaster
at least a quart of oil
a quart of ATF - (i have a persistant power steering leak)
a pack of road flares
a selection of worm style hose clamps
a pair of leather gloves
a jack
spare tire
a 12 volt air compressor
a tire guage
a tube of RTV silicone
a length of strong rope or in my case a piece of 2 inch wide nylon webbing
a leatherman style multi-tool
ciagarette lighter.
an 18 inch pry bar (don't ask)
Since I live in Pittsburgh, aka the road salt capital of the US, in the winter time i carry an extra gallon of windsheild washer fluid....once on a trip from pittsburgh to dc i used nearly 2 full tanks of the stuff...and it was the good stuff! (oh yeah and at 0 degrees F..the cheap blue stuff freezes solid here)
I also keep a full 200 piece craftsman socket/combination wrench set in the trunk. yeah it is overkill, but i like the idea of it....plus the old brick has used it a time or two in rescueing some of my associate's much fresher cars.
Almost all of this, with the obvious exceptions, can fit into a box about the size of a milk crate if you pack well. good luck.

I keep the following parts in my cars:

1) good used AMM
2) power stage
3) fuel system relay
4) radio suppression relay
5) idle air valve
6) OD relay
7) 4 way flasher
8) fuse selection
9) bulb selection

For fluids:
1) minimum 1 quart of oil and transmission fluid
2) windshield washer fluid

Tools:
Just the tools to install 1-7 above-- in the 940 the factory toolkit does it all. I do have a 12V test light in one car and need to get one for the other.

I get all the parts from the local pick-and-pull-- 1-9 cost less than a single in-town tow here in the Greater Toronto Area.

Good luck!

On cars of a certain vintage, it's always a good idea to carry a quart of oil, a quart of tranny fluid, and a gallon of water. That gallon of water has saved me a lot of money this year by allowing me to make it to a safe spot when my coolant leaked.
--
Sean - now frolicking in the Land of a Thousand 240's (aka, Fredericksburg) thrice a week.

You're going to get LOTs of answers to this one.

I have used my on-board emergency supplies a dozen times to help others for every one time I needed to help myself. Make sure your spare has air and the tire-changing tools are complete. After that, in order of what I have needed and how important it was:

#1 Fire Extinguisher
#2 Flares (4-6)
#3 20' of 1000 lb or better nylon rope
#4 Large First Aid Kit
#5 Water (just a pint or so)
#6 Butane cigarette Lighter
#7 Sharp knife
#8 Toilette Paper (don't ask)
#9 Pliers w/wire cutters
#10 Screwdriver with multiple tips
#11 Grease Rag
#12 10/12mm open-end combination wrench
#13 12/13mm open-end combination wrench
#14 Old wire coat hangar
#15 Large waterproof camping lantern
#16 Spark Plug Wrench

If I am on a long trip, I carry my trusty John Deere hand-carried tool box that has a full set of metric combination wrenches including 18mm, metric socket set, and other standard tools odd fuses and electrical connectors, nuts and bolts etc.

The right-hand storage pocket in the back carries odd used-but-still functional parts like an old timing belt, old V belts, a couple of old spark plugs. If I had an extra functional fuel pump relay, I would carry it.

You may have noted that 40 years of driving has taught me that tools are not the most important things to carry.