Landy driving to France - what spares to carry?

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v8250 said:
Les Douaniers, what a bunch of fonctionnaire f*kckwits - really, who would possibly want such a dullard career? When not putting feet up in office, they simply stand in vehicle fumes 'til fed up and pull over a vehicle for an alleged illegal goods/drugs search. Pre-covid I crossed the French-Suisse border every 6-8weeks at Saint Julien-en-Genevois. Been doing this trip for years, never once stopped.

Late 80's returning from Le Mans with a drug taking buddy and they stopped us on the French side, lots of psychological pressure, three dogs et al. Made me empty the car, dogs sniffed the lot...they uttered a mumbled thank you and off you go. 30mins to re-pack the car and then I find my drug taking buddy had a lump of Black Moroccan in his trouser pocket[!] How they failed to find this, Lord knows :eek:

Interestingly, Les Douaniers have absolute jurisdiction over approx' 87% of all mainland France and absolute right to stop and search any person and/or vehicle at any time. This dating back to Napoleon who appointed military status to his customs/tax collecting brigades.

In Robin Mackness's book, Oradour Massacre & Aftermath, he explains how the douaniers were able to chase and ultimately stop him with machine gun fire just before he crossed into Germany, He was travelling from Lyon to Geneve in his armoured BMW 7 Series...and just happened to be carrying a few million dollars in Rieschbank Gold in the armoured boot [!!] Mackness was incarcerated by the Froggy Custom Gistapo in Bonneville prison for two years. The book is really worth routing out, it's great read.
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Sounds like a good read!
We have the Douane Volante near us as we are relatively near the Spanish border and close to Andorra.
Interestingly, the ex-wife's grandpa was a douanier before, during and after the war which meant he knew all the back roads etc. So when the family was sheltering downed allied airmen and moving them down the line he could keep away from the German/French/Milice patrols. (This was on the French Belgian border. Jeumont.)
 
@Stanleysteamer , that's a fascinating tale, especially in that hot bed area during WWII and not too dissimilar to a friend's late father who was Special Ops' during the war aiding the Maquis, he was awarded the Legion d'Honneur.

The book is superb and explains the mystery and driver behind the massacre d'Oradour. It reads like a novel, is far to short at only 166 pages...MRD Foot describes, "An awesomely simple explanation of a famous puzzle, hitherto almost totally obscure; it requires to be read at a sitting." This is rare praise from such a respected military historian...

The book has been out of print for a good few years but old copies are available for a few £squidlets. The book was banned in France...maybe as it describes the true "histoire..."

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/author/ROBIN-MACKNESS?cm_sp=brcr-_-bdp-_-author
 
v8250 said:
@Stanleysteamer , that's a fascinating tale, especially in that hot bed area during WWII and not too dissimilar to a friend's late father who was Special Ops' during the war aiding the Maquis, he was awarded the Legion d'Honneur.

The book is superb and explains the mystery and driver behind the massacre d'Oradour. It reads like a novel, is far to short at only 166 pages...MRD Foot describes, "An awesomely simple explanation of a famous puzzle, hitherto almost totally obscure; it requires to be read at a sitting." This is rare praise from such a respected military historian...

The book has been out of print for a good few years but old copies are available for a few £squidlets. The book was banned in France...maybe as it describes the true "histoire..."

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/author/ROBIN-MACKNESS?cm_sp=brcr-_-bdp-_-author
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Wifey buys me tons of books from this very site and I have recently finished a book by MRD Foot about resistance in general across Europe.
I seem to remember that the Oradour sur Glanes massacre was a mistake,:)rolleyes::mad:) as there were two villages with the same name, and after a few Krauts got killed by the resistance/maquis chief Kraut in the area ordered the village in question to be massacred and he got the wrong one off a map or summat.
You'll put me right on this, anyway.
There are a few of us on here who enjoy reading extensively about both WWs!
I was at school with a lad who's father had been in the SAS when it was formed during the war. He used to carry a photo of his dad's jeep with its twin Vickers mounted on the front, in his wallet.
I met the bloke, he was quite interesting!:):):)
:):):):)
 
doriz said:
Take a good water biscuit. French cheese is superb but they don’t do a good cracker, it’s all baguette nonsense. Make sure you have a corkscrew for all that red wine and most importantly pack a sense of humour, something which is lost on the French…enjoy.
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Fair enough!
But have to disagree with the last bit.
I once made a French woman (neighbour) laugh so much she nearly knocked herself out. Sitting in her kitchen she rocked back in her chair and threw her head back really hard. She hit it on the fridge!
But you need to be able to speak the lingo!
What made her laugh was Dave Allens's story about the girl from Dublin who went to London for a while. Her mum asked her what she did there. She told her she became a prostitute. "What?" screams her mother, so she repeats it. "Oh, thank God," she says, "I thought you said "protestant" ".
(It translates really well into French);););):D:D:D
 
v8250 said:
Dear All,

Am taking the old chugga-boom to the Alpes in July, some 1500 miles return [2000 miles all in]. What spares/tools would you recommend taking? I have European breakdown cover included within insurance

Spanners sets
Adjustables
Sml lump hammer [my erstwhile go to thumbing device]
Long nose pliers
Snips
Backup electrical wire/connectors/tape
Jack & Wheel Wrench
Light bulb set
HiViz
Spare lift pump, FIP fuel solenoid, relays and fuses
Cable ties and tank tape
Used cotton t-shirt rags [one can never have enough of these]
Fire extinguisher
1tr refillable coffee Thermos
Good music playing from mobile to JBL speaker with Radio4+ afternoon play + Radio Gardeners Question Time...

and...27x 10mm spanners/sockets/flats and angles ;)

eta: Haynes & Workshop manuals, cheese & pickle sarnies, Marmite, Yorkshire Tea [foil wrapped leaves, not bags]
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Take the common failure items which even if you can’t do yourself (or maybe you can) you can hand them to a mechanic and they’ll fix in an afternoon - wheel bearings, UJs, rear brake cylinder, pads, lift pump (although the injection pump pulls enough to do with our it for a bit) etc

Then take stuff to fix various things - quick set apoxy, sticky back aluminium tape, electrical tape, silicone tape to repair hoses, the big thick cable ties (I tied a rear training arm on with some of these and drove 40miles), wire, exhaust putty, heavy duty duck tape, jump start pack maybe and wire with various connectors and bulbs and a flasher relay

Then take safety in breakdown items - hazard triangle, mobile phone, fire extinguisher, jacket, good book etc

Tools - socket set and spanner’s and some mole grips, multi tool

Probably the most important is get someone to look over it before you go.
 
Thanks @payydg , the old chugga-boom is a near brand new bus as have completed a 100% mechanical rebuild over past 18mths so not expecting primary failures

New:
Engine [Turner Engineering]
Brakes
Suspension & all joints
Steering & Axles [every component !!]
FIP [Diesel Bob rebuild]
Turbo [Turbo Dynamics rebuild]
Lift Pump
Heater
Radiator
Intercooler
Exhaust
All new fluids
New lights all round
Plus most of the wiring & a chassis one could dine off...

Everything else has been refurbished/restored, but knowing Landies something will go wrong. I can now rebuild old buses in my sleep so spannering's easy. Just don't want an irritating breakdown half way up a mountain.

Here's when bought...
11591855.jpg


And now...
20210611_161953.jpg


20210321_170723.jpg
 
Just one last thought.
As I was reminded of it by having to go for a third time to pick it up.
If you take prescription drugs that are on the controlled drugs list.
You need a letter from your doctor saying this. To cover you for what you need to take with you.

Obviously this is a bit out of left field and you may already be all over it, but then others may not know.

(Wifey takes Morphine sulphate and Gabapentin.)

Oh and by the way FANTASTIC rebuild.!
Looks like you could eat your dinner off any part of it.
Lovely car mate!:):):):)
 
Thanks @Stanleysteamer , luckily no drug taking here. Oddly, haven't had to take medicine of any form for many, many years yet have had three injections in 2021 alone [tetanus booster & 2x covid].

Re' eating dinners...I suffer from mechanical OCD and it's a terrible affliction as have to have my cars have to be in top top condition, especially the engine bay and undersides. No idea where this came from but have been like this for the past 35 years :eek:o_O I think this stems from rebuilding so many classic/historic cars and hating working with the crap and crud left by previous owners. It's so much nicer having a clean engine bay to work on. Luckily, the Land Rover underside/chassis was not too bad but it took months to clean back to bare metal, treat and completely Buzzweld and Dinitrol. And nuts & bolts...I've removed every nut & bolt and replaced with new...have buckets of old Landy fasteners & crusty bits that'll get weighed in, this will pay for a few pints or a Tartiflette for two when in France :)

In other news, I've renamed LGBT, it's now "Le Grand Bornand et Tartiflette..." :D
 
v8250 said:
Thanks @payydg , the old chugga-boom is a near brand new bus as have completed a 100% mechanical rebuild over past 18mths so not expecting primary failures

New:
Engine [Turner Engineering]
Brakes
Suspension & all joints
Steering & Axles [every component !!]
FIP [Diesel Bob rebuild]
Turbo [Turbo Dynamics rebuild]
Lift Pump
Heater
Radiator
Intercooler
Exhaust
All new fluids
New lights all round
Plus most of the wiring & a chassis one could dine off...

Everything else has been refurbished/restored, but knowing Landies something will go wrong. I can now rebuild old buses in my sleep so spannering's easy. Just don't want an irritating breakdown half way up a mountain.

Here's when bought...
View attachment 241229

And now...
View attachment 241231

View attachment 241233
Click to expand...

oooo very nice
 
v8250 said:
Thanks @payydg , the old chugga-boom is a near brand new bus as have completed a 100% mechanical rebuild over past 18mths so not expecting primary failures

New:
Engine [Turner Engineering]
Brakes
Suspension & all joints
Steering & Axles [every component !!]
FIP [Diesel Bob rebuild]
Turbo [Turbo Dynamics rebuild]
Lift Pump
Heater
Radiator
Intercooler
Exhaust
All new fluids
New lights all round
Plus most of the wiring & a chassis one could dine off...

Everything else has been refurbished/restored, but knowing Landies something will go wrong. I can now rebuild old buses in my sleep so spannering's easy. Just don't want an irritating breakdown half way up a mountain.

Here's when bought...
View attachment 241229

And now...
View attachment 241231

View attachment 241233
Click to expand...

Better than the day it came of the line thats a certainty:)
Looking at that take basic tools, and I refer to what I said earlier:D.

marjon said:
If you landy is well serviced and looked after (I know it is:)) Just go with the shirt on your back, a smile:D And you flexible friend in your pocket;).
Hope it happens, have fun:)
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J
 
If I'd seen the pics before posting, I'd have agreed with others who said "Take nothing, you won't need it" (Except for wheel changing stuff and a spare as anyone can get a puncture!)
 
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