Tool Kit

The ITB upgrade has left a large empty area in the engine bay, where the old Plenum and Air Box used to be. I had always intended to use this space to install a permanent tool kit in the car as a fit-and-forget item so that (a) I wouldn't have to remember to take a tool kit with me on longer journeys, and (b) there would be more boot space available.

I chose to use a couple of large Tool Tubes which are primarily intended for motorbikes and therefore have the advantage of being weatherproof. Two of them mounted side-by-side would fill the space perfectly and still allow enough room to remove the caps to get access to the tools. A potential drawback of the tubes however is that loose tools inside would potentially rattle around and it might be difficult to easily find the exact tool required if it was buried at the far end of the tube. This is solved by using a couple of nylon zipped "pencil cases" that fit snugly inside each tube and allow all the tools to be removed in one go.

The mounting of the Tool Tubes was easy enough. The old Air box was mounted by three bolts passing into rivnuts that are mounted in the chassis. I therefore made up an aluminium plate with mounting holes and stand-offs in the same location as the rivnuts, and mounted the Tool Tubes onto that plate.

Tool Tube installation