Cross country trek to bring MR2 home. What do I take with me? (flying one way)

You haven't said  how many miles are on the clock of the Spyder you are buying.  Please provide info.

If the previous owner has not already removed the pre-cats, I would pay to have them removed before completing the sale (ideal) or at least before beginning your trip.

Always, always, verify that spare tire: a) has proper air inflation: b) will take you safely at least 100 miles. Also that ALL required tire changing tools are in the Frunk.

Get under the car and check the inside of each tire for cracks, cuts, or other tire damage (Yes, you will have to move car forward to see entire tire.) I have been surprised before to find that tires that look great on the outside.... don't always look so great on the inside.  😆  While you are under there, also check for any leaking fluids.

I would carry unique Spyder liquids:  Toyota Power Steering Fluid; Toyota Antifreeze; Toyota Gear Lube (assuming it is an M/T), plus at lease one spare head light bulb. 

One roll of Gorilla tape.

Rain coat and/or light water proof jacket with gloves.

A can of personal insect repellent spray. (Nothing is more irritating to me than to either have to sit in a dead car slowly cooking with the windows open waiting for a service truck or to have a long walk trying to find help for a broken down car .... all while being eaten alive by mosquitoes or biting black flies.)

A 5 gallon container of 5W30 oil, plus funnel are also a Nice-To-Haves. 

Lantern with fresh batteries, paper towels --- check oil, leaking fluids, etc. --- and a couple of 45-60 min road flares can also come in handy. 

A pair of gloves, overalls, 4'X6' heavy gauge plastic sheet help just in case you have to change a tire or otherwise get under your new car.

Check oil VERY CAREFULLY --- it is very hard for me to tell what my actual oil level is with fresh oil, others have reported the same problem ---  before you leave.  Be sure to push dip stick in until it is fully seated.  Check oil level again at 60 miles...then again at 150 miles.  Always check oil level at every gas refill!  Overfilling oil brings its own sets of (sometimes expensive) problems.

Last, but not least, a roll of quarters.  In rural areas, sometimes cell phone coverage can be spotty or non-existent.  Pay phones are disappearing at a rapid rate.  Being able to offer someone change (or bills, if that is how you roll)  to use their phone has worked out well for me in the past.

Paul

P.S. As you might guess, when I hike the great outdoors my backpack always weighs around 50 pounds.  I am a classic case of "Better to have it and not need it; than to need it and not have it!"

Car has 51K on it. I was adding up the items recommended and some may fit in the frunk but not all. :o)  Lucky for me, the car has a luggage rack (rare) and my personal luggage can go there. You created a very comprehensive check list Paul. Maybe the admins could start a sticky with recommendations from others as I am sure I am not the only buyer willing to do a moderately long haul to pickup a car.  Curious about your @not-2-old-for-2- seater handle. I just enjoyed my 77th today and I am for sure not 2 old... Thanks again!

I've bought 2 Spyders out of state and driven them home. A stock '04 from Jacksonville FL, ~900 miles, and a 2ZZC60 swaped '01 from Albuquerque, 1636 miles

(including the Razorback Run). All I had with me was clothing and toiletries on either trip...no tools, engine or gear oil, power steering fluid or a-f. These cars are not '50's-'60's-'70's British sports cars.

VSC, 1st, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Make sure the oil level is correct and the tires have the correct psi...bring an appetite, I'll see you when you get to Indy.

@Galo,

I wish I had known you when I went to get The Frog to drive him home to NC from Iowa. Drove right through Indianapolis, was looking to find a place in Ohio to stay, but got caught in an unpleasant thunderstorm for the last hour, in the dark, in an unfamiliar, skittish car. A welcoming Spyder buddy would have been a Godsend.

@not-2-old-for-2-seater

I love the advise given by not-2-old-for-2-seater.  There were a lot of things there that I would never have thought of -- especially the bug repellant!  That was great information.  You and my father would have gotten along well hiking the trails.  His backpack was always packed and ready to go at a moment's notice -- and always easily weighed 50 pounds!

Evening VintageSC,

Your car is barely broken in, hopefully the trip will go off without a hitch!

I am 71 with the last name of Corcoran.  You guessed it, I almost always have "The Luck of The Irish,|" alternately known as "If It Can Go Wrong, It Will."

If you are concerned with how to fit all of the stuff in your Spyder, I can tell you, from personal experience, that you can haul:  1ZZ spare engine; 6 speed M/T; alternator; regulator; clutch; flywheel; replacement hoses; new exhaust system; and all fluids; 10 quarts of oil; plus 3 days of change of clothes inside the Spyder.  Of course to do that you would have to take the passenger seat out and leave it...which pretty much defeats part of the purpose of the trip 🤣 

A couple of years ago I bought my own Mellow Yellow.  Unfortunately mine had accumulated a lot of "Maintenance Free/Maintenance Deferred Miles," and I have easily spent more than you paid for your pristine Spyder just bringing Itsy-Bitsy back to snuff. (Look up "Saga of Itsy-Bitsy on Spyder Chat to read all the gory details.)

Congrats on reaching 77 and still living your dreams!

Paul

Posted by: @not-2-old-for-2-seater

 

P.S. As you might guess, when I hike the great outdoors my backpack always weighs around 50 pounds.  I am a classic case of "Better to have it and not need it; than to need it and not have it!"

Me too, but when on the trek back it's only 25lbs because I had 25lbs of food!

Loved the advice, I would like too add another. Give no reason for anyone to pull you over in any State. Be extra careful with driving etiquette and take note of any local distinction. Being the wrong color skin or having the wrong kind of last name in the wrong place can equal a bad time.

To echo choirboy2, I can't swear that it is the Mellow Yellow color, the fact that the Spyder looks like a fancy expensive sports car, or what; but in less than 24 hours after purchasing my Spyder I got a spate of traffic tickets ---- all from same damn "Under Ticket Quota" cop --- just because he could not tell the difference between Quick and Fast.  Luckily (sarcasm), because I was actually going to the hospital due to illness .... and he stopped me 100' from the front door ... most of the citations were warnings.

BTW, this was the 4th time I have been ticketed in 50 years of high mileage multi-state motorcycle and car driving.

Not having that problem with green. On the contrary, nobody can see me AT ALL. Beginning to think I might even be invisible to radar too, but other than freeway "flow speed", I religiously respect the posted limits.

I may be tempted to wring it out a little on the freeways home. 

I got to meet up with VSC and his MRS today in Anderson IN. I am again lucky to have met 2 more really nice people, who happen to have a Spyder. I hope the rest of their trip is smoooooth 🥂 

@galo

Enjoyed the meal Mark. We arrived safely in west St Louis after 547 miles! The highlight was getting to meet you and learn all about your sweet MR2.  Hope we can make a run to Arkansas together....

hope you made it home safely... glad to see another spyder being driven... 

It didn't happen if you don't provide a "Post Road Trip Report" plus pictures!