Well it got warm the other day, and I started to get a little Buick fever. (Yes, it only lasted a day or two and there are still a good two months left of winter, but...) So I started thinking. Since I can't do any work right now(upper 20's and a very full one-car garage) I thought about getting some supplies for the coming season. I have the basic hand tools, but am going to need some more specialized tools for decon and reconstruction. Probably nothing real expensive, was thinking about a spot-weld drill set. I picked up a cheap 4.5" grinder from Harbor Freight last year, and an engine stand. So other than the expensive things I would like(compressor and welder) what would be good suggestions to start picking up here and there? :idea2: Thanks
Those 4.5 inch angle grinders are very useful! Get a wire-wheel for it, about $15. Great for cleaning off stuff like undercoating, rust, and seam sealers. Definitely wear some eye protection!
buffing wheels for both the angle and bench grinder for the 900lbs of chrome these cars have . got all my trim off and ready to clean up just need the buffer now
Get the compressor first.... and that will open up a world of air powered tools that will make your life easier,,,, then like walt said the little grinder... and a rotary grinder like dremel or one of the bench type with a flex cable is best... Grizzly tool has a nice one at a reasonable price.... includes a foot controll too,,, drill bits,,,, ease outs,,,, pb blaster.... When you buy a welder,,,, buy a good one to start,,,, tig/stick combo if possible..... that is the most usefull..... you can get by with a cheap and I dont mean junk oxi/ acetelene rig.... and the list goes on and on and on and on andon:Brow: :Brow: :Brow: But tools dont cost money ,,,, they save money ,,,, big time....
Click type torque wrench, if you don't have one. Sears puts them on sale every now and then and they are OK for lite use. Treat them gently and I expect they will last. I got the 200# and the inch# ones. - Bill
Oooo torque wrench, good one, I totally forgot about that. And trust me, I would love to get a compressor right now, but it just isnt in the budget yet. The bench grinder is a good idea too, HF usually has some cheap ones. Anything else like specialized wrenches or pliers or other small items?
Buy a set of C-clip pliers! Vice grips of all sizes are a must. Good wire crimpers and strippers save hours of time too. Shot-filled dead blow hammers are handy. When doing any sort of tear down a good set of chisels is needed for removing stuck nuts, nuts larger than your sockets, marking alignments, etc. You'll quickly discover which specialty tools you need as soon as you need them and are nowhere to be found!
This may help, "What Tools Were Created For" HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate expensive car parts not far from the object we are trying to hit. MECHANIC'S KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on boxes containing convertible tops or tonneau covers. ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: Normally used for spinning steel pop rivets in their holes until you die of old age, but it also works great for drilling rollbar mounting holes in the floor of a sports car just above the brake line that goes to the rear axle. PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes. VISE-GRIPS: Used to round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand. OXY-ACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting those stale garage cigarettes you keep hidden in the back of the Whitworth socket drawer (what wife would think to look in _there_?) because you can never remember to buy lighter fluid for the Zippo lighter you got from the PX at Fort Campbell. ZIPPO LIGHTER: See oxy-acetylene torch. WHITWORTH SOCKETS: Once used for working on older British cars and motorcycles, they are now used mainly for hiding six-month-old Salems from the sort of person who would throw them away for no good reason. DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, splattering it against the Rolling Stones poster over the bench grinder. WIRE WHEEL: Cleans rust off old bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprint whorls and hard-earned guitar callouses in about the time it takes you to say "Django Reinhardt." HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering a Mustang to the ground after you have installed a set of Ford Motorsports lowered road springs, trapping the jack handle firmly under the front air dam. EIGHT-FOOT-LONG DOUGLAS FIR 2x4: Used for levering a car upward off a hydraulic jack. TWEEZERS: A tool for removing wood splinters. PHONE: Tool for calling your neighbor Chris to see if he has another hydraulic floor jack. SNAP-ON GASKET SCRAPER: Theoretically useful as a sandwich tool for spreading mayonnaise; used mainly for getting dog doo off your boot. E-Z OUT BOLT AND STUD EXTRACTOR: A tool that snaps off in bolt holes and is ten times harder than any known drill bit. TIMING LIGHT: A stroboscopic instrument for illuminating grease buildup on crankshaft pulleys. TWO-TON HYDRAULIC ENGINE HOIST: A handy tool for testing the tensile strength of ground straps and hydraulic clutch lines you may have forgotten to disconnect. CRAFTSMAN 1/2 x 16-INCH SCREWDRIVER: A large motor mount prying tool that inexplicably has an accurately machined screwdriver tip on the end without the handle. BATTERY ELECTROLYTE TESTER: A handy tool for transferring sulfuric acid from a car battery to the inside of your toolbox after determining that your battery is dead as a doornail, just as you thought. AVIATION METAL SNIPS: See hacksaw. TROUBLE LIGHT: The mechanic's own tanning booth. Sometimes called a drop light, it is a good source of vitamin D, "the sunshine vitamin," which is not otherwise found under cars at night. Health benefits aside, its main purpose is to consume 40-watt light bulbs at about the same rate that 105mm howitzer shells might be used during, say, the first few hours of the Battle of the Bulge. More often dark than light, its name is somewhat misleading. PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the lids of old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splash oil on your shirt; can also be used, as the name implies, to round off Phillips head screws. AIR COMPRESSOR: A machine that takes energy produced in a coal-burning power plant 200 miles away and transforms it into compressed air that travels by hose to a Chicago Pneumatic impact wrench that grips rusty suspension bolts last tightened 40 years ago by someone in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, and rounds them off.
Check Craigslist if you don't already. You can get some great deals, particularly with tax time coming up. I managed to get a blast cabinet for $75 (a nice, American-made one) and a parts washer (ditto) for the same price. You can probably find a nice used compressor or welder within your price range. John
When buying an air compressor I would definitely avoid the very noisy direct drive type. I feel the best way to go is the old style belt driven units, your ears will work much better when you get to be my age!
I broke a 5/8 x 1/2 inch drive impact socket today. A cheap Harbor Freight one in a set. It really is folly to buy cheap tools. They will let you down at the worst possible time.
@ knightRS32...roflmao, that's awesome. austingta... tis also folly to spend any money trying to restore a car that should be used for parts if at all...but hey, you gotta have a hobby! :grin: :TU: Also, I have checked craigs list previously, but with the ecomony the way it is perhaps people may be more inclined to part with their tools right now, so it should be worth another look. Thanks all, keep any suggestions coming.
