Tools that have helped greatly

I thought it would be great to start a thread.. where we could share.. info on tools that have made life easier.. I think whether they're store boughten.. or custom made.. I'm always in the quest for looking for an easier or better way..

I was recently at a shop and got to use one of these.. on mine I installed the 20 on one side and the 25 on the other... it feels good in the hand and is very helpful.. made lashing the valves so much easier.. actually gave them out for Christmas to a couple buddies.. this is just an internet pick of one identical to the one I am using. I think they are about 40 bucks

Stud Extractor.

I found mine hidden in a drawer in my tool box 10 minutes AFTER a half hour under my car in a wrestling match using a pipe wrench and channel locks to get a pair of block to bell housing locating pins out. I got them out but that SUCKED!!!!!!! Stud extractor would have made it a breeze.

MIG Welder. Waited till I was about 35 before buying one. Don't know how I got by without.

Flowbench. I bought two and then I built one and it set up exactly how I wanted it. It has taught me so much over the years

Lsm on the head valve spring compressor, once used you will appreciate.

Bead blast cabinet. Can't imagine having to wire brush everything. Rims, nuts and bolts, old tools, parts of all sorts. 1/2 of what we do working on or restoring stuff is cleaning just to get it to a state where we can begin that process.

Wide band air fuel ratio gauge.

Mig welder, dial caliper, battery powered impact driver, air compressor, belt sander, portable band saw, and my latest favorite tool, a welding table - which I made with the majority of the previously mentioned tools:

^^^That looks nice^^^

Eastwood tubing flare tool. Very rarely am I impressed by a tool. This thing never gives a bad flare. Use it with steel, nicad, and stainless. Perfect every time.

Does it have a feature that bonks you on the head and reminds you to put the flare nut on?

I had thought that the battery impact was the handiest thing I had found in a long time. Until I found the battery ratchet.

It's even handier because I use it much more often than the impact. Plus it has a little light which I felt, at first, was gimmicky. But, it really helps these old eyes.

Mig welder, stationary belt sander, angle grinder, vise.

This is one of those tools that I've always just had hanging around.. weather I'm doing valve spring keepers or reaching for a washer or not that I've dropped.. it seems as though this is one of the tools that I find myself using more and more.. typically can be found at your local auto parts store or Grainger for around 10$

don't forget the "grabber" tool thingy to go along with the magnet thingy.

My Streamlight Stylus Pro Penlight.

I just built this cart setup using the US Car Tool body wheel kit. Adding the cross bars made the whole thing taller and more rigid. Now I move the car around in the shop to work on it and even roll it outside for dirty work.

This has been the most important tool for carb tuning and has made my life and others much easier..........

this

Can that third member mount hold a trans as well..

AWESOME!

Now this Arrangement is something that I use at work often.. has tons options.. but more and more I find I'm using it in the garage.. I know there are fancy impacts that are cordless but this is what I have.. everything from changing wheel screws to zipping off the valve covers. I will even install my lug nuts.. and finish the job with a torque wrench of course. the adapters are available in quarter inch 3/8 and 1/2 inch..

Al are you going to let us use your card.. if so I think I will get one of those lifts

Yes. The one I actually use is an old Blue Point that's very similar to the OTC pictured. I have tooling to mount Torqueflites by the ears on the case, or they can be hung by the bellhousing. I'll hang 904s by the pan bolt holes as well. Glides I use pan bolt holes. GM 3 speeds have a different u-shaped hanger. I've had all kinds of stuff hung on it.

I have this stuff in 12v - drill, impact, 90* drill, saw. Everybody wants the big 18 or 20v stuff, but these tools are light and compact, and suit my needs better. Much handier for most of what I do. I have big stuff, but these are the ones I use 98% of the time.

Summit geared engine stand.
For 219.00, I can rotate a 700# bb with one hand.

Engine does not droop at all on stand.
Stand weighs close to 100# compared to the standard summit 4 leg stand that's about 40# and flimsy.

I bought 2 of those because I liked it so much

Day after I bought mine, I saw that jegs had same stand on sale for 161.00. I was not happy. Jegs had a sale on jegs branded stuff.

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Ya I bought my first one back when you could use your pro shop account and a 10% off coupon. That ended shortly after guys were selling them on Yellowbullet. When I went to buy my second one Summit wanted an over size shipping charge so I bought my second one from Jegs.

M12 ratchet

gearwrench's handy, handy, handy!

Al_Alguire,

Does John Ericsson know you've been using his card? If not send it to me when you're done with it, I need some new stuff

I would say my AMEX card has been used more than ANY tool in any of my toolboxes have. How else do you get parts ordered after all Never use a debit card for obvious reasons if there is some issue and AMEX is great when there is one. Also never used a credit card, buying or funding a racecar on credit can be a very bad thing. Buy the parts pay the card and move on.

Without an air compressor, I would get little done. I know for a fact after a snake got in the pulleys last year and blew the capacitors... what a mess

Yeah, racing on credit is bad,bad,bad. I've seen guys roll in to the track with a nice rig and top shelf stuff and so broke they couldn't pay attention. Debit card ran as a credit card and tied to an account with enough to pay for the stuff, period. Or a card with cash back and the bill paid every month.

Man you and Al are missing up my plan for pulling a 2nd out on the house and doing a new Engine program To hang with Whitedart and Jay Waxler

Tools ....that is a tough one. I seem to work for tools.

Most used would be a toss up between the Tig welder and the coffee pot.

This is a handy tool that is always a pleasure to use www.amazon.com/Tajima-SLT-AL200M-Rotary-Dual-Scale-Magnetic/dp/B00023S4TO

Another tool I would never want to go without. I strip and assemble a lot of heads and this makes the job so easy.



B1 Head by John Cadamore, on Flickr

This is a tool that I picked up used.. Works amazing.. makes life easy when you got to change valve springs on motor.. I was hoping someone could identify the brand..

Just don't go king kong on the tool. I broke mine, cracked the back off where it holds the blocks. I think I can fix it by milling the back and attaching a steel plate to replace the part that holds the blocks in place.

I don't know who made it. But I want one.

I bought one of these because it just looked cool and I can't resist tools anyway. I've only found one good application so far but it works great when dealing with the oil pump drive shaft.

That looks like a lethal weapon. Lol

These.

Kevin

I was on a project where I noticed a couple plumbers. Using these.. they told me that they had been using them for 8 hours a day for several months.. I can tell you I picked one up.. and it's probably one of the most used tools in my garage.. most of my work is done in the evening or at night.. about 30 bucks from Amazon

I bought a new workbench (storage unit) for clean head assembly and I was assorting all my engine and transmission tools and I found one tool I hope I NEVER have to use again. My old hand crank ring filer. LOL. I used to hate filing rings with that thing.

I can't stop buying LSM tools. Light and effortless.

We just ordered a spring tester.

My list of fav's:

Gearwrench

Super Scraper

H-frame Press

Stationary belt sander

Sheet metal shear

Anything LSM

HF Transmission Jack (hard to admit that one )

Can you make a recommendation on this tool? Brand? Who has it? Thx

LSM stuff is great!

Personally I like the NGK setup because it works with NTK 02's and they are more lead tolerant than the Bosch sensors. Also a good reason why the Holley Dominator ECU is cool as it also support NTK.

NTK Wideband

My FAST EFI uses the NTK sensor is well

I bought an OTC tool a long while back,one of the best tools out there.

what's a couple seconds amongst friends

Gear wrench especially in tight spots, saved me OK n a Grand Am Starter in cold weather recently.

Mighty Vac for brake bleeding, works great amd a one man job now.

The "One-Man" brake bleeder.

Swivel joints for sockets

Slotted socket for O2 sensor removal

Vacuum gauge

Torque Pro App with Bluetooth/Wifi OBD2 adaptor ($20 investment, worth it's weight in gold)

2 amp battery charger has saved me sooooo many batteries

Grease-gun needle

LED worklights

My Lincoln TIG, Miller MIG and Arc welders.

Transmission Jack

Oh, and a front-end loader is real nice to have too.

I have everything that has been shown... there
is a place for every tool

This is my favor tool in my garage !

https://m.harborfreight.com/2-in-mini-bench-top-cut-off-saw-62136.htmlI

This little guy is awesome for cutting down pushrods. Take the guard off, change the blade out for a cut off wheel.

Details...manufacturer,etc. Thanks

Made in Sweden by a company named Trego and it is sold by Goodson if you whant to buy it in the US ! It is expencive but realy helpfull tool that do the job fast and perfekt. There is one other modell that is mekanical that is less expesive also.

OTC #6530 Ball Joint Service Kit.
I seem to be using this more than I thought I would be.
Besides ball joints, I also use it on U-Joints, wheel studs, control arm bushings, and other stuff. For smaller stuff, it is quicker than setting up the hydraulic press.

I have so many in my box from work I could not list them all.Lets see there is the Snapon carb timing adjustment tool,the old GM point tool adjuster that also is a screwdriver on the other side,stud extractors like Scott showed,Micrometers.air ratchets,air saw hole saws the list just goes on.Oy yeah all the specialty wrenchs like for lines etc and the a few i actually made.Impact sockets with swivels also disc brake too BJ set to remove joints..Rocky

I call this my transmission line speed wrench. The 12 points (well, 9 now) and narrow shoulder make it much easier to turn the fittings in the cramped underside of the car. I swear a lot less after making this tool.

LOL! I have one of those hand crank ring grinders too. I dont build many engines though. Best tool i bought was a Milwaukee cordless 3/8 racket. Very handy and a Cobalt cordless 1/2 impact. Use them alot.

I like! Great idea Hump.

Craftsman and almost any other good tool makers offer those type wrenches in six sided tubing wrenches They are thicker on the edges and will work good for a long time without spreading out

Yes Cab, a 6 point line wrench is stronger.
Humpty's idea is when you have a tight work area and you can't get a turn big enough to get to the next flat with a 6 point, use the 12 point till you're close and finish tightening with the stronger 6 point.