THATS EASY!
its the skill level and experience of the guy or gal IN that garage that determines the level of expertize,and the resulting finished work, hand tools a decent set of jack stands and knowing what your doing will ALWAYS produce better results than all the lifts, compressors,welders etc. in the world in un-skilled hands.
Im a tool junky, IM a firm believer and having the correct tools for any job youll do repeatedly,but while having the correct tools speeds up the work and makes it easier to do, hand tools in skilled hands can do just as much work, and at times get better results, it just takes longer and requires more effort.
you DON,T need to be comfortable, or have the best tools, but you do need to understand what your trying to accomplish and how the parts work, what caused them to fail and what you'll need to do to correctly repair or modify them
having the correct lighting, a lift,air conditioning, cold beers etc, may be nice, but it adds little but added comfort or ease of access to the guy doing the work, its the skills of the guy doing the work and his extensive experience and understanding of mechanics that gets the job done
other than an extensive list of HAND TOOLs
like a VOM meter
timing light
vacuum gauge
fuel pressure gauge
IR TEMP GUN
JACK STANDS
and shop manuals/ and a decent set of diagnostic meters sure helps (ILL POST MY TOOL LIST BELOW)
Id say a good
quality welder,
die grinder
compressor,
DRILL PRESS
QUALITY lift,
are nice but not MANDATORY, because you can usually borrow or sub out some of the work
BTW heres MY TOOL LIST, IVE POSTED BEFORE,.....IF IT FITS IN A COUPLE OF MY PRO SIZED TOOL CHEST ITS A HAND TOOL.....and YEAH IVE GOT 90% or more PLUS of those tools in my tool chest...LIKE I SAID IM A TOOL JUNKY......but the lift, compressor, welders are great but not necessarily mandatory
GRUMPYVETTES BASIC TOOL LIST
in my opinion the engine stand really needs to be rather sturdy and not prone to tipping, you can buy it used and sell it once your done if you can find one locally at a bargain price if it helps but for damn sure don't buy some cheap crap that will tip and get you a trip to the emergency room or worse, use ONLY grade #8 bolts and several fender washers on the bolt heads to secure the engine to the tool head, and adding (4) larger 8" locking swivel casters, while adding significant cost, is a very worth while upgrade, as is adding a 3 ft long handle that allows rotating the engine with less effort with the increased leverage. if you intend to keep the engine stand
http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=engine+stand
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...-crane-and-engine-stand-mods-accesories.3724/
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/bare-minimum-tools.11026/#post-51843
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/rod-bolt-mics-stretch-gauges.989/#post-51199
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/precision-measuring-tools.1390/#post-44530
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ing-tools-abrasives-sources.10683/#post-46207
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/starter-tool-set.6032/#post-18696
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/what-hand-tools-to-buy.4069/#post-10827
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/multi-meters.3110/#post-71867
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...te-but-it-will-get-you-started.834/#post-4891
the proform deck bridge,
dial indicator
dial caliper
CLAY
from HF are all sufficiently accurate to build an engine if you verify clearances with plasti-gauge and modeling clay
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
l items that may come in handy -not a comnplete list but it will get you started
A set of quick release tools for late model gm fuel lines and a/c line disconnects.
ACETYLENE TORCH
ADJUSTABLE LENGTH PUSH ROD
ADJUSTABLE POINTER ,
Adjustable stand, for dial indicator
Air compressor
Air ratchet
Allen wrenches
Allen wrenches
ASK QUESTIONS (its important to get answers BEFORE screwing up)
ASSORTED FILES
Assorted pliers/vise grips
ASSORTED SOCKETS,OPEN AND BOX WRENCHES 1/2",3/8".1/4" DRIVE
auto xray software
Ball joint press tools
Ball joint separator forks
Battery charger(full size shop type)
Bench grinder w/ wire wheel
Bench grinder w/ wire wheel
bearing press 12 ton hydrolic
Big huge screwdriver which doubles as a pry bar
BORE GAUGE
Brake spring pliers and retaining spring tool
Breaker bar
CAM BEARING INSTALLER
CAM DEGREE WHEEL
CAM HANDLE
CARBIDE BURRS
Carburetor stand
CC Burette Kit/PLUS STAND
Checking springs
chisels (assorted sizes/types)
clamp for compressing calipers
CLUTCH PILOT
Coil spring compressors
COMMON SENSE
Compression gauge
Compression tester
Compressor
CRANK SOCKETS
Creeper
Crows feet
Cutting torch
CYLINDER HONE
Deep sockets
DENT PULLER
DEPTH GAUGE
Dial indicator,
Die grinder
digital meter
Differential Set-up Kit
Distributor wrench sae
Distributor wrench metric
Drain pans all sizes
Dremel tool set to cut rivets etc.
DRIFT PUNCHES (assorted sizes/types)
Drill bits
DRILL PRESS
Drop light (florescent preferred)
Duct tape
Dwell meter for the older cars
EASY OUTS
ELECTRIC SOLDER GUN
Electrical connectors assorted
Electrical tape
Engine hoist
ENGINE LEVELER
ENGINE STAND
Feeler Gages
FIRE EXTINGUISHER co2
FIRE EXTINGUISHER powder
Flexible dwell key for point distributors
FREEZE PLUG INSTALLER
FUEL PRESSURE GAUGE
Full set of assorted hammers all the way up to 5 lb hand held full set of tap and dies metric and standard
Full set of torqze tip screw drivers and sockets male and female all sizes
Full size vice
Gasket scraper 2"
Gasket scraper4"
Gear Pullers (assorted)
GM disk brake caliper Allen key 3/8 and 5/16
GOOD KNOWLEDGEABLE FRIENDS
Grease gun
Harmonic balancer puller
HARMONIC BALLANCER INSTALLER
HONING STONE
Impact sockets
Jack stands and a 2 1/2 -3 ton full size service floor jack
JEWELERS FILES
LAPTOP COMPUTER with diagnostic software
Leakdown tester
LIFTER BORE HONE
LIFTER GROOVE TOOL
Line wrenches
LUIS TOOL
Magnet
MAGNETIC PICK UP TOOL
MAGNIFYING GLASS
Mallet
MANUAL LUBE PUMP
MICROMETERS
MIG WELDER
Mini Valve Spring Tester
MIRROR
Multimeter
Normal screwdrivers all sizes
NUT SPLITTER
OIL CAN
Oil filter and regular spin on filter wrenches.
Oil filter wrench plier type
Oil filter wrench expandable type
Oil pump primer chevy
Oil Pump Primers hydrolic
ONE NEW SOLID LIFTER
Paint gun
PB BLASTER OIL
Permanent marker
Pipe cutter
PISTON RING COMPRESSOR
Piston stop,
Pitman arm puller
Plasma cutter 200amp
Plasma cutter 60amp
PLASTIC HAMMER
Plastic zip-lock bags
Pneumatic chisel
Pneumatic impact guns 3/8 and 1/2 drive
Pressure bleeder for brakes
PRY BAR
PUSHROD CHECKER
Putty knife
Ramps
Rear caliper piston turning tool
REFERENCE MANUALS
Retracting extension cord
RIFLE CLEANING ROD AND BRUSHES FOR OIL PASSAGES
Ring expander pliers
RING GAP FILER
Rochester idle mixture adjusting tool
ROD BOLT GUIDES
ROD BOLT STRETCH GAUGE
Safety glasses
Sandblaster
SCAN SOFTWARE
Shorty wrenches
Sledge or mall hammer
SMALL FLASH LIGHT
Snap ring pliers internal and external
Speed wrench
SPRING COMPRESSOR
Standard set of drift pin punches, alignment punches, and centering punches.
Steering column lock plate compressor
Steering wheel puller
Stethoscope
Stick/arc welder
STUD INSTALLER
TAPE MEASURE
Taps & dies
Test light
Three or four of every size socket and wrenches plus extensions ETC.
Throw-away vinyl gloves
Tig welder
Timing light
Tire iron
Tire Pressure Gauges
Torque wrench 3/8'
TORQUE WRENCH 1/2"
Transmission jack
Tubing bender
Tubing cutter
Tubing flare tool
Utility knife
Utility knife
VACUUM GAUGE
Valve spring compressor
Wheel chocks (keep cars from rolling)
Wire crimper
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-52...ool-Cabinet-Set-Black-HOTC5218B1QES/204825971
at $598 this is a good value
surprizingly a good deal of that stuff fits inside three pro-size craftsman tool boxes,that stand 6 feet tall and 40" wide and have 22 drawers each (at $2000 each..ON SALE??) and the stuff like various welders,bearing presses,hoists ETC. don,t take up as much room as you might think, YEAH! its taken YEARS to aquire all that!,
but Ive done lots of minor repairs in exchange for tools guys were not usei
its the skill level and experience of the guy or gal IN that garage that determines the level of expertize,and the resulting finished work, hand tools a decent set of jack stands and knowing what your doing will ALWAYS produce better results than all the lifts, compressors,welders etc. in the world in un-skilled hands.
Im a tool junky, IM a firm believer and having the correct tools for any job youll do repeatedly,but while having the correct tools speeds up the work and makes it easier to do, hand tools in skilled hands can do just as much work, and at times get better results, it just takes longer and requires more effort.
you DON,T need to be comfortable, or have the best tools, but you do need to understand what your trying to accomplish and how the parts work, what caused them to fail and what you'll need to do to correctly repair or modify them
having the correct lighting, a lift,air conditioning, cold beers etc, may be nice, but it adds little but added comfort or ease of access to the guy doing the work, its the skills of the guy doing the work and his extensive experience and understanding of mechanics that gets the job done
ever use a tool for years and find others never...
have you ever use a tool for years and find other people have never thought of using it to save them-self's all kinds of grief? well I had a guy stop over and ask me t check a few things on his car and he had a whole lot of electrical connectors and vacuum lines that needed to be temporarily...
garage.grumpysperformance.com
other than an extensive list of HAND TOOLs
like a VOM meter
timing light
vacuum gauge
fuel pressure gauge
IR TEMP GUN
JACK STANDS
and shop manuals/ and a decent set of diagnostic meters sure helps (ILL POST MY TOOL LIST BELOW)
Id say a good
quality welder,
die grinder
compressor,
DRILL PRESS
QUALITY lift,
are nice but not MANDATORY, because you can usually borrow or sub out some of the work
BTW heres MY TOOL LIST, IVE POSTED BEFORE,.....IF IT FITS IN A COUPLE OF MY PRO SIZED TOOL CHEST ITS A HAND TOOL.....and YEAH IVE GOT 90% or more PLUS of those tools in my tool chest...LIKE I SAID IM A TOOL JUNKY......but the lift, compressor, welders are great but not necessarily mandatory
GRUMPYVETTES BASIC TOOL LIST
in my opinion the engine stand really needs to be rather sturdy and not prone to tipping, you can buy it used and sell it once your done if you can find one locally at a bargain price if it helps but for damn sure don't buy some cheap crap that will tip and get you a trip to the emergency room or worse, use ONLY grade #8 bolts and several fender washers on the bolt heads to secure the engine to the tool head, and adding (4) larger 8" locking swivel casters, while adding significant cost, is a very worth while upgrade, as is adding a 3 ft long handle that allows rotating the engine with less effort with the increased leverage. if you intend to keep the engine stand
http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=engine+stand
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...-crane-and-engine-stand-mods-accesories.3724/
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/bare-minimum-tools.11026/#post-51843
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/rod-bolt-mics-stretch-gauges.989/#post-51199
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/precision-measuring-tools.1390/#post-44530
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ing-tools-abrasives-sources.10683/#post-46207
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/starter-tool-set.6032/#post-18696
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/what-hand-tools-to-buy.4069/#post-10827
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/multi-meters.3110/#post-71867
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...te-but-it-will-get-you-started.834/#post-4891
the proform deck bridge,
dial indicator
dial caliper
CLAY
from HF are all sufficiently accurate to build an engine if you verify clearances with plasti-gauge and modeling clay
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
l items that may come in handy -not a comnplete list but it will get you started
A set of quick release tools for late model gm fuel lines and a/c line disconnects.
ACETYLENE TORCH
ADJUSTABLE LENGTH PUSH ROD
ADJUSTABLE POINTER ,
Adjustable stand, for dial indicator
Air compressor
Air ratchet
Allen wrenches
Allen wrenches
ASK QUESTIONS (its important to get answers BEFORE screwing up)
ASSORTED FILES
Assorted pliers/vise grips
ASSORTED SOCKETS,OPEN AND BOX WRENCHES 1/2",3/8".1/4" DRIVE
auto xray software
Ball joint press tools
Ball joint separator forks
Battery charger(full size shop type)
Bench grinder w/ wire wheel
Bench grinder w/ wire wheel
bearing press 12 ton hydrolic
Big huge screwdriver which doubles as a pry bar
BORE GAUGE
Brake spring pliers and retaining spring tool
Breaker bar
CAM BEARING INSTALLER
CAM DEGREE WHEEL
CAM HANDLE
CARBIDE BURRS
Carburetor stand
CC Burette Kit/PLUS STAND
Checking springs
chisels (assorted sizes/types)
clamp for compressing calipers
CLUTCH PILOT
Coil spring compressors
COMMON SENSE
Compression gauge
Compression tester
Compressor
CRANK SOCKETS
Creeper
Crows feet
Cutting torch
CYLINDER HONE
Deep sockets
DENT PULLER
DEPTH GAUGE
Dial indicator,
Die grinder
digital meter
Differential Set-up Kit
Distributor wrench sae
Distributor wrench metric
Drain pans all sizes
Dremel tool set to cut rivets etc.
DRIFT PUNCHES (assorted sizes/types)
Drill bits
DRILL PRESS
Drop light (florescent preferred)
Duct tape
Dwell meter for the older cars
EASY OUTS
ELECTRIC SOLDER GUN
Electrical connectors assorted
Electrical tape
Engine hoist
ENGINE LEVELER
ENGINE STAND
Feeler Gages
FIRE EXTINGUISHER co2
FIRE EXTINGUISHER powder
Flexible dwell key for point distributors
FREEZE PLUG INSTALLER
FUEL PRESSURE GAUGE
Full set of assorted hammers all the way up to 5 lb hand held full set of tap and dies metric and standard
Full set of torqze tip screw drivers and sockets male and female all sizes
Full size vice
Gasket scraper 2"
Gasket scraper4"
Gear Pullers (assorted)
GM disk brake caliper Allen key 3/8 and 5/16
GOOD KNOWLEDGEABLE FRIENDS
Grease gun
Harmonic balancer puller
HARMONIC BALLANCER INSTALLER
HONING STONE
Impact sockets
Jack stands and a 2 1/2 -3 ton full size service floor jack
JEWELERS FILES
LAPTOP COMPUTER with diagnostic software
Leakdown tester
LIFTER BORE HONE
LIFTER GROOVE TOOL
Line wrenches
LUIS TOOL
Magnet
MAGNETIC PICK UP TOOL
MAGNIFYING GLASS
Mallet
MANUAL LUBE PUMP
MICROMETERS
MIG WELDER
Mini Valve Spring Tester
MIRROR
Multimeter
Normal screwdrivers all sizes
NUT SPLITTER
OIL CAN
Oil filter and regular spin on filter wrenches.
Oil filter wrench plier type
Oil filter wrench expandable type
Oil pump primer chevy
Oil Pump Primers hydrolic
ONE NEW SOLID LIFTER
Paint gun
PB BLASTER OIL
Permanent marker
Pipe cutter
PISTON RING COMPRESSOR
Piston stop,
Pitman arm puller
Plasma cutter 200amp
Plasma cutter 60amp
PLASTIC HAMMER
Plastic zip-lock bags
Pneumatic chisel
Pneumatic impact guns 3/8 and 1/2 drive
Pressure bleeder for brakes
PRY BAR
PUSHROD CHECKER
Putty knife
Ramps
Rear caliper piston turning tool
REFERENCE MANUALS
Retracting extension cord
RIFLE CLEANING ROD AND BRUSHES FOR OIL PASSAGES
Ring expander pliers
RING GAP FILER
Rochester idle mixture adjusting tool
ROD BOLT GUIDES
ROD BOLT STRETCH GAUGE
Safety glasses
Sandblaster
SCAN SOFTWARE
Shorty wrenches
Sledge or mall hammer
SMALL FLASH LIGHT
Snap ring pliers internal and external
Speed wrench
SPRING COMPRESSOR
Standard set of drift pin punches, alignment punches, and centering punches.
Steering column lock plate compressor
Steering wheel puller
Stethoscope
Stick/arc welder
STUD INSTALLER
TAPE MEASURE
Taps & dies
Test light
Three or four of every size socket and wrenches plus extensions ETC.
Throw-away vinyl gloves
Tig welder
Timing light
Tire iron
Tire Pressure Gauges
Torque wrench 3/8'
TORQUE WRENCH 1/2"
Transmission jack
Tubing bender
Tubing cutter
Tubing flare tool
Utility knife
Utility knife
VACUUM GAUGE
Valve spring compressor
Wheel chocks (keep cars from rolling)
Wire crimper
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-52...ool-Cabinet-Set-Black-HOTC5218B1QES/204825971
at $598 this is a good value
surprizingly a good deal of that stuff fits inside three pro-size craftsman tool boxes,that stand 6 feet tall and 40" wide and have 22 drawers each (at $2000 each..ON SALE??) and the stuff like various welders,bearing presses,hoists ETC. don,t take up as much room as you might think, YEAH! its taken YEARS to aquire all that!,
but Ive done lots of minor repairs in exchange for tools guys were not usei
Last edited by a moderator: