Tools/Equipment Suggested for the Build

[pondo]

I'm trying to put together a realistic project cost to pitch to the boss (wifey). I think I'm going to need a lot of tools besides just a socket set and a hydraulic jack and some floor stands. I bought a house last year and have yet to properly fill my two car garage. For Christmas I received a tool cabinet and now I need to fill it! For those of you that have done these types of projects, please throw down some required or suggested tools and maybe a link to a good place to buy them. For instance...car lift can be grabbed from harbor freight for $1600 (3 ton) etc...

Much appreciated!

[GUNS]

Definitely recommend the lift! I would suggest some impact tools, either air or electric. Breaker bar, lots of PB blaster, needle nose, engine hoist (can rent these), furniture dollies, beer, buckets, and lots of shop rags. That's all I've really needed so far. I'm sure there are a lot of other tools that are nice to have, but the intent of this project is to be able to do it with basic tools. Good luck!

[bromikl]

Good question, pondo. I have most of the tools GUNS recommended; I was also wondering if I need a vibrating polisher or sandblasting cabinet to get the rust off before painting. I plan to rebuild the engine at some point. If necessary, would that double the tools needed?

[Mechie3]

You will need 12 pt sockets to get the head bolts off, piston ring compressor, C clamp type valve spring compressor, 14mm (IIRC) allen key for getting off the piston wrist clip covers, 24mm (IIRC) deep socket for the oil cooler, 34mm (maybe 36?) for the axle nuts, and vice grips and an old timing belt for undoing the cams if you don't want to spend big bucks for the cam tool holder.

[Jacob McCrea]

Most would agree that Clecko pliers and pins are great for fitting up the aluminum inperior panels. I would buy at least 25 1/8" pins. I like buying from Trick Tools/Van Sant Enterprises, but you can get them from Summit and the like. The bigger pins may be good for fitting up the body, but I'm not certain of that. New, sharp sheet metal snips will also make fitting the aluminum interior panels much easier than using an old pair.
If you don't have one, get a good torque wrench that goes up to 150 ft lbs. Sears' torque wrenches seem to work well for the money. I'll update this comment as I think of other stuff that's been helpful with my Type 65.

[Rasmus]

http://www.stockwiseauto.com/images/temp/KDT-82107.jpg
Hose Clamp Plyers. So useful! Saves so much frustration.

PB Blaster

2-3 gallons of acetone

Safety glasses

Torque wrench (1/2" drive)

[esff32]

I just started my build and I highly recommend a pneumatic riveter. It has paid for itself already and I have only used it to secure my firewall.

[riptide motorsport]

You dont actually need that many tools.....A good socket set , pliers ,screw drivers,. wire stripers/cripmers, hammers a riviter, jack stands open end wrench set,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,that would do it to put this thing together..............all the others are suggested or nice to have but not essential.....HTH Steven

[Rasmus]

a pneumatic riveter
I disagree. A pneumatic rivet is too expensive for a hobbyist. If you assembled airplanes, boats, or kit cars for a living sure. Get one. But a good hand riveter will serve a hobbyist just fine. You can spend the money you saved on more tools.

Also if you're doing rivets you'll want Cleco's.

[RM1SepEx]

I love my cheap Harbor Freight air riveter... my reverse trike has over 1200 1/8 rivets and it worked like a champ. Didn't cost much
borrow specialty tools as needed! My friends have more tools than I do even though I'm pretty well stocked with 3 roll aways, a 4 post lift, welders, torches, etc... Many tools are rarely used, we try to buy what someone else doesn't have to maximize capabilities... why buy a plasma cutter when I have 2 friends that own one?

[AZPete]

Pondo, I question "Definitely recommend the lift!" I built an FFR Roadster and built a chassis dolly that held the frame securely 12" above ride height which worked great. On the roadster forum I see most builders do not have a lift. But, would I like to have a lift? Sure, if I had the ceiling height and the extra cash.
Pete

[michael everson]

I would also reccomend the air riveter. You can buy one from Harbor Freight for about $40.00 Also invest in a good flare tool for your brake lines. Eastwood has a real nice one. I bought mine second hand and saved a lot of money. You can always resell it. You will also need a few different aluminum cutting snips. Hole saws help too. The list goes on. Just buy stuff as you need it. Also look into renting the more expensive stuff.
Mike

[carbon fiber]

after the first 500 rivets you'll wish you had bought the air riveter. the lift isn't needed, save the money for more tools/upgrades.

[Nuul]

If you're going to ever take apart the engine you need a lot of stuff. I just disassembled an EJ255 short block recently and I made quite a few trips to Harbor Freight for tools I didn't have.

Full half inch metric drive set
22mm for the crank pulley bolt
1/2" breaker bar
Rubber mallet
Mechanics gloves & box of nitrile gloves
Torx sockets (http://www.harborfreight.com/9-piece-12-drive-star-bit-set-67887.html)
Broken bolt extractors (http://www.harborfreight.com/9-piece-38-drive-metric-bolt-extractor-sockets-67894.html)
Metric hex bit sockets (http://www.harborfreight.com/9-piece-38-and-12-drive-metric-hex-bit-socket-set-67880-html.html)
Long reach hose pliers (http://www.harborfreight.com/3-piece-long-reach-hose-grip-pliers-37909.html)
Screw extractor (http://www.harborfreight.com/12-piece-screw-extractor-set-40349.html)
Nylon pry bars (http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-nylon-pry-bar-installer-kit-69668.html)

[GUNS]

Pondo, I question "Definitely recommend the lift!" I built an FFR Roadster and built a chassis dolly that held the frame securely 12" above ride height which worked great. On the roadster forum I see most builders do not have a lift. But, would I like to have a lift? Sure, if I had the ceiling height and the extra cash.
Pete

Obviously a lift is not required, but it does make things much easier if you are jack and jack stands kind of guy.

[carbon fiber]

i built a 2x4 and plywood dolly, 3 FEET TALL with LOCKING caster wheels to put under my gtm. it keeps the car at a workable height and is easily moveable. the underbelly panels are the only thing you can't access while it's on the dolly.

[tcoon]

Ditto the pneumatic riveter! On my second build and it is a lifesaver. You also need some basic metal working tools. Strongly recommend a 4 1/2" grinder with cutoff wheel and flapper wheels. $50 or less at harbor freight. I have one of each so I dont spend a lot of time switching wheels. Mine have lasted 4 yrs and going strong. You do a lot of grinding and fitting with all the kits. If you can afford them ($200 and worth twice that!) a set of kettal electric shears are awesome...you do a lot of trimming aluminum and making small brackets to hold fuel pump, Filter, coil,etc. These babies make a clean beautiful cut and save your hands big time.

Don't spend money now on a lift unless you need it for storage. All the underbelly work is done before the aluminum is on, and you work through and around the frame. Only thing you really need to do from underneath once aluminum is on is to connect the driveshaft and tranny bolts, not a big deal as it's only a foot long. I have a lift for maintenance but have yet to put my nearly finished coupe kit on it. Until you go kart it's tough to get the partially assembled car on the lift by yourself, it takes three people..two to push one to steer...oh, you say your steering isn't done yet...? Will use it a lot later for maintenance, bolt checking, etc. Hope this helps.

-T

[WIS89]

i built a 2x4 and plywood dolly, 3 FEET TALL with LOCKING caster wheels to put under my gtm. it keeps the car at a workable height and is easily moveable. the underbelly panels are the only thing you can't access while it's on the dolly.

Carbon Fiber (CF)--

Do you have a picture of the rig you built? If so, would you mind sharing? I like the idea, but would like to get a better picture of what it looks like in my head first. I have a general idea, but would really like to see what you came up with if you don't mind!

Thanks in advance...

Regards,

Steve

[carbon fiber]

it's just a box on wheels, covered sides and top with plywood. put (2) 2x6's on the bottom to mount the casters to. it fits under the center of the chassis. i've got some pics at home, i'll post 'em later.

[Mechie3]

I did something similar for my Fmod. I got a free cart from work, put a plywood top on it, and used it to hold the frame while I stripped it, painted, and partially reassembled it. The PITA was trying to get it off without a hoist. I could wheel it around the garage, take it outside for grinding/paint, bring it inside for assembly, and work on it without bending over.

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q291/mechie3/2012-03-18_18-28-05_908-1.jpg

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q291/mechie3/2012-03-31_21-20-03_970.jpg

[dave46]

On the lift, not one of the first things a guy needs but nice to have and if are a bit older and getting up and down takes a bit of extra effort they are really nice. Rather than buy one from HF I'd look for a gently used one pulled out of a shop. You can get a lot more hoist for the same money and stand a lot better chance of getting it serviced if needed.

Hand tools, Sears sets on sale. You can get a lot more tools for your tool buck if you buy them that way.

Shop equipement:

Drill press, even a bench top model works ok if you don't over do it. Mine gets used on about every project I do including making a larger hole in a florescent light fixture to run the wires through for the kitchen yesterday.
Belt sander/ disk sander rather than a bench grinder. Another piece of equipment that you will use all the time if you have it during putting a project car together.
At least a pair of Black & Decker Workmates. Your significant other will love those because they become your extra "come here and hold this" helpers. I've got three of the good ones and some of the knock offs and all get used on projects and save a lot of time by not having to fumble with things.


A good air compressor that can run air tools. A bigger purchase but one that allows you to use tools and equipment that you wouldn't or couldn't otherwise. It needs it's own room or side building though to keep the noise in the shop down.

Other things like the O ring plyers mentioned above, buy as you need them or on specialty tools buy them if you have to borrow them too often. When I was working in shops I had a personal policy that If I borrowed the same tool from another mechanic twice in the same week I needed to own one myself.

Hit the yard sales for tools. I've found a lot of the tools I have that way. My horizontal band saw, vise stand with vise and bench grinder on opposite ends, Belt sander/9" disk sander all came off craigslist adds. Now I need to find a garage kit to put up to have enough space to spread them out to be able to accomplish something without moving equipment around.

[Racebrewer]

I'm planning upon a similar dolly. Horrible Fright has 1,000 lb furniture platform dollies. Thinking about using two of those with a 2x4 construction box frame built over the top.

Carbon, are you happy with the three foot tall height? Would you like it taller or shorter? I'm 6' 2" and had to make a taller than usual stand for my racing kart. My back couldn't take the constant bending over with a lower stand.

Thanks,
John

[carbon fiber]

i'm happy with it, but i'm only 5'8. you can tailor it to fit.

[RM1SepEx]

I have a 800 lb electric hoist bolted to the ceiling in my garage... Amazing how it helps to put stuff together w/o a helper... I use it for hauling my animals up for skinning and butchering too... Works amazing for engine pulls, and working on the FMod or karts
tractors, 4 wheelers etc... Great companion to the used 4 post lift in the other bay.

[wjfawb0]

A scoring tool, autopunch, punches/nail sets, deburring tool and assortment of decent drill bits are very useful for drilling metal holes. I burned up a dewalt corded drill building my buggy from scratch and ended up replacing it with a small hitachi hammer drill. The depth gauge and handle are easy to remove but do come in handy at times for simple sheet metal drilling. I also used rivnuts for a lot of removable panels. The kit and a selection of rivnuts can be had from Mcmaster.com for $100. I use that thing all the time now.

[RM1SepEx]

I love those rivnuts... Excellent devices for panels/covers that need to be removeable! My trike has about 50 of the 10-32 ones...

[esff32]

I bought my riveter on Amazon and it was not expensive. I don't build cars for a living and it is a valuable tool that saves me time.

[Nuul]

I did something similar for my Fmod. I got a free cart from work, put a plywood top on it, and used it to hold the frame while I stripped it, painted, and partially reassembled it. The PITA was trying to get it off without a hoist. I could wheel it around the garage, take it outside for grinding/paint, bring it inside for assembly, and work on it without bending over.

Interesting, I like the idea of being able to wheel it outside if needed. What about making a car rotisserie (http://imgur.com/a/2X4n2) for the 818? In that link they show how to make one from two HF engine stands for $250.

[Triathletedave]

Excellent question Pondo. I will be moving to a new house next week, which includes a 3rd garage bay just for the project. I don't have many tools yet but I just got a tool cabinet for Christmas, and I need to fill it just like you. The only added ask that I would have of the more experienced builders here on this site would be for any added recommendations for a Canadian trying to build a project garage. Many of the dealers and tools available in the U.S. are not available in Canada. That said, I really appreciate any advice the more experienced have to offer.

Thanks in advance!

[RM1SepEx]

I have access to a rotisserie... and plan on using it for a week or so to build my 818. It comes from Eastwood. Right now a Lotus 11 is on it as my friend Mark builds an aluminum body for it from scratch. He built a body buck based on station lines from an original...

It really isn't much different than 2 engine stands linked together...

[carbon fiber]

a pic of the dolly i built, the first day after i picked it up at ffr. it's simple yet effective. easy to move and stable enough to get in and work inside the car while on the dolly. the casters were about $100 at lowes. (heavy duty-locking) maybe closer to 2 1/2' tall14357

[Racebrewer]

Cool. Thank you, Carbon. First thing to do.

John

[flynntuna]

found this stand on the roadster forum

[WIS89]

a pic of the dolly i built, the first day after i picked it up at ffr. it's simple yet effective. easy to move and stable enough to get in and work inside the car while on the dolly. the casters were about $100 at lowes. (heavy duty-locking) maybe closer to 2 1/2' tall14357

Thanks Carbon Fiber! I appreciate the pic, as it makes it very clear what you described. I like the simplicity as well as the sturdiness. Well done, and thanks for taking the time to post the picture!

Regards,

Steve

[pondo]

Thanks for all the advice guys! Great information.

[flynntuna]

1470614703Has anyone seen one of these lifts from EZ Car Lift?14597

[flytosail]

What about a metal bending brake?

[SStrong]

Not necessary, but if you want to modify some of the aluminum sheet metal it will come in handy.

[Racebrewer]

I would also reccomend the air riveter. You can buy one from Harbor Freight for about $40.00 Also invest in a good flare tool for your brake lines. Eastwood has a real nice one. I bought mine second hand and saved a lot of money. You can always resell it. You will also need a few different aluminum cutting snips. Hole saws help too. The list goes on. Just buy stuff as you need it. Also look into renting the more expensive stuff.
Mike

Riveter on sale at Horrible Fright:

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-16-inch-air-hydraulic-riveter-93458.html

John

[wallace18]

As I am waiting on my 818 to come. I am building a 33 kit. Cleco's are a must IMO. They are a great help for sheet metal install. Mike Everson sells a kit for a good price. Here is his website.
http://www.replicaparts.com/misc%20tools%20page.htm

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