Tools

What you will need, depending on the depth of your restoration.

COME BACK LATER, THIS PART AIN'T DONE YET!

If you take a look at the budget, you'll notice that I've been spending a large amount of money on tools. This is because I have started without many tools, and want to tackle most major parts of car restoration. When you restore a car, the amount you spend on tools will depend on the kind of work you will be tackling, whether that be welding, painting, or what have you, and what tools you already own. Whatever you don't spend on tools, is money you will have to spend getting a subcontractor to do the job for you. If car restoration is going to become an important part of your life, you need to decide if you should rent a tool, or buy it. As someone with quite a few home-maintained automobiles, I figured that I would have many of the needed tools already. Soon I found out that some of my existing tools were totally inadequate. The inexpensive Wal-Mart creepers wheels fell off. The small Sears jack wore out from lifting my heavy Jaguar XJ-S. I should have listened to my father, "Never buy crap tools".

The tools you do buy will be determined on what aspect of the work you will be doing. If you plan on having the car painted professionally, you obviously won't be needing an expensive Devilbiss Spray System. I therefore having divided the restoration process into various functions or systems, and written something helpful about the tools required for each function.

If there is anything you need to know about tools, it is that the air compressor will be the greatest purchase of your life. If I could get just own person who is hemming and hawwing about air power to buy a compressor, my life would be complete. I would never, ever, ever have attempted to work on cars without them had I known how much simpler it life is with them.They aren't even as expensive as they once were. I am all for air tools. Read about Air Tools .

Setting up the Garage for you restoration project is an important topic.

Basic Hand Tools that everyone needs no matter the level of your restoration, and some tool rules.

Car Restoration Topics and the Tools you might need:

Dissassembly

Bodywork

Painting

Suspension

Brakes

Engine and Transmission

Interior

 


This page, like all pages, are copyright John Elwood. All Rights Reserved.