As said already, a 4 1/2 inch electric angle grinder can become the most used power tool you own. You're not supposed to one-hand it, but a lot of guys do so with a smaller, lighter grinder, the trade-off being less power. An accessory kit will enable it to be used as a disc sander for removing rust and old paint, flap-disc wheels for smoothing welds, a wire brush for polishing metal, and cutoff discs for cutting off. I usually have a couple of grinders handy with different accessories on each to make the job go quicker. You can go cheap on your first grinder to get a feel for its versatility, BUT don't go cheap on cutoff wheels or wire brushes. Do a little search on here about grinder accidents and you'll find out that cutoff wheels if twisted can explode and maim you. Cheap wire brushes can throw off little spears to impale you. American and German wheels and brushes are often rated the best quality. I use a full face shield rather than safety glasses cuz my face has experienced enough already.
and again eye goggles and face shield.... I have had many a wire from a wire brush hit my face... I had a buddy get one in the eye...the story has made me wear eye protection for everything using a grinder or where crap can fall off your car on to you... think about it....hot wire wheel wire in your eye
Can't believe nobody has said SHOP VAC?? 2nd only to my angle grinder (aka weld fixer, aka F'it.. I'm cutting it off) is my shop vac. Make a big friggin mess and clean it up with a shop vac. Wet or dry it don't matter.
Here's a few things you'll need as you progress on your current project and acquire more in various stages of 'need'. Compressor, welder, decent HD drill motors, misc air tools, air ratchets and impact guns, double-flare brake line kit. You also need a good torque wrench, a decent assortment of end wrenches, (box and open or combos). Bench top tools should include a belt/disc sander, drill press, bandsaw, grinder with abrasive wheel and wire brush, and a small scroll saw. If you're working on older cars, a nut-buster and a nut driver (hit it with a hammer) are invaluable, a jillion or so screwdrivers of all flavors (straight, phillips, etc) and sizes are a must, good ratchets in half/three eighths and quarter inch are also necessary along with a sufficient number of extensions and wobblies to get you into anywhere you need to turn a nut/bolt. Half a dozen gasket scrapers also come in handy - both stiff and flexible (no Viagra® jokes please), at least two good pry bars with a bolt-aligning end on one of them. Later you can get manual and air ball-joint/pickle fork and other items that will allow you to do as much of your own work as possible. My wife wants to know when it's time for me to quit buying tools....I tell her when they pry my VISA® from my cold dead hands. There is truly nothing more satisfying than knowing that no matter what you're getting ready to tackle, there's a tool somewhere close at hand for that specific chore. dj
A digital camera! Take lots of pictures before and while you're dismantling. I guarantee you'll be looking through them as you're building it back up.
check your local flea mart, yard sales , places like that . If one does not use his tools for a income , don't go out there to far . kool you guys are doing ti together. May the force be with you. good luck & keep us posted.
WOW cuttin bolts with a dremel tool! hats off to you for that one! LOL. i usually buy tools as i go. if you need them once your gonna needem again. after a while youll have a good useful collection to your needs. then if its something specialty or expensive. i try and borrow, so if its somethin i borrow twice i put it on my wish list.
A torch can come in really handy, I found a used small torch set up at a garage sale a few years back for 50 bucks, I dont use it alot but when I need it..wow! One of the most used tools I have is a racheting screwdriver, if you have a lot of em, your arms will thank you later...just my worthless 2 cents
Someone else probably said this and I missed it, but get a really good set of jack stands, I use four of them. Also buy good jacks, probably a couple bottle jacks and one floor jack. This is an area where you do not want to buy anything that isn't top of the line or close to it. I took inventory of my garage this Spring and realized that I haven't used my ramps in years and I frequently seem to want a more powerful cordless drill with a good light on it. Teach your son safety first and having fun second. The whole thing is about learning and keeping it fun and you can't do that if you get hurt.
If you get a power impact wrench (electric or pneumatic) get impact sockets (ie no chrome plate)... .
I've been building cars professionally for over 30 years so as you can imagine I have a fairly decent amount of tools. I hate to admit it but I bought one the other day for the first time and wonder why and how I got along 30 years without it. A small gas powered pressure washer! Seems now days I fire it up all the time, when your tearing down a nasty, dirty old car it's great!
No need for a compressor, or torches. I have been building for 4 years without them and dont miss em. good selection of hand tools, including hammers of all shapes and sizes, GOOD prybars and screwdrivers. good chopsaw, good sawzall, 4.5" angle grinders, I have 3, one for grinding, one for cutting, and the last one has the suicide wire wheel of death. good drill, or 3 and nice selection of bits. tap and die set. decent or better welder. GOOD vice. I got mine at farm auction and its over 150 pounds. add a sheetmetal brake, shrinker stretcher, and bead roller and you got everything I got. everything in my photobucket has been built using only what I listed.
Patience.... And everyone knows how cheap harbor freight tools are, but you'll be much happier with the longevity and strength of old American made tools.
Zip-top plastic storage bags for small parts, nuts, bolts and washers. Then you can store the part and the related hardware together. Label the contents on the bag. Saves time and headaches during reassembly.
Remember this... be sure to Practice Safety, ALL the time. After 40 years of working on cars on a daily basis, (and CONSTANTLY preaching safety to my employees), I needed to drill a hole in a piece of .063 aluminum for the dragster. Instead of taking 30 seconds to pick up a clamp and secure the piece to the drill press table, I carelessly held it with my manly-man hand and guess what??? $685 and a 2 hour trip to the ER later, I still didn't have the hole drilled and now when I look at the web of my left hand... there are 5 distinct stitches. I'm just thankful it just exposed the tendons and didn't sever them! Toughest part of the whole ordeal was having to tell the guys on Monday mornin' why the boss has stitches in his hand.
You need a second set of end wrenches. Sears has them at special prices several times a year. Or you can get a set of basic ratcheting Gear Wrenches to augment the set that you already have. Most of the time taking a nut and bolt apart requires two tools of the same size.
gotta have a multi-meter and an amen for a couple of mentions above, the digital camera (not just to remember where something goes, but to memorialize the project), baggies, safety glasses/face shield.
It depends on how far you are tearing the truck down. I have a '59 and one tool that tuned out to be a blessing was a propane torch. In the fender wells the nuts and bolts were froze up good. You can't get to them with PB Blaster and muscle only broke one off. But a couple of heat cycles freed it up beautifully. Otherwise you have enough to get started.
The Jalopy Journal
