You might remember the "boy scout" post from a few months ago. Essentially, Keith Tardel sen...<P><P>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
Military themes are gay.........haha... J/K.... Good stuff......I have that same ammo box mounted in the bed of my truck, with misc 'emergency' stuff....oil, funnel, zip ties, towels, wrenches, etc. My sister-in-law works at a gun range and comes across these ammo boxes often and snags 'em for me.....very handy to have around.
Not trying to rain on your parade at all... but if it were truely a perdiod correct tools kit... wouldn't it just have a good ol' flat blade screw driver, adjustable crecent wrench (maybe two of different sizes), a monkey wrench, dikes, baling wire, pair of pliers, hammer and chisel? and maybe a breaker-bar in the trunk for the wrenches... ohh and a good ol' shop rag... Again, love the kit and agree it's using period correct carriers.. but haha... just thinking about what kind of tools would need to be included to truely make it a period correct tool kit? I'll have to ask my local 'period correct guru' zach suhr about this one... he's out scouring Hershey right now... as he says, "I drink Mt. Dew becuase it was first marketed in 1948, it's "period correct"! it's all about how far you're willing to go I guess!
Yeah. The idea isn't to have period correct tools... For me at least. I have a hard enough time not fucking stuff up with good modern tools. I don't need to add the dynamic a set of old worn tools bring!
the old box and the vintage wraps are cool. while not period correct, an emergency roadside repair box should have a digital multimeter in it. one loose wire can put you on the back of a tow truck in a heartbeat.
When you or anyone is stuck out on the road, you dont care what period they are from, you just thanks God and your friends that are smart enough to carry such items, and in my case "willing to share" what you carry so all can carry on. I carry a tool bag my self with as much stuff as it will hold in it and I STOP to help others that are less fortunate. good stuff!
oh and for those of you who dont know...the ammo boxes keep the moisture out and the tools clean, and I think thats a good point in any era.
Good post. I have been fortunate to not need anything from my spare box or my tool kit but it has come in handy helping others.
ha! and to think my glove box has been my tool box for the past 3 years..time to paint up that ammo box and get it pinstriped put some more tools in it and get it in the trunk..looks nice i like the ideas
haha yea yea, I think I took it up a notch suggesting for period correctness... just was thinking and typing outloud... got a tool kit myself in the car and I know zach does too... tools don't have to be period to be useful, but IF we were looking at a kit from the late 40's to early 50's it'd probably be pretty funny to ciompare what they called a necessity back then to what we call a necessity today! Parentheses. Parentheses ( ) are "found in rare instances as early as the sixteenth century" (Cajori vol. 1, page 390). Apparently the earliest work Cajori names in which round parentheses are found is General trattato di numeri e misure by Nicolo Tartaglia (c. 1506-1557) in 1556. Round parentheses occur once in Ars magna by Cardan, as printed in Opera (1663) (Cajori vol. 1, page 392; Cajori does not indicate whether the parentheses occur in the original 1545 edition). guess they could be considdered period correct! although they pre-date the hot rodding era by severl centuries, but of course so does the 'wheel'.... but I totally digress.. BACK TO RYAN's POST!
Harbor Frieght sells small tool pouchs... My dad carried one for years, and now I have 1 under the seat of both my daily drivers. Pretty much the same tools as you posted Ryan, but no sockets. the most handy item I carry is a flashlight... one of those el cheepo LED ones - lifesaver! cool post, man. - Joe - Joe
Who says sockets and socket wrenches aren't period correct?!? I have a tool box full of "period correct" Plomb stuff, manufacted from the early thirties up until '49 or so, when they changed the company name to Proto. I've got a sweet little Plomb 3/8 socket set in a metal case that I throw in the back seat if i'm feeling paranoid about getting home... I dig the Plomb stuff because it was made in L.A. and supplied to the Air Force during WW2, so I imagine a lot of these tools were "liberated" by discharged hot rodders after the war. i lost an ebay auction on one of those canvas tool rolls full of Plomb wrenches, dammit!
Good post. I have the same idea in mind for the wife's '50, with the addition of a small bottle of tequila. You can get a lot done in trade on the side of the road with a bottle!
ryan, i know this is gonna sound nuts, but this my favorite post of yours to date. i am a tool nut and collector at heart, and this is the perfect excuse to rig up another tool kit, thanks
I've got a running board box from a Model T that I've been pondering putting back into service. Also got a bunch of Model T FORD script wrenches, but they're mostly just for wall hangin'.
"...a digital multimeter in it"...or a deuce instrument light socket with a couple alligator clip wires soldered to it... My main kits start with real '32-48 Ford issue tool kits as supplied with new cars...these contain tools sufficient for survival, under most circumstances, including the hand-crank starter without which you aren't a Fordiste... Supplemental socket set and additional standard tools are period Snap-on or Plomb...with Plomb, the brand name disappeared about 1950, so you are damn well period correct. These brands are just as strong and functional as any modern tools and feel a whole lot better. Each car needs a couple of specialist tools that you know won't be available if you need them in Resume Speed, Nebraska. For Fords. perhaps a jet wrency, valve bar doubling as crowbar/weapons system, and a hub puller... I like to have engine and carb gasket sets...under the seat, they effectively occupy no space and they give you the ability to take apart anything you might need to without worry. On an early flathead, distributors can be changed in 30 seconds pre-timed, so a spare unit is easier to deal with than loose points. If you're smart, your wiring system will be built bulletproof, but if you're worried there's little that can't be fixed on the road with 20 feet of wire and some crimp fittings. Throw in a hand pump (with a taper adaptor to blow dead spiders out of your fuel line) and a handful of Camel patches, and you are ready for the trans-Siberia road race.
Plomb is very cool stuff indeed. You can rebuild most any of thier ratchets with kits from Proto. I am negotiating to buy a large Plomb collection from a friend (with all the ratchets already rebuilt). In the trunk of my 51 shoebox I am going to build a bracket to rest a nice old tool box in. I am a bit anal about organization so it will have to be just so.
Oh yes, if I need to hit the road with a BIG kit sufficient to maintain an armored division...WWII swingout cantilever aircraft mechanic's Kennedy toolbox. Rolled up inside...an AAF line mechanic's apron, a little OD job that is essentially one of those tool rolls made into an apron for ease in crawling around atop your Wright Cyclone...
A friend gave me an old tool box that was her dads. Im slowly filling it with old wood handled screw drivers and other tools. If you can find it, get a army issued braker bar. They are the best.
A full story on Ammo boxes??? You read my mind! Bring it on! I love those things. You're right, they are pretty easy to find, although I am still too cheap to have bought one yet. They're perfect stripin' material too.
Know whats funny...? I can actually SMELL this tool box...You know the smell...I bet it has it. I bring my cell phone, five tools ( screwdriver ( both styles in one), hammer, channel locks, wire cutters or knife, and needle nose pliers oh...and a credit card. unless I'm going racing...then i bring the freakin' whole garage! My tools are period correct, for this period.
Cool! I have the exact same Plomb 3/8" rachet, second from the left. It belonged to my father, who carried it in a Korean War era .50 cal ammo box (that he brought back with him) along with a assortment of sockets, wrenches, etc. He had his name painted with red nailpolish on the side. I had always though it was "Plumb" by the way. According to what you say, I bet he liberated it (he told me that most of the stuff he had was WW2 surplus). He was a tank mechanic in Korea until one exploded with him inside. He was the one who got me in the habit of carrying a tool kit in the car (that and my first car was a worn out Fiat that needed lots of fixing). Today I carry my tools in his old leather covered IBM toolkit box, which looks like a breifcase. The ratchet lives in there along with many of his other tools as well.
I like the idea of a full Ammo Case post so if you get enough interest you know my votes in. I had seen a couple nice WWII tool boxes on over the last year but never picked one up. I guess i will have to keep searching A couple were wood and the rest were steel. I even found a pretty cool one today that was leather. Your posts are like a lesson in history Ryan. Keep 'em Firing!!
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