Projects What tools does it take to build a Hot Rod

BFH!! Big freaking hammer!


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One rule of thumb I have when doing something on my cars is what ever the time you think it will take multiply it by three.

Gary

 

Bottle opener never goes astray.

 

Simple answer. You buy tools as you need them.
I wish there was Craigslist when I started doing this.Most every tool you will need shows up there..eventually

 

Tradin times or nickle trader was before CL. CL is cool but man the people are something else

 

Boy, that's a no-shitter!

 

A couple of good friends that know what they are doing always helps. Just a couple.

 

Tonight? A band saw and a disc sander. I'm gunna make it happen with a saws all and a angle grinder.


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Been working on and building cars for over forty years and I still come across tools I cant seem to live without. But patience and passion are still a must.

 

some times i am a tool ...

 

I got a couple of guys who are around when I have something big going on. They know their shit cold. I help with their cars too. Nice to trash someone else's garage now and then.

 

Plenty of beer !

 

Fore thought, a vision, imagination and the determination to complete it. Oh and most everything posted before

 

First, be honest with yourself about your definition of "hot rod". If you are only going to hop up an engine, your requirements will be vastly different than if (probably like many HAMBers, myself included) you are going to "spin from whole cloth" (or however that old adage goes). If you are going to build your own chassis or do major structural assembly, get all the welders you can afford (not #'s but types). I have a lathe, but have not had to use it much. I wish I had a mill, but local shops can assist on small milling projects for far cheaper that buying a mill and dedicating shop space to it. So, space is also a factor too. Start slowing...both on the build and on the purchasing of tools...and more than likely the answers to your question will present themselves in short order. But basically, if you honestly don't expect to dedicate the time and practice it takes to effectively buy ANY tool, don't buy it just to "put it on the shelf". I'm sure there are others with far more practical advice (I have never held myself out as being practical), so this is just what has been working for me (up to age 75 that is...). Good luck! Oh, and yes...don't waste money on cheap tools, unless you view them as expendable. I buy "throw aways" at Harbor Freight. I use their air die grinders for $10 to $15 until they quit (oil them daily) and have a new one on the shelf for when it quits. But spend more for a little better grade of tool for those long term "keepers" and/or precision tools...IMHO.

 

All you need.....

 

Sometimes you just need a pair of steel balls....

 

As with the post above (and OMG I didn't see that coming) you need a brain and desire.
Everything else can be worked out with friends/time/tools.

 

shitload of ziploc bags with the white panel you can write on with a marker, digital camera to take pics of stuff as you disassemble it. Air tools cannot be praised enough. A lot of people don't realize how much spent time and fatigue are avoided with a good impact wrench and 3/8" air ratchet. Good disc grinder. Long breaker bar. Folding engine hoist can do many things besides hoist engines.

 

Most important tool is the one between your ears--- use it !!
another one is something to wheel the project outside to stand back to get a real good look at it. It takes time and distance to visualize the progression, 5ft back in a dim garage does not cut it

 

A hammer......
A hammer and a case of beer......
A hammer, two cases of beer and a crecent wrench......
A hammer, a beer trucks crecent wrench, a welder and a buffer.....

More beer

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I use a C clamp-
having a C clamp that both closes caliper pistons and holds stuff where I put it just be seems more practical than a sawed off caulk gun, doesn't it?

 

A good set of wrenches, sockets, ratchets, air gun, air ratchets, a few hammers, a few bumping dollys, engine stand, engine hoist, and a hand made leather sand bag for shaping metal. Sawzall, die grinder, face shield or safety glasses, a good welder, the list goes on forever until you are broke and have more money in tools than your house and all your cars/trucks combined.

My name is Ben and I have a hot rod and tool addiction. It has only been a few hours since I've bought a tool or a hot rod part.


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The biggest and most used tool of all. A roof or workshop to get it done. Also stops the neighbors from bitching about that "redneck" with his "junk" in the driveway.

 

Liquid wrench and tetanus shot.

 

enthusiasm is all you need, thats what everyone who ever built a hotrod, ratrod, dragster started with. good luck with your adventure

 

THE MORE THE MERRIER

 

When I built my first house with my ex father in law, he showed up to frame the house with a drywall bucket full of tools. Said if you could not do it with what fit in that bucket you were depending on the tools to do your thinking for you. I carry a lot more tools than that but have found that you can do a lot of jobs more than one way if you just stop and think about it. As stated in another post, it sometimes makes more sense to pay someone who has a special tool than to buy it for limited use. Rentals can be
useful also., no storage or friends looking to borrow it.

 

A 4 1/2" electric grinder with cutting wheels
Step bits and a good cordless drill
A good mig or tig welder (220V)
A bandsaw
60 gallon compressor or bigger
Die grinders with 2" and 3" roto-loc heads
Magnetic level and angle finder
Toolbox full of all sizes of wrenches and sockets
A big ball pean hammer
Good wire crimpers and strippers
Soldiering iron
A good heavy bench vise

That's a good start

 

You need a lot of tools, and a lot of money to do it right. You'll be hard pressed to do anything legit without a welder though.


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