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Like the title says, whats the most unique, odd ball, or custom made tool in your tool box? Professional tech, or back yard mechanics. I know Eric will have something crazy.
I’ll start it off. I have one of these that I’ve had since who knows when. Don’t use it often but when I do I’m glad I have it. Its a spreading tool for “C” spring style exhaust clamps that hold a downpipe up to the manifold on older VWs mainly. Most un thought out design ever, but the upside is no bolts to rust together and snap off.
At the same time I bought these guys: Cam locking plate and timing pulley lock pin for old 1.6 VW diesel engnies to use when setting the timing pump and timing belt.
Obviously mine done look as pretty anymore 🙂
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lol I have so much random stuff in my toolbox. Most of it looks like junk but it’s there to serve a purpose.
I have some PVC pipe end caps with a tire valve stem drilled into one to enclose turbo plumbing and test for boost leaks while the engine’s off. The smoke machine can often miss small leaks that don’t show up until the system is under 20 psi or so.
I’ve got a couple of ford head bolts that I use for timing pins along with “machined” cam locking plates.
Random bolts/nuts and washers that I use to press in different bearings.
a hacked up distributor that I use for oil priming engines.
a box full of cut up and bent wrenches and sockets that I use for different things.
a couple of rods I welded together to use as a GM rear toe alignment tool.
Most of the stuff I made myself is all electrical stuff. Stuff so I can connect a component in so it functions as normal and take an in line measurement off it. Like adjusting the idle while watching the Miliamps going to the idle controller.
I did make a sweet little bit of loom with a switch and a light that I can connect to Digi cars that were wired for the check engine light/switch but didn’t need it since they weren’t California cars. Similar to the hidden connector on older civics that when bridged it flashes the check engine light. Downside is the cars it works on are so old now that the 5 codes it can provide all come up!
The only big tool I made was JB welding a spark plug socket to a big ass wrench so I could slide an alan key through the socket to hold the strut while turning the wrench to tighten it to the car. They make a tool for it but this was cheaper 🙂
yea there’s a pawn shop right next to the gun supply I stop at to get ammo (roll tide banana: ) and I’ll usually stop in there and buy up small collections of random sockets and cheap wrenches for a couple bucks. If I had a dollar for every time I hacked up one of these sockets/wrenches for one purpose or another… Heck sometimes I even pull a random snap-on/matco/mac socket/wrench out of the bunch
Them, and antique/junk stores are gold mines some times. I bought a set of off set wrenches that are probably 40 years old for $10. Once I found a blue point adjustable wrench it was missing the slide piece. Shoulda bought it and tried to warranty it! haha
The bottom drawer of my tool chest has odd random stuff I have made over my life to use on a specific problem. Example: Jig to center the drill bit to use an easy out in a bad location. Another example: was trying to rebuild an alternator out of a Taurus. Shaft was sized on bearing. Made a little wrench that would reach through the ventilation slots on the front housing to unscrew the bearing retainer. What amuses me: after my kids inherit my tools they are gonna have to try to figure out the “bottom drawer” stuff.
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