Show & tell: your home-made "specialty" tools.

[Red]

Most of the specialized tools that Miller made for the slant are long out of production and expensive if you can find them.

I'm also "on a budget" (read, "cheap"), though far be it from me to point fingers at any of the rest of you .

So I try to fabricate whatever special-purpose tools I can. Here's my latest attempt: a con rod balancer:



Hoping this will help me get each end of each rod of a set in the same ballpark, weight-wise, in addition to having each whole rod weigh about the same.

I'm sure many of you longtime racers and self-reliant farm boys are way ahead of me and could fill pages with the stuff you've fabbed. Do share some of your favs...

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obliquely-inclined state of mind

[Red]

Torsion bar remover:

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obliquely-inclined state of mind

[armyofchuckness]

That's a very cool set of tools. Your torsion bar tool looks more efficient than the one I bought on eBay. Look forward to seeing more ingenious solutions.

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Project Valiant Blog

[Red]

Thanks.

The balancer is obviously not a "high-precision" fixture, (though I did my best to insure that a centerline through the axis of the bolts to which the rod ends mount is parallel to the base upon which the scale rests and that all is plumb and level). In any case, I figure it will get me closer than "just eye-ballin' it". Repeated weighings of a given rod end (removing the rod from the fixture between weighings) yield identical results with only an occasional gram of variance.

The torsion bar tool works real well. Provides a nice, big, solid surface to strike and, despite attaching to the torsion bar firmly, has no sharp edges which might mar the bar's surface and create spots where stress risers could start. Scratching or scoring your torsion bars is a "no-no".

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obliquely-inclined state of mind

[Red]

Here's another: the "piston stuffer":



Your headless engine is on the engine stand, ready for the ringed pistons and rods to go in. The pivoting tube at the far left end of this device gets bolted to the engine deck with a head bolt. The arm further up the handle also pivots as does the wooden cylinder at the end of said arm. The handle acts as a lever with which to press down on your new piston top in order to shove the piston down the ring compressor and into the waiting cylinder. The head and nut of the bolt on which the wooden cylinder pivots are both counter-sunk so that they will not score the cylinder walls.

This allows you to stand on the crank side of the engine (as opposed to tapping the piston into the cylinder from the deck side). It also frees up a hand which can be used to guide the rod bolts around the rod journals as the piston goes in.

I sincerely apologize to any certified welders in present company who may find my chewing-gum welds to be highly offensive.

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obliquely-inclined state of mind

[hantayo13]

have made several special tool for my harley ...two different clutch spring compressor ,one old style and one new....a 6 inch long 1 5/16 socket for final drive nut ...an 8 1/8 x 3/4 rod to hold wheel bearing spacers in place while installing wheel....all work well

[Red]

Well, these two aren't home-made. But I like 'em so much that I'm gonna add them.

This bad boy beats a pickle fork all t'hell when it comes to poppin' apart front suspension:



This KD compressor is total overkill for slant valve springs. Sure does make short work of disassembling a head:

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obliquely-inclined state of mind

[Volare4life]

damn fine monster pickle tie rod/pitman arm puller you got there Red, what brand, and is it still available ??


-Mike

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I am the Guardian, I hate helos, everything leaks.......

[Red]

Volare4life,

I got mine years ago from Eastwood, but they don't seem to carry it anymore.

Here's something similar, though I can't tell if it's the same size or not:

http://www.northernautoparts.com/ProductModelDetail.cfm?InventoryId=517089

I also seem to remember having seen one for sale or loan at Kragen's or O'Reilly's at some point.

It's a really versatile puller.

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obliquely-inclined state of mind

[Volare4life]

yea found somthing similiar at harbor freights site http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-front-end-service-tool-set-66686.html


-Mike

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I am the Guardian, I hate helos, everything leaks.......

[Red]

I try to stick with US-made stuff these days, so I don't buy from Harbor any more. Among other reasons, because what they sell is a real mixed bag, quality-wise. Some of it is good, but a lot of it is junk. Can't say which that particular set might be.

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obliquely-inclined state of mind

[wjajr]

Ball joint separator used to pop lower or upper ball joint free of spindle without damaging dust boots.



Front end bushing installing and removal tool from the plumbing aisle:






Old guy’s easy under dash access device. Just select proper width two by dimensional lumber for hours of comfy kink free projects. Also doubles as work platform to engine compartment when car is jacked up:

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

[zorg]

Red, your T-bar tool is much nicer than mine. I may have to copy you next time around...


I read about this one online somewhere, and just got to use it for the first time today.

I had to keep pretty good pressure holding the air nozzle against the canister (well duh, I was putting 60psi in there...), but it worked dandy. Sure beats the little hand pumps they sell that screw onto the gear oil jugs. Oh, and it was only $8!

Wjajr, I did most of the bushing on my front end much the same way as you, but not sure where the pictures are right now.

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[Red]

Scrap wood valve organizer:

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obliquely-inclined state of mind

[Fopar]

How about a tubing bender.



Richard

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing