Well I don't own an auto repair shop, but I do most of the work on my car along with all of my friends. We are constanly dropping, swapping, pulling, or changing something on the cars we drive. I'm for one fed up with always having to run to the parts store for a certain tool, with have been getting by with just basic Craftsmen sets and a lot of luck . I have the money to burn and want to make my garage ready for almost anything.

So far I have:

1. 205 piece socket set.
2. Snap ring plier set
3. Normal variety plier set.
4. 3/8" and 1/2" breaker bars
5. 32 piece screw driver set
6. Engine stand
7. Metric Tap and die set.
8. Rod bolt stretch gauge
9. Dial Caliper
10. 3 piece gear puller set

Things I have in mind:

1. Slide hammer
2. Pry bars
3. Dial indicator
4. Spring compressor
5. Hydraulic shop press (I'm not sure what size I need)


Any suggestions would be great. We won't be doing any machine work (I don't have THAT much cash to spend), but we will be attempting block assemblies thus why I have the measuring devices listed.

The cars range from my ITR to an LS1 TA.

 

umm . . . . torque wrenches?

And how about air tools? A good shop air compressor set-up will burn through as much cash as you want to spend . . . .

Plus there are hundreds of little stupid tools that are job-specific - valve adjustment tool, brake piston compressing tool, pittman arm pullers, valve spring compressor, crank pulley holder - all those sorts of things. A good jack & jackstands are invaluable - or better yet, a lift.

A full complement of shop manuals are a superb addition to any garage . . .

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Daemione &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">umm . . . . torque wrenches?

And how about air tools? A good shop air compressor set-up will burn through as much cash as you want to spend . . . .

Plus there are hundreds of little stupid tools that are job-specific - valve adjustment tool, brake piston compressing tool, pittman arm pullers, valve spring compressor, crank pulley holder - all those sorts of things. A good jack & jackstands are invaluable - or better yet, a lift.

A full complement of shop manuals are a superb addition to any garage . . . </TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks for the info. I've got a few torque wrenches, a valve adjustment tool and of course jacks and jack stands.

What are pittman arm pullers used for?

 

Torque wrenches
Ball joint separator
Pliers of all shapes and sizes
Side cutters
Wire crimpers
And an assortment of hammers

 

air compressor and an airgun

 

32 & 36 mm sockets for axel nuts

 

just go to a tool store or get a tool catalog and look in it and see what you think you will use in the future, other than that your on your own.. just get tools as needed. there are thousands of specialized tools you could get, lots that come in handy from time to time, and quite a few you will never use after you buy them. look around in the newspaper, sometimes mechanics decide they want to do something else, or die, and they sell all of their tools for pennies on the dollar.

 

definatly get those pry bars, cheap and you will use them a lot. i cant tell you what you will use them for, but you will check out harborfreight.com - if you are lucky then you ahve a store close like i do check out the specials, you can get stuff real cheap and if you are on a broke *** budget like me, then they are right in that range.
oh and you should definatley get a compressor and air tools before anything else

 

Snap-On babe calendar
Impact Screwdriver
2 post lift
mini-fridge
Tig or Mig welder
timing light
compression tester
heavy bag hanging in the corner because it sucks hitting your car when you get pissed.

 

/\/\/\took the words out of my mouth/\/\/\

compressed air setup of some kind is really invaluable, especially if you do suspension/chassis work.

I've never needed to use a welder, but the **** would be cool to have.

Floor jack, it'll lift and hold the entire front end off the ground a lot quicker than a regular jack and stands.

All kinds of diagnostic tools. compression test stuff, leak down stuff, etc.