So i got my self a very nice . w/ minimal rust 914 , 1/7 , car is running and currently needs nothing .

every neighbor , car guy . random person on the st. always stops me and tells me how cool the car is .

I could only imagine what driveing a 550 would be like . fast

but what i really need advice on is what tools should I be buying in order to be able to perform work on this car .

currently I have , the car , a garage , and a set of wrenches .

. what would be the first tooling investment i should make . ratchets , jacks . torque wrench . ?????????

I'm going to spend like 200. so give me some suggestions .

and do i buy metric standard ? what .

and I do have a harbor freight tools near me , heard they were good quality ?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cigiAWPmwyM

Jack Stands...

with the jack stand remark. Don't get under a car without them.

Since you already have a good running car, you probably want tools to help you with regular maintenance - metric wrench set and a metric socket set with some extenders. (You'll use the 13mm a lot..)

Some screwdrivers, both flat head and Philips head. Pair of pliers...

Harbor Freight is pretty cheap stuff, both in cost and quality. I reserve Harbor Freight for disposables, rather than hand tools. You could always put a want to buy ad for tools in your local craigslist and see how many people respond. I've been buying more used, but good quality tools lately, with the thought that I will have them a long time.

And metric sized tools only, no standard tools on the German 914!

EDIT: I forgot two other things - a torque wrench and a Haynes Repair Manual.

"and I do have a harbor freight tools near me , heard they were good quality ?"

Well, they're better than the 99 cent tools in the little plastic container on the counter next to the register at Kragen's, but not by much. If they were 10 times better, they might just make the lower threshold for "crap". The people you heard that from have NO clue .................. Go to Sears, they're always having tool sales, and their stuff is adequate for what you're gonna be doing.

The Cap'n

You can basically take apart the entire car with just a few sockets, wrenches, and a couple of screw drivers.

8, 10, 13, 15, 17
I think you need an 11 for a clutch adjustment

And a few allen wrenches would be helpful too (4,5).

And a BFH for various reasons.

I'd also recommend a MAP torch and some PB blaster

There are also a few specialized tools, but you can borrow those from your friends

And if you get into a bind, tell Gint you'll make him some chorizo

I agree, stay away from Harbor Freight except for the very light use special need tools.

Sears has descent quality for the home mechanic and sure beats the Snap-On and Mac prices. Keep your eye out for a cupon and you could pick up one of their starter kits for a reasonable deal.

You may want to see if there is a used tool store in your area. I have picked up Snap-On tools fairly cheap. Also garage sales are another great place. Keep an eye on Craigslist and see if any in your area are advertising tools. My brother picked up a craftsman boxes full of tools from a retired marine mechanic for $100.

With this economy, if you've got a few $$ cash, you can get a lot of tools off craigslist. . . with a nice box for what you have to spend.

Correction, you need 2 11's

AAA membership....don't leave home without it.

The list of tools you WON`T need is shorter

"Sears has descent quality for the home mechanic and sure beats the Snap-On and Mac prices. Keep your eye out for a cupon and you could pick up one of their starter kits for a reasonable deal."


You should use decent "craftsman" quality hand tools. Your knuckles and hands will be spared A LOT of pain when the cheapo "Harbour Freight"/"99 cents"/pepboys/autozone crap tool breaks and you bust your knuckle open. Ask me how I know,,

Since you live in So. Cal,,, you should head down to the hot rod auto swapmeet down in Long Beach at Veterans stadium. There's a guy down there that has a bunch of used craftsman level stuff and better, like Mac and Snap-On. Used might not look as nice, but they work just as well. Quality hand tools are important for a good experience working on your car.

-Rob

Sears is the way to go for a good basic set of hand tools.

If I were you, this is what I would do (in fact, it is what I did).

Get TWO metric wrench sets - everything from 8mm to 17mm.
Get a metric socket set - both 1/4 inch drive and 3/8 inch drive. Get all the metric sockets up to 19mm.
Get a set of 3/8 inch drive allen metric wrenches.
Get a good pair of vise-grips.
Get a big pipe wrench.

With those tools, you can do almost anything.

Zach

Well i disagree, Harbor freight has there crap tools for sure, but for occasional use there higher end line of hand tools are fine. In fact, there screwdrivers with the full bolster hex drive on top are way better than the craftsman junk. The air tools there are more for the one or two time job usually. I would go and buy a nice socket set from them, a multimeter, even jackstands, although i use similar ones, I do prefer the pin type. Don't buy an aluminum jack, from them or sears. I've seen two broken ones now. They also have a nice little test light set that comes in handy. 200 bucks won't get you a whole lot at sears, but you could put together a pretty nice little starter set there.

thanks to everybody for there two , cents . And the first thing I did was get

AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA , was very helpful w/ registration wink .

also anything special I need for rocker panel replacements . ?


all advice is very helpful . I have a truck and have no problem sourceing things off

c
list

and getting some good used stuff . and harbor freight for the occasional odd and end

but


as far as jack stands , Am i supposed to buy the the jack hole extenders and go from there or where is the support point for putting the car up on jackstands .

Or do I use jack stand s with round pad on top or what ???

promise i'm not as naive as i sound but am a little overly cautious

especially about my self and the car .


p.s I will not be the one adj . the valves



And one more thing ? what is the least you would drive your car in the course of a week .

right now i'm at like 1 or twice a week

I wouldn't trust the jack plates unless you know for sure your jack posts on the car are totally rust free, and I would never use jack stands to support the car from those. I use the V grove ones, but the pad type could come in handy to.

Don't use the jacking plates. Not worth the risk, even if they look solid.

Pin type jackstands are the way to go, but I also prefer the type with the "V" instead of the pad. Less likely to slip if you put them on a rounded surface.

Zach

I also should add that , the cars e-brake is currently in op , but will be fixed soon .

handle base has turned into dust ?

so that means ramps are out . and I noticed nobody recommed them either



Ramps ??????

I have bought craftsman tools since about 1967. They are ok but will never equal snap on. I don't need snap on. I do have a few snap on tools though. I have a 600ftlb snap on air impact wrench for busting the hard stuff loose. I also have some blue point tools sold by the snap on guy, he knows my name. I also have a shop full of harbor freight tools alot of which I don't feel like I could have afforded from the good speciality sources unless of course they were used. Tools like a strut spring compressor or air hose. I'm not afraid of hf, I use my mechanical ability to judge whether or not the tool will do the job I intend to use it for. Sometimes I make tools out of hf tools. A lot of my tool purchases came from needing a tool for a immediate job at hand. Sometimes I had to make do with what I had on hand. You don't need any tools you don't know how to use so start reading how to do the things you think you want to try. Check out the tools used for the job and try to imagine if something you already have might work. Sometimes a expensive tool is the only way to do a good job but sometimes a tool is bought to save time by a full time mechanic. The snapon salesman loans money out daily to mechanics, that is he sells tools on a time payment plan. A lot of those tools he gets back for non payment if he can catch the owner, and he will sell them cheaper than new prices. I think used tools are the best way to go if a few scratches don't bother you. You need to know what the new price of a tool is before you shop for used tools. I have a bunch of junk craftsman ratchets though that were never replaced with anything as good as the old ones. Now sears calls the decent ratchets the professional tool. Compare it to the hf one sometime. I also have a bunch of craftsman sockets that you need 15/15 vision to read the sizes on their sides. I think a socket set and wrench set from hf will work just fine if you can stand the ribbing from some people. I have a ton of hf air tools and use them daily and am very happy with their quality. I use the hf straight line sander and when it craps out I get another one, I usually have a extra new one in the box, they last me for a long time. I also only buy hf tools when they are on sale unless a emergency arises. I only buy name brand air compressors and such. I have a 5hp portable air compressor (black max I think) that I couldn't find a reed valve for the head that I bought a long time ago at sam's. I fixed it with a ss feeler gauge blade but I would have bought a new head if it was available. I'm not sure you should start with jack stands unless you really want to do work under the car, you might want to concentrate on the top side first untill you know more. I use hf aluminum floor jacks and they seem to be okay to me. A friend had a new aluminum one he put in his trunk to go put a spare on his daughters car, and maybe turned it upside down and he said it quit working, he gave it to me and I worked the valve over for about 4 hours and never got it to work? A lot of the stuff you buy you will recognise as the same as whats at hf but just branded by someone else. Especially tools like jacks, air tools, jack stands, creepers, prybars, cold chisels and so on. Look at the hf tools first then go to sears then check the used tools out you come across. My sears screw drivers have held up really good but snap on will give you a replacement if the tip gets messed up on one of theirs. But you can probably buy eight screw drivers at hf for the price of one snap on. Don't spend your money till you've looked awhile. I always remember when I pay too much for something. Oh yeah be careful with the big hammer, it can create way more headakes than it can fix. One time I bought a extra creeper at hf on sale for 19.95 and later on I was in tractor supply and the exact same creeper was 49.95. I think the hf straight line sander is in the eastwood catalog for a lot more than at hf.

Ramps are good for the quick oil change, or too see what the new rattle is. Doesn't really get the car high enough to comfortably work under them. I have them, and use them, but thats 40 of your 200 budget. Get them down the road.

basic tool - 7mm - for bleeding brakes

and be sure to see this

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=91491

Getting the car up on ramps can be very hard on your clutch - just use a floor jack.

And where

EXACT are the jack points

Picture of the underbody showing jacking points is here in a classic thread.

Lots of valuable information on many 914 topics is in that area of our forum. It'd be well worth your while to read through a lot of those threads. I go back and read and search them often, as do many here, I'm sure.