Was thinking about this recently ...
Based on how much you paid for it, if anything, how long you've had it & how often you've use it.
Hopefully it should be more than a open end wrench or pair of vice grips

Mine was a Hobart handler 130. Bought it used with lrg bottle for $99. MANY yrs ago & its still going strong use it almost daily.

My two post lift. Best money I ever spent. No laying in the cat litter anymore.

Impact screw driver.

For a single tool that I've owned for a while, would be a floor jack. Bought probably 15-16 years ago, low profile aluminum.

If a "tool" also included wrench sets, then I would say my SnapOn socket/spanner set I bought some 35 years ago.

My Dell desktop PC for sure. My first PC I purchased the day after the first time I was laid off in "99.

Acetylene torch set, by far

One of these . Click to view attachment

My brain. Generally essential, not easily replaceable and it didnt cost me anything, but upgrades are NLA.

for any of those with japanese bikes with buttery soft fasteners;

a jis (japan industry standard) driver set.

not the same as philips...

I recently got a jis set of impact drivers
awesome tools

not my absolute favorite ever... but awesome tool
b

I've had the same socket set since I was 7 years old. 40 years.

I also got a pair of vice grips when I was real little. They're gone. But, real useful.

I'll second the floor jack. Bought from Montgomery Ward when I was 17 (just over 50 years ago), still going strong. Used it 3 days ago to check brake pads on the 914.
All steel, that sucker is HEAVY. Can't tell you how many cars it has been under, or how many VW engines I pulled with it.

TiG welder. Miller 200 synchrowave.

Spacer removal tool

A headlamp. It makes every job easier.

Took a couple of years to find this…

Not car related, but....

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What is it ?

Ya those are nice! I have a set like those but with notches 90 degrees as well.

It's, more or less, a battery operated Ramset....which is basically a powder actuated type of nail gun, but it shoots fasteners into concrete or steel in order to hang various types of things like ceiling grid wire. The game changer with this tool is it makes basically no noise and you no longer have to deal with the black powder strips and their disposal.

To Funny Jeff

I really like my 914 ball joint tool. It makes it nice to take off and put on the ring nut without scarring it all up

Bought a pair of the clip pliers two weeks ago

The longest lasting tool is a dewalt orbital sander, it continues to perform after 15 years, but do keep it clean and replace the pad every few years.

Most convenient everyday tool is an electric drive hand held screw driver.

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My best tool ever

KERSHAW Speedsafe leak knife.

If I'm awake, It's on my side...PERIOD

Never leave home without it

O

For me the best tool that has been a prized position and money well spent is my power probe. It has made all my electrical jobs easier and a time saver. Its equally as important as a 10mm socket.

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Cordless impact gun. It saves some actual work and time, but seems like a huge help when changing wheels.

My grinder with metal cut off wheel.

Best tool in my line of work, the rachet strap, you can get any car home, with enough straps...

^^^^^ Agree Power Probe for the win! Great thread!

+1 for Power Probe (but maybe my "new" scissor car lift - I think I cried when I first used it)

Bluetooth OBD scanner from Amazon. Not that useful on a 914, but repeatedly useful on the modern stuff.

Bought a Harbor Freight blast cabinet and turbo-charged it. Replaced the tube for a mixing valve and the gun with an Eastwood unit. That thing kicks butt and was invaluable when rebuilding my teener.

This one for me.Click to view attachment

Hmmm. The tool I always love to use is my Sticky RX wheel hanger. It's great not struggling to get that first lug bolt in while also lifting the wheel.

The Tangerine engine lift plate is a close second. Great thread!

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i'm getting on those now. thanks a million.
if only i had one of those when i was 18 years old.

I would agree with the extendable magnet pen. I can't count the number of times that something dropped has managed to find its way to the most inaccessible crevice. That said, my "favorite" tool ever acquired is my father's wood handled framing hammer. Just guessing here but he probably purchased it around seventy years ago.

My Dayton Speedaire air compressor bought used off of the local Classified Gazette for $50 over 50 yrs ago. Still going strong and runs every air tool I have, no problem.

Dremel motor tool.

I've used that tool on just about everything. The one job that comes to mind where the Dremel saved the day was removing the rear wheel bearing races from my '86 930.

Procedure was to heat heat heat up the swing arm then pound the race out. No luck. Same with the race on the hub using a bearing splitter. Spent 2 days trying to get the races off. Then decided to slice the races with a cutoff wheel. 10 minutes later all the races were off.

I think my wife would say me….

I really like my Evolution 14” metal cut off saw, which I have owned it for about 3 years. Unlike most chop saws it uses a toothed rather than abrasive blade. The cuts are cleaner and the saw is cleaner in operation, producing MUCH less dust than an abrasive blade chop saw – actually more chips than anything. The only downside is that the blades are expensive ($80 & up) but they promise a 1000 cut life – in my experience that is probably accurate as I am still on my first blade and it will cut ½” stock clean & quick. The newer versions have detail refinements and are even better. I would buy one again for sure.

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My mill drillpress. It's old, weathered and makes all sorts of weird noises...Like me. Nice with a sanding drum too. It will even drill a hole right where you wanted it. It is older than the 914 and made with parts from three countries, but it works great.


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My Bosch 4 1/2 inch angle grinder. I burned out 2 Black and Decker units building my car trailer in 1986. I bought the Bosch unit to complete the project and then used it for 10 years in the commercial garage business and still have it today restoring old Porsche’s in the barn.

Charlie

#1 - Big Bertha, the Bosch hammer drill I use to set bolts in rock for rock climbing.
#2 - Large Marge, the 3hp pneumatic angle grinder that I got at auction for 10 bucks. More power than my push mower. The manufacturer still makes rebuild kits, so the internals are all cherry again.
#3 - As yet unnamed Stanley #7 jack plane, found at a garage sale. Put an atom-splitting edge on the iron and still need to come up with a job big enough to need it. But if anyone ever breaks in to my house and I have that plane at hand, all they will get back is a big damp pile of a billion one-cell-thick anatomically correct slices.

This is a hard question.

The tool that has made me the most money is my Delta wood lathe.

The tool that made restoring cars easiest is probably the 60 gallon air compressor - though with good battery op tools I'm using less air these days.

I have a lot of nice tools, but those two are the backbone of my wood shop and restoration bay.

Zach

if the jis drivers fail, i like these (before resorting to an ez-out;

https://www.engineertools-jp.com/pz6465

My scissor lift.

My John Deere 5045E



Used for a thousand things on our 20 acres and maintaining our 1/2 mile drive (through neighbors property).

Also good once for lifting rear of 914 - as if it were a 2x4.........

But I think I'd give the impact driver a 2nd - but it's a long way from the tractor.......

GN

This is a question that is virtually impossible to have only one answer, but for removing tough screws, an impact driver has probably saved the most aggravation. Combo of kroil, or acetone/ATF soaking and a heat gun along with the impact driver has made life much easier than before. Here's a stock pic from amazon.
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Dan

my 4 Post Lift

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