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I was asked by one of our members for advice regarding which tools he should acquire. It got me to thinking, and I wrote the following response. If any other members would like to add their two cents worth, this might be a good place to talk tools...
I don't have a GT yet, but hope to get one in the next year (need a little cash flow, first, y'know?). In the meantime, I am reading all I can and would like to start collecting whatever it is I might need. I have absolutely no experience with cars (I can change my Jeep's oil, though!) and have a pretty limited tool collection as it currently stands. And the only person I know who has an interest in cars is a wonderful relative who lives 3000 miles away from me! So, as you can tell, I'm a total newbie and pretty much on my own (aside from the wonderful www.opelgt.com crew!).
If you have time, I would love it if you could make some recommendations...tools, books, parts, websites, whatever you think would be good to have on hand. Recommended brand names would be excellent, too, if possible!
Thank you so much -- your input is truly appreciated!
To a great extent, what tools you need depends on what repairs and/or restorations your car needs, and even more on what repairs you are willing (more than able) to undertake yourself. Virtually ANY repair on a car such as the Opel of the vintage we are discussing can be done by a "back yard mechanic". But sometimes it takes a bit of bravery, a trace of skill, and tonnes of patience. And some good directions (either in the form of a mentor, or even a good manual or "how-to" book) is the most important thing. Remember, these cars were designed by folks no smarter than you or I (well, maybe smarter than I) and were assembled by common folk using quite ordinary tools. So with few exceptions, such as the rare bit of electronics and the occasional mechanical device, most things on these cars can be repaired by the layman, or at least removed to be rebuilt by a specialist. It is MUCH less expensive to get an alternator rebuilt at a re-wind shop, than to take it in to Larry, Curley and Moe and have them charge you $65/hour labour to diagnose it, remove and replace it and then sell you a new (or even re-manufactured) alternator, which has a 50% mark-up. And thanks to the Internet and speciality suppliers such an Opel GT Source, these particular cars are more restorable and repairable than when they were much newer. I have had my GT since 1977, and it was MUCH harder to obtain parts back then, even from the local Buick dealership, which had been selling Opels for 7 years and right up until 1975. And it was virtually impossible to get advice. The world is a much smaller place these days.
As for brands, when you are starting up, a cheaper tool allows you to buy twice as many on a limited budget. Now that I am older and wiser (more of the former, less of the latter) and a bit better off, I seldom "cheap out" when I buy tools. Except when I am buying something that I truly believe to be of limited use, such as an esoteric puller or something, which will function perfectly fine for the few times it will be used. But otherwise, I stick with the best quality that I can afford. But I NEVER buy the gold plated stuff. Decent quality, not extraordinary, is my rule.
I’ll start with the simple, daily maintenance tools, and then go from there right up to full repair and restoration type tools.
1) A good manual. There is NO replacement for a genuine Opel Factory Service Manual. Over the past few years, I have collected an assortment of aftermarket manuals, as well as several different years of Opel FSM's. The different years of FSM's provide different diagrams, and sometimes a Chilton's, Glenn's, or Autobooks will show a better way to do something. But before you buy a single tool, get an original FSM for the year of your Opel. And if you haven’t yet bought your car, wait until you do, since the specifics change somewhat during the 1970 to 1971 model years. The 1969 or '70 manual works fine for either year, and the '71,'72 or '73 FSM will work for all three years, but the early cars have different wiring and somewhat different differentials and slightly different transmissions.
2) A metric wrench set. My favourite is a combination box/open end set, but you can get by with half as many wrenches with the double open end set that has two sizes per wrench. That was my first set, and I still use it. Just not as much.
3) A good metric socket set, 3/8 inch drive, and ratchet, with a variety of extensions, and a spark plug socket (with the rubber inner sleeve to protect the ceramic insulator). I have become a HUGE fan of the "wobble extensions", and they are even more useful than a universal drive extension. Both can wait until you have more money, as the “kit” will come with its own extensions. Short sockets are fine to start, and you can add deep sockets and ½ inch drive and impact sockets as you get richer.
4) A torque wrench. You need one. Even for changing wheels and spark plugs. NEVER tighten a wheel nut or spark plug without a torque wrench. The "beam" style is fine (although I now own a "clicking" ratchet style, and in fact I own three: 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2"), and usually a 1/2 inch drive (usually 50 to 250 ft-lbs) with a reducer will do most stuff. When you can afford it, get a 3/8 inch torque wrench with a 20 to 100 ft-lbs range. The 1/4 inch (that torques to inch-lbs) is usually overkill. But don’t tell my wife.
5) A GOOD screwdriver set, with three sizes of flat blades and at least two sizes of cross (Phillips) tips. In Canada, we also use Robertson (square tip), but you Yanks don't. And the Opel came before the Torx tip, so you only need a set of those if you work on modern cars. And change their headlights. Another good option for a screwdriver (or even a supplement) is a multi-tip set.
6) A trouble light. I prefer a fluorescent model, but I used a bulb style for years, once I learned to buy “rough duty” bulbs made for trouble lights. But the bulb style gets hot, and I have melted a few things accidentally, such as my skin
7) An Allan wrench set. Metric, of course, for the Opel
8) A pair of vice grips. Two when you afford them.
9) A pair of needle nose and a pair of slip jaw piers, and a set of side-cutters
10) A 12 volt test light
11) An oil filter wrench. I have the strap wrench-style (which is most common) and the end cap hex wrenches, which work better for stuck filters
12) A hacksaw.
13) A ball peen hammer
14) A chisel set. Cheap to start, good quality later
15) A drift (and punch) set. You NEED a good quality set if you are going to do transmission work, but a cheaper set will do otherwise
16) A timing light. If you are flush, buy one with a variable degree adjustment, but usually cheap is fine
17) A feeler gauge set, to set your points and to adjust spark plug gap.
18) A battery post cleaner
19) A brass hammer
20) A nut runner set. Frankly, I still use the 1/4 inch drive sockets that came with my first socket set, and a handle drive, rather than individual nut runners.
21) About this time, you will need a toolbox. Nothing fancy, but a decent two drawer toolbox will allow you to keep your tools organized and available. A roller box is nice, but I still don't have one.
22) A file set. Nothing fancy, just a couple of files, preferably with removable handles
23) A tap and die set. I have had mine (a present from my dear departed Dad) for many years. If you are doing ANY restoration work, you need a set. Buy the biggest set you can; usually I see them for under $100 (Canadian, so $70 U.S.) for a 40 piece set. Don’t waste your time with a 15 piece set. It won’t have the tap or die you need when you need it. The “reasonable” sets have both metric and SAE sizes.
24) A bolt extraction set. A couple of sizes will do, for most bolts that break off
25) A decent electric ¼ inch (or up to 3/8 or even ½ inch) variable speed drill, and a basic set of drill bits
26) Jack stands and a hydraulic floor jack. The biggest jack stands you can afford, since you might decide to drop the GT's engine someday, and you will need to lift it 24 inches. But a 16 inch stand can easily be lifted with a base of timbers to give you the 24 inches you need. But only if the stand is wide base, at least 2 (and preferably 3) tons with the ratcheting head (NOT the pin type).
27) A bench vice. Preferably at least a 4 inch with a swivel base
28) A compete set of drill bits, titanium if you can afford them, but HSS is fine if you can find a set that consists of at least 26 sizes of bits
29) A set of 12 point Star-headed (sometimes called “Triple Square”) Opel-style socket head drives, in 8 mm, 10 mm and 12 mm. These look like Allan heads or Torx head drives, but are different. You need the 8 mm for the manifold bolts and torque tube, the 10 mm for the brake rotors, and the 12 mm for the head bolts.
30) A compression tester. The screw in type is best, but for the number of times you will use it, whatever is cheapest will work.
31) An electrical multi-meter, preferably digital, with at least an ohm scale and voltage scale. Amps are seldom required, and meters with usable ammeters are quite expensive
32) A dwell/tach meter, to set your points (unless you have converted to a Pertronix) and to adjust your idle speed. The dash tachometer just doesn’t cut it at low rpm
33) A vacuum gauge, which often come with a low pressure (0 to 20 psi) pressure reading on the same face. Very useful for finding vacuum leaks and adjusting carb idle settings, and for testing fuel pumps.
34) A combination puller set, or at least a two arm gear puller
After these, you are into the speciality tools. Air tools and sprayers and a compressor for bodywork and such, and impact air or electric tools for heavier duty mechanic work. Frankly, I would put a ½ inch impact wrench (air or electric) up near the top of the “serious” tools, since it can allow you to disassemble things without breaking bolts that you couldn’t do otherwise. But bolts still break, so you need to have a way to repair them. Another handy thing is a thread repair kit (often called a “Thread-A-Let”), which comes in various metric sizes. Other tools to come later might include a solvent washer (or at least a tub with solvent in it to wash greasy parts) and a small sandblasting cabinet. If you are going to drop engines and such, you either need a hoist from the ceiling (which is what I use) or a portable engine hoist. Then a set of engine stands are mandatory. Actually, I would move the jack-stands up on the list, to maybe #21. I have even gone so far as to buy a 12 ton bearing press and a floor mount drill press, but I still don’t own a metal lathe. If you get serious, a MIG welder and oxygen/acetylene welder is pretty nice to have. Well, more than nice, since serious body repairs require the MIG welder, and the gas welder is pretty much essential if you have a lot of badly rusted parts to cut off. Then, you need a right angle grinder and at least body shaping tools. Maybe a slide hammer.
I hope that this helps, and doesn’t overwhelm you. Start with the first few things on the list, and use your ingenuity to work around the need for the next 25 tools until you are old like me. After nearly 30 years (Yikes!) of tinkering with cars, I have pretty much everything on the list, and a bunch more besides. There isn’t any reason to get THAT carried away, but car repair is a terrific hobby. And remember all the money you will save by buying all these tools!
HTH and good luck. Oh, and my name is Keith. Mr. Wilford was my Dad. Terrific guy, taught me everything I needed to know about what I needed to know.
I don't have a GT yet, but hope to get one in the next year (need a little cash flow, first, y'know?). In the meantime, I am reading all I can and would like to start collecting whatever it is I might need. I have absolutely no experience with cars (I can change my Jeep's oil, though!) and have a pretty limited tool collection as it currently stands. And the only person I know who has an interest in cars is a wonderful relative who lives 3000 miles away from me! So, as you can tell, I'm a total newbie and pretty much on my own (aside from the wonderful www.opelgt.com crew!).
If you have time, I would love it if you could make some recommendations...tools, books, parts, websites, whatever you think would be good to have on hand. Recommended brand names would be excellent, too, if possible!
Thank you so much -- your input is truly appreciated!
To a great extent, what tools you need depends on what repairs and/or restorations your car needs, and even more on what repairs you are willing (more than able) to undertake yourself. Virtually ANY repair on a car such as the Opel of the vintage we are discussing can be done by a "back yard mechanic". But sometimes it takes a bit of bravery, a trace of skill, and tonnes of patience. And some good directions (either in the form of a mentor, or even a good manual or "how-to" book) is the most important thing. Remember, these cars were designed by folks no smarter than you or I (well, maybe smarter than I) and were assembled by common folk using quite ordinary tools. So with few exceptions, such as the rare bit of electronics and the occasional mechanical device, most things on these cars can be repaired by the layman, or at least removed to be rebuilt by a specialist. It is MUCH less expensive to get an alternator rebuilt at a re-wind shop, than to take it in to Larry, Curley and Moe and have them charge you $65/hour labour to diagnose it, remove and replace it and then sell you a new (or even re-manufactured) alternator, which has a 50% mark-up. And thanks to the Internet and speciality suppliers such an Opel GT Source, these particular cars are more restorable and repairable than when they were much newer. I have had my GT since 1977, and it was MUCH harder to obtain parts back then, even from the local Buick dealership, which had been selling Opels for 7 years and right up until 1975. And it was virtually impossible to get advice. The world is a much smaller place these days.
As for brands, when you are starting up, a cheaper tool allows you to buy twice as many on a limited budget. Now that I am older and wiser (more of the former, less of the latter) and a bit better off, I seldom "cheap out" when I buy tools. Except when I am buying something that I truly believe to be of limited use, such as an esoteric puller or something, which will function perfectly fine for the few times it will be used. But otherwise, I stick with the best quality that I can afford. But I NEVER buy the gold plated stuff. Decent quality, not extraordinary, is my rule.
I’ll start with the simple, daily maintenance tools, and then go from there right up to full repair and restoration type tools.
1) A good manual. There is NO replacement for a genuine Opel Factory Service Manual. Over the past few years, I have collected an assortment of aftermarket manuals, as well as several different years of Opel FSM's. The different years of FSM's provide different diagrams, and sometimes a Chilton's, Glenn's, or Autobooks will show a better way to do something. But before you buy a single tool, get an original FSM for the year of your Opel. And if you haven’t yet bought your car, wait until you do, since the specifics change somewhat during the 1970 to 1971 model years. The 1969 or '70 manual works fine for either year, and the '71,'72 or '73 FSM will work for all three years, but the early cars have different wiring and somewhat different differentials and slightly different transmissions.
2) A metric wrench set. My favourite is a combination box/open end set, but you can get by with half as many wrenches with the double open end set that has two sizes per wrench. That was my first set, and I still use it. Just not as much.
3) A good metric socket set, 3/8 inch drive, and ratchet, with a variety of extensions, and a spark plug socket (with the rubber inner sleeve to protect the ceramic insulator). I have become a HUGE fan of the "wobble extensions", and they are even more useful than a universal drive extension. Both can wait until you have more money, as the “kit” will come with its own extensions. Short sockets are fine to start, and you can add deep sockets and ½ inch drive and impact sockets as you get richer.
4) A torque wrench. You need one. Even for changing wheels and spark plugs. NEVER tighten a wheel nut or spark plug without a torque wrench. The "beam" style is fine (although I now own a "clicking" ratchet style, and in fact I own three: 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2"), and usually a 1/2 inch drive (usually 50 to 250 ft-lbs) with a reducer will do most stuff. When you can afford it, get a 3/8 inch torque wrench with a 20 to 100 ft-lbs range. The 1/4 inch (that torques to inch-lbs) is usually overkill. But don’t tell my wife.
5) A GOOD screwdriver set, with three sizes of flat blades and at least two sizes of cross (Phillips) tips. In Canada, we also use Robertson (square tip), but you Yanks don't. And the Opel came before the Torx tip, so you only need a set of those if you work on modern cars. And change their headlights. Another good option for a screwdriver (or even a supplement) is a multi-tip set.
6) A trouble light. I prefer a fluorescent model, but I used a bulb style for years, once I learned to buy “rough duty” bulbs made for trouble lights. But the bulb style gets hot, and I have melted a few things accidentally, such as my skin
7) An Allan wrench set. Metric, of course, for the Opel
8) A pair of vice grips. Two when you afford them.
9) A pair of needle nose and a pair of slip jaw piers, and a set of side-cutters
10) A 12 volt test light
11) An oil filter wrench. I have the strap wrench-style (which is most common) and the end cap hex wrenches, which work better for stuck filters
12) A hacksaw.
13) A ball peen hammer
14) A chisel set. Cheap to start, good quality later
15) A drift (and punch) set. You NEED a good quality set if you are going to do transmission work, but a cheaper set will do otherwise
16) A timing light. If you are flush, buy one with a variable degree adjustment, but usually cheap is fine
17) A feeler gauge set, to set your points and to adjust spark plug gap.
18) A battery post cleaner
19) A brass hammer
20) A nut runner set. Frankly, I still use the 1/4 inch drive sockets that came with my first socket set, and a handle drive, rather than individual nut runners.
21) About this time, you will need a toolbox. Nothing fancy, but a decent two drawer toolbox will allow you to keep your tools organized and available. A roller box is nice, but I still don't have one.
22) A file set. Nothing fancy, just a couple of files, preferably with removable handles
23) A tap and die set. I have had mine (a present from my dear departed Dad) for many years. If you are doing ANY restoration work, you need a set. Buy the biggest set you can; usually I see them for under $100 (Canadian, so $70 U.S.) for a 40 piece set. Don’t waste your time with a 15 piece set. It won’t have the tap or die you need when you need it. The “reasonable” sets have both metric and SAE sizes.
24) A bolt extraction set. A couple of sizes will do, for most bolts that break off
25) A decent electric ¼ inch (or up to 3/8 or even ½ inch) variable speed drill, and a basic set of drill bits
26) Jack stands and a hydraulic floor jack. The biggest jack stands you can afford, since you might decide to drop the GT's engine someday, and you will need to lift it 24 inches. But a 16 inch stand can easily be lifted with a base of timbers to give you the 24 inches you need. But only if the stand is wide base, at least 2 (and preferably 3) tons with the ratcheting head (NOT the pin type).
27) A bench vice. Preferably at least a 4 inch with a swivel base
28) A compete set of drill bits, titanium if you can afford them, but HSS is fine if you can find a set that consists of at least 26 sizes of bits
29) A set of 12 point Star-headed (sometimes called “Triple Square”) Opel-style socket head drives, in 8 mm, 10 mm and 12 mm. These look like Allan heads or Torx head drives, but are different. You need the 8 mm for the manifold bolts and torque tube, the 10 mm for the brake rotors, and the 12 mm for the head bolts.
30) A compression tester. The screw in type is best, but for the number of times you will use it, whatever is cheapest will work.
31) An electrical multi-meter, preferably digital, with at least an ohm scale and voltage scale. Amps are seldom required, and meters with usable ammeters are quite expensive
32) A dwell/tach meter, to set your points (unless you have converted to a Pertronix) and to adjust your idle speed. The dash tachometer just doesn’t cut it at low rpm
33) A vacuum gauge, which often come with a low pressure (0 to 20 psi) pressure reading on the same face. Very useful for finding vacuum leaks and adjusting carb idle settings, and for testing fuel pumps.
34) A combination puller set, or at least a two arm gear puller
After these, you are into the speciality tools. Air tools and sprayers and a compressor for bodywork and such, and impact air or electric tools for heavier duty mechanic work. Frankly, I would put a ½ inch impact wrench (air or electric) up near the top of the “serious” tools, since it can allow you to disassemble things without breaking bolts that you couldn’t do otherwise. But bolts still break, so you need to have a way to repair them. Another handy thing is a thread repair kit (often called a “Thread-A-Let”), which comes in various metric sizes. Other tools to come later might include a solvent washer (or at least a tub with solvent in it to wash greasy parts) and a small sandblasting cabinet. If you are going to drop engines and such, you either need a hoist from the ceiling (which is what I use) or a portable engine hoist. Then a set of engine stands are mandatory. Actually, I would move the jack-stands up on the list, to maybe #21. I have even gone so far as to buy a 12 ton bearing press and a floor mount drill press, but I still don’t own a metal lathe. If you get serious, a MIG welder and oxygen/acetylene welder is pretty nice to have. Well, more than nice, since serious body repairs require the MIG welder, and the gas welder is pretty much essential if you have a lot of badly rusted parts to cut off. Then, you need a right angle grinder and at least body shaping tools. Maybe a slide hammer.
I hope that this helps, and doesn’t overwhelm you. Start with the first few things on the list, and use your ingenuity to work around the need for the next 25 tools until you are old like me. After nearly 30 years (Yikes!) of tinkering with cars, I have pretty much everything on the list, and a bunch more besides. There isn’t any reason to get THAT carried away, but car repair is a terrific hobby. And remember all the money you will save by buying all these tools!
HTH and good luck. Oh, and my name is Keith. Mr. Wilford was my Dad. Terrific guy, taught me everything I needed to know about what I needed to know.
^
