Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

Tools: That which separates us from our Simian ancestors.

photo source: 2001, A space Odyssey.

Dammit! Why doesn't that wrench fit!

 Sometimes the distance doesn't seem so great!


Last post, I spoke about our empowerment as a car guy. Gaining the necessary knowledge to maintain and repair your old car. Alongside that knowledge, you need the proper tools that will allow to put into practice what you are learning.

Most guys will have some sort of tools lying around. Old guys like me will have quite an assortment that they have acquired over the years. Some were passed on to me by my Father, most were bought over an almost fifty year time span. I still have the first set of Sears combination box wrenches that I bought as a freshman in high school.

Unfortunately my Dad was a very frugal guy and did not like to spend money on quality tools. I'm guessing that some were bought at those cheap tool bins found at most automotive parts stores. When I inherited his tools, I picked through his collection and saved only those that were of acceptable quality or had sentimental value to me. His better tools were probably bought from flea markets as some were Craftsmen, and even Proto tools. I know that he wouldn't have bought these new. I later donated a very heavy tool box full of low quality tools to Goodwill. These can be suitable for a young person starting out in the hobby. Tools are like any other collecting, finding better and more desirable items to replace earlier purchases. I'm not a tool snob, but using poor quality tools can damage critical fasteners and make a difficult job almost impossible.

photo source; SK tools
This is a beauty, a tool that is a delight to hold and use, and can last a lifetime.

Sears branded Craftsmen tools have received a bad rap in recent years but they are a good tool to source through garage sales, swap meets and Craigslist. They are durable and of good quality construction. My first set was the lower line Companion series wrenches. Obviously they were built well enough to stay with me for fifty years!

You can see the end of the tool compartment of this CB160 just under the air cleaner side cover.

It can hold a surprising amount of tools.
Honda's and a few of your additions.

You will need tools that will work with your chosen vehicle. Back in my fledgling Honda motorcycle rider days I was able to put the under seat tool kit to good use. My '65 CB160 came with a tubular compartment that was bolted to the frame under the carburetors. It contained a plastic pouch that held a few reconfigurable, Honda specific tools. There was a half circle shock spring adjusting wrench. A pair of slip jaw pliers, flat and Phillips head screwdriver blades. A spark plug wrench, and a couple of flat open ended wrenches. There was an axle nut box wrench also. One of the more curious additions was a flattened metal tube. This was used as an extension for the axle wrench and as a handle for the screwdriver blades. There was also a little T handle provided to deal with stubborn screws. The screwdriver blades were slipped through a couple of holes in the sparkplug wrench to be used as a T handle to turn the wrench. There was a single feeler gauge blade housed in a little compartment that was fused into the side of the pouch. All the tools that you would need to do the minor servicing and tuning that your bike would require, or to remove the wheels to change a flat tire.

Sorry about the fuzzy image, but as I recall, the quality of the tools was a bit fuzzy also!

Thankfully, almost all Japanese streetbikes of this era came with a good, steady, center stand that came in so handy when working on your bike. I remember that these tool kits were included with bikes up into the mid 1970s, I don't know when they stopped being included. On the other hand, bikes that really needed a tool kit, like my Harleys never came with a factory toolkit.


Since Japanese bikes required metric tools it saved you from having to ask your Old Man to borrow "HIS" tools. These of course, were good old American fractional inch sizes, not those odd "furrin" sized stuff.  Unless of course your Dad was a British car nut, then he probably had an enormous collection of tools at your disposal.

I used that Honda supplied tool kit just as it was intended. Changing spark plugs, adjusting points, keeping the drive chain in proper adjustment, etc. These sets formed the basis of my collection. I still have some of these tools that I have saved from various bikes over the years.

I started adding additional tools as needs required and as funds allowed. The first addition was needed to deal with all of those darned Phillips head screws that held the motor side covers for the clutch, alternator stator, and countershaft sprocket covers on. These screws were very easy to round out the heads, due to the ham handed efforts of an earlier home mechanic.

photo source: the web
The little mill with the heart of a Lion!
You can see those pesky Phillip head screws were used liberally.

A very valuable addition was a tool known as an impact driver. You held it in your hand like an engorged screwdiver whilst striking the end with your Dad's old claw hammer. The impact was altered into into a twisting force that would usually free those overly tightened screws. The hammer blows also helped seat the bit tightly into the screwhead, preventing slippage and sometimes was just the ticket to successfully remove that mangled head screw!

Oh the memories! A tool you loved to hate!

I still have mine, and the little red metal box that it came in. I bought it at Powell's Alameda Honda and it served well over the years. I discovered a neat trick whenever I had to remove those side cover screws that were already showing signs of being chewed up.

First, I would take a half inch ratchet socket extension (borrowed surreptitiously from my Dad!) and would place it squarely on the screw head. Then I would hammer it down until the head was completely flat. This would usually smash down the "peaks."  Then I would hammer the bit, by itself,  into the head, which would restore the proper Phillips configuration.  Then the impact driver was placed into operation. All of this previous hammering would help loosen up the stubborn screw without inflicting any additional damage. As a plus, the screwhead was now "restored" and it could be easily
re-used, saving a broke high school kid the cost of a new screw!

I later learned that Allen socket head screws could be used in place of those dreaded Phillips, for a "detailed" custom look. Replacement sets for "popular" models were available at the dealers. It wasn't until I was out of high school that I learned that you could source these screws individually through your local, large, full service hardware store. Actually large hardware stores weren't even common until the late 70s in my area, at least.

A set of Allen wrenches were the next addition to your tool box. A large adjustable wrench was always useful, and sure beat using that little flattened tube extension handle! A vise grip plier was also something that was extremely handy to use in disassembling those mangled and rusty bolts and screws that came on our old hand me down machines. A couple of decent, dedicated Phillips and flat blade screwdrivers would usually be added about now.

A well made tool is a joy forever!

A sign of your move to serious wrench turner was the purchase of a good set of combination open and closed end wrenches. A set of seven wrenches pretty much gave you a size for every nut and bolt on your motorcycle. And you still had that adjustable wrench, if needed!

But the crowning acquisition was the purchase of your very own set of socket wrenches.

Now you're cooking with gas!

A set of socket wrenches was the beginning of a serious commitment to the hobby. Additional sockets, different size drives, ratchets, extensions, universal joints and adapters. The sky is the limit. There was a serious learning curve in using those ratchets. The initial impulse was to click away merrily until it was apparently good and snug. Then final tightening would be to the customary "two grunts." That would work with the bigger bolts but the little ten millimeter bolt heads would part company with the bolt under that much force. My experiences with drills and bolt extractors is a tragic tale best left for another day! Would a torque wrench be a valuable addition? Of course it would, but I just decided that I could educate my fingers. It actually worked.

Now that you were equipped with an adequate array of hand tools, you needed a nifty toolbox to carry them around in. I'm sure Dad wouldn't miss this old thing!

You've got to earn patina like this!