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In the spirit of the first post - my most specialized tool is also a VW tool.
I've got a unique puller made to pull bearings out of a blind, recessed hole by inserting fingers between the balls or rollers and grabbing the center race. I've got three sets of jaws for it that match up to the bearings on the rear axles on VW Beetles, pre '65 Porsches, pre '62 Buses and the oddball bearings on post '63 Buses.
Rebuilding reduction boxes on Buses for other VW fanatics paid for the puller 10 times.
Don't have much in the way of strange automotive tools...yet. I do have a collection of aircraft special tools, most purpose built for a specific task. I have a couple threaded rods w/T-handle welded on to remove an oil pump from a helicopter gearbox. I inherited my dad's tools (he was an aircraft mech also) and some of those tools are for aircraft that you only see in museums now. I have a set of "bonney" wrenches, flat open-end wrenches ranging from 7/8" to 2 1/2". We used them for large lube lines on aircraft. I have used some of the smaller sizes on plumbing fixtures in the house. I have a bunch of punch drifts made of different metal, like magnesium & titanium. A set of magnets that fit in sockets is very handy.
Being a tool junky, I have a number of strange tools... some more odd than others...
a piece of steel rod bent in such a way so as to use a pickle-fork to press down the shifter cap on a NP435.
A plastic cap with an adjustable port for temporarily setting the idle speed on a D-Jet equiped Volvo... of course, none of the Volvo gurus use this...
A recent acquisition is a MINI tool for removing cable-ends from transmissions and shifters. After fighting with them for years using assorted implements, using a tool designed for the job is a revelation...
My hose-clamp plier case usually gets a curious look from those who don't know.
Basin wrench ranks pretty high.
Recently made a specialty tool for hanging suspended ceilings.
Welded a 12" extension bit to a deep socket with grooves cut in it.
It screws lag bolt hanger bolts into the framing, then twists hanger wires to the lag eyes in one step.
Well, actually, that's what it was supposed to do. What it actually does is fling hanger wire around in circles at high flesh ripping speed, until it sufficiently tangles the wire around the cockeyed lag screw, at which point it breaks the user's arm. 
2 bolts in a little plastic bag that are the perfect size for popping the pin out of Honda shift-linkage. Have no idea what part of a first gen crx they came from, but they work.
I suppose the only 'weird' ones would be a box of 200 razor blades, as when I'm done using one, I always lose it. Plus, there's apparently a lot of moisture in the basement. If I leave 'em out, they rust pretty quickly.
3/8" fuel hose for safely installing spark plugs without cross-threading.
A magnet covered in plastic wrap - for removing metal particles from threads
A screwdriver I painstakingly ground down by hand on a brick when I was younger for removing particularly stubborn screws. I've only seen one commercially available screwdriver like it, and it came with a kit I sure couldn't afford at that age.
A piece of an AE92 speedometer cable - the only thing that can remove a speedo driven gear from a C52 transmission.
Oooh, just thought of one. A carefully cut down and ground piece of pipe, to allow me to press out both bushings on a Miata upper rear control arm together. There's no way to press them out individually. Labelled "Magic bushing removal tool".
Every Miata racer has a 17 3/4" long 2x4 board in their toolbox. It's used to support the front of the transmission when the engine is pulled.
Ok, seriously, where's the icon??? This thread is useless w/o pics!!!!
I also have a few motorcycle tools I find very handy, like T handles. Like this:
I have 8, 10, 12, 14 mm with the socket forged as one piece with the handle, a #1 and a #2 Phillips and a 1/4" and 3/8" square drive. Very handy stuff! They are MUCH quicker than even an air ratchet; you break the bolt or nut loose then hold the shank in one hand and spin the T handle with the other.
It may not be special, but my 3# hammer and mini crow bar are god sends
Those T handles are great. Tip: go to HF and pick up a cheap socket set and a set of T handle allen keys. A bit of grinding and welding and you have a complete set of T handle sockets for about $10.
M9 bayonet.
I have a service tool designed to correct alignment on 3rd Gen F-bodies. It actually mounts inside the engine compartment and pushes the shock towers around until you get the alignment right. I have no idea why I have it but one day I might need it.
I usually get a "what the heck" look from my friends when I pull out my chain-grip pliers. One part motorcycle chain, one part vice grips, all awesome at holding weird stuff together.
I have a pile of ten 80mm long M8x1.25 bolts with the heads painted red. It's to release a VR6's belt tensioner and I NEVER had one when I tried to have only one of them. Now that I have ten I always have all of them.
I have a 10 inch block of pressure treated 4x6 that seems to find its way to every under car project that I tackle.
Plus, a set of dental picks and some kind of pharmacists spatula that I use for everything.
Nothing unusual here except for...
3mm extended t-handle allen wrench for idle mixture on older Saabs.
two blocks of wood roughly 2" wide by 4" long by about 1" tall for supporting upper control arms on above mentioned car.
BFH
3 ft length of pipe thats about 1 3/4" inner dia.. used as breaker bar, and pulling out dents that a hammer can't get to.
I've heard great reviews about these T handles from "Strap-On"
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=all&item_ID=77935&gr...
The magic sauce appears to be the plastic tube that allows you to spin it fast. This dates back to my dad's 1976 Toyota Crown days which came with a similar handle for the screw jack. It worked so much better because it had that plastic insert. After that my dad would slit a hose and slip it on the other cars' jack handles, it worked more or less the same but not as smooth.
Where're the pics in this thread? 
Keith wrote:Never underestimate the value of a good poking tool.
"That's what SHE said!"
-Michael Scott Scranton Branch Manager Dunder Mifflin Paper Company
Paul_VR6 wrote:I have a pile of ten 80mm long M8x1.25 bolts with the heads painted red. It's to release a VR6's belt tensioner and I NEVER had one when I tried to have only one of them. Now that I have ten I always have all of them.
I have a plate that bolts onto a VR6 head, on top of the cams. It only bolts on if the cams are both in the appropriate orientation for TDC on #1, and holds them firmly in that position.
I have an anodized red bolt for the same tensioner application mentioned. But I no longer have any VW stuff to use it on.
On the 'poking tool' topic: every radio installer worth his job description should have a sharpened antenna rod. You tape a wire to the side of it and then poke it through a firewall harness grommet. Saves a lot of time and makes a much smaller hole than using a razor blade or similar, meaning less chance of a water leak.
And of course the main 'poking tool' must be kept in tip top condition, ready to go at a moment's notice. 
Jensenman wrote:On the 'poking tool' topic: every radio installer worth his job description should have a sharpened antenna rod. You tape a wire to the side of it and then poke it through a firewall harness grommet. Saves a lot of time and makes a much smaller hole than using a razor blade or similar, meaning less chance of a water leak.
I wish I'd thought of something like that when I was installing the rear diff breather hose in the Samurai. It's amazing what can come through a gap in a well-shielded area of the car that's barely big enough to fit a pencil through...
I have a whip-style radio antenna from a K1200LT in my top drawer, which is very useful for whipping slow-moving techs about the legs and shins. Gets them moving right away.
The oddest-shaped pick in the Snap-On set I have is the one that gets used most often, no question. TGFW (Thank God for Warranties)
BMW motorcycles require (or, are made easier to work on) by so many special tools that it's not even funny:
(Not pictured: spark plug removal tools for standard and coil-on-plug ignitions, specialized oil filter wrenches for oil heads and hex heads, /2 headlight keys, BMW fuel line clamps...)
DirtyBird222 wrote:Umm I have these "E" sockets followed by numbers. Pretty damn odd, no one I know really knows what they are for.
Inverted Torx. Theoretically common on GM, but there's lots of them on Audis for some godforsaken reason.
There are actually three or four different flavors of inverted Torx, by the way. Toyota has one, though I've never needed it before.
I have a set, but I don't use it all that much. Most common thing was for the rear wheel cylinders on 80's/early 90's J-bodies and other small GM front drives. For some of them you couldn't get a socket on them. I knew someone with an E8 box wrench, but I always removed them by hitting with an air chisel and replacement with a real bolt :)
