10 Must-Have Tools for a Scratch-Built Car

[Editor's note: This article originally ran in the June 2010 issue of Grassroots Motorsports.]

Story by Liz Miles

Looking to build a car from the ground up? Finally ready to take the plunge and turn your own ideas into a four-wheeled creation? While every great car contains equal parts sweat and inspiration, you’ll also need something to help with …

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Wait, is that a chopped mid engine rwd HHR?

That's what it looks like. Interesting...

It might be this one

In reply to Patrick (Forum Supporter) :

yep

https://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/15/gm-cars-set-records-crash-at-bonneville-speed-week/

crashed north of 240mph, but had a RWD ecotec making 800-1000hp

I'm going to strongly disagree with the tubing notcher and pneumatic rivet gun. How can you have an article with "must have" tools and then say "yeah, other tools can do the same thing but this one makes it easier".

Plus I once saw Andrew nelson make perfect tube notches in a parking lot with an angle grinder on a 100ft extension cord. 

I saw this one in town last week. 

Since that name stood for Heritage High Roof, it may just be an H at this point.

Of the ten "must haves" listed I have four, and I'm building a car...............shows how naive I am.......

11. a healthy credit card (Hot rod math "...when estimating the cost of a project, double your estimate, add 10% and you're halfway there")

12. lots of space, if you only have a 2 car garage that you share with other uses and you have to move everything around every time you want to work on projects it makes setup, cleanup, etc. 1/2 of your day which in effect doubles the amount of effort required to complete the project.  

MadScientistMatt said:

Since that name stood for Heritage High Roof, it may just be an H at this point.

...High?

In reply to ClearWaterMS :

The funny thing is, while your points are extremely valid, the reality of the situation, at least for me, has proven quite flexible. Bigger budget lended itself to moving goal posts for me, and "hey we have space for one more car in the garage" led to, surprise, another car.

First world problems, absolutely, but it does make me chuckle a bit, knowing where I started this journey with cars. =)

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

I concur about the notcher, kind of convenient yet not a must have. 

In reference to the notcher. Buy one. And buy a good one. They are worth the money. This is a case where Harbor Freight is not good enough.

Not sure what kind of tube bender they pictured but you aren't building a tube chassis with that one. Looks more like a flat bar bender to me. 

Pretty sure they meant this one. 

Cold beer?

I built two cars in one half of a two car garage. Google "Kimini" and "Midlana."

Upfront, this thread is somewhat pointless because the definition of "must have" is subjective. "Must haves" get confused with "saves time", but it doesn't mean that you can't get the car built. But, here we are, so here you go:

1. Motivation and "stick-to-it-ness", self explanatory.
2. Space - at least one half of a two-car garage. More isn't a "must have."
3. An approving wife. If you force the issue, the car will likely never get finished.
4. Time. Having small children or an all-consuming job can either slow or prevent any progress.
5. Just enough monthly spare cash to keep the project moving along. Obviously the entire budget isn't needed upfront, as it's spread out over however many years it takes to complete.
6. A computer. Theoretically it could be done without, but who are we kidding these days.
7. A full set of hand tools are indeed must-haves.
8. A drill of some sort and a full set of drill bits.
9. Welder, non-negotiable unless you farm it out, which could be a potential liability issue if the car ends up in a ditch.
10. Lathe. There's just so many things it can do that are very difficult or realistically impossible otherwise.

No tube bender - I farmed out the work to avoid having to store the bender in my small space.

No mill - very helpful and precise, but doesn't earn a space on a "must have" list.

You don't really need the software or the bender and even the notcher isn't necessary if you go square frame. Personally I prefer a band saw to an abrasive wheel although it is slower. A pneumatic riviter is fine, except then you need the pneumatics to back it up. And if you are going to do that, you probably want higher CFM to support air tools and spray equipment, so it's a bit of an unnecessary rabbit hole.

 Having the proper tools for the job is a wonderful thing, but I also harken back to all the amazing craftwork that I've seen in poor countries where ingenuity and grit carries the day. 

Like I said, this thread is so squishy due to what exactly "must-have" means. You can do nearly all the metalwork with a file, but debating whether a car builder would do so is entirely subjective. Many online magazine articles purposely contrive such titles just to generate churn, knowing full well that there is no answer, but it achieves the desired goal - generating internet traffic.