| Tools and Supplies | |
| One of the seemingly dizzying issues include
what tools and supplies would I need to a restoration. How much do
these cost, and can I get these from good sources without mortgaging the
house etc.
I always have been kind of a handy guy around the house, so I have acquired tools etc. over the years as I needed them for projects. The nice thing about tools is you can use them for multiple purposes, even if you didn't think about them as you bought them for your current project. The way to handle the purchase of these tools is to buy them as you need them. Thinking of this as an all at once purchase will drive anyone into the poor house and really discourage you from going too far. Vendor | Tools | Supplies | Corvair Sites |
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| Vendors | What to Expect |
| Harbor Freight (www.harborfreight.com) | Most people who do this kind of work in their homes look to Harbor Freight as a major supplier of inexpensive tools. Be careful here because they do sell some tools at prices that are just "too good". You will find an angle grinder is an invaluable tool, and gets really worked hard. Yes you can find one for $19.99 but you will find it bogging down under heavy load. Power tools really need to be well known brands and I truly believe spending a little more here is money well spent. Harbor Freight is great for a huge amount of stuff, but there are limits. They also have a number of retail stores as well so you can get stuff quickly. Sign up for their mailings so you can get sales flyers etc. A note of caution though, the prices on their web site do not necessarily match those in the store as they seem to run different promotions for these sales channels. |
| Home Depot/Menards/Lowes Basic local home stores | Auto restoration at a home store? Well not really, but you can find some of your more basic type tools here. Sawsall, jig saws, angle grinders, saw blades etc. all can be found here. Again store brands are just "ok". Stick with a name brand if you can. My sawsall is a DeWalt, angle grinder: Makita, jig saw: craftsman, drills: black and decker, air tools: Huskey (lifetime warranty) etc. I did not buy these all at once either. Some were Christmas gifts others were purchases for other projects before I ever thought of a restoration. I also use these folks as a source for my welding wire too. |
| Northern Tool (www.northerntool.com) | Ok these guys aren't the cheapest in the market. They also have versions of some tools you can only find at Northern Tool. I know this because I have a friend working in their corporate offices. I personally got my welder from them. To this day I have not found the same model anywhere else. It's still a name brand Hobart welder, and damn good, I just have never seen it anywhere. |