Recommendations on bare minimum tools needed for D ownership

[flux3d]

Hi all. I'm thinking of taking the plunge and buying a DeLorean sometime in the near future, but what would people recommend as the bare minimum tools needed for ownership? Obviously the usual socket set and such, but what else should I make sure I have before bringing a car home? I have most of the standard DIY tools, but not much automotive stuff.

I know, it probably depends on the state the cars in, but I'm thinking of the average kind of condition. A bit of a project car, possibly from the US, needing some work on the engine and interior. I have a garage, but its the usual single size (ie small) modern build garage. The car will fit in, but not much room to work around the sides.

I've seen images of people lifting the car on concrete blocks, but I'm not to sure how easy or safe that is.

Any help would be great!

[Rissy]

I think tools are really job dependent, so start off with, a good quality wide spread tool kit is called for. The likes of which you will get from Costco for the cheapest price, whilst still retaining the quality. (I have a good quality kit by "Crescent" - a US manufacturer which is good because it has imperial and metric sizes of each tool in the set. The Delorean is a hash mash of both Imperial and Metric sized components, so its good to have both measurement sizes.) - Never scrimp on the quality of the tools you buy. It doesn't pay, trust me. Plus, once bought, they'll be with you the rest of your life. So tools are always an investment.

The DeLorean also likes its Pop Rivets and Rivet Nuts. So a gun capable of a wide spread of sizes for each of these can prove useful. For instance, my Rivnut gun can do M3, M4, M5 and M6 and its been seeing me ok so far.

A God send, for me anyway, is my investment (once again, from Costco) of a Low Profile Hydraulic Jack. An ordinary sized one from the likes of Halfrauds is too tall at its lowest to get under the DeLorean, especially at the lift points on the tub where the stock Jack fits for roadside flat tyre wheel removal etc.

One other thing though. When it comes to oil changes, you'll need a Peugeot style Square Ended Plug insert for unscrewing the sump plug. In fact, if memory serves, there is a couple of these plugs scattered around the PRV6. You can use a simple adjustable (shifter) spanner to release the gearbox oil plugs (Input and Output Plugs) if memory serves.

I think everything else is pretty standard as far as tool requirement for working on any other type of car.

Oh, and another thing. A Multimeter. A Maplin one is good enough. Something for measuring DC Volts, resistance and continuity.

I could go on, but as I say, it starts getting very job description specific past this point I think. It also depends on how much you are willing to do to your own car I think, rather than taking the easy (most expensive) way out, and taking it to a garage instead. Something I'm pretty guilty of, as it is becoming known around some of the members of the club.
(Just in the month of August alone this year, I have forked out over £2,200 on car bills of some sort or another! Needless to say, I'm now eating porridge for every meal, and using the boyscout wipe method of toilet paper economy) :roll:

[Chris Williams]

Very well wrote, it really depends on what you want/intend on doing yourself. But the list above covers probably eveerything you would usually do. Perhaps also a long extention bar or box spanner to get to the spark plugs.

Chris

[flux3d]

Thanks Rissy, your a star. The Costco recommendation is a good one. I've not got a card yet, but that's easy enough to sort out. The jack recommendation is interesting, and has probably saved me loads of cash. I would have just brought a normal jack and been cursing when it came to using on the D. I had read on a couple of the instruction pages about the oil cap needing a special tool. A couple people have recommended changing them for a more traditional version as soon as, to avoid pain in the future. The rivet gun etc is the only tool I'm not familiar with. Sounds like it might be a whole world of pain! I'll add it the possible future shopping list. The multimeter and electrical stuff should also be fine. I know a fair bit about that, plus my father and expert at electrical instrumentation and electronics. He can fix anything electrical. In fact, he's been known to completely redesign electronics to work better in just about anything! Drives my mum up the wall with taking stuff apart.

Oh, I agree on the tool front. It's a false economy buying cheap quality tools. You only end up replacing them fairly quickly, whereas a good quality tool in the future can last a lifetime.

Right, best get off to Costco.....

[stunned_monkey]

I'd add a soldering iron to the list. There are very few special tools in my toolbox. Most are related to very specific very occasional jobs like clutch alignment or engine liner straps, or gearbox output shaft roll pin punch. The only one I use often is my steering wheel puller.

A decent jack is definitely a must.