HDC Staff Favorites: 6 Tools We Love
This story first appeared in the July/August 2024 issue of Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Join the club to receive our award-winning magazine and enjoy insider access to automotive events, discounts, roadside assistance, and more.
We’re here to celebrate the simple, defiant act of working on your own car. The opportunities to wield a socket wrench or an angle grinder are endless, and the reward is the same: the satisfaction that comes from being able to do something yourself. For some, it’s a way of earning a living. To you, we bow. For the rest of us keyboard clackers, a spell of physical work and concrete problem-solving replenishes the soul.
Recently, some of our most talented writers have shared stories from their garages. You’ll find how-to advice—who knew that you shouldn’t apply more force to loosen a bolt than to tighten it?—and tales of how we often learned the hard way how to get the job done.
All those accomplishments and misadventures wouldn’t happen without the right tools. Old standbys, handy toolbox additions, or one-offs specially-modified for the job at hand—whatever the case—certain tools manage to garner our affection by getting us out of a jam or for their relentless capability. Here are just a few of our staff’s favorites.
Knipex Cutters
Watching a salesman snip a metal file with these cutters persuaded me to suspend my cheapskate ways and splurge for this tool. That was years ago, yet they haven’t dulled and remain the most effective snips in my toolbox. Today’s price hardly seems expensive —around $35—but it proves that sometimes buying the good stuff pays off. —Larry Webster
LED Headlamp
No matter how well-lit your garage is, it’s always a struggle to see into the recesses of a car. This $20 headlamp shines light right where my eyes need it and weighs almost nothing on my forehead. The wide LED strip illuminates my peripheral vision. It even has a hand-activated motion sensor, so I don’t have to put down my tools to turn it on. —Sajeev Mehta
Scraper
When I was restoring my Chevelle with my girlfriend (now wife of 27 years), we needed to get off all the undercoating. Every scraper/putty knife was too long or flexed too much. I trimmed this one to about an inch and a half, and it worked fabulously. It’s still my go-to for scraping gaskets off oil pans and whatnot. —Davin Reckow
LED Flashlight
I found this extruded aluminum flashlight lying in front of the pits while I was drag racing in St. Thomas, Ontario. It’s probably 10–15 years old, and it’s the most well-built light I’ve ever seen. I’ve tried to buy more, but they’re available only in Canada. I might have to cross the border to get another one. —Davin Reckow
Socket Ratchet
I love this tool simply because it was a gift from my teenage son. He informed me that it was promoted by a popular car-repair YouTuber named ChrisFix (page 79), and that name was on the handle. A YouTuber making tools? Good grief. I use this ratchet so often, however, that I’ve worn Fix’s name off. Sometimes we learn from our kids. —Larry Webster
Colortune 500
This British-made glass spark plug gives you a window into your combustion chambers at work. As the tool’s name implies, color is everything; richer mixtures burn red to orange, a leaner mix burns blue to white. A plugged idle circuit means darkness. This tool is indispensable for diagnosing and tuning carbureted engines, especially those with multiple carburetors. —Aaron Robinson
The average guy doesn’t need snap on tools. If you are a mechanic yes cause you use them a lot and they wear well. I have some really good expensive stuff but now if I use a socket or ratchet once a month the Chinese stuff works ok. But if you have some stubborn or rusted on repairs yes you need good tools to get it apart. But for normal use no.
I think the most valuable tool in my toolboxes right now is a telescoping
magnet! Absolutely invaluable!
I had an old hacksaw that my father had bought back when he came to Canada to work for Avro on the Arrow.
Loaned it to a neighbour who lost it somehow. Never spoke to him again…or loaned out any of my good tools.
geez, i have a number of go-to favorite tools. here’s some of my favorites.
knipex side cutter. it’s in my tool bag in my truck tool box, along with a knipex channel locking type pliers ( they do not slip )
latex gloves, the somewhat thicker ones. wore them all the time when wrenching professionally, and still do. hinders feel very very little. nice not getting chemicals on your skin, and virtually eliminates grease in the cuticles & under the nails. they’re like an extra layer of skin – they reduce smaller cuts & scrapes. got ’em in my truck as well as my shop
milwaukee m12 3/8″ ratchet and led light. the ratchet is fairly compact and just about as powerful as my air ratchets. i would’ve paid 2x more if available when i wrenched professionally long ago. the light i use all the time. bright and robust. can’t count how many times i’ve dropped it w/o incident
pocket screwdriver & telescoping magnetic pickup. the pickup is as everyone has said. the screwdriver comes in handy in sooo many ways. and the tool trucks used to give ’em out for free. such a deal
smart phone camera (i’m warming up to this one). takes sharp images. saves sooo much time – don’t hafta write down nearly as much, don’t hafta describe something to the parts man, etc etc. taking a pic before tearing into something can help when reassembling
I know the topic is supposed to be about one tool, but everyone posting before me has pretty much covered the bases.
So, my mechanical savior for spark plug changes is a combo of tools.
As anyone who has changed the rear-most spark plugs on a Ford FE in a second-gen Mustang knows (especially a Mustang with A/C, power brakes/steering and all the factory smog stuff): Unless you want to torch a hole into your inner fenders to access the little buggers more straight-on, it takes at least three hours and six smashed/bleeding fingers just to get those two plugs changed.
There’s not much difference in time/frustration/blood spilled from a plug change in a big block Corvette with A/C, P/B, etc., but my 40-years of owning of a Shelby GT500KR with a 427 side-oiler, has proven it to be the most maddening.
My magic combo evolved to be: The smallest-diameter spark plug socket that fits (notched about 1/4 inch on one point) then two short universal joint extensions, twisted by a l-o-n-g solid extension and either 3/8 or 1/2 inch drive large ratchet. Plus, maybe an additional u-joint on the ratchet side, too.
Then, with the two lower u-joints clocked “just so”, and the angle of the extension held more precisely than a brain surgeon’s scalpel, I could change those two back plugs in about 90 minutes.
Sometimes, it’s not just one tool…or two…or five…that best gets job done.
Hey, what a great idea for a shop manual: With each repair description, the manual would include the exact setups (with photos) of tools that makes the job the easiest.
What do you think?
Maybe some of the newer manuals already do that, but I only work on vintage cars, so I’ve never seen any.
Who wants to volunteer to do the first one?
I was surprised to see Colortune mentioned. I have owned two British cars for over twenty years but never bought one. Many times tempted, but always talked out of it by guys at car shows and such claiming that they are just “gimmicky tools that don’t really work and will wind up in the bottom of your box never used”.
I do mostly automotive electrical troubleshooting and repair. My Powerprobe111 is invaluable for what I do. I can easily find low/no voltage, ground/no, ground and all sorts of electrical issues. I can carefully make something HOT or ground if I need to, and for the most part, it is safe for computer/ECM/PCM etc.
Back in ’63 or ’64 (High School) I bought a ratchet/socket by HUSKY. They’ve worked on: my ’52 Ford Crestline V8 Flathead, ’61 Sunbeam Alpine, 5-6 VW Beetles, ’70 Camaro, ’71 Olds Cutlass, ’26 ‘T’ Roadster Pickup, ’31 Model A 4-dr. Sedan (Last 2 were street rods.) and assorted Audi, Merc, Olds & Buick daily drivers thru the years.
Though I’ve never been a mechanic for a living, those tools NEVER broke or failed — still have the complete set in my toolbox SIXTY YEARS later. YES, my ‘HUSKY’s’ were scorned and laughed at many times — to which I just shook my head and ignored them.
hey glenn, i’m with you. i bought a husky 3/8 ratchet/extension/socket set by mail order from a puny company called harbor freight. came in a metal case. i’ve replaced maybe 3 sockets (only one broke, borrowed by a friend) and one short extension (again, broke by a friend). of all the sockets/extensions/ratchets i own, including snap-on/mac/matco, the husky set is my go-to. got it in my every day tool bag like i mentioned before. nice to hear from someone with a similar experience!
Color tune is an excellent window into your combustion. Have been using one since the 70s.
I was an aircraft engine mechanic working out of LAX for Continental Airlines in the early 90s. Just got out of the Air Force and had nothing but junk Craftsman tools. EVERY Saturday morning I would hump to Sears to exchange my lifetime broken tools. Been buying nothing but Snap on, Mac, or Matco ever since and very rarely do I have a broken tool. You get what you pay for when it comes to tools, especially if they are used every day as a profession. Craftsman is OK for the guy in your garage but not as an everyday tool to depend on. Having said that, I have NEVER had a failed Craftsman wrench, many sockets, ratchets, extension etc.
Flat screen TV and YouTube
re: LED flashlight This is what drives me crazy! Great flashlight design, no maker name given. I am in CANADA, and if I knew what the flashlight was called, I would have one. Name please!
They actually don’t have a name! You can buy a proper headlamp from a company like Milwaukee, but these LED strip bands all seem to be the same design from various retailers in China. Same look, same features (including that wave-to-activate button) but the price varies on which country the vendor is based in. (I’d just get it directly from China from a place like eBay or Alibaba)
My new favorite tool is my Makita 18V cordless ratchet. My old standby is mt Craftsman long handle flex head ratchet. Also the second 10mm and 13mm wrench can be invaluable.
Got Craftsman & Snap-Ons both but the ones I like best are the “Steel Willies” (metric, of course).
Set of Craftsman toolset parents gave me for my 16th birthday. That was 54 years ago. The box/open end wrenches are still my everyday ‘go to’ wrenches. They just fit my hand in a way that no other wrenches do. I once told my family we were not leaving the track at Blackhawk until I found the 7/16 wrench. Took about an hour and it’s still in the tool box today. I have and use that 50+ year old set of tools daily even though I’ve added hundreds of other name brand tools over the years. Sentimental and functional.