Let's start a list...what are some of the 'one-off' tools & parts you don't think of

A 2/5-16 Hitch Ball Welded To A Piece Of Pipe 2ft. Long Works Great On Straighting The Headers On A Funny Car Scraped A Lot Walls In The Early Years And Got Tired Of Buying New Headers If You Can Find Someone You Trust To Swing The 3lb Hammer While Your Holding The Header Tool (lol)

 

What a coincidence. I had the exact same problem and Mike Austin (da da da daaa!) came to my rescue with a time sert kit in Bakersfield. I get a little nervous drilling into my blower so he even monitored the action so that I didn't screw it up. Worked great! Thanks a ton Mike.

Flash

 

Strategically mounted bottle cap removers welded to the chassis so that when you are in the middle of a major thrash you don't have to waste time going into the trailer to get your beer opened...
I hear that Mike has at least a half dozen on his chassis...

 

Believe it or not Will, I actually carry these neat little inserts w/correct drill bit and tap all packaged together just for that application! Inserts are pre-coated w/red loctite and make a nice permanent fix! Speaking of time savers, I keep all my heli-coils packaged w/correct tap and bit so the scramble is eliminated.

 

I cut and welded 2 wrenches together to tighten both nuts on an RCD billet pistol grip type idler assm for BAE. Just one less wrench to grab. There probably is a tool made for it, but it works well.

S

 

Toothpaste to check pinion contact on the ring gear.

 

bar of soap

I was told to bring a bar of IVORY soap because if rubbed on a split in a weld on a fuel cell the soap would swell in the crack and be a quick fix.Yes it came from a reputable person and no I didnt try it.
Rick

 

Most of my one-off specialty tools are courtesy of Ora Vasquez.

 

Awesome Hub Puller & More

The National Dragster did a article on this once and gave us a great idea to copy a hub pulley that Austin Coil said would break the hub before it gave up pulling it off.It also let you pull the hub with out cutting off the clutch guys fingers while doing it.
My question is who makes that cool blower stripping tool that all the Fuel guys use, it has a electric motor that has a router looking bit and a couple of rods that it slides back and forth on?
One more cool tool is a leak down tester a friend of my is making that you can view at www.machinedesignserviceinc.com
Andrew T/D

 

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2909694440084737028ylaKrb
Heres a tool that is totaly useless, other than to make you laugh i made it to get a rise out of John Glade and Mike Kosky. It's called a Polish Chainsaw, check it out. Len Cottrell, has a cool polish key chain. show it Len.

 

ora tools

we use that same hub puller , it kicks ass, made by ora. also have his valve spring compressor and valve adjustment tools, the list goes on & on. best in the business.

 

ORA's Tools

Does Ora have a web site with a list of the tools he makes. Ive heard alot about his stuff but never used or seen any of it. Thanks Kevin Newburgh

 

My son Chris makes all kinds of neat tools for a-fuel cars. He makes a tool that cuts the setup time for adjusting the clearance on a multi disc glide that is a spring with six feeler gauges attached that you wrap around the assembled clutch with the six springs sliding into the clutch pack.It holds itself in place while you snug the clutch plate up and adjust the stands out.
Not a good discription but it makes the task of setting the pack clerance simple and fast. When done you simply unhook the spring pull the feeler gauges out. He also makes a stand for your bellhousing to sit on when taken out of the car rather than throwing on the ground. Another tool he makes is a lifting handle that attaches to the bellhouseing which allows the bell housing and reverser to be lifted out with out detaching the reverser.
There are lots of other tools he makes as well that makes things easier and faster. He also makes a nice tool for locking the flywheel while tighting the clutch or working on the crank hub. Another neat thing he makes is a starter set up for a-fuel cars that uses a short blower belt and blower pulleys so you can use a standard blower starter and crank th car from the top. It weighs about the same as a crank mounted setup but the really good thing about it is you can use the top pulley adapter to turn the motor over when checking the valves, ign. timing, leaking down the motor, and making clutch changes.
Bob Holley
bobholley33@yahoo.com

 

If you have ever had a problem removing a gaulded hub that requires a hydraulic puller you might try this stuff. Its name is Silver Goop. It is a Swedgelok product. Since using this product we have never gaulded another hub. Not even after leaving it on for 25 or 30 runs. Prior to using the we gaulded the hub all the time. Some times so bad the crank snout had to be welded and cromed.

One thing that we do is we carry a spare set of the shorting plugs that the crew chief pulls when starting the motor looped around the cross brace that steering shaft is mounted to. It only weighs a couple ounces and when the driver gets out after the run he takes it out and puts it into the plugs shorting out the mags. This way you are alays sure they are in and it gives the driver something to do while waiting on the tow truck.