More Tools Needed

From the Practical Classics book I have on restoring a Triumph Spitfire, it looks like the mechanics were able to remove the front suspension mostly in one piece. To do the same, it looked like I had to pull out the tie-rod end balljoint. According to the Haynes manual, to remove the front suspension arms, I need to use a balljoint separator and similar to a steering wheel puller, slowly unscrew the balljoint out.

I decided to rent a tie rod puller form AutoZone to do this, but what they rented me did not fit the Triumph's balljoint. The tie rod puller was too large for this task. Some online forums mentioned hammering the balljoint out, but I'm worried this may damage something that is currently not on my list of things to replace.

In the end I detached steering arm from the front assembly to be able to remove it, leaving the balljoint and steering arm still attached. Eventually, if I do need to separate the balljoint, Amazon sells a balljoint separator similar to what is depicted in the Haynes manual for $30.

For tools, I did buy myself a long socket set for standard sized bolts. While working on the suspension there were some bolts that extended well past the end of a nut and therefore could not use a standard socket for it because the height did not clear the end of the bolt. I figured I'll get some more use out of this set eventually, so went ahead and bought the new tools. I did restrain myself from buying a ratcheting set of standard sized wrenches, which would make some things more convenient, but definitely not necessary.