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.

Cheater Bar

I understand Physics, but why I did not think to apply it to working on the car and make things easier has me kicking myself. The cheater bar is my best new car tool that consists of whatever random pipe I can find around the house. Using a standard socket wrench, I simply slide my cheater bar over the wrench handle and with the extra leverage I have been able to get off quite a few stubborn bolts. I have used an old piece of metal tubing from furniture and the pole from a patio umbrella as a cheater bar and have been successful in removing stubborn bolts from the front and rear suspension.

There are limitations with the cheater bar depending on where a bolt is located and whether there is enough space for the cheater bar, but for the most part, this tool has proven itself worthy of car dismantling. Stubborn bolts had been a discouraging part of the restoration process, so it's nice to finally remove bolts rather quickly now.

April has been a productive month with working on the Triumph. With the cheater bar and some help from Chris for the non-cheater bar capable bolts, the front suspension arms have been completely removed and most of the rear suspension as well. The car restoration is progressing closer to being completely dismantled with only the engine, transmission, drive train, and passenger side of the rear suspension remaining.

Winter Collection

The water is finally starting to drain out of the basement and with the weather warming up, I can start focusing on the Triumph again.

Over the winter, I've collected a few useful items for working on the Triumph. Off of craigslist, I purchased a 4-ton capacity engine hoist and engine stand for $200 and for $25 from Harbor Freight, a compression tester.

I had been holding off on purchasing an engine hoist and stand for a while, since the largest car I have access to is a 1999 Toyota Camry and did not think an engine hoist or stand would fit in a Camry. Apparently, I did not need to worry as the engine hoist I bought could easily be disassembled with a wrench and fit in the trunk and back seat of a Camry. I really only needed an engine hoist, but a friend had advised that trying to work on an engine while it's swinging from a hoist is not an easy task.

The compression tester is something that I probably could have rented from AutoZone, but sometimes it's just nice to have your own tools that you can use whenever you want. There are plenty of youtube videos on how to check the engine's compression, so the plan is to run a compression test on the engine and only work on the engine if the compression test indicates that it's necessary.

As for buying from Harbor Freight, I wouldn't recommend buying all of your tools from Harbor Freight, but for some things the cheaper version is all you need. I'm not too confident in the quality of their drills or other electric tools, but some of their basic tools seem to be good enough or as good as those found in major hardware stores. For example, Chris bought a tubing bender from a hardware store for almost $30 and Harbor Freight carries one of comparable quality for $6. (This tubing bender will be useful should we design to replace the fuel line.)

I'm still looking to buy a Miller MIG welder for reasonable price, but whenever a decently priced Miller MIG becomes available it gets sold almost immediately. There are other MIG brands out there, but from what I've read online, Miller tends to use better quality parts (Hobart and Miller are produced by the same company, but Hobart uses cheaper parts) and plus, that is what I learned on in welding class.

Maybe this is the year I finally get the Triumph disassembled. *Fingers crossed.