Don't know why the quality of modern snap off stuff isn't that great and even the warrety is dependant on your local dealer playing ballThe only Snap On tools I own have been 'donations' I've found under the bonnet, in the boot and so on. I had no idea they were so expensive
Technical Old wives tales or not
- Thread starter koalar
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Technical Old wives tales or not
Lotus Elan? That's right. I looked into this when I was deeply into Imps and found out the Lotus couplings had the same bolt centres as the Imp used so they were a direct swap. Why did this interest me? Well the Lotus spec had an extra metal divider embedded in the rubber between the one's which had the bolt holes in them, so 6 rather than 3 on the standard joint. This, apparently, resulted in a more stable joint which lasted quite a lot longer and was used by hill climb and sprint competitors. I never found a cheap source of supply so changing the standard joint, often with a somewhat poor quality aftermarket product - I wouldn't dare mention a name but I remember one had a Q in it - became a regular feature of ownership. They could be a bit of a hassle to change too.I was going to mention along with the nylon bushes the rotoflex couplings were shared by Lotus Elan I think , our storeman used to work for the Lotus Agent and saved his boss money by supplying Triumph parts at Lotus prices, when working for us, he also broke a part ex Wartburg selling the parts to customers who wanted a cheap body part or whatever as we were the agents, the £70 p/ex made over £2000 by the time it was down to the bare chassis, not bad in the 1970s, it made more than double the retail value of a brand new one!!!
Talking about cheap sources of supply. As you mention, the DAFs, when they broke a belt, would invariably break just one. I used to save up all the broken belts - I owned both a 33 van and a 44 saloon during my time at the DAF dealer - and use them on my own cars. As you may know the belts were supplied in matched length pairs which was very important to avoid one belt and pulley set being effectively in a lower gear than it's partner which would cause the car to pull to one side at very low speeds before the differential action provided by the pulleys could kick in. Inevitably my vehicles always pulled to one side at under about 8 mph! Another interesting thing about the early cars, before they introduced the later models with their differentials, is that I believe they were exempt from being put on the rolling road brake tester as damage could be caused to the transmission. I've never been an official MOT tester so I'm a little uncertain about this but I know our foreman never put them on the brake tester and I often saw the old brake tester on the floor in the passenger footwell. (of course we are talking a long time ago now, don't know how they would be treated today.)
I still know and talk to a lot of people in "the trade" and many swear by Snap On. At the price you pay for them I just don't "get it" and they certainly aren't unbreakable. I think a lot of it is about image and kudos? Regarding the price? Well, from those I've spoken too, they never seem to have any problems getting one that fails replaced free of charge so maybe that's why they are expensive. Charge enough and you can maintain a good image by replacing without question any that fail? Must say though that they are very "nice and shiny" and feel nice in the hand.
Fitted a few in the past , OK as long as no bright spark had snipped of the steel band prior to fitting
.Never owned a Daf/Daffodil as I recall the earlier ones were called.
I think it was the earlier pre diff ones I remembered as when they turned around in our polished concrete yard they would squeal.
As foreman I was also the chief Mot tester, so responsible for calibrating using weights etc. our rolling road and beam setter , then putting the details in a signed diary.
I didn't do all the Mots I made all the other mechanics rotate to prevent terminal boredom
.We had a Churchill brake meter for 4x4 , Land Rovers etc. I can't recall what happened with the early DAFs.
I still prefer my Britool spanners, I only ever had one break, the bosses brother tried to undo a seized VW beetle shock absorber nut with a piece of scaffold tubing in the open end and broke the ring, he was obliged to replace it!
Free is good though!
OP
OP
Years ago I took something back to Halfords Crewe. Didn’t have a receipt. It wasn’t a problem they look at the part it was stamped Halfords adv and just swapped it there and then. No paperwork.
Whether it’s still the same now the advanced range is now called pro i don’t know
Oh yes, don't remove the band prior to fitting!Fitted a few in the past , OK as long as no bright spark had snipped of the steel band prior to fitting
Never owned a Daf/Daffodil as I recall the earlier ones were called.
I think it was the earlier pre diff ones I remembered as when they turned around in our polished concrete yard they would squeal.
As foreman I was also the chief Mot tester, so responsible for calibrating using weights etc. our rolling road and beam setter , then putting the details in a signed diary.
I didn't do all the Mots I made all the other mechanics rotate to prevent terminal boredom
We had a Churchill brake meter for 4x4 , Land Rovers etc. I can't recall what happened with the early DAFs.
Boss's Dad ran around in an immaculate green Daffodil which I thought, with it's more steeply sloping bonnet, was a much prettier car than the 33? It was a good sales/publicity getter for the business even though it wasn't sign written, everybody knew it. If I saw one for sale at a bargain price I don't think I'd even bother checking in with "the boss" before handing over the readies!
Churchill brake meter - that's the one. Round dial on a very heavy base?
Mentioned this before, but quite some time ago. When I took up my first "position of authority" as working foreman (glorified mechanic, now dependent for bonus on workshop profit figures, should have known better and just stayed a mechanic!) I allowed the apprentice (we only had one apprentice at a time) to work as helper to the MOT testers (2 of the workforce were testers). Unknown to me we had an examiner present his car for test who got the idea that it was the apprentice who had done the test! He identified himself to me and informed me we were to be suspended from doing MOTs pending investigation. It took us months to get our license back and head office held me responsible and were very cross with me! Workshop revenue suffered too and I never made bonus over the entire period our licence was suspended which cause Mrs J to be somewhat unhappy with me too. Although the lads in the workshop and my branch manager were very understanding about it, I never got back on good terms with head office so when, a few months later, the DAF garage offered me employment I jumped at the chance.
Absolutely!Free is good though!
I mean, I've never used it, but I have a trim remover thingy* that would cost me nearly 50 quid to replace if I were daft enough to buy one!
*Looks like an old-fashioned fish disgorger, funnily enough
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I have two sets of Japanese made Kamasa open/ring spanners and a set of their 1/2" drive sockets. The company went down hill during the 1980s. The sockets are less useful being 12 point. I broke the ratchet broke about 15 years ago, but it did have lots of use and I had bent the T-bar. I bought a cheap set of 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" six point sockets which have all done well, though the ratchets were quickly replaced. I broke one on the Renault Espace because I could not be bothered to find the UJ coupling. But apart from that, they do fine.
My impact sockets are Halfords 3/8" drive (who knows why didn't buy 1/2") have been superb along with an impact spec adaptor they do just about anything. Breaker bar is similar age to the recent socket set also a "No Name".
I do have a few imperial spanners, boxed away somewhere. They almost never get used.
My impact sockets are Halfords 3/8" drive (who knows why didn't buy 1/2") have been superb along with an impact spec adaptor they do just about anything. Breaker bar is similar age to the recent socket set also a "No Name".
I do have a few imperial spanners, boxed away somewhere. They almost never get used.
Yes, got a few "professional" stamped ones, a set of split rings for brake pipes comes to mind. I suspect they are not as strong as my old Williams Superslims which I would go to first, but they, the superslims, don't have the modern metric sizes in full hence buying the Halfords Profs. In general I've had a good experience with the better quality (ie Advance/Professional) Halfords stuff. Wouldn't be so confident with their more budget ranges perhaps?
Yes, the old Britool stuff is of excellent quality and it's s ource of some pain and regret that I've lost/had stolen a number of the spanners from my original master set of combination spanners - 13mm and 10mm inevitably being two of them! However, many years ago I bought a set of Draper Expert combinations, not so many sizes, stops at 19mm, but I'd say of very nearly comparable robustness as the Britools. I've used them for years and not broken one yet!
Here's a couple for you to compare:
Often wondered why the Draper open ends are offset one way and the Britools the other? Given both are pictured with the maker's name uppermost.
PS. the Drapers are made in West Germany
Motorcyclist Colin
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Are you sure Jock. My Berkley had a 325 Excelsior engine and I thought the Bandit had a 700 Enfield Constellation engine but I really can't remember my own name sometimes, so I stand to be corrected
OP
OP
Tools are a difficult one and expensive when starting to do your own repairs
I have several socket sets and spanner sets
3/8 12 point where access is tight
1/2 6 point for everything else
Stubby combo spanner’s
Plus long reach, impact, normal long handle spanner’s and so on
Personally if I was just working on just one car I wouldn’t start of buying socket and spanner sets knowing what I know now
Half of which just sit unused yet others you need two of
As an example a Suzuki Slash which uses a lot of 14mm head bolts. Buying a 14mm combo spanner with a longer handle will make life a lot easier
Car boots are a good source of better tool on a budget but you do need some expertise to recognise the quality ones
I have several socket sets and spanner sets
3/8 12 point where access is tight
1/2 6 point for everything else
Stubby combo spanner’s
Plus long reach, impact, normal long handle spanner’s and so on
Personally if I was just working on just one car I wouldn’t start of buying socket and spanner sets knowing what I know now
Half of which just sit unused yet others you need two of
As an example a Suzuki Slash which uses a lot of 14mm head bolts. Buying a 14mm combo spanner with a longer handle will make life a lot easier
Car boots are a good source of better tool on a budget but you do need some expertise to recognise the quality ones
Motorcyclist Colin
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Said no car guy ever!!
I'd probably not like to work on any car without everything i've got, because you always find something weird or awkward. And when someting goes wrong, you start digging deep to find all the strange and custom tools to find something that'll fit. And when it all goes tits up, angle grinder will fix it!!
I'm sure you're right Colin. I know nothing in detail about them, just like the look and sound of them. Then again I loved the sound of a SAAB 3 cylinder on full song charging through the forests! Don't know what it is with me and 2 strokes but I feel fatally attracted to them for some reason? I've got a couple of 2 stroke Suzuki mower engines in the shed which I've been looking for a good chassis to fit to (mower chassis that is) but they're a somewhat different shape - fuel tank mounting etc - compared to the Briggs or maybe Tecumseh the chassis are usually configured to fit to. No hurry though, I'll get there one day or someone can inherit a couple of very good engines when I snuff it.
That's why I insist on the kids bringing their cars to me here rather than chucking a random - or not so random - selection in the boot and going over to one of their houses only to find the simple brake reline, or whatever, turns out to be the "job from hell" needing just that one tool I didn't bring with me.
OP
OP
Times are changing
I inherited tools from my farther
Now fewer people repair thing themselves and less get handed down
If you are just starting out it’s hard to know what the best on a budget
Quantity of less quality
Or
Quality but less quantity
It also depends if it’s a one off job or will be a more often used tool
