Cool Tool of the Day. (CTOD)

[zKars 1,220]

Here is another way to share your knowledge.

Post a couple of well posts,  of cool tools you’ve made or bought that made your Datsun day go better.

I’ll go first.

 

[zKars 1,220]

I have a drawer full of jigs and things I’ve made over the years to make things “better” but I made one today that I’ve been wanting to build for some time. When installing new stock T/C bushings, you have to compress the rubber quite a bit to get the end of the rod threads to stick out far enough to allow you start the nut.

I had previously modified a special welding vice grip, but it was a struggle at best. It is now in the metal recycle bin.

Here is what I built.

Some 5/8 threaded rod, few nuts, some 1/4 plate steel, piece of 5/8 ID pipe (garage door spring tubing). M6 threaded rod to keep the two halves aligned. Added that after using it to do the first one. 

This is the vice grip tool I modified before. The jaws are always in a V shape, never parallel.

 

Edited October 28, 2020 by zKars

[AK260 387]

Gland nut removal tool ....

 

 

Old bracket + 8.8 bolts and a step drill to widen the centre hole.

 

 

 

 

 

Just add hammer. 2lb is ideal. Oh and bolt strut bottom to the garage floor pre-drilled with a couple of rawlplugs in place.

 

 

 Clearly the original gland nut needs a couple of holes drilled but the new ones from Koni come pre-drilled.

 

 

[zKars 1,220]

Cool tool of the day for November 8th.

Been making brake lines again on the latest project, and finally made that little tool that makes some of the tighter bends really easy. 

[zKars 1,220]

Just stare at that little beauty for a minute. The brake line threaded into that little remnant of an old brake line welded to the bar is the secret weapon.

I already use the CuNi tubing and have for years. It is very soft and forms nicely in my powerful hands. However, there is one bend type that is always challenging and of course occurs frequently. A tight curve near the end of the tube. Bending the end of the tube requires more force as the leverage is reduced with shorter length. Don’t believe me, make a 180 in the middle of a 12 long piece, then make it again at the end. My finger tips cringe at the thought of it.

Dang, if only there was a way to safely, easily grab the end of the tube in a vise grip or something without screwing up the threads or crushing the tubing and giving me an extension handle to increase leverage. BINGO! Thread the tube nut into an old female brake fitting welded to the end of a scrap.

 

Consider that little devil tight S curve on the stock front caliper.  TWO tight 180 bends near BOTH ends! Impossible to make it nice and pretty and kink free!

Not any more.

I made a bunch. Need any?  All of these were created on the car on real stock calipers and strut tube mounted hose ends, so they fit perfectly. They are R and L sided. They took literally 5 minutes each to bend and fit.

Yes, they are not the exact same shape as the stock ones, sorry. Those bends are ridiculous.

Edited November 9, 2020 by zKars

[zKars 1,220]

Yes there is a 1.25 diameter roller thing at the other end to help you form tubing as well if and when that comes in handy.

That wheel is a screen door bottom guide roller. It has a 1/4” groove, bit bigger than the 3/16 tubing, but works just fine.