What separates the neighborhood mechanical hero from the hack with a hammer and an adjustable wrench? Tools. How many times have you been presented with a baffling situation and wondered how in the world you were going to handle it when one of your pals whips out the perfect tool for the situation, a tool that you didnt even know existed? My dad has been a mechanic all his life, and he continues to amaze me with all the trick stuff he has buried in his truck that Ive never seen or even imagined. These discoveries have at times been epiphanic.
As Hot Rod editors, we regularly tour professional and amateur shops across the country and are inundated with catalogs and news releases every day. Weve seen all kinds of neat tools and gadgets that may escape the travels of most of you, so we thought it would be fun to bring some of these secret goodies out of the bag and give them a good test in the real world. But before reading the following, make sure your checkbook is balanced and your credit cards are paid off, because youre about to spend some serious green for stuff that from this point on you cant live without. Dont say we didnt warn you.