Must Have Mechanics Tools In my quest to learn about working on cars, I'm realizing that there's a lot I've learned about tools alongside learning about cars! When I first started working on my newly purchased Studebaker around five years ago - the only tools I had were neatly packed into an aptly named "Do-It-Herself" toolkit I'd received for high school graduation years before. Those got me by around the house - but weren't much help in the garage. Having a handy and helpful Dad, it didn't take him long to wrangle me up some spare tools from his garage. Soon enough I had a starter mechanics toolkit. A small assortment of sockets, wrenches,and a screwdriver were about all I started with. Its also about all hot rodding young people had back in the fifties! But as anyone who's worked on cars know - different jobs call for different tools. Sometimes you can make do with what you have and sometimes you've gotta go out and buy or borrow the right tool for the job. For everybody else out there who's learning as they go or just getting into cars - here's...

What does your garage say about you? People say that the clothes make the man, or that you are what you drive, and there are a million or so other cheesy sayings just like those that will apparently tell us all that we need to know about you. Yeah, right. How about “What does your garage say about you?” I think that would be a far more telling peek into who you are than your choose of shoes or jacket. This garage's owner is at least slightly noncommittal! He can't decide if he actually wants his car in there or not, so he leaves space for it that never actually gets used. The couch is conspicuously uncovered meaning he might like to use it sometime, but its awkward positioning means he probably never actually does. Somewhere between cluttered and functional, this garage manages to be neither! So what does your garage say about you? Is there a polyaspartic floor coating inlaid with flaming skulls or maybe a glossy black concrete stain? Did you go for a minimal industrial floor coating and concrete counters, or perhaps there’s zebra stripes and...

Sata Spray Guns -Best Product Display at SEMA 2010 How funny is that dude in the reflection?! At some point walking SEMA, just before your legs give out and you hear a very nearby bar calling your name, there's always one more thing to draw you back in.  Often that's a booth babe or some amazing custom car, but sometimes it's something so creative you owe that vendor a much closer look! Check this short video from SATA Paint Guns display at SEMA 2010: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoI7pAFw-Ro[/youtube] See what's happening there?  The SATA guys put together a fantastic display that included this table of SATA auto guns all following people as they walked by.  A  discretely mounted camera nearby made it all happen... that and some pretty trick controls! How cool is that?! I think most people, like me, didn't even know they were being followed, but once they saw it agreed. Very cool! Couple the freaky paint guns with the tried and true hot rods and customs in your booth and you see why SATA had one of the best at SEMA 2010.  The Chip Foose influenced 2010 Camaro SS you might recognize, but have you seen...

Best New Tools from SEMA 2010 No matter what you're driving or what your skill level, the right tool always helps get the job done right. Trouble is, you don't have that tool in your box and your buddy's sleeping cause it's 1:30AM and the Goodguys Show is tomorrow! That's where GearWrench comes in. I found their booth at SEMA 2010 where they had a simple, but effective display of how their tools can get you out of a jam. The open end ratchet wrench shown above has the fit-in-tight-spaces of an open end wrench with the convenience and speed of a box end ratchet. In this display (and as you'll often find working on your ride) the box end wouldn't work. Ad a ratchet end box on the other side and you're ready to turn flat-rate time into big money. (Click on image to see full size) The next tool is kinda hard to describe which makes it weird that I want it! The box end features a ratcheting wrench, but the twist is how you can reposition the angle of the box end. There's a push button...

Best New Tools from SEMA 2010 I'm no body man, and I'm not sure I want to be. It's hard work, takes a long time to learn and it's probably done wrong as much as it's done right. I do know something about inspecting bodywork in preparation for paint or checking a painted car to see if it's straight.  Straight has different meanings though. To some professional body men and to car owners who'll only be happy with the best, it means "like a mirror". I looked at the door shown above for a while cause I knew it had dents in it. These dents had been filled by body filler, probably a ton of it... otherwise, there wouldn't be much to show for The Filler Detective! To review, "Body Filler" is the generic term for products such as: Bondo (a 3M product), Putty or spot putty, Feather-Rite or Duraglass from USChemical or Evercoat. Whatever you call it, filler is part of the bodywork process and in very general terms, the less of it you use, the better the bodyman or bodywork. Without going into too much detail on that,...