Beginner equipment advice

cesoirondanse

Hi all,

My father has been keen to start restoring cars for a number of years, having been involved in cars a lot, particularly rallying, in his younger days. I know he's started looking into renting a garage space to work so would like to get him something for Christmas to get him started and give him that last push, as he's slow to indulge himself.

From reading through the forum (which has me hooked as well now ) I'm thinking a MIG welder might be a good investment? Or are there any other essential bits of equipment for €100-€300 approx.? And if there's anywhere in Cork and Kerry you'd recommend I'd appreciate it.

Thanks for your help,

Stephen

bijapos

If you aren't sure what kind of welder he prefers then maybe leave it. If he is an experienced welder he might have his eye on something in particular. You could try to give him a voucher for a local motor factors or an online shop. Things that also come in handy are:

Trolley jack
axle stands
a quality wrench or screwdriver or socket set
a garage heater
air compressor with accessories

101sean

I've just bought my son in the UK a load of tools, anytime I'm over there and he asks for a hand with his MX5 I moan about the crap ones he has :rolleyes:

I tried to order from some of the online retailers in the UK but they can't cope with a non UK invoice address so after a bit of searching I ordered off Amazon. Got decent spanners, Bahco sockets sets etc either direct or from their partner sellers and all with no delivery charge. They sell a huge range but you need to do a lot of searching to find the good from the dross, not as easy as searching a proper tool site.

Like I said, the main advantage is that deliver here for free these days or you can give a voucher.

Alternatively, as Bijapos suggests, you could probably go to one of the big commercial/agri motor factors and get a credit note/voucher. They all have 1000 page Draper catalogues that make excellent toilet reading

fergal.b

A good workbench and vice is a must and at this time of year a heater

mk1esc

agree with whats said above....

1: a very good book on the car he is restoring
2: mig welder but make sure its from 25amp upwards and its gas, not gasless
3: a good supply of panels for the car

what car is he restoring?

theres a company in cork that sell all sorts of garage equipment
www.jebbtools.ie
also try these
www.red.ie
www.nortsouthsales.com
www.ebay.co.uk

plenty of good tools on ebay but at present the euro is weakening against the pound

cesoirondanse

Thanks for the replies guys, they're a great help, exactly the advice I need!

He hasn't any extended welding experience, I'd picked on the MIG simply from reading through posts and a few other websites, from which I formed the impression that a reasonable way of starting (unless there's courses running) would be to get a MIG welder, follow tutorials online and practice on scrap. But the ideas of a heater and some high-quality tools is a better start definitely, he can decide how he wants to approach the welding himself then. I'd be keen to pick it up myself.

He hasn't a car to work with at the moment, although he may well have one in mind. He's been talking increasingly lately of starting, less and less in terms of it being a pipe-dream, so this will leave him with no excuses. I'd imagine his goal would be to end up restoring an old Alfasud, Renault Alpine, or Morris Minor but he'll start with whatever is available as an easy enough project to get confident on. On that note are there any cars to keep an eye out for as typically good starter projects?

ikb

May I reccommend he check out the Retro Rides website. There are some great Restorations on there ( not for faint hearted), and an excellent thread on how to make your own panels etc with the most basic of equipment, and how to make some homemade useful tools, to a very high standard. Gives you a feel what can be done.

cesoirondanse

Great site, had a look through it there ikb and it'll be a really good reference to work with, thanks for that.

aujopimur

If you need a car that would make a good project for a first restoration send me a PM.

Dades

Get a leatherman!

I keep one in the glovebox and it's useful for all sorts of quick cutting, tweaking, tightening etc.

Ford4000

fergal.b wrote: »

A good workbench and vice is a must and at this time of year a heater

That looks to expensive for me, few blocks, bit a cement, handfulla nails and a couple a 9 by 3s and you will have a super bench:D