Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[liquidwindows]

I don't know if anyone mentioned this yet but Harbor freight has a cheap Timber Jack that holds up as well as any - good sturdy wood handle - not more than a few bucks and well worth it if your land has a lot of trees. Sure saves chain saw blades to be able to easily get the logs off the ground if you have rocks near the surface.

 

[JB4310]

Wow, 530 posts here! didn't think they could have that much good stuff

We got our first store here last year, I got all excited and spent hours in there over the first couple of times I went, but the luster has faded, bought a few things but ended up bringing most stuff back. Looks like they have some decent stuff I just haven't needed or found it yet.

I like Tractor Supply much better, wish we had one closer.

JB.

 

[gemini5362]

Gemini, if you were familiar with the 70 (most call them 70 1/2), you'd know that there are two bolts at the top of the bell housing next to the firewall that are nearly impossible to reach from either under the car or from the top. If you removed the front wheels you could reach through the wheel well and openings in the inner fender and get to the bolts easier. There are several tricks to working on those old partial frame vehicles. My '69 Z28 Camaro was the not quite the same since it came with a 302ci engine rather than a 350. How many 302ci GM engines have you seen?

I have not had the opportunity to work on a camaro 302 or 350. I have worked on my old 71 blazer with a 350 and my ford with a 460 and a few other engines and engine swaps. Like you said it was a mistake working on it on gravel. Unfortuneatly for him but probably one of the best things to happen to me was a friend of mine when I was a young teenager. His car was low on transmission fluid and he seen one abandoned in a field so he crawled under it with just a bumper jack to try and drain transmission fluid out of it. The jack fell and it crushed him (no tires on it) I was not there when it happened. I went to the funeral and saw how much work they did trying to repair the damage for a open casket funeral. I have never forgotten how much he looked like a wax figure. I have been scared to death every time I crawl under a car. If something happens like you are talking about I put a block or the tire or something under the frame on that side so that if it does fall it cant go all the way down to the ground. I dont trust jacks or jackstands completely

 

[Skyco]

I picked up their video inspection camera on Friday. On sale for $109, down from $139 and then I had a 20% off coupon so I got it for $80ish with tax.
Works pretty well playing with it. I can't count the number of times I wished I had one of these in the past, next time I'll be set

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=66550

 

[Bedlam]

Thats an interesting tool,Im sure there alot of uses, do you have any in mind or remember jobs where it would have been useful?
other than the colonoscopy

 

[newbury]

Thats an interesting tool,Im sure there alot of uses, do you have any in mind or remember jobs where it would have been useful?
other than the colonoscopy

I need one of those!
Then with my Dremel I can do my own dentistry easier.

 

[Skyco]

I've had many occasions where I dropped a tool or fastener working on a car and couldn't see where it went. Being able to see it would lead to easier recovery of course. The back turbo bolts on my 96 Ford Powerstroke engine are real hard to get to, partly because you can't see them. Then there was the Windstar van where you change the back 3 sparkplugs by feel only. The list goes on.
I even inspected my uvula last night, then checked for ear hair

 

[IslandTractor]

Thats an interesting tool,Im sure there alot of uses, do you have any in mind or remember jobs where it would have been useful?
other than the colonoscopy

I have a similar tool (not HF) that has saved me hundreds already. I had a leak in a bathroom drain pipe that the local plumber wanted to investigate by tearing out several old tile walls which would have required thousands to repair and would have destroyed the character of a nice 1920's bathroom. Instead, I cut a very small hole, inserted the fiber optic scope and within few minutes was able to show him a cracked cast iron pipe. Once isolated, it was possible to do the repair without so much demolition. He was so impressed that he went out and bought one himself.

 

[Dargo]

I picked up their video inspection camera on Friday. On sale for $109, down from $139 and then I had a 20% off coupon so I got it for $80ish with tax.
Works pretty well playing with it. I can't count the number of times I wished I had one of these in the past, next time I'll be set

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Thanks for the info on that. I too can think of a lot of times something like that would be really helpful! Can you try it to see if it works? Yeah, I know, it sounds like I want you to be the guinea pig. How else can a guy know if an item from HF is a hit or a miss?

I like the tri-fold ramps I got. They are in my signature now!

 

[carpenter383]

Gemini, if you were familiar with the 70 (most call them 70 1/2), you'd know that there are two bolts at the top of the bell housing next to the firewall that are nearly impossible to reach from either under the car or from the top. If you removed the front wheels you could reach through the wheel well and openings in the inner fender and get to the bolts easier. There are several tricks to working on those old partial frame vehicles. My '69 Z28 Camaro was the not quite the same since it came with a 302ci engine rather than a 350. How many 302ci GM engines have you seen?

While a 302 sbc is a rare factory engine it's still a sbc. I don't see how that would affect getting to the bell bolts since all sbc are the same physical size and bolt pattern. Maybe you mean yours is different because it's a 1st gen instead of a 2nd gen camaro. Btw it's easy to build a 302, just take a 350 block and put a widely available aftermarket 3" stroke crank in it. While you could also use a 327 block (also 4" bore) The vast majority of 327 blocks used small journal cranks. I believe all the factory 302's were large journal.