9 old tools almost nobody uses anymore

under wagon hood
Kyle Smith

The nuts and bolts that make up our beloved automobiles have not changed that much over the last 150 years. But the tools needed to maintain them? Those have changed a lot. Software has cemented itself as part of a service technician’s day-to-day regimen, relegating a handful of tools to the history books. (Or, perhaps, to niche shops or private garages that keep many aging cars alive and on the road.)

How many of these now-obsolete tools do you have in your garage? More to the point, which are you still regularly using?

Spark-plug gap tool

Spark plug gap tool
Kyle Smith

Though spark-plug gap tools can still be found in the “impulse buy” section of your favorite parts store, these have been all but eliminated from regular use by the growing popularity of iridium and platinum plugs. These rare-earth metals are extremely resistant to degradation but, when it comes time to set the proper gap between the ground strap and electrode, they are very delicate. That’s why the factory sets the gap when the plug is produced.

These modern plugs often work well in older engines, meaning that gapping plugs is left for luddites—those who like doing things the old way just because. Nothing wrong with that; but don’t be surprised if dedicated plug-gapping tools fade from common usage fairly quickly.

Verdict: Keep. Takes up no real space. 

Dwell meter

Snap On dwell meter
sodor/eBay

50 years ago, a tuneup of an engine centered on the ignition system. The breaker points are critical to a properly functioning ignition system, and timing how long those points are closed (the “dwell”) determines how much charge is built up in the ignition coil and thus discharged through the spark plug. Poorly timed ignition discharge is wasted energy, but points-based ignition systems disappeared from factory floors decades ago, and drop-in electronic ignition setups have never been more reliable (or polarizing—but we’ll leave that verdict up to you.)

Setting the point gap properly is usually enough to keep an engine running well, and modern multifunction timing lights can include a dwell meter for those who really need it. A dedicated dwell meter is an outdated tool for a modern mechanic, and thus most of the vintage ones are left to estate sales and online auction sites.

Verdict: Toss once it stops working. Modern versions are affordable and multifunctional. 

Distributor wrench

Snap on distributor wrench set
Snap On tools

When mechanics did a lot of regular timing adjustments and tuning, a purposely bent distributor wrench made their lives much easier. However, much like ignition points, distributors have all but disappeared. Thanks to coil-on-plug ignition systems and computer-controlled timing, the distributor is little more than a messenger: It simply tells the computer where the engine is at in its rotation.

Timing adjustments have become so uncommon that a job-specific tool is likely a waste of space. If you’ve got room in your tool chest, keep yours around; but know that a standard box-end wrench can usually get the job done and is only fractionally less convenient than the specialized version.

Verdict: Keep if you have them. No need to buy if you don’t. 

Pre-OBDII diagnostic scan tools

pre-OBDII diagnostic equipement
Sajeev Mehta

Prior to the required standardization of on-board diagnostic computers by the U.S. in 1996, a single car could host a wild mix of analog and digital diagnostic methods. OBDII, which stands for On-Board Diagnostic II, wasn’t the first time that a small computer was used to pull information from the vehicle via an electronic connection; it merely standardized the language.

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s each OEM had its own version of a scan tool. Now those tools can be reverse-engineered and functionally spoofed by a modern computer, allowing access to diagnostic info tools that, at the time, were only available to dealers. Since many pre-OBDII cars are now treated as classics or antiques and driven far less frequently, the need for period-correct diagnostic tools is dropping.

Verdict: Keep. These will only get harder to find with time, and working versions will be even rarer. 

Distributor machine

A distributor is simple in concept. Trying to balance the performance and economy of the ignition system, with the distributor attached to a running engine, and achieving proper operation starts to get pretty complicated. That’s where a distributor machine comes in.

A distributor is attached to the apparatus and spun at engine speed by an electric motor. This allows you to literally see how the points are opening and closing. You can also evaluate the function of vacuum or mechanical advance systems. These machines are still great but the frequency that this service is needed these days is few and far between, especially when trying to justify keeping a large tool around and properly calibrated.

Verdict: Keep, if you are a specialty shop or tool collector. 

Engine analyzer

Sun Master Motor Tester
ajpperant

Even a casual enthusiast can see there is a lot more information that can be gleaned from a running engine than whatever readouts might be on the dash. Enter the engine analyzer, a rolling cabinet of sensors and processors designed to fill in the data gaps between everything that is happening in a car and what its gauges report.

An engine analyzer is essentially a handful of additional instruments packaged into a small box hanging around the bottom of your tool drawers. It can also house a lot of sensors in a giant cabinet, which was likely wheeled into the corner of the shop in 1989 and left to gather dust. Now engine analyzers can be found listed online for as cheap as $200.

The funny thing is that many of the sensors in these engine analyzers are often the same systems that come built into modern dynamometer tuning systems. In a dyno, the sensors allow the operator to see more than max power; they also show how changes to an engine’s tune affect emissions. Maybe engine analyzers didn’t disappear so much as change clothes.

Verdict: Toss. The opportunity cost of the space these take up can be tough for most home garages. Sensors went out of calibration decades ago so the information you might get from one is dubious at best. 

Most pneumatic tools (for home shops)

Ingersoll Rand air impact
Ingersoll Rand

Air tools hold an odd place in the hearts of many gearheads. For many years the high-pitched zizzzz and chugging hammers of air-driven die grinders and impact drills were the marks of a pro. Or, at least, of someone who decided that plumbing high-pressure air lines around the shop was easier than installing outlets and maintaining corded tools. Air tools are fantastic for heavy use, as they are much easier to maintain and can be rebuilt and serviced.

Those tools can really suffer in lack of use, though, since pneumatic tools rely on seals and valves, neither of which deal well with dry storage. Battery tools have caught up to air tools for most DIY folk. No more air lines or compressors taking up space in the shop—and requiring additional maintenance—and, in return, a similarly sized yet more agile tool.

Verdict: Keep, if you already have the compressor. Don’t have one? Invest in battery tools. 

Babbitt bearing molds/machining jigs

Every engine rebuild has to have bearings made for it in some fashion. Today’s cars use insert bearings that are mass-produced to surgical tolerances for a multitude of applications. If you wanted—or more accurately needed—new bearings in your Model T circa 1920, you needed to produce your own … in place … inside the engine. Welcome to Babbitt bearings.

The process is a true art form, from the setup of the jigs to the chemistry of pouring molten metal and machining the resulting orbs to actually fit the crankshaft and connecting rods. Now there are newly cast blocks for your T that replace the Babbitt with insert bearings. Since those antique Ford engines just don’t get abused the way they used to, and lead fairly pampered lives, they need rebuilding far less often than they did in-period. Modern oils also do a better job of protecting these delicate bearings. Since they are less and less in demand, the tooling and knowledge to make Babbitt bearings are difficult to find, and precious when you do.

Verdict: Keep. It’s literally critical to keeping a generation of cars alive. 

Split-rim tire tools

split rim tool ad
Universal Rim Tool Company

Among the realm of scary-looking tools that have earned their infamy, split-rim tools hold court. The concept is simple: The rim is sectioned, allowing it to contort into a slight spiral that can be “screwed” into a tire. (This is almost the reverse of a modern tire machine, which stretches the tire around a solid wheel rim.) When tires needed tubes, both tire and rim were relatively fragile, and the roads were rough, split rims were popular—and for good reason. Now the tooling for drop-center wheels is ubiquitous and shops often won’t take on split-rim work. Success is hard to guarantee, even if techs are familiar with split rims—and they rarely are.

Verdict: Keep. No substitute for the right tools with this job. 

***

These tools might not make much sense in a dealership technician’s work bay, but that doesn’t mean they should disappear forever. Knowing how to service antiquated technology is as important as ever, whether using old tools or new ones. If you’ve got any of these items, consider it your responsibility to document what the tool does and how to safely use it. Keeping alive the knowledge of where our modern tools came from is powerful.

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Comments

    I use to work on the Bear and Allen Test Products analyzers. They were a must have in many shops.

    I was wondering about that also. A lot of old timers used to adjust ignition timing and idle mixture by ear.

    Keep them all. It maybe true that most classics of any brand end up with a small block Chevy of varying displacements and still think we have a classic, these tools are all essential for the few genuine automotive examples still out there.

    Just try to find a shop where anyone there can work on a pre-OBDII car. Good luck. My training is 40 years old and much is still valid for the basics that many newer techs seem to have not learned. Even long ago (20+ years) I found shops that didn’t know the basics. I had a ’88 S10 in 1998 with an engine code and running poorly. I was working OT at a factory and didn’t have time, computer knowledge or the scan tools to fix. Took it to the dealer (mistake). They tried to sell me a new truck. Then the shop came up with a long list of what was wrong with my 134,000 mi 2.8 V6. I said, “No thanks.” and went home. I did buy a new computer at the parts store as they said the old was bad along with a throttle body gasket as they said there was a vac leak. I found they left the oxy sensor unplugged after testing too. Didn’t need either part. The problem turned out to be one of the new plug wires I had put on two week prior had gone open. I found that by pulling one at a time to see how the engine sound changed and then confirmed with a multi-meter. They missed it with all their fancy training and equipment. Back to basics>>gas, air, spark and no major mechanical damage. I’d like to find an small working engine scope for my garage. I think they have pocket scopes out there, but not sure about the cost. I need to get an OBDII scanner and learn to use it. Hate new cars. As the electronics gets older, more is failing and replacements are hard to get and expensive. How many see videos of cars sitting in fields that are resurrected with little effort? Not going to happen with late models. Once dead, they stay dead. Keep your old tools and books and pick them up wherever you can.

    Pocket scopes are 30 to 50 bucks, I needed one to find out which fuel injector was missing, it was the wire had broke.

    My dad who was a mechanic for 40 years used the base of the Sun Engine analyzer for part of his tool box. It now is in my garage doing the same for me. It is very sturdy and better than the tool boxes now on the market, plus the family history part is priceless. I will be passing it on to my son.

    Platinum and iridium are not rare earth metals. They are, by definition, platinum group metals. Look at any copy of the Periodic Table of the Elements. I have most of the tools in the above list, and intend to keep them all. Don’t have a pre-OBD II scan tool, nor see a need for it. I do have tools for doing multi-part 20″ truck rims.

    To be technical, the spark plug gap tool shown is only the right tool for the ‘close enough’ types. Sliding the plug up the ramp on the tool will actually set the gap on an angle. I use a wire-type tool.

    Hey, nobody mentioned the good ole timing light. I still have mine bought at Sears in the sixties.

    Yes, except the split rim tools (used to be a tire guy- no split rim nostalgia!) I have all this stuff. Half my cars are p[e OBD-II. The one thing all these items have in common is that you had to LEARN to use them. I’m almost fully redundent in battery/pneumatic. Electric is hand for remore locations, speed, features, and weight. For HD use, chassis stuff, and just plain busting stuff up, air is still king. Besides, you still need air for blow guns, filling tires and a variety of other stuff. Electric? Am I the only one subject to sudden unexpected battery failure? Twenty seconds in and….nothing. Or that fance 24 volt impact can’t turn a dead mouse. So, you get multi batteries. Then you gotta remember to TAKE the extra battery. And you still have to walk that undercharge/overcharge line constantly. There’s a third option- corded electrics. Still have drills, Dremels, and chop saws with cords. Hell, I’ve got a corded CHAINSAW. Most used tools? My Milwaukee cordless drill, and a 3/8 cordless impact.

    I still have most of my dad’s old tools and some of them still come in handy with my old cars. But I will never try breaking down a split rim tire saw a man get hurt really bad one time. He was not using a cage.

    Hagerty needs to remove the writer of useless drivel like this. Most of these tools are still used. Not at a new car dealership, but by most of the Hagerty family of vintage auto owners. I just cant figure out why I waste my time with these articles. OR, maybe I should be a contributor, and get paid.

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