specialty tools for h bodys what did you make?

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Postby 73astregt » Tue Feb 26, 2008 9:24 pm

ok guys weve got a start here! all those little tools you have made over the years to make that one little job that much easier, maybe its not h body specific but it can be used or adapted for someones needs for motor work chassis work or whatever to do with cars. my idea here is to get all these ideas together and put this thread somewhere where one can find it for reference in the future! think guys theres gotta be more than these few things out there, help!
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Postby spyder_xlch » Wed Feb 27, 2008 10:19 am

I have no pics or details on the tools I or anyone at the garages I've worked made. There were some tools we made for rebuilding trannys, holding overhead cams in time, lots of wrenches that were cut up, shortened, lenghtened, made thinner, etc.
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Postby ColinOpseth » Wed Feb 27, 2008 2:27 pm

When this thread cools down I'll move it into the highlights forum or whatever it's called :p
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Postby MIKESMONZA » Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:13 pm

While looking at my 1975 Fischer Body Book Service Manual I found a page with some odd tools in a Special Tool's general inforation page 1-41 #1 a handle and # 2 claw fits on handle,, were door hinge pin remover.,,,,then looking a little further :shock: I saw the # 5 tool that every :arrow: Vega/ Astre owner would like in his or her tool box, :arrow: It's called Auxilary Hood Release Tool.,,,, "H" style's (less ''07''Syles,,,,, Go figure,,, it is for the models that have the front hinge hood's part # J-23581 will try to add picture later. I shot it with my Cannon digital to day and will try to enter it in the post so you can make your own.,,, :arrow: I know some one has made one of these before in a earlier post on how to open a early H-body with a broken release cable, ,,,Descrpition;,, It has a piece of round bar stock 5/16 th or 3/8 th's ,,, :arrow: with a handle with 6 inches long and a 90 degee bend probaly 8 to 10 long with a smaller piece 3'' inches angled at 45 degree's back,,, not even close to a hook but started that way ,,can not tell for sure but maybe some one with a early H-body will know the "dementions" for sure.,,,,,Mike
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Postby peterpan » Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:10 pm

any luck on the picture of the hood tool my 74 has a broken cable and i need to get the hood open
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Re: specialty tools for h bodys what did you make?

Postby 73astregt » Sun Jul 06, 2008 11:11 pm

finally ! found my tools post . anyone got any pics of tools yet? especially that auxilary hood release tool!
73 astre gt 355 small block 435 hp 435 torque edelbrock performer rpm power package
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Re: specialty tools for h bodys what did you make?

Postby MIKESMONZA » Sun Jul 06, 2008 11:32 pm

hood unlock tool 001 (Small).jpg
Ok just trying the resizer test #1 hood release tool made for Gm h-body,out of the fischer body book for 75-77. Mike
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Re: specialty tools for h bodys what did you make?

Postby MIKESMONZA » Sun Jul 06, 2008 11:35 pm

hood unlock tool 002 (Small).jpg
here is a beter shot I hope,,,Mike
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Re: specialty tools for h bodys what did you make?

Postby 73astregt » Mon Jul 07, 2008 9:33 pm

ok guys heres the skinny lol! i made the hood release tool today from a piece of 1/4 inch round rod . it only took a couple bends in the vise and a little grinding on the short end to make the hockey stick blade that was described. IT WORKED LIKE A CHARM! HERES HOW. take your piece of 1/4 inch round stock and make a bend about 6 inches from the end(90 degrees) now measure about 8 or 10 inches down and make another bend in the same direction as the last one but at about a 45 degree angle. now measure about 2 1/2 to three inches and cut it off. now go to your grinder and grind the short end( the 2 1/2 to three inch end so that it is flat and it lines up with the bends you made. HOW TO USE: insert the tool short end first into the 7th grill slot from the center of the car towards the drivers side. there is a hole in the latch support bracket there that the tool will slide into. i found that you need to insert the tool low in the bracket hole to catch the latch properly.there is a cross brace in the support bracket that the tool must pass under to actuate the bottom of the latch.(updated pics below will show the tool contacting the bottom of the latch) now twist the handle towards the passenger side and POP !THERES YOUR HOOD OPEN! i was lucky that as i suspected the cable had just came unhooked from the latch so im back in busness again!nowq i can save the nos hood cable i bought off ebay this winter for when the cable actually breaks! wo hoo! special thanks go out to patrick 1151(shannon) and mikes monza for posting the instructions and the pics of the tool! thanks guys you rock! fred. ps im going to try to get this thread put in best of so it can be accessed easily for someone else if they need it or any other ideas we can come up with in tools for these cars.
Last edited by 73astregt on Wed Mar 28, 2018 9:52 am, edited 7 times in total.
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Re: specialty tools for h bodys what did you make?

Postby 73astregt » Fri Jan 01, 2010 2:25 pm

here are some pics of the tool i made and how it fits into the latch. when you insert the tool thru the grill slot there is a hole in the latch support bracket that it must go thru and you need to insert the tool low in that hole so it goes under a cross bracket on the latch support and actuates the bottom of the latch. once the tool is in the proper place you just turn the handle toward the passenger side of the car to actuate the latch and pop! your hood is open! the pics should be self explanitory but any questions feel free to pm me. fred.
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Re: specialty tools for h bodys what did you make?

Postby 73astregt » Fri Jan 01, 2010 2:29 pm

last pic trying to show the hole in the bracket looking thru the grill slots. hope this clears up the instructions i had posted before best of luck!
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Re: specialty tools for h bodys what did you make?

Postby spencerforhire » Sat Jan 02, 2010 8:43 am

Glad somebody got around to posting some pictures of the hood release tool! Now I don't have to feel guilty; I have a couple I made 25+ years ago, and meant to take some pics/measurements when this thread was started. I made one of mine out of a Town Coupe trunk tension rod(spring steel), and the other out of a car antenna(stainless). Both have a piece of duct tape wrapped around them where they touch the paint on the cowl vent slot. I got the measurements out of the Fisher Body manual and made the first one AFTER my experience with a broken cable! Always kept one in the glove box after that.
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Re:

Postby Stevie » Sat Jan 02, 2010 9:20 am

[quote="ericseattle"]This won't be relevant to all the V-8 guys, but if anyone is still running the 140 motor, this might help. The 140 uses the water pump to tension the timing belt, and there was a special tool to set the correct tention with a torque wrench. In all my years of Vega, I have never actually seen this tool in person. Seen photos, but never the tool itself.[/quote]

These tools are sold everytime on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chevrole ... 3ca8330814

I got this and it works perfect... :)

Steffen
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Re: specialty tools for h bodys what did you make?

Postby Wizeguyrc » Tue Mar 08, 2011 7:11 pm

I made this tool today for removing my door hinge pins. It's a common nail pry bar you can pick up at any hardware store.
I machined the end to a width of .600 using a half inch endmill. It took about 2 minutes to make the cut.
The wedge design of the pry bar works just like the factory pin removal tool. Once I removed the pin retaining clips, I sprayed each pin
with WD-40. I then inserted the tool between the large head of the pin and the hinge body. Then I tapped the end of the pry bar with a hammer.
It instantly pulled the pins loose. I then tapped on the length of the bar to finish removing the pins. I timed myself on the second door and it
took less than one minute to remove the pins.
I hope this helps everyone.

Tracy
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Re: specialty tools for h bodys what did you make?

Postby craigrev » Sun Dec 20, 2015 11:15 pm

I made a tool for removing lower control arm bolts. After removing the nuts and cam washers, I reinstalled the nuts with no washers and plenty of lube. Then measured the distance between the two nuts. Then cut a piece of 1/2" black pipe to length and then cut it again lengthwise. the pipe can now be installed around the portion of bolt protruding from the nuts on the control arm bolts. Use a hose clamp on each end to hold the two pipe halves in place. Loosening the nuts will force the bolt out of the bushing. The tool will only push the bolt out approx 1 1/4". My bolts were badly seized to the bushing sleeve so I had to push the bolt out and tighten, lube, push out and tighten, lube many times until the lube (wd-40 or kroil) works its way into the sleeve. Eventually the bolts were able to be removed by hand.
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