Modding your car can be a great way to optimise a vehicle for your needs without paying for costly mechanic fees. It can extend the life of old vehicles by restoring them to factory condition. Customising your car can be a laborious process, though. The best way to make the process as smooth as possible is to ensure you have all the right equipment. Here are 3 of the most important tools you’ll need to create a world-class custom auto.
Welder
Whether you’re installing a new body kit or patching up your car’s original frame, you’re going to need a welder to do it. Welders use extremely high temperatures to join metal together. Given the heat required, safety should therefore be your number one concern while welding. There are 3 main types of welding – MIG, TIG and stick welding. MIG welding creates heat through a wire electrode, and is easy to learn and usable on most metal thicknesses. TIG uses tungsten to produce the weld. It is the most reliable choice for particularly thin sheets of metal, but is also the slowest method. Finally, stick welding generates heat through an electric current between the metal and the electrode attached to the welder. This is the most versatile method of welding, as it can be used on most alloys, and also works on dented or rusted metals. However, it is also probably the most difficult one to learn. Given the different strengths and weaknesses of these methods, you should consider investing in a multi-process welder for the best results. MIG TIG stick welders can perform all the main welding processes so you can always use the best one for your modding, depending on the material and the thickness of your car’s frame.
Torque Wrench
When removing extremely tight and often rusty nuts and bolts on your car, you will soon realise that in many cases manual wrenches are not sufficient. Powered torque wrenches are therefore an absolute necessity for installing or getting rid of equipment in your car. Not only can they tighten and remove bolts in a flash, you can also set them to the exact power and accuracy you need for a job. Their widespread use among professional mechanics and hobbyists also mean that they are easily available, and less expensive than you might think.
Work Light
Lighting may not be an aspect you consider straightaway when working on your car. However, given the amount of small, precise parts you’ll need to access under your hood, you’ll soon realise its importance. Lighting is especially important for making modifications to your engine and battery, which both involve a lot of hard to reach, small parts. While mechanic-grade lighting installations can be prohibitively expensive for many modders, LED work lights are a great and economical alternative. LED lighting produces a bright white light that is ideal for engine visibility, and the portability of these work lights means they should be able to brighten even the most inaccessible parts of your vehicle.
