Originally Posted by
papa_sierra
Don't forget the spanners that have to be 'reworked' to get in awkward spaces. You wouldn't want to use your expensive ones for that. Got quite a few with ground down ends and funny bends.
Yep, most of my automotive (racing) tools are very good quality, but I intentionally bought cheap ones more than once when I wanted to modify them in some way. Not only were they cheaper, the poorly hardened metal was much easier to 'rework' for the desired mod. One mod I recall was getting a cheap set of socket wrenches - we drilled and tapped them for a set screw to lock them onto an extension shaft. I doubt I would have even been able to drill - never mind tap - properly hardened sockets but the cheap ones could be done in just a few minutes.
Shortly after I started racing I picked up lock-wire plyers at a local discount tool store (there were safety rules that dictated that certain parts - such as some brake components - needed to be lock wired or cotter keyed). They weren't exactly cheap, but still a small fraction of what Snap On would have cost. They worked just fine, and the first few times I used them in the pits some of the other drivers looked on in amazement - never having seen such a tool. As a result they were often loaned out, but amazingly I always got them back and in fact still have them.