Top 10 Must-Have Tools for Every Retro Honda Enthusiast’s Garage

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As an enthusiast of Honda vehicles that are now considered “old” (or vintage or retro or classic….whatever you want to call it) . Whether you’re restoring an old CRX, swapping a K-series into an old hatch, or tuning a Type R, having the right tools makes all the difference.

To help you take your garage setup to the next level, we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 essential tools every Honda enthusiast needs. Each item features both a budget-friendly option and a baller choice, so you can pick the right tool for your needs and budget.

1. Battery-Powered Impact Driver

 

A battery-powered impact driver simplifies repetitive fastening tasks, making it faster to remove or tighten bolts. Sure you need to have a ratchet and socket set on hand, but if you’re rockin ‘and rollin, there’s nothing like zipping through bolts and nuts with an impact driver. Don’t confuse this with an impact gun that is used for the big jobs like lug nuts, crank pulleys, etc. This is more of a light duty tool meant for time saving. Just note that they are not the easiest to use in places with limited space or access. But if you have 25 10mm bolts to remove, it sure beats breaking them loose with a ratchet and unthreading them all with your fingers.

Why It’s Essential: Perfect for lightweight fastening tasks like engine accessories, small brackets, trans/oil pans, or quick interior disassembly.

2. Bolt and Nut Assortment Set

When you’re in the middle of a project and you’re stuck dealing with corroded, broken, missing, or just ugly hardware, some new OEM looking zinc plated hardware can make all the difference. Replacing old, rusted hardware is a common need in any Honda build, and having an assortment set ensures you’re never stuck. Boltsandnuts.com is an excellent choice here as they have great kits and they support many car builders out there, including some of the big name youtubers that you’re probably watching. And these kits are much cheaper than a lot of the “dress up” hardware kits out there.

Why It’s Essential: Saves time hunting for the right hardware, especially when you’re in the middle of putting the car back together and you have one bolt holding up your progress.

3. Battery Powered Impact Gun

A powerful battery impact gun is essential for breaking loose stubborn bolts like lug nuts and axle nuts. And if you’ve ever tackled a crank pulley bolt that has been in place since the early 90’s you know you need the torque. A high quality battery powered impact will easily outperform your air tools nowadays. Pair a high torque impact like the Milwaukee with a weighted crank bolt socket and there’s not many bolts that will be able to put up much of a fight.

Why It’s Essential: Ideal for heavy-duty tasks such as suspension upgrades, engine mounts, crank pulleys, and axle nuts.

4. Good Multimeter

A reliable multimeter is a must-have for diagnosing electrical problems or tracing wires in old Hondas that have had a questionable past with who-knows what kind of modifications done to them. Or if you’re taking on a big project and doing custom wiring or swaps, then this is a necessity. 

Why It’s Essential: Prevents electrical issues and ensures wiring projects are safe and functional.

5. Paint Gun

We all know how terrible the paint on our cars was even when they were relatively new. Now that they are 30+ish years old, there’s no saving them. So any decent project is going to require some paintwork. Whether you’re spraying some old wheels, or giving the car a whole custom paint job, there’s no excuse not to have at least one spray gun in your tool box. Just make sure to verify your compressor setup is up to the task if you plan on doing larger paint projects.

Why It’s Essential: Saves money compared to professional paint jobs and gives you control over the final result.

6. Digital Torque Adapter

A digital torque adapter turns every ratchet into a torque wrench. These are super handy for having around when working in the engine bay or on suspension when you’re cough cough supposed to be torquing everything to spec. This makes it easy because you can use the same ratchet/socket setup you were using to disassemble, just add the adapter and torque it to spec! Plus these generally have more range than many standard torque wrenches so you dont need a drawer full of them.

Why It’s Essential: Prevents over-tightening, ensuring critical fasteners are torqued to spec.

7. Soldering and Crimping Setup

As we talked about earlier, wiring can be hit or miss in our old cars. So, you will inevitably need to do some electrical work, whether it’s something simple like updating a head unit, or as crazy as a custom wiring harness for a standalone ECU setup. OEM style crimping and connectors are the ideal way to go about this, but soldering is still better than many other “alternatives” out there (think twisted wires balled up in electrical tape, or the always exciting to find home DIY wire nut special). A crimper with interchangeable dies will allow you to use the correct setup depending on the type of connector. This way, instead of just “squeezing” or “crushing” a connector, you actually get a proper, OE style connection that will last.

Why It’s Essential: Perfect for repairing wiring harnesses or adding aftermarket accessories.

8. 3D Printer

A 3D printer opens up a world of possibilities for creating custom parts, replacement clips, trim pieces, or all kinds of other things. I could probably delve into this subject for hours (I think that post will be next), but for this post, I will keep it simple. A 3d printer is a cheap way to have your own little manufacturing and prototyping machine right in your garage. You can print files that others have created, or design your own parts. This helps out a lot when working on older cars that have many discontinued or hard to find pieces. And 3D printers can range from around 100 bucks to hundreds of thousands of dollars. So we’ll highlight a few beginner friendly options that will allow you to print and prototype all kinds of parts right at home.

Why It’s Essential: Lets you design and fabricate one-of-a-kind parts for your build.

  • Budget Option: ANYCUBIC Kobra 3 3D Printer
    • Great for beginners.
    • Can use a few different filament types for different applications.
  • Baller Option: Creality K2 Plus 3D Printer
    • Versatile, and capable of producing a wide variety of parts.
    • Higher temperature and enclosure allows a wider variety of filament material.
    • Larger build volume for larger prints.

9. Welder

A welder is a must-have for custom fabrication projects like exhaust systems, turbo systems, seat brackets, etc. There are a number of different types of welding depending on the application, but the most common in the diy automotive world is MIG weld. It is the easiest to learn and the cheapest setup to purchase. The alternative would be a TIG welder. Mig welding could be compared to drawing, you just place the tip where the weld needs to be, pull the trigger, and go! (Well, it’s not quite that simple in real life, but that works for a gross oversimplification). TIG welding is more of an art. Your balancing heat input with the pedal, applying the filler rod with one hand, and guiding the torch with the other. This allows for a lot more control and precision. You also are able to set it up to run various materials like stainless or aluminum more easily. So if you just need to weld basic steel exhausts, seat brackets, sheet metal body panels, etc. then a mig welder should suit your needs just fine. But if you plan to get into anything aluminum (intercooler piping for example), doing higher end exhaust work, tubular manifolds, you will want to look into a TIG machine. 

Why It’s Essential: Essential for any enthusiast tackling fabrication work.

10. Specialty Sockets and Extra Sockets in Common Sizes

You can never have enough sockets. You’re going to break them and lose them plenty of times if you use them enough. But outside of just having more sets of various sockets, here’s a few that I would certainly have on hand. A weighted crank pulley socket will allow you to remove the big bolt that threads into the crank and holds your pulley on. They take very high torque and can be the toughest to remove. Even heat, lubricant, and a standard air gun with a socket can’t remove many of them. So slap one of these bad boys on a high torque impact and it’ll break free in no time. And the ever elusive 10mm socket has reached meme status at this point. But, its not without reason. They always disappear, so why not stock up? Short ones, long ones, chrome ones, black ones, collect them all! Or just grab a big variety pack of them so you never get help up trying to get that 10mm bolt or nut out.

Why It’s Essential: Saves time and ensures you always have the right socket for the job.

Final Thoughts

Investing in the right tools is key to unlocking your full potential on your project. Whether you’re working on a daily driver or creating a track monster, these must-have tools will save you some heartache and have you spending less time just laying under the car contemplating life.

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