51. Super Sucker
This Super Siphon can suck up and transfer 5 gallons of any liquid in as little as 90 seconds. The siphon safely transfers fuels, gasoline, diesel, and water. It's easy to use. Just drop the pump end, which works like a check valve, into whatever liquid you want to siphon, and snap the hose up and down a few times to start the flow. The check valve allows the liquid into the hose but not back out. Information: Off Road Trail Tools, 520.579.2079, www.offroadtrailtools.com
52. Have A Belt
A great salvage yard find is old seatbelts. They are cheap and plentiful. Since you're probably already using fancy five-point harnesses for securing your human cargo, use some old belts for safely securing your nonhuman cargo. Bolt each end of the belt solidly to the floor using fender washers, then just click the buckle and tighten the strap over whatever stuff you need to hold. Your cargo can easily be retrieved by releasing the buckle.
53. Kitty Clean up
Many of you use some sort of oil soak or cat litter for cleaning up messes from under leaking axles or engines. But did you know the trick to making it work even better? After you pour the oil soak on the offending spill, flip your push broom over and use the back of the broom (or a nearby 2x4 piece of wood) to grind the granules into the oil. The grinding breaks up the small bits and helps soak up more mess. Then simply sweep it up.
54. Not a Twisted wrench
The newest Craftsman wrench puts a new twist on an old design. While not twisted, the combination open-end/box-end wrench has a ratcheting feature in the box end, which is also specially angled. The beam of the wrench is also offset 90 degrees for better ergonomics and ease of pulling or pushing with your hands. Polished in dazzling chrome plate this is one wrench set that any mechanic would be happy to have in their toolbox. Information: Craftsman, www.craftsman.com
55. Made in the Shade
While having exprience with different-sized tubes and bolts can make identification a snap, it isn't always foolproof. One of our favorite tools is the tubing sizer from Made-4-You Products. This handy little disc is engraved and cut to 12 different outside-diameter tubing sizes. It so happens it also works for SAE bolts, which makes that 1/4x20 seem painfully different from the 5/16x18 you thought you were holding. Made-4-You also specializes in fasteners, clips, clamps, and hose covers. Information: Made-4-You Products, 760.868.6962, www.made4youproducts.com
56. Cheap Strength
Corner gussets are a great way to add strength to whatever structure you are building, weather it be a skyscraper, bridge, or even an off-road truck. Joes Racing Products offers a great high-strength, low-cost option for adding some real safety and rigidity to your off-road truck or buggy chassis. These tube gussets are made of 3060 mild steel and fit 1 1/2-, 1 5/8-, and 1 3/4-inch tubing on joints of 70 to 90 degrees. At just over a buck apiece, there is no reason not to use them! Information: Joes Racing Products, www.joesracing.com
57. Swiss Army Wrench
Hitting the junkyard is a favorite pastime of ours, but hauling our complete toolbox along for the ride gets old. Now we just throw two of the new Craftsman 4-in-1 wrenches in our pocket. Each wrench has two different ratcheting heads, and each head fits two different-sized bolts. One wrench fits 9/16-, 5/8-, 11/16-, and 3/4-inch bolts, while the other fits 5/16-, 3/8-, 7/16-, and 1/2-inch. Information: Craftsman can be bought at your local Sears store or through www.craftsman.com
58. Darn Tough Diff Covers
Dynatrac has been building high-quality, tough, and dependable axles for years, and its differential covers are just as rugged. These are the originals. They may cost a little more up front but could save you hundreds of dollars in repair bills. The covers are available for Ford 10.25 and 10.5, GM 10.5, and Dana 30, 35, 44, 50, 60, and some 70 applications. The covers easily bolt on in just a few minutes. Information: Dynatrac, 714.596.4461, www.dynatrac.com
59. Grand Gold
A cheap steering upgrade for TJ, XJ, and six-cylinder ZJ owners is using the stronger solid stock lower tie rod from '93-'98 Jeep Grand Cherokees equipped with the V-8. Bolted in place without any modification, it takes the place of the flimsy stock bar and can be picked up anywhere from junkyards to your local auto parts store.
60. Nut Driver
If you need to thread on a nut, but the bolt is out of fingers grips, then try putting a rubber sleeve onto a long screwdriver and set your nut and washer at the end. Using the screwdriver's length you can slide the driver into those deep frame pockets and use the sleeve to start the nut on the bolt.