Factory Brake Adjustment Wrench and Being Oblivious

[jtmasters68]

A couple years ago I was in a junkyard of mostly American iron from the fifties--including a 48 Buick Roadmaster Riviera (too far gone, though)--and I came across two Bimmers (gasp), a 528e and a 530, both from the mid-late 70s. Not much of either there, but upon opening the trunk of the 528 and opening the tool tray, I found an almost complete set of Heyco wrenches and accessories. 3 bucks for all of them. Pretty proud of that find.

Over the past couple of years I struggle annually with the almost-hidden, always-frozen brake adjuster bolts. I struggle to slip in a craftsman 17mm and I PBlast, bang, and smoke wrench until they're free. This time I was thinking about discussions on here about the original thin, cranked 17mm wrench designed just for these bolts, and how rare they are. I found a picture of one online, and there on the screen was a pic of a thin, cranked, 17mm Heyco identical to the one I already had. The one I often looked at and wondered, "what's this cranked 17mm for?"

Just shows how missing the obvious can be amusing and worth sharing.

[JohnS]

Those original brake adjustment wrenches also work great for getting to the innner bolt when removing the starter on an 02.

[c.d.iesel]

to hell with the wrenches - lets see

your ZUNDAPP ISDT machine !

[Guest Anonymous]

That wrench is great for lots of spots on a 2002 - the guibo nuts for instance. It has always amazed me how much work can be done on our cars with just the standard tool kit that came with them.

[jtmasters68]

Here's a fuzzy pic of me on the Zundapp. Original Metzeler tires. 1970s Alpine Stars boots, too. It'll climb a tree! And thanks for the great McQueen pic! He never was much on the idea of protective clothing.

[Napes]

Especially "ballsy" of Steve considering the tank on that bike looks like it's been layed-down a few times.

(Sent from Amsterdam, where I've so far managed to resist the come-hether looks from the very attractive blond putas in the Red Light District. Window shopping has never been so much fun).

Bob Napier

[jtmasters68]

Bob, good luck avoiding the vixen honey pots. And that bike McQueen is with was one he had a long long time, raced many hare-scrambles with it and it's the same bike he competed on in the '64 ISDT event in E. Germany on a team with Bud and Dave Ekins. I think McQueen separated his shoulder and couldn't finish. A great pic of him from that race shows him all muddy, speeding by with a cig hanging from his mouth. That same bike is in a museum now, original condition, beat-up and unrestored. I think it's even the same bike Bud Ekins used to make the famous jump in The Great Escape. Of course they tried to make it look like a BMW. Sorry, forum moderators, for the McQueen digression, but you just can't pass up an opportunity to discuss the icon. He supposedly drove a 2002 Turbo and said exiting the corners under throttle scared him a little.